Sup H-T,

Saturday I built my spare tire subwoofer enclosure following Team-Integras instructions. It came out cool, but I was disappointed how it sounds. I have a 15" Kicker Comp VR sub, and when I had it in my sealed ~1.9 cu foot enclosure it sounded pretty good, and pretty booming. Moving to a larger (~3.0 cu foot) enclosure I thought I would have deeper, boomier bass... boy was I wrong.

The box is leaking air in several spots, but not huge amounts of air. I tried sealing it with wood glue and silicon, but no go still leaked.

The sound the sub makes now is really flappy, loose, sloppy bass. It's more buzzy than before and it really sounds like ****. As of right now, I'm just keeping the bass all the way down because I can't stand how it sounds.

It definately sounded better in my 1.9 cu foot enclosure, but I hate how it took up so much space. What do you think I should do with this box? Here are a few options im considering:

Saw the top off and reseal it (or a fresh piece of MDF) on better
Put packing peanuts in the enclosure (My dad suggested it to me... not sure how it'd work)
Say **** it and put my old box back in and cry.

I'll post pictures when I get home from school today, unfortunately you need to hear it to understand

Thanks anyways, peace out.

 

Did you fiberglass your box? If you just put it together with screws and nails, there is no way you can expect it not to leak air. My first box was sealed with window sealant and it worked great.

I would highly recommend fiberglass. Its not that hard, and you can make a cooler enclosure than just a boring old box. Just remember you have to take your time or it will come out shitty

 

need to see pics before i can make a suggestion.

 

I agree, we gotta see pics.

A larger sealed box will reduce SPL and give you flatter, lower response - not boomy, peaky response.

Did you build the box according to the spec sheet, or did you just guess?

 

doesn't matter. anybox that isn't speced will sound liek **** compared to the speced box,

and oyu double the space, so it shoudl sound 2x as bad

 

According to Kickers website here are the specs:

Min. Volume= 1.8cf
Max Volume=5.2cf

http://www.kicker.com/ShowPage...OFERS

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Daniel_san &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">doesn't matter. anybox that isn't speced will sound liek **** compared to the speced box,

and oyu double the space, so it shoudl sound 2x as bad</TD></TR></TABLE>

Check TnT's post... I went by that, I figured around 3 cf would sound nice...<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Punkrocka436 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you fiberglass your box? If you just put it together with screws and nails, there is no way you can expect it not to leak air. My first box was sealed with window sealant and it worked great.

I would highly recommend fiberglass. Its not that hard, and you can make a cooler enclosure than just a boring old box. Just remember you have to take your time or it will come out shitty</TD></TR></TABLE>

The box is fiberglassed man.


I think I'm going to remake it... I have half a thing of fiberglass left and half a sheet of MDF... Why the **** not... I really want this to work.

Also, I'm going to change my release agent - I used some thick plastic and it didn't mold really well. I'm considering using aluminum foil. The T-I article says to use duct tape... but I'm all set with trying to peel the duct tape off the car without breaking something on the frame/box.

What would you guys suggest for a release agent.

 

how thick did you make the fiberglass (how many layers)?

 

you should try porting the box. it would be louder and deeper sounding. did u fiberglass the bottom and mdf the top? give me your email so i can send you some pixs of mine.

 

I've built boxes,

and get the recommended specked size that they recommend.
why wouldn't you want you sub you sound at it's full potential ?

 

im thinking that having the box now at about 3 cubic feet is going to be more conducive to a vented enclosure than sealed. if in doubt, build it again!!!


Parker, who learned through trial and error that good fiberglass work takes practice.

 

If you liked it at 1.9 cf try bringing it back to that size. There are two easy ways to do that. You can buy styrofoam blocks from a shipping supply store or hobby shop and cut them into measurable sizes like .1 ci and glue them in the box until they take up 1.1 cf, or you can put 1.1 cf of sand into a bag and put that in the enclosure. Both of these are pretty easy. You should also rebuild the box if it is leaking alot.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Daniel_san &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've built boxes,

and get the recommended specked size that they recommend.
why wouldn't you want you sub you sound at it's full potential ?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nice read job man... The box's specs are from 1.8cf to 5.2 cf. I wanted ~3 because it's right in the middle of that. The specs are not the issue here.

 

K here's the pics from the day I built it, I can take some more now that it's out of the car... I'll do that in a bit.

Here's the box with the release agent in place (I used 6m plastic)




Here's me mixing the resin and putting the hardener in





Here's me applying the first layer of resin





This is after 2 layers of resin/mat dried and i took it out of the car









Finally me mounting the sub onto the top layer of mdf








There ya go.

NOT SHOWN: Me cutting the top piece of MDF, me sealing the sides of the MDF to the frame (I thought this would fix it but I guess not).

What I think the problem is is that the fiberglass mat tended to bubble up a little, causing the layers to have air pockets in them, which results in less strength in the box... That among other things.

I've decided to redo it this weekend.

 

don't mask the area off with a plastic sheet like that.

You can use tinfoil with some masking tape (use the blue stuff) to hold the pieces down. Make sure the foil is laid very flat against the car. That way you will get a more accurate mold.

I would also double check the volume you need

Third - fiberglass straight to the wood frame!! Don't leave that masking over it.

Also, your mold looks very thin from what I can see.

I'd make three purchase recommendations.

1. A fiberglass roller - that will help you get the air bubbles out.

2. Knytex - my absolute fav material for fiberglass boxes - it builds up quick, but is very strong.

3. Get some Cab-o-sil filler. When the mold is done, mix resin with the filler until the consistency of a milk shake - then add the MKEP for the resin. Slop that around on the inside of the box. It will be very thick and will seal the box very well.

Also, make sure you are using laminating resin - not finishing resin.

Good luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rcurley55 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">don't mask the area off with a plastic sheet like that.

You can use tinfoil with some masking tape (use the blue stuff) to hold the pieces down. Make sure the foil is laid very flat against the car. That way you will get a more accurate mold.

I would also double check the volume you need

Third - fiberglass straight to the wood frame!! Don't leave that masking over it.

Also, your mold looks very thin from what I can see.

I'd make three purchase recommendations.

1. A fiberglass roller - that will help you get the air bubbles out.

2. Knytex - my absolute fav material for fiberglass boxes - it builds up quick, but is very strong.

3. Get some Cab-o-sil filler. When the mold is done, mix resin with the filler until the consistency of a milk shake - then add the MKEP for the resin. Slop that around on the inside of the box. It will be very thick and will seal the box very well.

Also, make sure you are using laminating resin - not finishing resin.

Good luck</TD></TR></TABLE>

Word. I was planning on using foil/tape to begin with but my dad suggested that plastic.

The volume is fine.

It looks thin because it's not layered up properly... There's approx 4 layers of mat on there.

That fiberglass roller sounds like a good idea.

What exactly is Knytex?

And yes, I used laminating resin.

 

you are actually going to want to use fiberglass mat, not the stuff you used in the pics. also you are going to have to make the box stronger by adding layers to the fiberglass. air bubbles also need to be worked out during the layering while it is still wet.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pawwalski &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What exactly is Knytex?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Kyntex is a combination of fiberglass cloth and mat, its thick and very strong.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRzex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Kyntex is a combination of fiberglass cloth and mat, its thick and very strong. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup...it's a layer of regular mat that is woven to a layer that has long fibers that is aligned in two directions. It gives you lots of the properties of matt and cloth in one weave. The stuff is GREAT and makes short work of any project.

For info on fillers, rollers, and knytex, go to http://www.tapplastics.com That's where I get all of my supplies, but you can use shopmaninc or go to your local boat repair store.

 

for some extra strength you might wanna put some ribs on the inside of the box.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRzex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">for some extra strength you might wanna put some ribs on the inside of the box.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's a great point. IF I have large spans of flat space, before I mask it off, I'll grab a quick dowell and tape it to the car, then do my masking over it. That way you are adding artificial curves to the glass without adding mass or additional layers.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by peichie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you are actually going to want to use fiberglass mat, not the stuff you used in the pics. also you are going to have to make the box stronger by adding layers to the fiberglass. air bubbles also need to be worked out during the layering while it is still wet.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I used fiberglass mat. What do you think I put on top of the resin? The picture just shows me mixing the resin... Sorry I didn't have one of me waving the mat around lol.

Anyway, I'll try that stuff if I can get my hands on it... I think I can do a better job next time around. I'll keep you guys posted.

 

your box is pretty big... i know for a fact if u put a port on it it will sound 10 times better.

 

I just noticed something....did you just take a big sheet of fiberglass and lay it in teh box, then add resin?

If so, you are going about this the wrong way.

Cut the glass into managable sized pieces. Then get a piece of cardboard. Lay the glass on the card board, and "wet" it out with a paint brush. Trim the paint brush so the bristles are about 1/2". When you wet it out, use a dabbing or stippling motion. That way you won't disturb the fibers too much.

Then add the wet piece of matt/knytex/cloth to the part. Then position it and use the brush to work the bubbles out.

 

Yeah, once again, the large sheets were my dads idea... I thought you were supposed to cut the fiberglass mat into strips.

How would I go about Porting it? I heard porting makes it louder but less SQ, which appeals to me because I really don't give that big a **** about SQ.