15" Death Row enclosure, in a Honda Fit hatchback

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

Edited August 29, 2009 by Zach Gates

[bigtoepfer 0]

U gots a fit? u puttin it behind the back seat? what kind of charging system you have in the car? I had a death row 18 in my fit not too long ago on a PDX1000.1 I've been considering a DP12 But lately i stripped out most of my system.

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

[shadowslayer666 1]

What a familiar thread ;]

I have to do the big 3 for my cobalt. I get dimming when i really push my 187"s so im guessing around 400 to 500 rms a piece. I just cant leave it up that long because of rattles and because it hurts my damn ears so much

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

[shadowslayer666 1]

i was here way before you... ok like a couple months. Caraudioforums is running really slow. they seem to have a lot of server issues lately. I would love a HO alt for my car but they dont make them :[ I always worry about my car not being able to handle a decent system. I just hope it can handle comps too.

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

[shadowslayer666 1]

i think i would go up firing. I think it will sound a lot better without all the rattling... you can always get some sound deadener though and put it all over the hatch

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

[shadowslayer666 1]

man you would really hate my car right now ;] I really need to get some sound deadener

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

[shadowslayer666 1]

yeah its a physics thing. Conservation of energy. The sound energy is being converted into mechanical energy aka vibrating panels. If you can prevent those panels from vibrating all of the energy stays in the form of sound waves, therefore you get more spl

[acex3a 5]

looks like a fun project

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

[bigtoepfer 0]

Fits don't really rattle oddly enough. The hatch doesn't rattle and neither does the liscence plate. They move ALOT but don't rattle. now the point where the windsheild meets the roof is going to flex ALOT. So my rearview mirror used to slap against the windsheild from time to time. Usually it would just fall straight off. So yeah be prepared for that.

When i had the 18 the box came up to the windows with the woofer upfiring and port side firing. And i had to keep the back seats laid down lemme see if i can find a pic.

thats the first pic i could dig up.

I was actually considering doing two right behind the front seats and use the box for the whole back end.

Just with my 4 channel my lights dim. I have an Optima and all 1/0 wiring. When it comes comes to H/O Alts tho the fits CPU limits the alt to 100amp output. So you would need to find a way around that. One of my buddys has a build on a fit that he had ohio generators rebuild his stock alt to put out 120 amps

Edited August 30, 2009 by bigtoepfer

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

[Zach Gates 0]

Not bad!

[shadowslayer666 1]

looks nice. got that build pretty quick too...mine took like 4 weeks

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

[shadowslayer666 1]

mine was like that too. i lost a little width in the port, but i put some wood in the port so it would be the right width when i screwed the side to the top

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

Edited August 31, 2009 by Zach Gates

[shadowslayer666 1]

you just lose a little port volume, so it will be like tuned just a little higer... like .5hz or something so no big deal. At least i think so

[Zach Gates 0]

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.

Edited August 31, 2009 by Zach Gates

[jcarter1885 995]

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.

Yeah your just one step closer, I would suggest since you have the time to build another box and make this one accurated and better than the first one.

[Zach Gates 0]

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.