Homemade Sub Enclosure
 

Hey guys and gals! I've had a sub and amp for my car for awhile but didn't want to spend the money on one of those "stealth boxes," so I built my own today and think it came out nice. I know, it's not completely air tight yet, but it will be.

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...28/subbox1.jpg

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...28/subbox2.jpg

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...28/subbox3.jpg

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/a...etedsubbox.jpg

Sweet!! make me one!!!!

Sure haha $100! Cheaper than buying the real thing...

That came out great!!! Looks like it came from the factory that way.

thanks man I'm happy with it. my friend keeps telling me I'm not going to get any bass out of it, which doesn't make any sense to me since in that corner is a little air tight box for the sub.

wait you do or dont have the back of that sub sealed? if it was me id measure it out and make a box behind the plate the right cubic feet for that sub. If you dont already.

it is sealed back there, just not by a wood box. if you look in the corner of your car back there it's perfect to fit a sub. it's like it's own little box. we'll see how it sounds once i wire it up and if it's not great then i'll make a box.

unless thats a "free air" sub woofer then its gunna flop too much and not make much quality bass.

nah i think it will be fine. and if not then big whoop i'll just quickly finish the box

ya its prob not gonna sound to good set up like that...problem is that plastic panel is not sealed air tight either..unless u like an airy sound of vibrating plastic lol my guess is thats what its gonna sound like

yeah i guess you're right. like i said it's nbd though making a box requires 5 more squares of wood and some screws haha

You have to make a "box" man. The plastic panel wont seal it and the metal is gonna vibrate to shit everytime the sub hits absorbing the soundwave and killing the bass. Bass is pressure and the sub cant make any pressure without a box. Also the cutout fits great but I would use that as a template and cut another one out of MDF. Even if you build an airtight box the sub is stil gonna leak because plywood isnt airtight. That Licker Comp in the picture is the sub your gonna use I take it so build the box between .6 and .75 cubic feet sealed. Make sure you use alot of screws or staples and caulk all the seams.

I'm with them on this one dude, unless you have a stable support system (ie. enclosed box) the sub will rattle and shake all the plastic it's surrounded by or to.

if that's a 10-12" sub it needs at least 2cuft (I may be off by a lil) of breathing room and your right that corner will have the space but it should be really secured to the hard surfaces in order to get the best out of it.

Youre off alot Joe. lol. If you put that Kicker in a 2cubic foot sealed bos it willbottom out with even 200watts put to it, the voice coil will tubb on the pole and once you get that friction say goodbye to that sub. haha. Even portes that Kicker Comp shouldnt be in anything bigger than 1.5 to 1.7 cubic feet. He's building sealed. At the absolute most .85 but that model on Kickers ine runs best in .75 cubic fooy sealed.

so I was correct in my being off (a little) lol.

Navy has more XP when it come to this stuff than I, so take the guidance and make it correctly or pay up $$ cuz learning mistakes with audio equipment can cost as much as the car if your careless... lol

I ain't paying shit. Big whoop, all I gotta do is take 5 more pieces of wood, cut them to size, and screw them to the face I made with the sub in it. Really no big deal. I probably shouldn't have advertised anything about a "sub box" in this thread, more of a cheap alternative to the "stealth box."

that's all good but the advise being sought and given should help you find the path towards enlightenment...

:lol2-1:

Eh, screw the stealth boxes. This pounds pretty good and doesn't interfere with the t tops :)
http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/u...8/d524f9f5.jpg

That looks cool! I already hand built my stealth box though and it doesn't interfere with the t-tops.

Do what you want man its your setup but coming from 10+ years of professional car audio installation experience if you dont change that front panel to MDF and buid the rest of the box out of MDF you're gonna loose sound AND blow that Kicker up.

Yeah man I'm not trying to discount your knowledge. I guess I'm just really frustrated that I spent all day hacking away at that thing (didn't us a jig saw, only for the hole) and people are deeming it useless. I don't know what MDF is. I'm sure as long as I finish off the box it will be fine. My dad has been doing car audio installations since he was a teenager and he built a lot of sub boxes out of plywood and they worked great. The sub doesn't know what I'm enclosing it in, it's an electronic device. As long as it's air tight I don't see the problem.

The thread is entertaining.

See this is the point Navy was making.... Plywood is very porous, so NOT airtight even if you caulk all the seams:sign0165:

MDF is simply a different type of wood that is extremely dense and will not let the air flow through the wood.:emot-sotw:

You can get MDF wherever you bought your plywood, and IIRC it's not all that much more expensive...

Nice work so far... Now get er done!!:havefun:

Yeah it'll be loud enough with plywood I'm sure lol. I'd need a gas mask to cut that shit though haha.

But thanks man, I'm going to complete the box tomorrow. Then Thursday, wiring begins!

Like I said man. Do what you want. Its your system. I was just giving advice on how to make it sound its best.

Part of the word "Enclosure" is CLOSE. you have to be in a SEALED box, or Ported box. I could make you a Fiberglass box, but i'd need your car for a few days...

Oh I know, I'm building a closed box tomorrow.

Yeah sorry for tweaking out Navy, I definitely appreciate your input since you obviously know what you're talking about.

ya watch urself newb!

hahahaha

hey!!! don't be calling me no n00b!!! :p

NEWB!!!!!! what now!?!?!? yeah thats right.

but u r till we say so! lol

I know its expensive but i bought my box from these guys like 4 years ago and it still looks good.

http://subthump.com/Chevrolet-GMC-Su...bird-1993-2002

Yup that's pretty much what I'm building. I love the way that looks. I don't have a lot of money to spend on this car right now and I wanna buy an exhaust so I don't wanna waste money on a box.

$112 isn't that bad, think I paid $200 for mine but do whatever you want man it's your ride.

Yeah I know. I guess I don't like things done for me. It's summer, I'm out of school and bored, and I enjoy building things. So I guess that's why I'm not just buying one.

So I wired up the system today. Everything works great but I ordered a real stealth box anyway lol. Everyone was right, it didn't produce enough bass. Once I get my box it will BUMP though :)

Yes it will.

^^ X2!! should have listened!!! in my world time is money, and you wasted quite a bit on makeing that. not trying to bust your balls just being honest.

Nah I hear ya. Sorry I was so stubborn. I actually took the sub out of my truck and put it in my car for the time being. It sounds really good too!