[RESOLVED] Custom Sub Box? Wood Type?

[123eclipz]

alright so i got a design that i want to do and i was wondering what type of wood is best for making sub boxes and what kinds are light weight? please help...

 

[joey17]

always to 3/4 mdf it doesnt flex thats what all good boxes are made out of trust me dont use anything other then that if you need help you no im close just pm me im good at that kind of stuff

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

Yup... 3/4" MDF and wood glue.

 

[joey17]

dont for get screws. if you dont belive screws help ill take a pic of what my subs did to my box

 

[InfiniteGSX]

I recently worked at a Performance Audio Shop making peoples back windows bust under bass pressure! Go with 3/4 MDF like everyone says. but do research on box sizing. To small or too big of a box is just going to kill performance/sound. Also learn about internal baffles and port sizing. I've built hundreds of boxes for custom setups. And only do custom on my personal vehicles. Like on my AWD Talon's messed up trunk, or my huge Accord's trunk.

 

[TunaTalon]

alright so i got a design that i want to do and i was wondering what type of wood is best for making sub boxes and what kinds are light weight? please help...

Best and lightest? Pick one. A good sub enclosure needs to be strong and heavy. The mass of the enclosure is important to prevent flexing of the box.

As everyone says MDF is a good material for a sub enclosure. If you make enclosures for tweeters and mid range drivers you can save weight with plywood or fiberglass.

As InfiniteGSX says, design is important. Understand how size and shape affect the sound before cutting out the parts.

 

[joey17]

and if you want to measure ## cubic feet for porting or just a basic box put a big bag in the box and fill it up to the brim with water and see how meny galons it is and do a little math i find that way is pretty easy.

 

[99gst_racer]

dont for get screws. if you dont belive screws help ill take a pic of what my subs did to my box

People build 3/4" MDF boxes without wood screws?
I always thought wood screws were an obvious nessessacity...


123eclipz - Ported or sealed? How many subs?

 

[bane3d]

my first box I had wasn't sealed properly with wood screws. 2x 12" pyles with a usamp popped that box in half. My next box had 4x 10" subs and worked great. To be honest, after going to school with an acoustical engineer, I've stopped building my own boxes and I leave it to the pros. Mine always sounded horrible. Loud does not equal clear.

d

 

[TunaTalon]

Loud vs clear is a value decision. Like power vs. reliability. Study, learn, and make your own decision about what's important to you. You can be sure that I would have made a different choice for my car. But we're talking about your car, your choice.

 

[Calan]

Here's a few tips and some pics of mine:

1. Make sure to put support posts close to the speaker opening that tie the bottom of the box to the top.

2. Use some fiberglass for baffling to prevent unwanted coloration (reflections coming off the box back through the speaker cone)

3. Make sure to mount the box nicely, and isolate it from the car body with some carpet or sound-deadening material.

4. As others have said, you want stiff heavy wood that is free of defects; either marine grade plywood or MDF. (I prefer MDF). Also use a good carpenters glue, #6 woodscrews, and caulk all the seams.

5. Make the box removable. I'm not sure about the 2G, but the 1G rear seat belt mounting points are ideal mounting locations if you make some steel brackets.

6. Do the math! Nothing will kill a good sounding speaker faster than an improperly design enclosure.

Here's some pics:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

The top cover just sits down over the speaker openings on top of the box, and is supported at the rear with a piece of angle bolted to the car's frame. The area between the box and the rear "hump" makes a nice storage area.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You can see the angle I mentioned in this picture. To make it fit "like a glove", I got in the car with some cardboard, a level, and a pair of scissors, and made templates for the side panel profiles. Once I had the overall dimensions, I used the templates to shape the ends and top cover board.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

*****************

It sounds awesome BTW....I think. It's been TOO LONG without my car running and I'm starting to forget

 

[InfiniteGSX]

Craig! I aplaud you for for that design! WOW! I've been trying to figure out a cool design for my 1g AWD. But do I wanna lose my back seats... its the best feature of my car ...

Here's an old 2G setup of mine... I have other versions of this copy. Another one of our cool members, I think its Jeff... Has a gorgeous design like this same one, but is an eye catcher!

 

[123eclipz]

People build 3/4" MDF boxes without wood screws?
I always thought wood screws were an obvious nessessacity...


123eclipz - Ported or sealed? How many subs?

ported or sealed - idk but i have 2 10's

 

[InfiniteGSX]

Well you can't seal a sub that wasn't designed for it! Go by the specs of the sub. And size. Most subs can be in a sealed and ported enclosure. But the size of each enclosure changes. Some Rockford Fozgate Subs can stop your heart when sealed, and make you wanna shoot them ported. Other subs kill on a ported enclosure. Just check out what the specs require on your subs.

 

[Calan]

Thanks Josh... that's a nice design in your pic as well

I always thought the back seats in DSMs were just the pieces left over from when they made the fronts, and it was cheaper to ship them with the car than haul them away

ported or sealed - idk but i have 2 10's

A ported box will usually produce a bit deeper response, but box and port dimensions are more critical than with a sealed box. A well designed sealed box will also usually give more "thud", as opposed to "whoomph"

Depending on the speakers, I almost always prefer a sealed box in a car to a ported one. Ultra low and loose bass is just plain annoying to me; I like to feel the kick drum knocking me in the back.

 

[InfiniteGSX]

I prefer a sealed enclosure in the trunk of a sedan or coupe. but in a hatchback like DSM's, Sealed! Cleaner sound in my honest opinion.

 

[joey17]

i like ported i like how it moves air. my next project is no back seets and two 15's where the seet used to be pointing towrds the driver and passenger seets and the trunk will have 2 12's and 2 10's i want to be able to lift my hatch without pulling the lever.
p.s sorry for bad spelling

 

[InfiniteGSX]

, you gonna be able to fit them all in there? My trunk along time ago... Yes subs are supposed to face the backside of the car. But that was impossible with this box... The subs smacked the back of the trunk when hitting hard.

 

[mikeb_low]

Yea, use MDF, but use Liquid Nail to seal the box. I have built three boxes using this combination, and all three have performed excelent.

Liquid Nail can be found with the rest of the caulk. I've got it at lowe's and home depot should have it. It was recommended to me by a professional box builder, and it seals good.

 

[joey17]

yea it will work the ones in the trunk will be in one big box and yes the box will be devited up in for sections inside and the subs will be pointing up. and subs dont always have to point to the back just go to youtube and type in steve meade that dude is crazy i sat in his taho once and i dont wanna do it again

 

[97 GSX 97]

WOW all those designs are nasty and I love them. Personally I love the simple design and I will be purchasing this sometime in the near future:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Without the Mitsu Logo

 

[misterskeetz]

WOW all those designs are nasty and I love them. Personally I love the simple design and I will be purchasing this sometime in the near future:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Without the Mitsu Logo

I saw this on eBay a long time ago and loved it. I just don't know how a single 12" is going to look. It seems silly to take up ALL the trunk space for just a single 12" and 1 amp.

 

[jayiszraw]

3/4" Trupan Light, it only weighs 80% of mdf and is just as acoustically dead (no flexing, just as strong)

 

[InfiniteGSX]

I saw this on eBay a long time ago and loved it. I just don't know how a single 12" is going to look. It seems silly to take up ALL the trunk space for just a single 12" and 1 amp.

Look at the one I posted. Thats only one of the designs I've made. The others were also single 12" subs in the center. Both protected from damage from groceries or whatever you wanted in the car. I used Flat subs. Like the bad ass Pioneer Premier flat subs that pounce 1400w... In a hatchback car, this box design will make your heart skip beats. No Joke!

First sub I installed was a Kicker CVT with a JL 500.1 Amp. During this install I was also installing 2 15's, 2 12" and 2 10" subs in the back of a Ford nutstain, and the owner of the nutstain got upset that my system killed his.

 

[joey17]

well im pretty sure mine will be plenty loud i will be going with power aqoustick pw3's the 15's are 2800 watts the 12's are 2600 and the 10's are 2000 and will be powerd by 3 lanzer 4000 watt amps and a couple caps and prob a big alternator