Hokay. I finally have every piece of my system sitting on my floor. My double din kenwood touchscreen is already installed, but my 15" MKIV Brahma and rd 1000.1 as well as my boston acoustics comp set and alpine amp are sitting around.
One, installing a comp set is traveling into unkown worlds for me. Seems very overwleming.
Two and more importantly which is thus the subject of this thread is basically...I'm going to build my first box for my sub.
The sub is going in a 2006 Ford F-150 STX with an access cab... just enough room to put a sub in it. $350 for a custom install?? No thanks. I'm not handicapped and I can do this myself....BUT.....
Considering there is a possibility some of yall will read this and maybe have some insight....I ask for some assisstance.
I don't know exactly how many cubic feet to make it for this sub because specs vary with power handling (what specs for brahma said on old adire site) so it doesn't say what the most efficient air space is needed for a 1000 watts going to it.
Not only that, but any boxbuilders if you read this I would love any tips ya'll have. I think I know pretty much what to do, but I don't think I'm all the way prepaired to start cutting just yet.
Been posting threads about this system I've scrapped together for a while now lol and I can't WAIT to just hear it. Any help please ya'll.
One last important fact... it's going to have to be a sealed box. Definately not enough room to go ported. Not to mention I lack the experience to do so anyhow.
That would be awesome. Once I measure the exactlty how much space I have to work with (I guess ya'll aren't familiar with the stx like mine) I'll let ya'll know. I'm going to lows to see their prices on some 1" mdf and see if I can't get a tool box ordered.
I wrote this article the other day. a lot of it im sure you already know, but just in case ill post it all.
Sealed Subwoofer Enclosure Construction
One of the most important components to a good sounding car audio system is the subwoofer enclosure. Without a well built enclosure, no subwoofer will perform to its potential. In this article I will go over the materials used in building your own subwoofer enclosure, and proper construction techniques,
First we will begin by talking about what materials we need to build a subwoofer enclosure. I buy all my materials at Home Depot.
Materials:
1. ¾ Inch MDF (1 sheet is usually more than enough for an enclosure) 2. 1 5/8 Inch drywall screws 3. Either a polyurethane construction adhesive or a polyurethane based wood glue. 4. Latex and Acrylic Silicone
Tools:
1. Table Saw (Recommended) 2. Jigsaw 3. Drill with countersink pilot 4. Wood Clamps 5. Safety goggles and mask. 6. Chisel (optional)
Reminder -You should always wear safety goggles and a mask when making cuts in MDF.
Constructing your Enclosure:
When constructing your enclosure there are a few rules you need to abide by. All your pieces should be precut before you begin construction. Remember to measure 3 times, and cut once for precise cuts. And of course a table saw is recommended for strait cuts. You will first want to attach the back piece to the side pieces of the enclosure. Once they are secured you will want to attach the top and bottom pieces. Depending on how you plan on installing your enclosure, now would be a good time to pick a place to drill a hole for the speaker wire. When attaching pieces, you will want to first glue them together, then clamp them with a wood clamp. While they are clamped use your drill to drill a pilot hole, and then screw the pieces together using the drywall screws. You should place drywall screws no more than 6 inches apart. And be careful when screwing, because MDF does have a tendency to split if you aren't careful. Once the top, bottom, back, and side pieces are secure you will want to clean out the enclosure and begin making an air tight seal around all the joints using the Latex and Acrylic Silicone. You can then cutout out the hole for your subwoofer in the front piece using your jigsaw. If you're good you can do it by hand, but you may want to purchase a circle jig if you aren't the best box builder in the world. Most subwoofer companies will give you the exact cutout dimensions of their subwoofers, so make sure to go by that, and don't just cutout a circle with a 12" diameter for a 12" subwoofer. Once the cutout is done, you can attach the front piece to the enclosure. Try to seal off the rest of the enclosure and clean it out as much as possible. I recommend leaving it to cure overnight before installing your subwoofer. Also, in the morning you can use a chisel to get rid of any dried excess glue that may be on the outside of the enclosure.
That should give you a good start on how to build a sealed subwoofer enclosure.
Ty for the info. Although helpful I still need to know how many cu ft I should make my sealed box with the subwoofer Im using. Im close to just going with 2ft^3 accounting displacement.
With that amp and sub I would suggest building your box on the small size. 1.5-2 cubes maximum. I thought power handling was only rated around 600rms for those subs. is the sub d2 or d4?
d4. i didnt realize it was 600rms i was under the impression it was a 1000 watt woofer. my rd1000.1 can put 600 at 2 ohms but with the dual 4 ohm vc it will go to a 1 ohm. Shouldnt be a problem though?
So 1.75 cubes would be a safe bet for my first box? I think I might go with that. As of right now my step dad has the tools out and we're calculating the dimensions its going to have to be.
if you have 1 d4 sub your total load will be 2 ohms. so if you have the rd amp, and the sub is a d4, your amp will give it 600rms which is a perfect match.
ty i really appreciate it. looks like its ganna work grand. ill let ya know in a few hours.
btw, its not d4
its d2. how big of a complication is that? kevin said that amp would work perfect for my sub although I did tell him it was a 1000 watt sub and i needed a 1 ohm load....idk if he read through my ignorance or not though.
Okay...so yeah a d2 will wire down to 1 ohm. so your amp will put out more than 1000rms at 1 ohm since rd's amps are usually underrated.
still go with the 1.75 cubes. 1.75 is still not that big for a 15" sub, so you should be good with that. too big of an enclosure with higher than rated power is always a no no.
As far as complications go you will be fine as long as you set everything up correctly. You MUST keep your gain down on your amp else you will blow your subwoofer. so before you go cranking up the volume after you get it all installed, make sure your gain is turned down so your amp is putting out no more than 600rms.
