BigDaddy13440

Edit for my previous post - Found a port length calculator program, plugged some numbers in. http://www.mobileinformationlabs.com/HowTo...20lenth%201.htm Extending the port to 35.5" at 2.0 cu ft, based on the existing dimensions - you'll have an actual tuning frequency of 36hz, lower in-car. Now, if you want to shrink the width of the slot from 3" to 2", you'll end up with a port tuning frequency of approximately 32.6hz, but possibly at the expense of increasing port noise.

If you extend the inner wall of the port from it's current 14.25" to about 24" (9.75"), you're going to be giving up almost .25 cu ft of your net enclosure volume. I'm guessing (and only guessing, that is!) that at 2.0 cu ft, the port at 35.5" in length would probably give you a tuning frequency in the 30-32hz range. It might be lower than that, I'm not all that sure of the formulas for port tuning. As you extend the port along the back wall, you are shrinking the enclosure volume. Find a compromise between the two - you may only need to extend it by 4", and have a 2.1 cu ft enclosure, ......

No, they are not mine - just saw them, would LOVE to get them, but I don't have a spare 8G's to drop. http://cgi.ebay.com/U-S-Amps_W0QQitemZ3203...%3A1|240%3A1318

What reasonably priced options are there for something that will run all day at .67 ohms? Been thinking about a couple of SAZ1500's.... and yes, a 200+amp alt and second battery are planned.

(6) 4ohm coils wired in parallel, or (3) 2ohm subs.

How many layers of fiberglass are you doing/ how thick? I see the rings are 3/4" MDF, probably doing 5-6 layers of 'glass?

I don't see any problem with getting 2.5 cubes under the seat in the Crew, you may have to raise the seats an inch or two though - not sure how tall the front face will be without raising it. I'm guessing you want to put (2) 10's under the seat? One question - buckets or bench in the front? You can easily get almost 4 cubes between the seats if you have a center console you don't mind replacing with a custom fabbed box.

ummm... yeah..... I have.... as in, I used to work for a local shop about 15-18 years ago, we did numerous installs that placed well in the Northeast. Most were SQ, had a couple that went to the Nationals back in '95(?) - Tom Cole had a Ford Ranger Splash with a RF Power 10" under the dash and MB Quart comps, think he placed 4th in his class. Lots of fiberglass work on that one, and countless hours tuning the Alesis EQ's to balance the soundstage. We did a few that were strictly SPL oriented - (8) 15" RF's in a Cherokee, (16) 10" RF's in a S-10 Blazer (the shop owner was a RF junkie). Brought in an American Bass 15" VFL Quad and ran a couple of RF amps strapped to it - hit 158.9 in a Chevy Corsica, not bad for ONE sub. But it's been a long time since i had anything more than halfway decent in any of my vehicles.

Want to run SIX in my Tahoe, looking to maximize space. Two in each quarter panel, and two in a center console between the front seats. Whatcha recommend? And looking for an amp that will run @ .67ohms all day long, about 1500 watts RMS. If I run dual 4ohm coils (or single 2ohm), I'd need (2) amps to push them.

There's nothing wrong with my existing setup, it sounds damn good for what I've got into it. The 15's are crossed over from about 40hz down, the 10's are in a sealed enclosure and run as midbass up to about 130hz - I just wanted to anchor the front stage, and they do it very well. The 10's aren't meant to go low, but to be tight and accurate - if anything, I'll throw a 1000uf cap on them, acting as a 6db/octave hi-pass crossover (at 40hz, I believe?). The way it's set up now, I have independent control over the 10's and the 15's via the sub preout on the deck and the sub control on the Kenwood EQ. I do agree that using (2) 15" subs in the rear as opposed to the (4) 12's might be more prudent - I've been looking for 15's that will work in a 2+cu ft enclosure. Most likely I'll have to seal up my existing ports, as I haven't found much of anything that will work in that small of an enclosure. As I said, I just want MORE. If that would mean dropping in a couple different 15's and running 2 SAZ1500's on them, and delegating my existing 500 watt mono amp to the 10's, I'm all for it. I just thought that (6) 12's in a Tahoe would be bad-ass, especially without having a huge enclosure in the cargo area.

You have a PM......

'cuz I currently have (2) 15" Celestions in the rear quarter panels, and (2) 10" Powerbass in the console. Find me a good 15" subwoofer that I can fit in my current enclosures (2.4-2.5cu ft gross), either sealed or ported that will outperform the Celestions, and I won't have to modify them at all. The 10's just need more power, only running about 75 watts to each. But if I'm going to change, why not go big? I want MORE.

Goal is LOW, accurate bass - I can't stand anything sloppy. Pound, not boom, don't listen to a lot of rap/hip-hop, mostly alt rock/metal. I want it to smack me in the back of the head, and cause heart palpitations. Planning on running from 250-500 watts per sub (1 or 2 SAZ1500's (?), depending on VC load), so I don't need anything with 2000w rms ratings.

I'm really liking the idea of (4) 12's. Comparing the two series (Assassin vs. Arsenal), looks like there isn't a whole lot of difference in the specs? Other than double the RMS power handling for the Arsenal series (per coil, or per sub?), looks like they will both work in the same enclosure reasonably well. Both are dual 4ohm, which means I could wire up each pair as a 1 ohm or 4ohm load, and present a single amplifier with a 1/2ohm load or 2 ohm load continuously. I know almost EVERY decent amplifier can handle a 2ohm load all day long, but how many can drop to .5ohms and be reliable? I'm talking about something that can do around 2K at .5ohms . Another option would be to run these in a series/parallel configuration with my two 4ohm 10's in the center console, but using two amplifiers, one for the left and one for the right... 2 ohm load (to one 12") + a 2 ohm load (to another 12") + a 4ohm load (to one 10") = 2/4+2/4+1/4 = 5/4 = .8 ohm load, if I'm not mistaken? In this configuration, assuming I use an amp capable of 1000 watts RMS at the .8 ohm load, I believe each of the 12's would see power of approximately 400 watts, with the 10 seeing approximately 200 watts? I'd assume there are a lot more amps capable of dealing with a .8 ohm load than a .5 ohm load? I could even dump the two 10" I have in the center console, and add a fifth (and/or sixth!) 12" to even out the frequency response. I've got about 2.0 cu ft gross I can play with between the seats up front. Six 12's would give me a load of .67ohms per amplifier, or 1.33ohms to a single monster amp..... Any thoughts, other than "it all depends on how much power I want to run"?

I've got enclosures fiberglassed into the rear quarter panels of my Tahoe, and can't give up any more of my cargo room. I work as a General Contractor, and frequently carry plywood and sheetrock in the back of the truck. My current Celestion AD15H's sound great with the crossover point set at 40HZ, reproduce the low frequencies with great detail, even with the measly 250 watts I'm sending them each through my Lightning Audio 500 watt mono amp (2 ohm load). The only problem, I've found that they have a tendency to "blatt" (for lack of a better term) if I up the crossover point to even 50HZ. Could this be a result of too little power, too small of an enclosure, too high (or low) of a tuning frequency of the port? FWIW, the enclosures are approximately 2.5 cu ft gross, with a 3" diameter port x 9" long. I believe it's tuned to approximately 30HZ, at least that's what I was recommended in an e-mail from Celestion. The AD15H's will supposedly work in a ported enclosure as small as 2.0 cubes net, that's why I felt fine with 2.5 gross. Otherwise, what sub/subs would you guys "in the know" recommend for my enclosure volume? Are there any 15's available that would work in my existing enclosure w/o modifying it, or would I have to alter the port to change the diameter/length? Would I be better off with a pair of 12's in that size enclosure, would I get more/cleaner output? Very simple to remove the front baffle and make a new one - hell, if (4) 10's would be a better alternative, I'm all for that. I just don't want to sacrifice the low-end extension by going smaller. I'm not a hardcore rap kinda guy, my tastes vary from 3 doors down to Metallica, from Sublime to ZZ Top. However, not to say I won't go deep into my music vault, and dig up some old 2Pac or Beastie Boys. Eventually, I intend on delegating the 500 watt amp to my 10's (low/midbass from 50-150HZ) in my console, and probably running 500-700 watts RMS to each of the subs in the rear. Any suggestions?

51 reads so far and NOBODY? Talk about a tough crowd......

33 reads and nobody has any input?

The first fuse between the batteries is before the wire passes through your firewall, then the second fuse is after the firewall, both within 18" of their respective batteries. Prevents a dead short should you ever get into an accident, or accidentally drill through or pinch through the casing on your wire. Comprende'?

I've got a question for all of you in-the-know...... Running a couple of old-school Celestion AD15H's in my Tahoe, 'glassed in the rear corners after cutting out the inner rocker panels. Approximately 2.4cu ft each, with a 3"x8 1/2" port. I know these are rated at 600w RMS, but I'm pushing them with a Lightning Audio S4.500.1 at 2 ohms - supposedly putting out 250 watts to each sub, but sounds like it's making way more power than that - I'd guess closer to 400 watts to each sub, if not more. I'm using 4ga wiring from the battery to the amp rack under the Powerbass S-10's firing down betwen the front seats (nice midbass staging! LOL!). Have an old Kenwood KAC744 (40wx4@4ohm) pushing the components, and a Kenwood KAC714 (140x1@2ohm) pushing the 10's - with the LA amp, it's only 900 watts RMS (supposedly), and I've got a 1 Farad cap. My problem is that my voltage is constantly fluctuating, even w/o having the subwoofer amp on. Hell, I can have the stereo off, and my voltage ranges from approximately 12 volts to 14 volts. Sometimes I can watch the voltage drop when turning on the heater fan and the wipers, other times it's completely unaffected. Sometimes, I can crank the volume up to 30 with the two Kenwood amps, and the voltage may flicker a little, and when I hit the button for the LA amp, it may or may not drop (depending on the tunes I'm playing) What do you think? Do I simply need a larger cap? Do I need to upgrade my alternator (stock 105 amp now in the '96 Tahoe)? The battery is less than 4 months old, and it's a 825CCA with the largest reserve I could get. Any help would be appreciated! Chuck

Stopped by the local Advanced Auto on the way home, had them run the tester on my charging system. At idle, all accessories off, my voltage was approximately 14 volts - I did have the system on, but the volume was set at Zero. Next, ramped the rpm's up to 2100 - voltage increased to 14.3 - 14.4. Stayed constant, the "tech" said the diodes in the alternator were fine, it was working as intended. Then, I asked him to watch the meter as I turned the system on - at "normal" volume, the voltage stayed from 13.8 - 14 volts, a slight drop, but I'd expected that. Turned the volume up, and watched the voltage drop on the tester to 12.5 - 12.7 volts. Should I be concerned? My lights still dim, as much as they did before I did the 1/0 wiring. At least now I know my factory voltage gauge is off by about 1.5 volts. It was reading about 12-12.5, while the tester was reading 14.2+ - anybody have a suggestion for a cheap (accurate!!) voltage meter I can drop in a small place in my dash?

Little update - cleaned my garage yesterday, found some 1/0 wire that already had terminal ends crimped on (from a prior vehicle). Upgraded the Alternator wire from the stock 8ga to the 1/0, and added a 1/0 ground directly to the framerail - didn't change the ground to the block, as it was a 4ga already. Let it sit overnight (was exhausted, went to bed right after I finished), couldn't wait to get out this morning to see what difference it made. Nothing. Voltage still down to about 12 volts on even semi-demanding tunes, running just the 10's. When I hit the SUB button on the EQ, the Lightning amp cranks up, and I can watch the voltage drop down to under 11 volts, even at 1400-1500rpm. Put in some old-school DJ Magic Mike, and it dropped way down into the orange, or about 10volts. Second battery time? Swap it out for a new one? Upgrade the alternator? Ditch the cap? Add a bigger cap?

If you've got buckets, it's not that difficult to build a center console for the subs between them. I've got a console between the seats in my '96 Tahoe, with a pair of Powerbass S-10's in a common enclosure of approximately 2.1 cu ft. The top is even with the armrests, while the bottom is elevated approximately 4 1/2" above the floor - my amplifiers are mounted on the floor, with the subs firing down. I've even got enough room to have a hinged compartment on top, about 3" deep, for storing CD's and crap. I'd previously planned on building an enclosure to fit my (2) Celestion 15's between the seats, and mounting the amps under the seats. I got about halfway through building it, and realized it was just TOO bulky - about 4.2 cubic feet..... but if you need that much airspace, it CAN be done in a regular cab. I did a regular-cab Ranger a long time ago, and built an enclosure shaped like a T - I picked up almost 2.5 cu ft of airspace by using the wasted space behind the seats (about 4" deep), versus the 2.5 cubes I was able to get by simply using the space between the seats. I was able to use (3) 12" Fosgate subs in the 5.0 cu ft, vs the (2) 10" Fosgates that would've fit in the smaller box. Mounted the two amps under the seats, and had a SERIOUS low-end with superb staging, having the bass up front.

I'm up in Rome, about 2 hrs from you down there in Auburn. I'm having problems with my electrical in my Tahoe, it's dropping below 10V, even when I'm not even pushing my tunes. Have a 4 mo old 825CCA battery with a 120 minute reserve, the largest "stock" battery I can fit in my Tahoe. Don't know if my alternator is the original (vintage '96), but I believe it's only a 105 amp unit. I've had the system checked at Advance Auto and Autozone, both tell me my alternator is fine, I'm running approximately 14 volts at 2000rpm. Only problem, 2000 rpm out on the highway means I'm doing about 78mph - fine on the Thruway, not so good for the local 55mph limits, nor around town. No idea how many amps or volts is charging at at idle, or at 1200-1500rpm.... 1/0 ground and charging wire from the alternator to start? I think the factory is 6ga, 4ga maximum. I'm running 4ga to my distribution block, and 4ga for my grounds - only running 800watts rms, I'd think the 4ga should be sufficient. After that, my next step would be which? a higher output alternator, or a second battery in parallel? I doubt I'd have to use a dual battery isolator, I'd just get a matching battery to the one I recently replaced. Unless, an Optima would be that much better for my application..... Maybe I'll get a chance sometime soon and chat with ya myself, or run down to Auburn to check out the GP!

that's not the problem. Especially since he noted that the voltage fluctuates even without that amp on. You mention running 4 gauge to the fuse panel? What fuse panel? I assume the one for your vehicle, but why does your power wire run through there? The stock setup uses an 8-gauge wire to supply power from the battery terminal to the underhood fuses/relays. No, my power wire doesn't go to the fuse panel, but directly from the battery (w/ a 200amp fuse). And what are these switches you are talking about for the amps? What are they hooked up to? Not necessarily a switch, but the Kenwood EQ has a subwoofer defeat button. The Lightning Audio amplifier can still draw power, but it doesn't (draw much) without an input signal. The same goes for the Kenwood mono amp pushing the two Powerbass 10's - I can use the JVC head unit's subwoofer output to effectively turn off the signal to the amp, even though it is still able to draw power. Basically, they are both in "standby mode". Is your alternator the same stock one from the factory 12 years ago? If so.......it may be on its way out. Stop by an auto parts store and ask them to do a check on it. Yes, it's the stock one, a 105 amp version. I know there was a higher output 140 amp one, and I can get that relatively cheap - I just don't want to waste $125 on a 140 amp one and not have it be sufficient, when I should have gotten a 200amp model. And I have stopped by 2 or 3 auto parts stores, they've put my vehicle on the charging system monitor, and everything "reads fine", according to them......

IF the ratings are correct, I'm running the Kenwood amps at 160 watts (40x4) and at 140 watts. Add that to the "supposed" 500 watts from the S4.500.1, and it's only 800 watts RMS. That's why I thought one 1-farad cap would be more than sufficient. And, I don't push them at anywhere near maximum, the gains are maybe 40%. My only other thought is to upgrade the charging wire from the alternator to the battery to 4ga, and run 4ga from the battery to the underhood fuse panel as well. I'm only using about 8 ft of 4ga from the battery through the firewall, and to the amp rack under the center console, so I know I'm not getting any current loss there. I don't need any more power than what I've already got, my head hurts after listening for more than 10-15 minutes to anything really bass-heavy - I don't know how you guys running 5000 watts plus can deal with it, I'd be rocking myself in a dark corner saying "Mommy, please make all the light and noise go away!" from the headaches I'd get. All I want is consistent voltage, so I don't have to worry about my vehicle stalling at a stoplight (yes, it has.....).