Building a Box

[smokinstroker]

Haha, I have not. Just make a few compliments you'll be good lol.

Measurements should be in my thread bubba, if you need anymore feel free to ask.

length - 60 1/2"
width (bottom) - 7 1/4"
width (top) - 3 1/2"
height - 16 3/4"

 

[BlueWaffle]

thanks man....looks like your box nets about 2.01 cu ft.

and just so you get an idea of what I'm working with....just getting a built trans took an entire kitchen renovation that cost more than my damn truck is worth haha. i shudder to think at what else hybrids would "cost" me LOL

 

[jdc753]

you obviously haven't met Mrs. BlueWaffle! hey when you get a chance, will you measure out your box for me?


ran some quick numbers. in order to get this thing to fit and still get me at least 2.0 cu ft, it's going to have to be hyyoooooge. so far it's looking 52" long, 16" tall, and 5" wide at top and 7" at the bottom. I'll still play with dimensions to see what I can get.

Those dimensions are pretty close but need to bump them up a touch, especially since you will be tight on the top and bottom depth anyways. So width should be 60" which will gain you a good bit of volume, then top can be 17.5" I think, I don't think the top can be 5", I think it is more like 3" and then the bottom I think you can max at 8" but its been about 3 years since I measured up behind the rear seat. I know my amp rack maxes out pretty much all dimensions and if it were a sub box the subs would have to be recessed so as to not hit the seat.

You can get a little more depth with some creative workings around the rear cab vents too. What I did was trim them off with a dremel, then they were only a 3/4" bump form the back wall.


What sub are you looking at running?

there is really not much room at all behind the rear seat in the 04+ crew cabs, you are pretty much limited to a MAX 2.25ft^3 and a MAX of 5.5" of mounting depth for an 8" sub. Might be able to squeeze a little more using fiberglass rear wall or other creative touches.


If you are still looking at some ported boxes then check out these calculators.

For L-Shape ported boxes, http://reaudio.com/box.php

For Aero ports, http://www.psp-inc.com/tools.html

Aero ports require half the port area and take up less internal volume too.

If I remember right you want 12-16in^2 of port area per cubic foot to avoid port noise.

 

[smokinstroker]

Haha holy cow. Makes me glad I'm 23 and not married.

Don't know much about this lance, I was told the "port" and tube that runs inside has an impact as well. That the different length of the port and hole size of the port changes things as well. Just something to check out if your porting.

Grilles for your sub(s) will be your friend here as they will hit the back of the seat and stop the sub from rubbing a hole when it hits.

 

[BlueWaffle]

Those dimensions are pretty close but need to bump them up a touch, especially since you will be tight on the top and bottom depth anyways. So width should be 60" which will gain you a good bit of volume, then top can be 17.5" I think, I don't think the top can be 5", I think it is more like 3" and then the bottom I think you can max at 8" but its been about 3 years since I measured up behind the rear seat. I know my amp rack maxes out pretty much all dimensions and if it were a sub box the subs would have to be recessed so as to not hit the seat.

You can get a little more depth with some creative workings around the rear cab vents too. What I did was trim them off with a dremel, then they were only a 3/4" bump form the back wall.


What sub are you looking at running?

there is really not much room at all behind the rear seat in the 04+ crew cabs, you are pretty much limited to a MAX 2.25ft^3 and a MAX of 5.5" of mounting depth for an 8" sub. Might be able to squeeze a little more using fiberglass rear wall or other creative touches.


If you are still looking at some ported boxes then check out these calculators.

For L-Shape ported boxes, http://reaudio.com/box.php

For Aero ports, http://www.psp-inc.com/tools.html

Aero ports require half the port area and take up less internal volume too.

If I remember right you want 12-16in^2 of port area per cubic foot to avoid port noise.

thanks for the info! very helpful. you seem savvy with this stuff so what are your thoughts on porting a box this size or leaving it sealed. I already have a Kicker CVT 12" that I'll be putting in this box. mounting depth is 4.85"

 

[jdc753]

thanks for the info! very helpful. you seem savvy with this stuff so what are your thoughts on porting a box this size or leaving it sealed. I already have a Kicker CVT 12" that I'll be putting in this box. mounting depth is 4.85"

In that space behind the seat I would leave it sealed, its just gonna get REALLY complicated to port it right in such a tight spot. Plus honestly for me, I have learned enough to know that properly designing a ported box is above my realm. At least I have never had the chance to experiment with them yet, so I generally stick with sealed, they are much more forgiving and easier to not screw up. Honestly the only place I have seen people successfully make ported boxes in these trucks are from www.spl2k.com other than that its 1-offs from shops like what Garret has with his 8's


CVT's generally like a large box, it is kinda contradictary for a shallow mount sub to want as much air space as a conventional sub but sadly its how they work. The single CVT 12 should work good in something around 1-1.5ft^3. For example the Pioneer shallow 12 will work in as small as 0.3ft^3 but more realistically 0.5ft^3


For porting the CVT 12" kicker calls for 1.75-2.25ft^3 and a little more digging into their manual probably says what they like to be tuned at, but tuning is a WHOLE nother book.

So say you build a box to 1.75ft^3 internal volume (which is the minimum) you will then need to tack on volume or allocate room behind the seat for the porting system. I would then recommend an aero port since it takes up less volume and needs less port area compared to an equivalently tuned rectangle port.



For porting in a daily setup generally you will want to tune low, around 32hz, but the final tuning (effectiveness on your ear) will vary based on where the port is fired, how the subwoofer reacts to the tuning, and the cabin space of the vehicle the box is placed in.

I like to think of a good ported box like the difference between an Innovative Diesel built 6leaker vs a bully dog tuned 6leaker, generic applications won't be as effective as something with solid R&D time behind it.

 

[BlueWaffle]

so the dimensions you drew up would give me 2.3 cu ft of space. if I leave it sealed that should fall between the min and max range so should sound pretty good ya?

 

[jdc753]

It would be a little big for sealed, but would be about right for ported (except you would loose some volume for the porting)

A subwoofer box is essentially a shock absorber for the woofer, so a small box will be a tight spring on the woofer, this will affect the sound making it a little tighter, but will hinder low end response, where a big box will be a loose spring that will allow for the subwoofer to easily play as low as it can go, but it will have relatively sloppier cone control for the higher paced fast hits or higher frequencies.

I generally like to keep the boxes smaller, usually for packaging inside the vehicle, but don't usually like to clamp it down all the way to the minimum.


For sealed with that sub I think I would keep it in the 1-1.5ft^3 range, that would most likely leave you some room on a side to mount your amplifier keeping it all in a nice neat package behind the seat, also you could narrow the box a little to pull the subwoofer back from the seat to allow the subwoofer to breath a little and not physically impact the back of the seat.


If you were to go ported then you want the biggest box you can fit back there, so max it out to 2.3ft^3 overall, but then you will subtract a tiny amount for the subwoofer displacement, and then run a single 4" flared aero port out the side of the box. You want to keep the port on the opposite side of the subwoofer, so sub on passenger side and port on drivers, or vice versa.

**Disclaimer** I have never personally built a ported box, so all my knowledge just comes from gleaning from forums. If you were going to build it on your own I would recommend spending a few minutes modeling the sub and box in WinISD (free downloaded program) to see what that size box and tuning will do to the subwoofer.

 

[Agjake11]

looks like minimum required air space for this sub in a ported box is 1.75 cu ft and the max is 2.25 cu ft. if i built a sealed box, I need min of1.0 cu ft or max of 4.6 cu ft. It's currently in a ****ty sealed single box now. probably.5-.75 cu ft and sounds like crap unless the windows are down.

How ****ty? i might be interested in the old one since i need a new box for my 12" that only needs .5cuft max sealed. easier to start with something that fits probably

 

[BlueWaffle]

well it looks like if I built a box about 2 cu ft, I could either leave it sealed OR port it and it falls into the range for both box types for this sub.

so here's a stupid question.....do i take a 4" dia pvc pipe, 11.45" long and just slide it into a hole on the opposite end of the box and seal it in there? or am I missing something haha?

 

[jdc753]

Sounds like you are on the right track, and if you build it oversized you can always remove volume by dropping in some 2x4 scraps.

Not a stupid question at all, PVC ports are very common and a cheap alternative to the Aero ports.

If you need any other box supplies like carpet or terminal cups then check out www.partsexpress.com

 

[Zmann]

look at these for some ideas http://www.spl2k.com/superduty112.html
the 12volt.com has some good info also http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/boxes.asp

most of these boxes loose 1 vent and put dyno mat over it and also looks like they cut a pocket into the back of the box for the speaker magnet

the SPLK2 also sells a full length box that requires u to move the slider motor if equipped

 

[BlueWaffle]

Sounds like you are on the right track, and if you build it oversized you can always remove volume by dropping in some 2x4 scraps.

Not a stupid question at all, PVC ports are very common and a cheap alternative to the Aero ports.

If you need any other box supplies like carpet or terminal cups then check out www.partsexpress.com

ok so is my assumption right? just cut a 4" hole and slide the pvc tube in?

 

[jdc753]

Yup you got the idea!

 

[WHY NOT]

I plan on building a box for my truck too here shortly, there is some good info in this thread. My factory sub/amp is popping and buzzing when I turn the truck on and off so I figure its a good time to upgrade to a single 12" Now I just have to figure out what I all need for wiring and an amp. I plan on going with a Fosgate Shallow P3. I had a 10" in my 150 and liked it so I will probably stick with that. If anyone has any suggestions on this stuff let me know w/ out hijacking your thread to much I am and idiot when it comes to audio stuff.

 

[dustinz85]

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/223001_1966840459075_1782169_n.jpg

here is a sealed box that i made for mine with two Rockford Fosgate 10s.. i ended up moving the rear seat forward an inch so they would not rub the back of the seat. Didnt effect getting in and out for the rear of the truck at all.

 

[BlueWaffle]

Ok, got the box built this weekend. used 3/4" MDF and siliconed the joints. 60" long, 3.5" wide at the top and 7.5" at the bottom, 16.5" tall. right at 2 cu ft which should work well for this sub. it's about 2.5 times bigger than the **** box it was in so I'm expecting a big jump in sound. I'm going to leave it sealed at this point but if i need to port it, i already have it sized out. i'm gong to let the silicone outgas overnight so the fumes don't effect the driver but should have it in (as long as it fits) tomorrow. A box like this would have been $200+ to buy or have a shop build but I'm in it about $40.

Box will be either carpeted, painted, or thinking about that bedliner in a can stuff too.

 

[WHY NOT]

Looks good man, I have be starting planning on making one for my truck, Since the factory sub has been screwing up it has been driving me nuts to have no bass. Is there a reason for the 2 piece front on the box? Or just what you had to work with from the sheet of MDF?

 

[BlueWaffle]

Or just what you had to work with from the sheet of MDF?

yep. it's braced in the back and sealed so shouldn't be a problem. would have had to buy a whole new 4' x 8' sheet just for that front piece so i nikkarigged it.

 

[WHY NOT]

I don't blame you that stuff's not cheap