15 inch subwoofer enclosure - Car Audio - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

theSteve · 07-22-2002, 03:59 AM

When I bought my car off the previous owner, he had built a 15" sub enclosure, which i soon filled with a crappy Pyramid 15 incher that I bought for 55 dollars.

I've since upgraded subs, but there was a problem. The magnet on the new sub is much much much larger.. almost 3 times as big.

So I ripped the bottom of my old box off and thats what I've been using, but the sound is no better / no louder than my last sub.

I need to build a new box that will accomidate a 15" sub, and I was wondering if anyone had some plans made up that would help me out.

I am already aware that the surface of the box needs to be raised to fit the sub, thats how the old box was made.

Any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

I've attatched a crappy picture, just for the hell of it. The mess of amps and wires infront of the box aren't there any more. I was just messing around.

theSteve · 07-25-2002, 04:06 PM

well without any replies to my post in asking for help in building a sub box for a 15" sub in my trans am, i've begun construction myself with the help of a friend.

so if anyone cares at all, i'll be posting my photos and plans and stuff here on this thread in case it can be of some help to any of you in the future.

later.

Polecat · 07-25-2002, 04:33 PM

Without knowing the woofer, and or specs of the woofer, we can't help you build an enclosure.
We need to know what the woofer manufacture recommends. Some woofers are made for small sealed type enclosures, some for larger enclosures. So if you build another enclosure, that is not matched for what the woofer needs, it won't sound any better.
Post what woofer it is......

theSteve · 07-25-2002, 07:06 PM

alright.. well the sub is a Lightning Audio Strike 15".. they're discontinued.. so you wont find any kind of info or support on the net very easily... but no matter.. like i say, i've started the construction of the box already... i've cut 8 of the 10 pieces of wood and theres no turning back now.. i dont really care much about building to specs.. in my experience (which i admit is pretty limited) , just building your standard ol' box, sealed or ported, and then cutting the appropriate sized hole in the top (12" or 15" or whatever) works just fine. We built a sweet one for my buddy's camaro for his 2 12"s and its sweet.

anyways any input would be super duper fantastic n'stuff.

buh bye for now.

-s

mike1986fyrbird · 07-26-2002, 01:47 AM

I and my friend our building a sub box for his 83' maro. Its going to fit 2 12" Cerwin Vega HED's DVC 4 ohm, Powered by a Lightning audio 500.2 Which puts out 500 watts RMS @ 4Ohm. These speakers will be getting 250watts rms/each. He also got the capacitor that 'hooks' onto the amp and makes it look sweet. The amp has 2 cooling fans.

Well anyways, Onto the point!

Measure twice, cut once. We learnt that the hard way lol.

Use ATLEAST 3/4" MDF board!

Use lots of glue, Pre drill holes! Go deaper than the screw so it doesnt split the wood! WE used #10 1 1/2" Wood Screw, That the thread went all the way to the head of the screw! We used a size 5/32 bit to pre drill the holes. Whut u do is pre drill all the holes, put glue on, put the piece together then then put the screws in so they are flush with the wood!

We used 200 Screws on the box! We put a scre every 1 1/2" to 2".

Silicone the Inside, And the outside of the box to ensure an air tight seal, Your do not need to be cheap with it.

And yeah thats about all the tips i have for you.

Later.

mike1986fyrbird · 07-26-2002, 01:50 AM

And dont worry too much about the size of the box. But if you want beter sound go bigger then the spec, It will give you cleaner bass I heard. And a small enclousure will give you 'boomy' bass, but it won't sound as good.

So I've heard.

Polecat · 07-26-2002, 08:47 AM

smaller than recommended, punchy bass
larger than recommended, lower bass

at least how much airspace is this new box?

theSteve · 07-27-2002, 01:19 AM

well like i say, the box is already under way... i've started the project with using 1/2 inch pressboard.... it seemed pretty sturdy and pretty tough to me.. plus i've used it in the past and had it work out pretty well, so i went with it.

thanks for your help, though, i'll try and stick to your ideas for all the other parts of the project.. but i've already picked and purchased and cut the wood, so the thickness will have to remain as it is.

as far as how much area my box holds.. its about 21" by 21" by 11" halfed... so thats about 2.78 cubic feet by my calculations... basically i made the box 11 inches wide, because thats roughly the width of the very bottom of the well in the back of my car. i didn't bother widening the box where the well widens, because that would involve too much measuring, too much cutting, and too manny pieces of wood - therefore too much room for mistakes.

so i just cut one large piece of wood, that spans the entire width of the car, at the level where the tailgate rests on the rear hatch.... i have a photo already, but its at home and im in california right now, so i'll post it when i return. i have the two most complicated pieces to cut when i get home, then i can begin piecing it together, and by my trials, the thing is going to piece together AND fit in the well like a glove.

that IS provided i dont mess up when im cutting the side pieces... but then again, theres always more wood to cut around somewhere.

wish me luck, i'll let you all know how it goes. it should all be done, if not carpeted, in about a week or less.

thanks for your help, guys.

-theSteve

mike1986fyrbird · 07-28-2002, 04:38 AM

When I was making the box, and where the well angles out, I used a 38 degree angle on the sub box on my car, and in a buddies Z.

theSteve · 07-28-2002, 05:16 AM

i'll keep the 38 degrees in mind.

my buddy who built a 2 12" sub box for his maro told me to use 45°... he said he found that out from some reliable source.

i dunno.. its pretty easy to check once the pieces are cut.. i'm doing it in such a way that it'll be easy to find out if im using the right angles n'stuff.

its hard to explain, but i like to think that i know what im doing.

going home tomorrow, probably will get the pieces all finished and cut by tuesday, then probably polish off the job (sans carpet) by wednesday.

laters.

ChevyLuva3 · 07-28-2002, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Polecat
smaller than recommended, punchy bass
larger than recommended, lower bass

Not to be an @ss... but, what the hell is the difference between "punchy" bass and "low" bass???

Polecat · 07-29-2002, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ChevyLuva3

Not to be an @ss... but, what the hell is the difference between "punchy" bass and "low" bass???

punchy bass is fast, hard hitting bass...low bass is just that, low notes.

theSteve · 08-06-2002, 03:40 PM

heres a quick pic.. box construction got delayed.

mike1986fyrbird · 08-06-2002, 04:02 PM

holy **** how big is that box lol.

stiers · 08-06-2002, 06:25 PM

That is one hellla big box. Please tell me that under the top plate it is just a small box around the sub. Because if that is one big box you might as well have just used the plate and made it free air. Also, I don't see any screws in that box at all, you didnt use only glue to hold that huge box together did you?

theSteve · 08-08-2002, 07:34 PM

goodness no the box isn't that big.

i just decided that it would be easiest to make one large top-surface and fill in the entire area, as thats what i want it to look like... other wise i would have had to make 2 edge just-for-show pieces to fill in the large spaces at the edge.

to answer the second question, the box is not yet complete. that photo up there is just the top surface and THAT'S IT! i just popped the sub in the hole to see what it would look like.

heres some more pics.. the box is still not screwed together so there are no screws, but i have just today finished cutting the rest of the pieces

theSteve · 08-08-2002, 07:36 PM

and one more, still all just resting together to check for spacing.

turns out the large magnet on my 15" sub is gonna fit with space to spare. excellent

theSteve · 08-08-2002, 07:43 PM

i thought you all might like to see the car that this enclosure is being put in .. so here she is.

just bought new rims.. so if you dont like them, dont bother mentioning... because i love them to pieces and spent a whole lot of money on them.

new tires too.. :hail: Firestone Firehawk SZ50's, 255/40ZR17

89blackGTA · 08-08-2002, 10:51 PM

rims look nice man. I am not sure about the blue on them though, a buddy of mine has some like and and 1 year later you cant even tell that there was ever blue on them. Just something you might want to look into.

Brian

theSteve · 08-09-2002, 01:24 AM

hey.

the blue on the rims is just a reflection from the sky. at any other angle they give a perfectly mirrored reflection (non-blue-colored).

just had that picture made into a mouse pad at london drugs. it turned out nice.

89blackGTA · 08-09-2002, 09:41 AM

cool, I like them alot then. of course i am a big fan of black

FyreLance · 08-09-2002, 11:29 AM

chrisb62 · 08-09-2002, 08:35 PM

The awesomeness that is my car......lol

....well...at least its a better pic then the guy who posted above me..

i'll post a pic of my subs when i get one..

btw...i'm the guy with the 2, 12" 's in he camaro

89blackGTA · 08-09-2002, 10:13 PM

you posted just to say that you think your car is better than FyreLance's car? interesting, or just stupid.

Brian

theSteve · 08-10-2002, 01:23 PM

chrisb62's my buddy.

he posted to get in on this thread, and he said his picture was better than the other guys, not his car. noones making judgements.

its just a message board, right

anywho, depending on how my days go i should get my box done this weekend. i have to go out and see if i can find some grey carpet to match the car.. im assuming i'll find something at a fabric store... and then i'll need some spray adhesive for it.

just thought i'd let you all know more pics are coming