Hello, I just need help on which way would be better on placing my sub enclosure. I have a 2001 sunfire 4dr. I have my subs pointed to the rear of the trunk right now. And was wondering if it would be louder if I faced them into the cabin. My sub boxes right now are sub and port facing the same direction. Have two in total.
facing them towards the rear of the trunk works best.
it allows the sound wave to expand and improves sound imaging.
when you face them towrd the cabin the sound waves do not have that oppurtunity to "grow"
"I did it because I wanted to see what it would look like. You should be greatful that I even told you that it would look good. If your to dumb to use photoshop and change the color of your own car then you don't need to see it changed. I'm not going to give my work away. I'll sell the pic to you though for $15."-Adam Kalin
^^JBO is about not being that guy
best possible way is to face them forward and to seal the open areas up around the trunk and interior. next best way would be to face them towards the rear as close to the rear bumper as you can. next would be to face them towards the rear but up against the rear seat then next would be facing forwad and not sealing it off. it has nothing to do with the sound waves expanding or imagine its about minimizing cancellation.
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actually the wavelengths that subwoofers recreate are soo long that you wont have cancellation unless your box isnt properly sealed
but when you give the wave a longer ditance its width increases exponentially to fill its given space
"I did it because I wanted to see what it would look like. You should be greatful that I even told you that it would look good. If your to dumb to use photoshop and change the color of your own car then you don't need to see it changed. I'm not going to give my work away. I'll sell the pic to you though for $15."-Adam Kalin
^^JBO is about not being that guy
Chris Rogerson wrote:actually the wavelengths that subwoofers recreate are soo long that you wont have cancellation unless your box isnt properly sealed
but when you give the wave a longer ditance its width increases exponentially to fill its given space
then i would suggest putting it in a large fuel cell at the back of a 20 foot trailer and man that thing will put out some killah waves
actually for just everyday listening aim the subs towards the rear of the car and mount the amps behind the box between the box and rear seat....for spl aim them into the car, some say to have them as close to the rear seat as possible and seal off the trunk area, but I have found that in some cases if you push the box as far back towards the rear as it can go, with the subs still facing forwards, it gives you higher spl scores, but thats for 2 doors im not sure about a 4 door, it all depends on what your use is, everyday listening or spl
Point them toward the rear. with about 1-2 feet between the sub and the trunk latch.
sndsgood wrote:best possible way is to face them forward and to seal the open areas up around the trunk and interior. next best way would be to face them towards the rear as close to the rear bumper as you can. next would be to face them towards the rear but up against the rear seat then next would be facing forwad and not sealing it off. it has nothing to do with the sound waves expanding or imagine its about minimizing cancellation.
I absolutely agree. I never had mine sealed off, but I can vouch for the last 3 in my z24. And I also agree that cancellation is the biggest issue in trunk installs.
But you really do have to experiment. Chris on CCA (street B competitor, been to WF more than once) actually lost on the TL by facing his 12s forward in his late-90s 2dr cav, sealing everything off from the trunk. His loudest setup was subs/port facing forward, unsealed, about 3-4 inches back from the rear seat. My Z24 absolutely sucked balls doing things that way, but some cars (even those of the same year and model) are different.
GAM (The Kilted One) wrote: if you think you're that much better than them because you're "correct" I hope your progeny don't turn out as screwed up as yourself.
There's long been a debate over which direction to fire your subs when placed in the trunk of a car, and for good reason. As you see from the various replies you've gotten, some individuals have had good results with them facing forwards and some have had good results with them facing backwards. A lot of your decision has to be based on the drivers you're using...are they sealed or ported, and are they in an optimized enclosure to begin with?
If you're using drivers that aren't in the right enclosure, definitely point them towards the back of the car. Why? First, you'll end up canceling out the odd harmonics that will be easily audible as distortion in your music. Second, you'll get some extra physical reinforcement from the impact to the body of the car. BUT, in order to keep from destroying the speakers, you've got to keep from driving them to the point of clipping and overheating them. This is something that's not as easily heard when pointing them towards the back of the car, but can be more easily heard when pointing them forwards.
If you can take the time or spend the money to build a new enclosure, then my preference has always been pointing them forwards and building a cabinet that matches the manufacturer's specs, but that's a personal choice. I prefer something more along the sound quality lines, myself, not the high impact that many people do...your tastes may vary, I don't know. In my last car, I had a set of JL 10W1's, ported through the rear deck and tuned for the car, that hit like a brick. I constantly got compliments and comments that it sounded more like something larger...yet very well controlled. Yes, they were grossly overpowered (370W when rated for 80W, I don't recommend it), but I never lost a driver.
What are you using for speakers and an enclosure? Are they matched, or just an off-the-shelf bolt-together set? And is your amplifier capable of controlling the speakers well?
Bro we gotta work on your replies. You seem like you got a good grasp but my A.D.D kicked in way before I finished that lol
The short summary is that there's no right answer for every car or every speaker. It depends on what you're running. I'd like to know what he's got for drivers and amplifier (and what he likes to listen to, really). If the speakers are mediocre drivers, and the amp is as well, then he's probably best pointing them towards the rear and leaving the amp gains at somewhere around the middle to avoid clipping. The big problem with rear-firing speakers is that you can't hear the clipping as easily, and it's easier to blow the speakers. The big gains with rear firing speakers is that you can increase your gain from the physical reinforcement and you can hide some of the mechanical inefficiencies of the drivers.
If the drivers are good quality drivers, and the amp is also, and he's looking for sound quality, then he's probably best pointing them towards the front of the car, gaining the amp accordingly, and using what he's got. There'll be less volume, sure, but a lot more musicality (which is what I personally prefer). With a good quality amp, and good quality speakers in the right cabinet, you don't have to worry as much about overpowering, unless you're habitually running the system at full volume and overheating the speakers in order to get the output you desire.
No BS here, dude. Call it what you will, but it all depends on the equipment, really, and what the listener prefers to hear.
Summary of his summary:
Point them backwards if the speakers suck and you don't want to hear mechanical noise other flaws from production, or if you're gonna make them really loud.
Point them forwards if you get really nice speakers and you want the sound waves to go directly to the driver, without bouncing off a bunch of junk.
the length of the soundwaves really anrt going to come into play, look at most spl vehicles. they dont mount the subs at the back of a van to get the long pathlengths, they cut the van in half meaning now they have a much smaller area to pressurise. which will result in a higher spl. think of a 12" sub in your house, or a 12" sub in your bathroom. your going to have a higher spl in the bathroom because their is a smaller area to pressurise. this is why if you fire the sub forward you need to seal up the interior from the trunk. this now puts your subs into a smaller area to pressurise, and it also basically puts the subs on the back wall which will give you the minimum cancelation.
what your forgetting about wavelenghts is that the waves dont stop in the car. they will come out of the speaker, move to a solid surface bounce off that surface and continue. this is where the cancellation comes in.
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ok then I will try them pointed towards the rear about 8-12" from it. See if it works out. Thanks for the suggestions so far.
can i get a summary
