sub box question

would it be worth the time and effort to make my own box or is the quality going to be a lot worse than a bought one?

depends on your woodworking skills. you could make a much better box than you could buy if you are firmiliar with woodworking. you also need to know the specs of the box that you want to make, there are cetain things that you have to do to make your box good.

im not amazing but ive made my share of birhouses so i think i can manage. so how would i got about finding the specs i need and whatnot.

what subs do you have? Look in the owner's manual for them to see what internal volume the company recommends for them first, then you can go about designing the box.

or make several different dimension-ed boxes, and see which sounds better...takes more time, but...yeah

what sub do you have?

check the sig but i got 2 10 inch alpine type-e's

95% of the time a custom box will sound better if built correctly.
100% of the time it'll look better (unless you get qforms or something, and those are $$$).

major issues with building your own box-
(depending on how far you go) higher cost
will need tools (saw, glues, etc...)
somewhere to get MDF/carpet/corner protectors/other parts
some time on your hands, and the correct formulas


keep in mind that the KISS rule applies here- Keep It Simple, Stupid. you already have your subs, so you need to decide a few things. do you want a ported or sealed box (IF your subs can do sealed- most of the larger ones can't). also, where do you want the box to go? my subs have to fit between the rear wheel wells and the back of my hatch, so i've got space limitations. if you have more than one sub, do you want to combine them into one box, have one box with separate airspaces, multiple boxes, etc. also consider that you have to wire the internals of the box, so decide if you want to run series, parallel, or individual channels for each speaker.

when you've decided where you want the box to go, measure the spot three times. not once, not twice, but THREE times. nothing sucks more then spending a weekend building a bitchin' box, only to find that it doesn't fit where you want it! also remember that you have to fit it into the trunk/hatch opening, and around corners- keep this in mind when sizing your box.

once you have an idea of all that, find out what cubic displacement each box needs. keep in mind that it doesn't have to be a rectangular area per sé, but that is the simplist design. if you are going to seal one or both of them, sealed boxes require less airspace. if you are going to use a fibrefill or stuffing in the box, that also reduces the amount of space necessary, but has other drawbacks.

oh- The12volt.com (http://www.the12volt.com) has a lot of great info about this kind of thing, and all things car-electronic. They have some great volume, voltage, and amperage calculators there, so it's worth a look-see.

keep in mind that this is just an overview. i'm not your mommy, i can't walk you through it- unless you wanna pay me to come out and help you build it :biggrin: . but, hey, everyone's a newb sometimes, and i'm just givin back where i got help :smile:

and if you REALLY want the chicks to love ya, build a half-tetrahedonal sub case, with a small sub on each facet... that would RAWK in the back of a HB :p

damn too bad i aint got a hatch. id love to get some chicks. im taking the subs out for a while so ill have plenty of time. ive got this shittily made custom box i bought from a friend. thanks for all the help man

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2464831269&category=38647

i found this box would this be cheaper to get or is that a shitty box

if the cubic volume you need for your speakers matches what that box reproduces, it MIGHT work okay.

however, it looks like a piece of shit. the photograph on the auction is NOT the same as the case you are getting, unless the box wood is paper thin- and THEN i sure as hell wouldn't buy it.

assuming the box in the pic is the same type of box you would get, it's glued together, not screwed- and that pretty much means not good. boxes like that have a nice little tendancy to rattle apart.

if all you're looking for is loud noise, and don't care how much of your car it takes up, then it'll work. for SQ, and cool looks, build your own. it's worth the effort.

aight thanks guys ima start working on that soon ill post pics when im done