Sub/amp questions

I've got a '93 Del Sol Si, and I want an ass-pounding, bitch-smacking, nut-cracking sound system :naughty: . I know what Head Unit and speakers I want, but the problem lies with the subs/amp/mounting. Anyone who's familiar with the Sol knows that there's a fucking fire wall between the cab and trunk :banghead: , so putting my subs in my trunk doesn't make much sense. My trunk will sound awesome, but nothing else will. So, here's what I'm thinking.... There's little storage compartments behind the seats. Tear those out and have custom fiberglass boxes put in their place. Problem is that leaves about 1 sq foot or so for the subs to operate. The only sub I know of that has a small enough magnet is a 10" Kicker Solarberic (sp?). I want 12s though, and they need to HIT. Are there any subs that will fit my needs? What kinda of amp should I run them with? Should I just get 10s? What amps have built-in cross-overs? :1zhelp: The rest of the system is going to be an Alpine deck and Infinity Kappa Speakers, if you don't have better ideas.

a lot of 12" subs only require 1ft of cubic space. Go with Alpine Type-R's. If you get the 4 ohm subs go with two Alpine MRD-M300 amps, if you get the 2 ohm subs go with a MRD-M500.

BTW, most people have their subs in the trunk and there is a wall there called seats that separate it from the cab and they can still hear the bass quite well, me included. ;)

you should be fine putting your subs in the trunk. i know someone that has 2 12s in the trunk of thier del sol and it sounds good. go with 12 inch kicker solo baric l7s. those with a 1200.1 kicker amp will pound. :2cents:

you're going to have a hard time finding a 12" that wants 1 cubic feet that will sound good. most likely its going to be boomy and not as loud as u want it to be. the low-end will suffer and you'll need more power to get the sub moving. and this is sealed. ported would be much louder, but u don't have the space to do so. a 12" solobaric will sound peaky in 1 cubic feet sealed box. those subs require a bigger enclosure to get the best out of them.

how many subs do u want? how many space TOTAL are u willing to take up? how much are you going to spend on the sub/amp?

From experienc, my cousin used 2 12" Memphis HPO's and stuck them in 10" boxes....just cut the opening bigger. The 10's he had in the boxes before were old MTX Road Thunder 2's, so not much space at all. He parked about 10 ft away from me and I could still feel his stereo over my 2 10" Audiobahn Alum in my truck. Memphis has high quality and great sound. Just a note, their highs are awesome as well, clear sound and loud as hell.

I'm with you on the Memphis suggestion. I have 2 Memphis M-Class 10"s, and they are some of the cleanest subs at this SPL level I've heard.

Well, when I say I have a firewall, I mean I have a FIREWALL. Were not talkin' seats here. You see, the rear window in a Sol rolls down, and is protected by pretty thick metal. The 12's I have right now hit pretty good, but I lose too much with them in the trunk. I don't want to cut the wall out, because I doubt I'll be able to roll my rear window down anymore. I definately want the subs in the cockpit, cab, whatever you want to call it. I want 2 subs though, one behind each seat. I could give up about 1.5 or 2 cubic feet for the subs and enclosures. Maybe 2.5 after I get racing seats. Price isn't a big deal, I don't have any problem saving for a while to get what I want. On the other hand I don't want to spend more than 2 bills on one sub...of course, I will if I have too. Do you think some JL W6's will work? Or should I stick to Kicker or Alpine?

the JL W6 would work..

if u are going to spend $400 for both subs, i would get an Image Dynamics IDMAX. the sound quality surpasses the W6 and it moves a lot of air. the most cone area in its class combined with 24.9mm of xmax (w6 has about 13mm). it would take about 2 12" W6 to equal the displacement of 1 12" idmax.

the idmax will take 2.0 cubic feet (if u can squeeze 2.3 cubes..port the box..u won't be dissappointed). the output is very good. a single one of these in a ported box with enough power would be damn loud.

one word: brahmas.....mmmmmmm :smokin:

You could always stuff the box with polyfill too, that'll help a little bit

I used to own a '93 Blue Del Sol Si. I understnad where you are coming from. The best thing I found was to remove the cover (in the trunk) that covers the rear "firewall" You can use a board as an amp rack. It will free up your cabin space. It's actually easy to run power cab;es and the like to the trunk through that firewall. There are spaces on the outside lower corners behind the firewall cover. I tries all kind of woofer set ups in my old Sol. The best sounding I ran across was to use a JL audio stealthbox. Now, I know it only uses 8" speakers but, don't let them fool you/ The woofers are specially designed to pound in the Del Sol with the box that they come in. They play low and they get loud. The stealth box is a bit pricey but, worth it. Check out JL's website for more info. The box is really easy to install. You won't give up any interior space or seat travel. You will give up your rear storage compartments. You'll also gain your trunk back. Hope this helps you out. This is my first post on the Forums. Troy

you think the JL audio stealthbox is worth the money? i have two 12' audiobahn in a bandpass box in my last car. the box wont fit in my del sol. i just cant see going from two 12's to two 8's and it being loud.

it probably won't be as loud, you should make a custom box out of fiberglass or mdf and then see what you think. you could even do what this guy wants to try and make a fiberglass box that takes the place of your little storage boxes or whatever behind your seat.

i plan on removing the boxes behind the seat. im wanting a custom sub enclosure for two 12 in. audiobahn speakers. im going to attpemt to carpet the entire thing also.

man just get one 12 inch. 2000 watt sub with box eclosuer. fill your trunk with insalation and a PPI amp, that shit will hit hard as hell. or you could get 2 10 inch 2000 watt subs. up to you on how much money you spend. just make sure you trunk doesnt rattle!!!

http://customcaraudiosytem.com

Check out the boxes he has made for Solsm ;)

I've come up with a total of 4.3 cu ft behind the seats in a del sol. I am currently working on an enclosure to fit 3-12" Audiobahn subs.