I got this box in a package from crutchfield and when i put my alpine type e 12" subs in it the box started rattling. I got the same box and now I want to drill some holes in it to allow the blast to escape, hopefully preventing the same problem. I don't know where to put the holes or how big they should be so if anyone knows please help!

 

If you drill random holes, you might as well just screw the subs on a piece of wood and put that in your trunk. The point of the box is to separate the front sound wave from the back wave. If you drill holes, the out of phase waves will mix and you will get very little or no bass. If the box is rattling, then it is garbage. You can either reinforce it (results not guaranteed) or get another box that is made of thicker wood (mdf). If you want to make a ported box out of that sealed one (which would still rattle), we would need to know the interior volume of it, and which subs you are using. Then you would need to insert a port (tube) of a certain length into the hole you would drill. I suggest you get (or make) another box that is stronger.

 

From recent experience, drilling random holes is not a good idea. It will sound like ***.

My suggestion is to line the outside of the subs with dynomat and use a better screw fastner.

 

Also could be due to the air volume inside the box. I believe the Type E is rated 250rms and needs .5 cu ft for each sub. I know Type R needs a bit over 1 cu ft.

 

Is the box recommended for the subs you are using? Did you screw the subs in correctly? Is the box sealed (internally) correctly?

Drilling holes in a subwoofer box will make it sound even worse. Personally, I'd step up to a Type-S or Type-R sub.

 

Alpine only recommends a sealed box for the SWE-1242, [not that a vented one can't be made], recommended sealed volume is 0.8 - 1.7 cuft gross, x2 is 1.6 - 3.4 cuft - sub volume, [front mount] of 2x0.086 cuft = 0.172 cuft.

So the box for two 12" Alpine type E subs should be between 1.43 - 3.23 cuft net volume, and the subs should be driven by an amp that will make 500W RMS into 2 ohms or one that will make 500W RMS into 8 ohms, 600W RMS would be better.

If the box is within the given volume, and you have enough watts to power the subs properly, it should work, unless it is a POS box.

A sealed box sub enclosure must be airtight, that means you may have to seal it yourself, and if you have the volume, install internal bracing.

Seal the MDF by spraying a wood sealer on the inside of the box, [all surfaces], I "paint" them with fiberglass resin.

Seal the seams by running a bead of silicone along all 12 seams and filling backs, [inside box] of speaker terminal cup(s) up with silicone.

Seal the sub by cutting away the carpet from under the speakers mounting lip, and use a gasket, [do not silicone the speaker in place]

Make sure speaker is in center of hole if hole is too big, predrill the mounting screw holes, use a backing block when drilling, [it will prevent "chip outs"] make sure drill hole is in center of speakers mounting holes and square, and use proper pan head screws.

I will center speaker in hole, mark one mounting hole, remove speaker, use a backing block and pre drill all the way through the baffle, reinstall speaker, screwing in one screw, [do not over-tighten], recenter speaker and mark hole on opposite side, again remove speaker and predrill that hole, remount the speaker again install the two screws, [speaker can no longer move]I then use the drill to mark the rest of the mounting holes, making sure I center the drill bit in the mounting holes, keep the drill bit square, and only drill part way through, [75% or less], remove speaker one more time, use backing block and drill all holes all the way through, clean up saw dust, [drill dust], clean mounting surface, install gasket and make connections, reinstall speaker, "dip" 1/8" tip of each mounting screw in silicone and screw into mounting holes, tightening mounting screws in a crisscross manner 1/4 turn at a time until "snug", do not over-tighten, [MDF will strip easily] after about an hour or so I will "re-torque" the mounting screws, again a 1/4" turn at a time in a crisscross manner being very careful not to over-tighten.

The above may seem ****, but then I do not have customers coming back with problems, even if it is just an over the counter pre-build sub box with inexpensive subs. 94