95Honda

Yeah, you have way more power than the driver is rated for... That is kind of a big determining factor. BUT, I am not saying this is the only reason you had a failure, you just need to keep it in mind...

I hear you. Life happens. I have so many projects I want to get done. House, wife, kids and career pretty much eat up all the time...

You doing fine and I think you will be OK with your system. It is good you are paying attention to things like you are.

Says the guy who has been working on his IB substage for 2 years... Oh well...

You should give up not having bass for Lent...

I failed right where it goes through the triple joint area. Something partially broke, resistance went up, heat went up, resistance went up more, etc, etc... Alot of things can cause this, some user and some manufacturer. What amplifier (power) were you running?

Just so you know, loudspeakers are only about 3% efficient at producing sound from the power they receive. The other 97% gets turned into other things, some of it heat... The RMS rating has nothing to do with how hot the driver will get. You have no idea if your amplifier is putting out 2Kw. That amplifier is capable of 4+ Kw depending on what signals are coming out of it. There is more than likely nothing wrong with your sub at all... In fact, a warm dust-cap indicates good heat coupling and transfer through some of the soft-parts from the cooling attributes of the subwoofer...

Honestly, I think with the OP's goals, he has picked the RIGHT driver(s). I think the only downside to that EA driver is how deep that bastard is...

Yes, that will do it...

Yes, why I was mentioning the pole mounted plug...

If they are better than the old leads, then yes, they will...

And I believe you about the fire...

What amp were you using? The Kicker?

If you are trying to hit people 50' away with bass notes you do it with directional alignments so you aren't wasting energy in all the other directions. This is the only time it would make sense to horn load the bottom end in car audio. When you horn load you focus energy in one direction, just like the 12's in your door focus their higher output on-axis... You have one of these fuckers firing out your tailgate... I used to run some very large PA systems. One of them, in Spokane WA contained a 4000' line of loudspeakers on a flightline of an airfield to broadcast to about 50,000 people. We had direct radiation (vented) cabinets (40 of them) with dual 15" drivers on the outer sections, but in the middle we ran 8 stacks that had single 15" horn loaded drivers in enclosures almost exactly like what I pictured. The dual 15" cabinets (with plenty of power, we had 50Kw total) would run out of gas about 20' from the cabinets, the horn loaded subs would hit you in the chest at 50', very much, much louder... That is why for a long distance throw in open space, horn loading is the way... But this would completely not work inside the vehicle...

Vehicle? Your Explorer?

As long as you understand what is going on. And actually, if you are going to listen 50' behind, then the 12 would be the better driver. Just bear in mind, the kind of phase plug pictured isn't going to really change the numbers a whole lot I posted. I wasn't sure if your driver had a plug mounted on the pole piece or an external one placed elsewhere... I guess this info isn't so much for you in your application, but maybe someone else... Oh yeah, and if dualing demos is how you describe, horn loaded low end with the apeture firing out the back would decimate your opponent... About the only time I would suggest such a thing...

Is he using a stand alone phase plug? If so, I missed that part...

Copied and pasted, but gives you an idea of when off-axis response starts going to crap, if you stay well under these frequencies, you should be OK... Assuming 30C or 86 degrees F: 12" ~ 1,150Hz 10" ~ 1,380Hz 8" ~ 1,720Hz 7"~ 1,970Hz 6.5" ~ 2,120Hz 5.25" ~ 2,620Hz 4" ~ 3,440Hz 3" ~ 4,950Hz 2" ~ 6,880Hz 1" ~ 13,750Hz

I am watching Amish Mafia, I think is almost all fake... I guess I am seeing what stupid shit they will think up next...

All 3 good drivers. I have used tons of Deltas, maybe at least 100 over the past decade... But again, I only think the 12s will shine with doors open, 50' behind the vehicle, not at the listening position in the driver's seat...

This is the issue, all that extra output you get with the 12" is pretty much wasted at the drivers left side... Look at the pro audio 8" midbass drivers. They have the stroke and efficiency and low end response to work so much better in the application. The last few years have had leaps and bounds with the 8-10 inch pro-audio drivers... No longer do they run out of gas at 100Hz....

Beyma makes a really high quality driver. I have been using them in one form or another for quite a while... I still don't understand a 12 though... A 10 or an 8 would be so much better for listening on the driver side... It will sound really good to your knee and thigh...

All things being equal the 18 will move more air...

I haven't looked far enough back in this thread, but have you considered any of the Neo drivers from B&C/RCF? They have 8"s that are very efficient, has decent Xmax and are low weight... Thing that is kind of important to remember is that all the efficiency you are going to get with the 12's is going to go in the drain for you on the drivers side with it being so far off axis. Wouldn't be nearly as bad with an 8"...

Here is the deal, they weren't using any crazy materials that failed. The lead material has (had) well known and documented properties. Unless something was mechanically assembled wrong, which I doubt with FI, it is known what it takes to ruin them. If the rated current carrying capability wasn't exceeded then the problem was caused by a mechanical failure (over-excursion) which lowered the current carrying capability of the leads. When you get into the realm of drivers with that much stroke and that much force, you can do this. Bottom line, I honestly have not heard of that many subs failing this way. Think of how many they have delivered and have been abused without any issue. I just think it is silly to slap a % or number of failure rate on these when we know that only FI has the data to back anything like this up...