Zach Gates

This will be both upfiring in my hatchback (meaning this box will be laying on its back port up), the volume pre-sub is about 3.43cu and tuned at 31.7Hz, so I believe when the sub drops in it'll make it 3.27@32-ish? Do I have all this correct? I'm so incredibly stoked to buy this sub (although I'm just saving up for it now). Going to be pairing it up with a JBL bp1200.1 amp, probably with the dual 1 so I can hit 2ohms and not use the full 1400-ish watts that thing puts out at 1ohm.

Not at all! My hope here was "adequate", really. Somethiing to use for daily driving until I do the big build and get more elaborate.

You may very well be right, my man. It'll be very touch and go at first. Constant checking for leaks, checking all the this and thats. The real gap between boards was, appropriately enough, at the port up near the bend. That thing was a real PITA overall. Actually, truth be told, I may do a complete redesign down the road, it all depends. The last thing I want to do is wreck a great sub. If this seems to work at least in the short haul, then so it shall. But I admit what I'd REALLY like to do eventually is make a longer, flatter box. Take up the entire floor of the hatch and not reach so high. Since I won't be buying the sub for a little while, it gives me time to think it over, if I want to consider this one "practice" and rebuild or try a new design or whatever else. Thanks for the input man.

Money's a touch tight at the mo'. I know $30 worth of wood and $10 of carpeting isn't that much, but when things are tight ya gotta save every dollar you can, y'know? So my thinking is I'll try it out. If it sounds bad, seems to bottom out or anything of that nature, I scrap it and start over.

I want to have sex with that box.

I did some math and, yeah. I lost about 1Hz of tuning and gained a touch of volume. So instead of 3.25@32 it'll be like 3.35@31. Oh noes. Of course, that's forgetting the slightly wider spot near the end. So I'm thinking it'll even out. Point is as long as things are sealed up I'm still 3.2-3.4 at 31-33Hz. Somewhere in there. That's all that matters. Now it's just a matter of saving up the money. Let's hope the Lottery Gods are good to me! I have to admit, too, it somehow feels "familiar" driving around with just the box. Like it's all official now, haha.

"Common wisdom" is to put the port and sub on opposite sides, but to be honest when I did it in the hatch eons ago both in the middle worked beautifully.

Yeah, I don't know the exact science behind how that might work (a changing-width port), so I'll just give 'er a go, y'know? If it goes tits up in the end I can just make another one.

Only took about three hours once I had all the boards cut at Lowe's. The bitch was jigsaw'ing the baffle. Note my totally professional workbench: Not perfect, there was need for a boatload of caulk in some areas and somehow the front port lost about a quarter inch of width. I don't know how. And the end of the back is about 3.5 wide. So... here's hoping that it won't make too much of a problem. I can't see how it would, but I'm no expert.

Not bad!

LOL, that better be the product slogan from now on. I can almost see the commercial now.

You make good points there, but you have to admit the number of salesmen that will just sit by quietly while you buy some installation parts without asking what you're installing (with the intent of swaying you toward THEIR products) is fairly low. Personally, I think more shops should just stop dealing directly with products at all. A smart shop owner would amass a team of incredibly talented installers who could can build custom enclosures and the like and just work on that end of things. No matter how much you "know" about car audio, nothing can replace the skill needed to put together a truly pro install. I'd pay for that.

Dayum. That's a nice looking box. I'm thinking I won't have quite the flex/shake problem you did since it's a 15 rather than an 18, but who knows. I'm going to be throwing at least 1300RMS at it, so things are definitely going to get interesting.

That's some good progress, David Blaine.

You're lucky you know your shit dude. Shop guys will absolutely prey on teenagers, thinking you don't know anything and hoping to push all sorts of overpriced junk on you. Last time I hopped into a shop I explained to the guy what I was planning on buying, and he not only decided to tell me I should be buying all Diamond, but that if I buy online I don't get a warranty(!). So that's, clearly, why I should be buying a $140 Clarion HU for $240 from him and paying MSRP+markup for some pretty mediocre parts.

Ahaha that door's gonna come flying off.

If you're talking about, say, components I've heard nothing but crazy good things about the Image Dynamic CTX's and the Alpine Type X Ref's. Not coincidentally, those are the two sets I'm trying to decide between.

I think most people don't realize just how loud a given dB level is anyway. A system that might "only" hit 130 on the meter is still loud enough for daily listening that it'll shake you. So many people online talk about 145-150 as though that were baseline and if you're not hitting that you might as well pack up your shit and go home, but I doubt anyone would be willing to sit in a car hitting 130dB for more than a song or two, if that.

It ain't bad for a guy just trying to get back into the swing of things. Tomorrow will be crunch time most likely. I'll do all the gluing/fastening/sealing and then either carpet it or paint it. Chances are down the road I'll be doing another enclosure, this one more involved (kerfed ports, maybe fiberglass), but I'm stoked just to be making things again.

Hey, the point is you're getting the deadener. At least you're not one of those jerkoffs that thinks a rattling trunk is something to be proud of. I've said it a thousand times: the more your car flexes and rattles, the more energy from the soundwaves is being transferred instead of reflected. Meaning, Dynamat and securing loose panels doesn't just stop you from annoying the people around you, it makes the sound inside the car louder.

Probably right. Plus more ability for things to breathe. I'll give 'em a whack both ways. To be honest even if I lose a tiny bit of sound with upfiring but it rattles less, I'd much prefer that. I hate, HATE systems that rattle from the outside.

Sitting upright! The cool thing is if I want I can do both rear and upfiring to see which sounds better. My inclination is that rear-firing will be louder, but up-firing will rattle less.

LOL, you're following me now? Yeah, the Big3's going to be the very least of what I do, and the battery is almost a given. What I'm mostly hoping for is that I don't need to get an HOA.

Well yeah, 3*(2*2*3.14) = 37.68 and (3*3*3.14) = 28.26 so you'd be gaining a solid 33% more SA, but say, a 7" port would be 38.5 so if possible you could do that.

I'm going to be playing the electrical thing by ear. First Big 3 upgrade, then probably a Kinetic batt. I've heard about some people with 1000+ systems without much dimming even without the Big 3 fully done, so we'll see what's happening. Secondly, how in the HELL did you fit an 18 in there?? You couldn't have had much space to see, LOL.