12" Fi subs

[dueces11 1]

I will be purchasing one of these in the near future (im meeting someone to sell my 6 cvr's monday)

but anyways.. im not sure on which would best suit me

i would like for the sub to be louder than my highs (2 selenium horn running @ 200 rms a piece)

i listen to mainly rap + hip hop music..

which sub would best suit me?

and i saw this, so i thought id fill it out to give a little more info..

* Amplifier being used, specifically the model number.

not sure, its a volfenhag 2000 watt max, 1400 @ 1 ohm

* Fabrication skill level

Decent, but i could get help from my dad, he is high

* Preferred material to be used (i.e. MDF, fibreglass, etc)=

3/4" mdf

* Vehicle which the subwoofers will be used in

2005 chevy malibu, currently i have an 8 cubic foot box in it and i had to take my trunk apart to fit it, so 8 cubic feet is the biggest.

* Other products you have heard, but have not owned that you enjoyed & their install particulars.

2 12" jl with a memphis amp.. 4 12" cvx's, i didnt like the way they sounded, but i could feel the bass.

* Musical preferences

as stated above, rap and hip hop

* System goals

I want my nostrils to shake from all the bass

* Previous subwoofers you have used, and their installation particulars

2 10" jbl grand touring series with a 300 watt jbl amp, but i blew em . 2 15" kicker cvr's with a 2000 watt volfenhag amp. 6 15" kicker cvrs with 2 2000 watt dhd amps.

* List any research you have previously done

i have been researching different reviews on different name brand subwoofers.. mainly kicker (solarbaric), memphis, jbl, and re, and i think fi would best suit me (price and quality wise)

[jcarter1885 995]

The reason why your setup sounds like ass is because your choking the subs, buy what can fit in its recommend box (dont just throw as many subwoofers in your trunk that you can). You need to measure your trunk and find room for amps, batteries and how much max dimensions you have for a box. I think the most room you have is probably good enough for 2-12's or 1-15" subwoofer (maybe 2-15"s but I dont remember Malibu's having big trunks).

[///M5 2,833]

Can we assume that the 8cuft is Gross space? Or do you have a Net space calculation and if so what port area and what is the enclosure tuned to?

[dueces11 1]

The reason why your setup sounds like ass is because your choking the subs, buy what can fit in its recommend box (dont just throw as many subwoofers in your trunk that you can). You need to measure your trunk and find room for amps, batteries and how much max dimensions you have for a box. I think the most room you have is probably good enough for 2-12's or 1-15" subwoofer (maybe 2-15"s but I dont remember Malibu's having big trunks.

its an 05, so the trunk is slighty bigger than the older models.. but your right, i dont have room for a battery or anything. my amps are mounted to a piece of wood thats sitting on the 6 inches between my box and the place where my trunk ends.

And i want to downsize, but i want a better brand too. im tired of getting tired of the shitty noise my subwoofers make.

Which 12" sub would you reccomend, ill make a profit of 200 from selling my kickers. And i usually have around 70 dollars a week that i can blow on whatever..

I would like to get my subs, then buy a better amp ( i know both my crunch and volfenhag are crap).

and ps, i think you thought i had all 6 kickers in my trunk, i only have 2. i had all 6 in my explorer, but then me and my mom traded cars.

[dueces11 1]

Can we assume that the 8cuft is Gross space? Or do you have a Net space calculation and if so what port area and what is the enclosure tuned to?

its net space, its a 5 inch port tuned to 38hz..

as said earlier though, i want better sound quality. which is why i would like a sealed box, but i also want to be able to feel my bass.

[jcarter1885 995]

Can we assume that the 8cuft is Gross space? Or do you have a Net space calculation and if so what port area and what is the enclosure tuned to?

its net space, its a 5 inch port tuned to 38hz..

as said earlier though, i want better sound quality. which is why i would like a sealed box, but i also want to be able to feel my bass.

You could also try tunning your enclosure a little lower than 38Hz.

[mjmarovi 8]

to be most helpful here lets make a list of what you have available...

1) probably about 4-5 cuft airspace after port and displacement in a trunk....that leaves you with the option of 2 12's or a single 15 as I believe M5 STATED above.

2) POS 1400 watt amp, *cough* I mean ~700 real power lol. anyway that's fine no worries just use for now and upgrade in future.

ok that was a short list now here's what you need...

Join the club, you're on a budget, that's straight so lets see what we're working with. You said profit 200? well how much TOTAL will you have/are willing to spend on this? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 500 dollars. If so then you are looking at a single BTL or two BL's. so looks like coincidentally the same as another thread, you are looking at a single 15" BTL, or two 12" BL's.

You

you will want to be looking at 2000 up to 3000 watts total that either sub setup could handle, so thinking in future have space for two middle sized or one larger battery. Be thinking about an alternator upgrade as well when making the amplifier upgrade.

It seems you have no problem with ability to fabricate a box so I have confidence you can do that alright. fi recommends between 12-16 sq. in. of port area per cubic foot of box volume, for best results you probably want to try to get into the larger side of the recommendation, although that can be difficult someitmes since a larger port must be longer to achieve same tune. tuning, since you are looking to be more musical, probably in the 32-33 hz range.

[dueces11 1]

Thank you. And yes, 500 is a good price for me..

but im confused on this porth thing.

do i need 16 cubic inches for each cubic foot that the sub woofer box has?

ex- 3 cubic foot box, so i would need 48 inches of port?

i used winisd for my last boxes so its confusing without it..

[mjmarovi 8]

Thank you. And yes, 500 is a good price for me..

but im confused on this porth thing.

do i need 16 cubic inches for each cubic foot that the sub woofer box has?

ex- 3 cubic foot box, so i would need 48 inches of port?

i used winisd for my last boxes so its confusing without it..

yes, so port opening would be for example 10" x just under 5" or however you use choose to build the port. the reason you generally only see huge ports, is on more pure SPL systems where tuning is much higher, so they don't have to build the port very long. when you have to make a port longer, and make it turn in the box and what not things can get a little goofy. so sometimes it is easier just to go with 12-13 sq. in. of port and really that still works out quite nice.

[slim2fattycake 85]

what was this crappy sound you were hearing from your subs? Have you tried tuning your box lower with your current subs?

And with 2000-3000 watts, sound quality is out the window.

[mjmarovi 8]

with tuning at 38 hz, I'm assuming he would try to crank some real low tunes and it would cause unloading....but hey that's just a wild guess

[slim2fattycake 85]

agreed.

[dueces11 1]

Once again thank you all.

I am going to go with a fi btl 15" and a 2000 watt sundown amp.

As of now, I am going to save up and buy the sub. I can hook it up to my shit amp til i save enough for the sundown.

But i would like to do the "big 3" to my car because from what i am reading it seems that i will need to add a second battery..

now, do i have to use 0 gauge wire for this? or could i use my 4 gauge wire? (that is hooked up to my 2 amps)

I do plan on getting 0 gauge to run from my engine battery to my second battery.

And another question, do i need to upgrade my engine battery? its not stock, its an autozone silver one, it currently has 1 more year on warranty.

Once again, thanks for the advice/answers.

[dueces11 1]

I forgot to add, that my alternator will put out ~13 volts, with no electrics on.

Will i have to upgrade it as well?