Enclosure, for one or two Q's.

[InfinitePeace 0]

Car: 95' Lexus SC400.

Driver: 1 or 2 Q's. 12s?

Here's the deal, I'd love to do 2 12" Q's in about 2.8 cubes sealed or so. If I can make it fit. OR, I can do 1 12" Q and port it, but at what cost to SQ if the box is built properly? 1 Ported would yield a slightly smaller box if space is as much of an issue as it could potentially be once I tear out the false wall.

The problem lies in that there is a Factory 10 and 2 4" in the rear deck, I think. 10 for sure, not 100% on the size of the mids there. The rear wall is steel with the gas tank there as well. Again, I have not had time to tear this out but I know there is at least some room in there because I've seen pic after pic of people putting 2 12's or even 4 10's there, granted the 4 10's occupied most of the trunk by extending the box well past the rear of the trunk opening. I'd LIKE to maintain access to my spare tire IF possible. Now, I can remove the factory 10 and mids to open up a lot of the rear stage, I just don't know if that will be enough. A lot of people have said that it does make a difference. But I'd like to know what you guys think or what you'd do.

Power wise I've been looking at the Sundown 1000 and 1500 depending on driver choice. I don't need to win competitions, but I'd like to actually hear the speaker, otherwise whats the point in spending the cash to put it in? I don't want to sacrifice SQ but if porting is the way to go and having it still sound good, why not? I've heard of people porting through the rear stage, but how exactly? If the port is too long it screws up the sound, no? I could maybe mount 2 10's to the rear stage but how much would that jeopardize the integrity of that part of the car as is, plus I'd like to not modify more than I have to. A custom speaker box can be removed if ever need be... cutting out extra metal can't really be put back. Another option is putting everything on the floor of the trunk and leaving the false wall intact and factory as-is, which would lose me access to the spare tire. Another is fabricating a mounting plate to place in front of the false wall to mount the amps to vertically, and then just fabricating a normal box for whichever drivers, but would that sheet of mdf block the bass even more?

Any thoughts would be helpful. I'm leaving now to go take everything apart and see what I have to work with. Alternator is ordered and I'm about ready to do this, but I just don't know what's the best option.

I know there are many cars that have this steel wall problem, and I guess I'd just like to hear from those that have dealt with it, even if you are unfamiliar with my specific vehicle.

[filtor1 13]

I have also seen single 12" setups in those cars that sounded very good. I personally would do a single ported 12 through the rear deck. With your space requirements, power, and car, this would be, IMO, the way to go.

[InfinitePeace 0]

The Plot thickens.

So, I tore out the false wall and sure enough, there is a fuel tank behind it. Not just part of the fuel tank, but the entire fuel tank. Thus, there will be no part of the enclosure mounted next to or above it... in fact the factory 10 damn near touches the thing, so anything I do will have to pretty much be in front of the factory false wall leaving it intact.

We have a couple ideas, from mounting one amp on the rear wall of the trunk and another off to the side, to stacking them and placing the sub box next to it. Add in the added challenge of maintaining use of the spare tire. It's going to be a challenge, we've explored different rack ideas and modular installation thoughts. As for only running 1 12", I've considered it... with the steel back plate on the trunk, I just don't know how much output I would really get from it. 2 Sealed q' @ about .9-1.0 a piece is what we're shooting for I believe. Unless you can talk me into 1 ported 12, but we both pretty much agree that being that I'm going for LSQ, but not at the price of non-existent output in a challenging car... I figure 2 sealed would make up the extra SPL while still keeping the best SQ I can.

Unless someone here has personally heard one of these drivers, sealed vs ported in the same car with the same power and can compare notes with me and give me a real idea of the difference in SPL with respect to how much SQ I'd be sacrificing, that would be immensely beneficial.

If the Official Fi guys would like to chime in here..... They have yet to answer an e-mail...

[InfinitePeace 0]

Wow.. not one idea? I see the Fi reps post here all the time. Must I be running 15 subs to pique some interest?

Really I'd just like to know what's the smallest box I can run and be happy.. site says .8 is the lowest without displacement, I'd just like to know what the extra .3 per driver gets me if I give it to them, as someone recommended 1.1-1.2? Sealed of course...

[NDMstang65 403]

Haven't seen the thread yet, sorry...

Have you considered a pair of SSD 10's with the copper coil option sealed?

[InfinitePeace 0]

Tell me why? Everyone said for SQ the Q's are where it's at. So, that's what I want. Right? It doesn't have to be ridiculous loud, but I do want to hear it. Not at the cost of SQ though.

[johnecon2001 82]

If you're worried about hearing the low end in the car, I would vote for the ported option, and use an Aero port up to the deck and into the car.

[BKOLFO4 29]

If you're worried about hearing the low end in the car, I would vote for the ported option, and use an Aero port up to the deck and into the car.

I have never tried that with a ported box. . .Bandpass box, but not ported. Seems like that would cause a heavy emphasis at the port tuning frequency in the cabin of the car. Anyone actually ported a standard vented box through a rear deck?

Not saying it won't work, just curious. . .

[InfinitePeace 0]

If you're worried about hearing the low end in the car, I would vote for the ported option, and use an Aero port up to the deck and into the car.

I have never tried that with a ported box. . .Bandpass box, but not ported. Seems like that would cause a heavy emphasis at the port tuning frequency in the cabin of the car. Anyone actually ported a standard vented box through a rear deck?

Not saying it won't work, just curious. . .

This was also my concern, and I won't have room for a ported box unless I use one speaker. Now again, there will be holes in the rear stage, and if it comes down to it, well make those holes bigger and just cover them in one giant mesh or vent if need be. I'm hoping that 2 4' holes and a 10" hole (or at least the but out diameters for said speaker sizes) will be enough. Plus I don't know much about bandpass, and bandpass enclosure recommendations weren't even covered in the sticky; I want the cleanest possible sound, I'm more concerned with what the smallest sealed box size I can use for a 12 (or two in a single chamber) would be for me to be happy, or what do I can for the 3" or so increase by shooting for about 1.1-1.2 after disp?

[buickid 0]

From what I gather, the SSDs with copper coils in a sealed box should sound pretty good.

[InfinitePeace 0]

Eh, well see.. because of the design of my trunk, I'm going to want the extra output of the 12's. I'm going to make them work somehow, just was curious if anyone had any creative ideas that I hadn't thought of. Late last night I actually was wondering if there was enough room to maybe remove the false wall and fabricate an amp rack over the fuel tank. I just wonder if it's safe to put electronic equipment that close to a fuel tank, though if anything serious ever did happen I don't know that it being there or a foot away would really matter, plus it would be separated by a thick piece of mdf. Dunno... if there's enough room it could be a really good idea and put them out of the way.