Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio Building a sub box....

I am planning on building a sub box for my winter vheicle (92 dodge dakota) crew cab i think is what it has, only a front bench seat that folds foreward. I am planning on putting a pair of 12" kicker comp vr's in behind the seat. I have a rough estimate of the measurements of the max of anything that can fit in the rear.

- 51-52" from one side of the vheicle to the other

- 8-10" from the back wall of the cab to the rear seat (on the floor)
- approx 15" high (from the floor up) 15 is the max height the box can go.
- 4 1/2-5" if the box is the 15" max there is up to 5" from the cab to the seat in that high point.

Here is the specs of the sub
- http://www.kicker.com/ShowPage.cfm?filename=compvrsub.html&menu=SUBWOOFERS

Some things i would like to know.
- Should i go with a ported or sealed box given the limited space i have?

- what is the difference in sound quality between sealed and ported?

- What material should i use to build the box? (3/4 inch ply?) And what do i use to put it together? (ex.. wood glue ect...)

- Can someone give me some measurements of a ideal box given the specs on the sub, that would fit in behind the seat? (ported and sealed)

- Anything else I should consider, or need to know about?

thanks for any help in advance....

use 1/2 to 3/4 pressboard, its like 8-12 for a 4x8 sheet of it. I used it for mine. I am going ported when I redo my sub enclosures.

I cant tell you anything about dimensions but i'll tell you a flawless way to build it. Dont use that other junk, use 3/4 MDF. Also yes use wood glue and makes sure you pre drill and countersink the holes. On the inside use any kind of sealer. I found this junk that you spray out of a can and it foams up. Good luck

ok, My friend and I were goin over this stuff last night... and here are some dimensions we came up with.

- 40.5" long
- 8" wide on bottom
- 15" high
- 4" width on top of box

can anyone get the volume of that box given the dimensions i gave. And the volume should be a little less because of the thickness of the wood... so lets say i use 3/4" for the wood thickness.

well if you are going to run dual 12's the over box size doesn't matter

you could make the box to fit the area then all you need to do is make the volume the speaker sits in the right size

your not going to want to have both speakers in one volume either

by your numbers you get 2500.5 cubic inches

how did you get the volume of the box in cubic inches... because we got something like 3,645 cubic in.... and 2.11 cubic ft.

Personally, I would make the box for a single 12, as big as possible and run an Adire Audio Shiva. Great SQ, good output, and doesn't need a huge box to work. Plus, it makes good excursion at lower power levels compared to most subs. They are found @ www.adireaudio.com in the Car Audio section. They are $125 shipped, and should fit your needs nicely. Also, make sure your amp makes RMS power at 4 ohm, as the Shiva is a dual 8 ohm driver. I would get something like a Profile Clarus mono class D. You can get rougly 400 watt x1 Clarus from Crutchfield for like 100-200 bucks. And for your question between sealed and ported, sealed sounds tighter and more musical. Ported provides a boost at a certain frequency, such as 60 hertz, and a sharper drop along the playing frequencies. Ported is for the boomy bass that you hear most ricers playing. I prefer an ABC box, but you don't have the room for one of those. It takes the best of the sealed box and the best of the ported box, and puts them together. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me, and I will get back to you. Laters.

the thing is... is that i already have everything. I just need to build a box to put the stuff in. I dont feel the need to buy another sub or two when i have 3 pairs of 12's and 2 amps in my room waiting to be adopted into a vheicle. I have 2 jl audio 12w3v2's, 2 12" rockford fosgate punch xlc's, and my recent purchase of 2 12" kicker comp vr's.... so bying anything new is outa the picture. all i was wondering was the questions about building a box and if the volume i figured out was right, and would it fit the sub.

And another thing... after i wood glue the box together should i use some nails to keep it in place also?.... and what material should i use to seal the inside of the box to make it airtight.... like the name of some good material along with what it is...