Okay guys, I'm about to do a Big upgrade from my 2 10"s p2s in a sealed box to 2 12" DC lvl 4s in a ported box. But I really need help building a ported enlcosure for them. for 2 of them the rec. size is 3ft^3. I'd like to tune the box to around 40hz as it is a daily driver. Trouble is i dont know how im going to build a ported box in the well..

 

hey mike thats good to hear that your planning on doing this making a ported box however is much tougher then a sealed one that can have great results if done correctly

the first thing you have to do when building a ported box is to realize how big the box can be cubic feet wise before you can work on the port rember to take out for the sub displacement and a little more for the port itself alot of people forget both of thoughs things and it messes with the tune

if your building a ported box id recomend 3/4th inch MDF wood its a great wood but u have to take your time building it rember to piolit hole drill before you screw the box together or itll split apart

also when building a ported box relize this intresting fact their can be up to 2X the presure in a ported box compaired to a sealed so you have to make it strong the stronger and less flex the box has the better the notes will sound.

i was wondering y you are planing on tuning it to 40Hz im just currious

rember if you tune a box and you go lower in frequency the subs will free air and die if their is much of any power on them at all

I tuned mine to 32Hz and it worked great!!!!

after you figure out your box size dementions hit this back up and i can help you get the port size and lenght figured out

PS R u thnking of round or square ports dosnt matter but just rember to mention that when you want to post back

 

I'm planning on doing round aero ports seeing as how i think doing the square or retangular "L" ports would be much harder. I heard 40hz is a good tuning for a daily driver but anywhere from 28 to 42 is a good range. In all honestly I would like to tune it between 30 and 34 hz. I've built my share of sealed boxes... they are very easy to do as long as you take your time. I've never attempted a ported box tho. For material I am either going to use 3/4" - 1" MDF or the same size in Birch, whichever the budget allows. I also plan on putting some fiberglass resin on the inside for a bit of added strength and also using either 1x4 or 2x4 for extra bracing (of course including it in displacement). All the corners and 45* angles i plan on rounding for smooth resonating withing the box.

One of my biggest troubles is the box design itself and how and where i need to put the ports. Also im not exactly sure how to tune the box since it will be my first ported box. I might also take a step down and instead of using the DC lvl 4s to use their lvl 3s which are also great subs and would be more withing my budget considering the lvl4s require almost twice the power.

I believe over all i have about 4ft cubed to work with. If i were to fiberglass the well i would have well over 6 feet cubed to work with but I dont plan on that with this build, id rather stick with the mdf or birch enclosure. I may on the other hand fiberglass the top of the box where the ports will be and the speakers, just for looks and a little more flexibility in design.

I don't want to take it to a shop and do it, No one other than me or my dad has touched this car since ive owned it. Unless it's something completely out of my hands I'd rather do it myself. And since ive built a good number of sealed boxes i'd like to try my hand at a ported box. It is somewhat funny that it'll be in the camaro making it just a bit harder than a standard square ported box with "L" ports.

It is late right now and very cold and the car is in the garage under a car cover so I will go get the measurements i have to work with tomorrow. I'd prefer to keep it in the well and off the hump thats above the gas tank as I would like to build an amp rack to put there.

thanks for all your help

PS the lvl 3s are rated for 600rms but can handle 900 daily like a champ. Each sub will most likely see between 700-800 watts. (the lvl 4s on the other hand are rated at 1000w rms and can handle ~1400w daily so 2800 total.. an amp of that size, batteries and the extra runs of 1/0 wire, and a bigger alternator isn't quite in my budget right now. So i will be going with the lvl 3s and few electrical upgrades..)

 

if your doing around 1200 wat rms i would say if you actually have a good batory you might be ok im running about that much power now and my car is handline it fine

rember you only using 1200 if its turned all the way up if u play it at a resonable levil 99% of the time maybe you can get buy without it eather way you can alwys add it latter if u decide u need it

one question 4 u are the subs going to be sharing a chamber or sealed apart thatll matter for when you toon it

 

I plan on adding a spare battery, regardless. Upgrading to atleast a 140 amp alt and changing the 4 gauge wire to 1 gauge. Considering the fact that currently running a 500w alpine and a 250w RF 4 channel that my lights dim and voltage drops to about 13.. high 12s.. a larger alt is 100% necessary and a spare batt would help extremely well considering the power change.

As for sharing the chamber or sealing them, since they are sharing the same amp i'll most likely just build a shared chamber to make it easier to tune, but if they were running off of different amps I'd most likely give them each their own chamber.

I plan on facing the subs and and port at the hatch. If i'm correct in my thinking each sub will most like need 2 or 3, 4" aero ports. I'm not 100% positive but i believe thats about right.