By the way, if you all are still interested, I got the camera from my neighbor so I can take real pics (yay ). So maybe after this weekend, or even during, ill have em up.

~T.J.

 

I miss my old T-bird, that thing had incredible sound! I had a down and dirty pair of Pioneer 6x9s and an external amp mounted in the deck. The sound fired straight up at the rear window, which reflected it straight to the driver's ears. It was quite nice inside, and outside you could barely hear it, and you could hear it a little better with the windows rolled down. But open the trunk and NOW you can hear it outside, and then it started to distort a lot too.

Interesting what you say about the amps. Those Pioneers were "rated" at 30w RMS apiece, and a slightly higher rating on the amp (35w per channel?). I measured 10A going to the amplifier - times 14.4v, minus some for losses - I was pretty much running them maxed out. No distortion, no clipping. Wonderful. Then, after I stopped driving that car, I attached that amp to a pair of 15" subs (my Subaru). They didn't have much low end, didn't have much midrange, didn't have much definition - a perfect complement to the crappy stock speakers. (Plus there is the "Holy crap you have 15's???" factor ) However they would clip a little, and the speakers lasted maybe 6 months - keep in mind that I got them from a friend who had a MUCH BIGGER amp on it and he ran them MUCH harder than I ever did. Hmm. Even he couldn't figure out why they died so early...

Anyway, I'm thinking of putting some 6x9's in like Max7's installation - I have great faith in the sound ability of a good coax 6x9. But for now, the stock stuff is excellent.

 

Why build a box for 6X9's? If you are gonna put them in the Rex, just cut out the 6 1/2 holes in the back. My 85 has Cerwin Vega 3 way 6X9's... But those 4 way Pioneer 6X9's are SLEDGEHAMMERS! They freaking rock... By the way I can get the TSA6995 4 way 300w 6X9's for $100 / pr plus shipping. There like 180 retail...

 

I missed that.. LOL I see all these amps at work people bring in that say 1000 WATTS on them real big with a 10A fuse... C'mon people lets break it down here, a true 1000 watt amp is gonna have an 80 or 2 50 maxi fuses.

Yeah a 1000 watt, maybe 1000 watt WLS (when lightening strikes)

 

A stealth enclosure back near the taillights seems like it might be the best place for first gens. It would definitely be swass to leave the stock cover on. Maybe a couple of 8's back there? I have no idea what would fit....6x9s?

In any case I think I need to do the 2nd gen alternator upgrade first. My voltage has always been kinda funky.

Mike P-28, please keep us posted and continue to share your ideas with us.

Right on.

 

Well I have been installing car stereo for 15 years, (12 of them professionally) I was installing radios when you were having your diaper changed... I wasnt saying it was a NO NO, i just explaining why things work the way they work... Looks like its a hell of a lot harder going through the trouble of building a box with complex angles and going through this 3d rendering crap. When you just build a rectangualr box and be done with it Thats just my opinion tho, and its your car do what you want

Plus are you doing the subs acoustic coupled or divided? I figure vent leghts and port sizes for box on a freaking scientific calculator.. Screw computer programs for box building they dont give real word specs...

 

If my cosmo motor comes with an Alt and I can use it, Ill sell ya mine that I had from my 85. It came off an 88 orginally, I beleive its a 75A one? SAme plug as the one you have now, and a direct fit...

I will get a box done up ASAP, and take pics probally gonna do a pair of 8 in subs in them. Im thinking of $75 + shipping, will also sell you the 8's cheap... Probally a few dollars over my cost to make up on the shipping when they are orginally ship from manufacter to me.. Name it I can usually get it...

 

Interested in the alternator. Very intersted in the sub box as well. So get to work!

Right on.

 

lol...I feel so left out. I started this thread and everyone is talking about someone elses sub box...I guess mine just isint good enough...oh well . I know why too, your all just jealous...lol.

 

Dude, I'm interesting in any sub box that will sound good and keep the car looking stock. It so happens that I've heard all too often that the storage boxes are a poor location for good sound. And I get dang picky about good sound. If you build that thing and it sounds good, please let us know. You obviously put some time into the design already, so go for it. Forget about what we say! Sweet.

Right on.

 

This Forum is real bad about forgetting the thread's author and what they were trying to say or do, so don't take it personal. One of my threads deviated from alt wiring to a discussion of Ford engines, so it's not you.

The 3D program rendering was pretty damn cool, if no one else will say it. I've got 4 different programs to work out sub box characteristics but I didn't pay for any of them, so they're not the cutting edge stuff like that program. Just like in auto mechanics, the more tools you have, the better off you'll be. The bin spot will work, you've just got to make sure the box is completely sealed before it goes into the bins. Any plan to utilize the bins or its cavity as part of the box is futile unless you Fiberglas the hell out of the pockets to seal them from the wheel arches and floorboard area. If you're planning on 300 watts RMS in a small enclosure like the bins, then that means laying matt until you've hit 3/8" minimum thickness of the stuff. START TAKING PICTURES, DAWG!!! It took a mere half day to figure out the Kodak DC290 (no directions, just camera and software in a baggie...) a buddy gave me and it's incredibly satisfying to post a picture done only 10 minutes ago! Get it, get it, get it!

 

Actually to get specific, even tho this is about 1st gen specific. There is an audio forum for these conversations.

 

I started my box project in my 1980. Here is a pic. The hard part is done already. I am putting the amp in a wooden box underneath the spare tire which I am changing to a 81-85 spare, not the full size spare my car came with. Well, take a look at the pics and let me know what you think.

email: DoceA@rotary.gq.nu

-Eric
1980 GS

 

as far as mounting subs in the middle of the car goes... i had a pair of JBL gt10's in a ported box sitting on top of the bins, firing rearwards. they were L-O-U-D! everyone would ask where i was hiding the 18. and when i opened the hatch, i lost most of the bass. i know absolutely jack about acoustics, but i knew what i heard. 'head like a hole' by NIN would hit so hard, it'd make my face itch! those boxes in the taillight area look veeeeerrrrry interesting! right now i've got a bazooka tube... sounds great, easy to hookup(internally amped), and i got it cheap ($200). my only gripe is the totally nonstealthy look to it. however, i did throw a stealth fuzzy blanket over it! looks shitty, but nobody's messed with it.

 

I don't want to **** anyone on here off but, a first gen isn't the best car to put a clarity based system in to begin with. The insulation (or lack of) really doesn't reduce much outside noise. Because of this, being ultra precise in sub placement isn't that critical. Obviously it makes some difference but it isn't that important because if you have too much bass the car starts vibrating and makes a bunch of annoying buzzing sounds from all the panels and stuff. If you're ever unhappy with your system just remember what the stock shitty speakers sounded like and you'll feel alot better.

 

You were "loading" the airspace defined by the hatch area which had no where to go but forward as a "unified" air mass (it's the simplest way to explain it...sorry, mike P-28!). You got lucky on the distance from the back of the car to the sub's cone, but we all deserve one break, after all!

..because it's an ugly blanket or something else??? Jes teasin'! That's some funny stuff, amigo!

 

yeah and if it is a cheapoer name brand thats even worse on your electrical system because they put less caps in the amp itself.so you will need more external caps,trust me this is my specialty,im mecp master degree certified with my own car audio shop.

btw if you need some of those caps i got the 1 farad with the digital tops at a real nice price.can probably swing them for $195.00 for 2 lmk

 

They are divided, two separate chambers. Also, no ports here, they are sealed subs. They have a recommended box volume of 0.7 ft3, and each one of my two boxes calculates out to 0.72 ft3 on my TI-86 . Pretty good even if I do say so myself...Just thought id let ya know I already thought of that. Oh, and for $700 that program better give me real word values. Its drawn to scale with a margin of error calculated in. Other than the dimensions of the box, what else would I need to know to get the volume? I could do that on a scratch piece of paper, not that hard right? And with no ports to calculate, it simplifies the whole process. On another note, I plan on undercoating the entire box before the top goes on just to seal all the cracks and what not. So other than the acoustic positioning in the car, are there any other problems that maybe I havent thought of?

~T.J.

PS - I'll give you the dimensions and you can calculate it out if you want

 

didnt know you were in the biz mike-p,will have to show you the competition system im currently working on for my girlfriends daewoo,ya i know dont laugh i know its a daewoo.im goign to be running a 1900 watt amp into 2 volf's,"have pics of the volf's if anyone is interested"im custom building the box for a perfect fit to her odd shped hatchback,i'll be using 3/4 mdf for the whole box.with 2" thick bite drywall screws,shouldnt be able to blow that apart.the last box we bought for her competition system in her probe was blown apart at the seam,we lost due to the incident.not gonna happen again.anyway just bought her the clarion dxz725,couldnt afford top of the line so went for next best thing.

 

Ok, well for all you who are interested, I will be using:

(1) Sony CDX-CA650X CD Reciever
(2) 6.5" Kenwood KFC-1677 two-ways for the rears
(1) 4" Kenwood KFC-P403 Component System (includes 3/4" tweeters and high-pass crossovers) for the fronts
(1) Kenwood KAC-829 Amp (for the subs)
(2) Sony XS-L1046 10" subs

There was a change in plans, I was going to run a higher power sub amp, but wth no job, and no money I couldnt afford it. So my friend has that Kenwood laying around and im gonna get it for $50. Also, dont knock the setup. The rears were $10 (found in a car at the junk yard) and the CD Player was given to me. It came in a truck we bought about a year ago, and we took it out before we traded it in. Of course we got an F-150, which wont take an after-market stereo of this size and the -SE already has an alpine deck, the best thing to do was put it in the GSL . So the only things im buying are the subs and the component system. Im running the deck power to the speakers (no money for an amp) which as I remember is like 35 watts or something...All im going for is better than stock, not stereo competition good...I think it should be ok ...Right?

~T.J.

 

Look at the reply right before Mike P-28 sez this thread belongs in the audio forum, technically....you are going down the exact path of grief Mike is talking about. You must find some way to seal off EVERY possible way that air can escape that area under your frame. It's not a box until 6 sides are present sealed together.


...and so forth. There are precious few vehicles of any kind that are good candidates for SQL systems. If you Dynamat and use SoundKiller for those areas you can't easily mat or reach, you'll remedy most of your resonant problems regarding buzzing panels. You'll also find your exhaust isn't quite as load anymore as a result, too. Any vehicle can be made to sound almost perfect (front soundstage with discreet positions for vocalists and instruments, spaciousness of an open hallway so you can hear flutists breathing in CD recordings and so on...) with a lot of experimentation regarding speaker placement and adequate power to drive those speakers...

Is the box completely built outside to be placed into a completely gutted bin storage area? If not, then undercoating is not gonna cut it because you don't have a true box. Any surface not 3/4" MDF that the subs airspace has contact with is going to become passive radiators of your "box" especially since it won't be ported! Where are the darn pics, ya bum? Surely by now, you've got that digital camera figured out?! Inquiring minds are dying to see!!

 

Yelp, in the biz and getting tired of it, but tell me someone who isnt tired of their job...

What I meant about real world spec wasn't dealing with calculating box volume. Anyone can do that , I meant dealing with F3, Fb, standing waves etc...Vent lenght, size, multiple vents etc.

 

Thats similar to what im doing, but my box is a complete box, I noticed in yours theres no back (dont know if you plan on keeping it like that)...also mine will have the amp in the middle, but same concept, let me know how yours comes out! Looks good so far!

~T.J.

 

Once again you talk about vents and ports...Do I need these for sealed subs? I dont think so ... Anyway, I would interested to lean how to calculate it all though (for the upgraded system later), are there any books you could recommend?

~T.J.

 

I was refering to 'boxes' in general.. I deviated from the subject post, sorryt about that. Looks good so far, take care...

I got a book that has all the forumals in it... (its from a MTX tech manual, and also from a Rockford Fosgate one)I just calculate from them. But I havent ever seen an off the shelf book, guess I really didnt look tho