car audio project

[morgan-tec]

The W7 and amp are large components and that ub is a monster. I would build a correct mdf and fiberglass box for the cargo area if i were you. Make sure you give that sub the proper air space and it will scream.

[kpaske]

I managed to squeeze my large Orion HCCA 250 Amp and two twelves in the rear door. IIRC, each sub required a minimum of 1 cubic foot sealed air, and I squeezed just a little over that. I used some stuffing material inside to help increase the perceived volume, and my subs sound really nice. However, if I had to do it over again, I might consider mounting the amp elsewhere to get some more volume for each of the subs, or even using just one sub. I believe those subs can be mounted is as much as 3 cubic feet of air for competition grade systems.

I don't know what the volume requirement is for your JL 12, but you should easily be able to get about 2 cubic feet, which is enough to make most subs sound incredible.

[GOVEHIX]

according to the owner's manual, the recommended volume for the sealed enclosure is 1.375 cu ft; and for the ported enclosure is 1.75 cu ft.
i am still thinkin how to build the box, kpaske, can you tell me how you build yours? it's kinda hard to build a sealed box and mount it to the round door. (i couldnt get through your web site i don't know why.)

[kpaske]

Yeah, sometimes my router locks up, blocking access to my web page. It's back up if you want to try again.

Anyhow, since I was building a box with two seperate, sealed chambers, I used a solid piece of MDF running straight down the middle, from top to bottom as my starting point. I cut one edge so it lined up nicely inside the door, effectively splitting it in half. Then I built an MDF "frame" that went around the circumference of the outer edges of the door, and a flat board that the amp would later mount on. Once this rough frame was built, I stapled felt around the edges, creating a surface to lay my fiberglass on. It's probably hard to imagine what I'm talking about without seeing it... unfortunately I didn't take any pictures, but if you really are interested in duplicating the design, I'll try to explain it a little bit better and in more detail.

I also considered not using fiberglass at all -- the door would probably accept an "octogon" shaped sealed MDF box with a slanted front, and with this design you should probably not have much trouble squeezing 1.375 cu ft out of it.

[GOVEHIX]

Yeah, sometimes my router locks up, blocking access to my web page. It's back up if you want to try again.

Anyhow, since I was building a box with two seperate, sealed chambers, I used a solid piece of MDF running straight down the middle, from top to bottom as my starting point. I cut one edge so it lined up nicely inside the door, effectively splitting it in half. Then I built an MDF "frame" that went around the circumference of the outer edges of the door, and a flat board that the amp would later mount on. Once this rough frame was built, I stapled felt around the edges, creating a surface to lay my fiberglass on. It's probably hard to imagine what I'm talking about without seeing it... unfortunately I didn't take any pictures, but if you really are interested in duplicating the design, I'll try to explain it a little bit better and in more detail.

I also considered not using fiberglass at all -- the door would probably accept an "octogon" shaped sealed MDF box with a slanted front, and with this design you should probably not have much trouble squeezing 1.375 cu ft out of it.

kpaske, just come up with a question, did you put extra battery and capacitor to support your sub system?

[kpaske]

Nope, I'm using an Optima Blue Top battery and 0 guage wiring. I ran 0 gauge from the negative battery terminal to the block, then to the chassis ground, as well as 0 guage from the positive battery terminal to a distribution block behind the driver's seat. My alternator is stock. It seems to have plenty of juice for my two big amps, though I still plan to run a 0 guage from my alternator to my positive battery terminal sometime in the future. My lights dim a little bit sometimes when the system is REALLY thumping, but I've never had a problem starting or having my battery run out.

From what I understand, lowering the resistance by using really large wires helps quite a bit (often solving a lot of power issues). The key three points are the wires from the negative to block to ground and from positive to alternator.

[Child's Play]

Here's a link to my cardomain site that has picture of my JL 12" sub. I had it custom installed, and absolutly love it. This thing hits and I love the way it looks in the back door! Take a look and let me know if you have any questions.

Adam

Here's the link:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2074072