Alright so I am looking for some oppinions on how I should set up my subwoofer in my trunk. I have an 1 12" alpine type s. I don't want a heavy set of subwoofers in my trunk, so this should be enough to keep me happy.

Reccomended box specs for this sub are: 0.85-1.5 cubic feet sealed or 1.25-2.0 cubic feet ported, sub displacement: 0.084 cu. ft.. I was thinking I could easily fit that in the spare tire well, or behind ne of the taillights, but am not sure how well those setups compare, to rearfacing subwoofers (which, from my understanding, works best in our cars).
If I were to put it in the spare tire well, I assume it would be better to angle it, but how much should it be angled? Should I go ported or sealed (assume that I know how to properly build a ported enclosure)? If the box design gets complicated, I will just design it, and have it professionaly built.

Also, the sub is rated for 300 rms, 900 watt peak. Its DVC, and 4ohm impedance per coil. Any reccomendations on good amp? I probably won't be upgrading to a more powerfull subwoofer, so I just need something to match this subwoofer.

I will be a while before I plan on installing the subwoofer (engine swap progress), but I am looking for ideas in the meantime.

rear firing subs in our cars isn't nessicarily the best, its more like the best results if you just plan on throwing a box in without much work.


back in a corner firing towards the front will work as well as in the spare tire well. back in the corner will proalby work a little better then the tire well. if your going with a single sub and want the most output go with the ported box. but if weight is more of a concern stick with sealed for a smaller box.


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I would rather get the most out of this sub rather then worry about a few pounds. I'm not too worried about a slightly bigger box. I bought this sub because I got a good deal on it ($50 brand new, store was closing), and the colors match my interior lol. Weight is just the reason I dont want to just go with 2-3 subs in a big 'ol box in the middle of my trunk.

Glad you think the corner would sound better, I thought about it and I like that design more anyway. I think it will be more out of the way, and if I choose to add another woofer, I can put it in the other corner. I will probably design the box to point to sub at the drivers seat, mounted in the passenger side of the trunk. Should the port also be facing towards the drivier's seat?

Definitely point the sub at the drivers seat - the port doesn't necessarily matter, remember its the sub producing the sound, not the port.

as far as an amp goes i really cant make a suggestion without knowing for sure what your future plans are (if you plan on upgrading/adding another sub)

I would look towards Directed D class or a Hifonics, I've had extremely great luck with both of these.

Forgot to mention, I have one of these kicking around. I got it really cheap a while ago so I forgot I had it. I got it for $20 because the guy said it didn't work and he didn't know why. I figured I would take the chance that it might be a cheap repair and I would end up with a pretty good amp that cost very little. Never got around to getting it fixed however, but I did check if it was just a wiring issue in the guys car, but even hooked up directly to the battery, the amp still slips into protection mode. If I could figure out what was wrong with the amp, I could pick up a second subwoofer and use the amp I already have to power both.

So basically my plan is to either:

Get this amp fixed and buy a second subwoofer (would end up costing me very little since I already have all the wiring, and the amp and 1 sub only cost me $70)
or
Forget the amp for now, and just buy an amp to power the 1 sub I have.

I don't want to buy a new amp, and another subwoofer, atleast not now anyways. If I buy an amp, I will only be using the one subwoofe I have. I don't want to spend alot of money on this because I have other things higher on my priority list. It is also sucks that my old system got stolen right infront of my house, so I don't want risk spending alot of money again just to lose it...again (yes I have an alarm, and its much better than the pos I used to have in my old car). If anybody is curious, I used to have 2 12" Kaption Cl series subwoofers, with an audison SRX something for the subs, some kind of alpine amp I picked up a flea market for the interior speakers, and a 1farad cap. Don't remember how I had everything wired, the subs were already in the box(also made by kaption, designed specificaly for those subs) when I bought them, so I don't know how they were wired. All I know is that they sounded great, and now they are gone

In a trunk car, unless all sealed up, rear firing subs work the best. If space is an issue, go sealed box.




Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.

Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:In a trunk car, unless all sealed up, rear firing subs work the best. If space is an issue, go sealed box.

Wouldn't an enclosure behind the taillight, or in the well not be the same as sealing it off from the rest of the car, since there is no way air could travel around it? I know a box pointing towards the rear works well in a trunk, but it just looks boring.

The recomended specs for a ported box, are barely larger than a sealed box for this sub, so I am not worried about the space. I want the sub either in the spare tire well, or preferably corner of the trunk, mostly for visual reasons. But I want the subwoofer to perform as well as it possibly can, while in one of those two spots.

Jack Jenkins wrote:Definitely point the sub at the drivers seat - the port doesn't necessarily matter, remember its the sub producing the sound, not the port.

Not necessarily. The port still creates sound waves. Thats why if you place your port wrong you'll end up with cancellation since the waves from the subs and the waves from the port are forming destructive waves.

Id say unless you plan on fiberglassing a box into the corner, youre still going to get waves going around it. Not as much but you still will.

If I put the sub in the corner, I will be using fiberglass. If it goes in the spare tire well, I may just make a box that will fit since I don't need much space (could probably build an octagon that would fit wel). I figure since I want to lean to fiberglass anyway this would be a good time to atempt it. If I screw it up and it looks like ass, I can always carpet over it until I feel like redoing it.

Still looking for more oppinions on which would probably sound better, behind the tail light, or in the tire well. Ported or sealed enclosure? If ported, which way should the port face? Any amp recomendations are also appreciated, sub specs are in original post, assume I will not be upgrading (but I still want to get the most possible out of this sub).

im saying sealed back by the tail light area. best for you. saves space as well... and im not sure but i dont think alpine suggests going with a ported box on these subs. i oculd be wrong tho.




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Daniel Simoes wrote:

Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:In a trunk car, unless all sealed up, rear firing subs work the best. If space is an issue, go sealed box.

Wouldn't an enclosure behind the taillight, or in the well not be the same as sealing it off from the rest of the car, since there is no way air could travel around it? I know a box pointing towards the rear works well in a trunk, but it just looks boring.

The recomended specs for a ported box, are barely larger than a sealed box for this sub, so I am not worried about the space. I want the sub either in the spare tire well, or preferably corner of the trunk, mostly for visual reasons. But I want the subwoofer to perform as well as it possibly can, while in one of those two spots.

If its pointed straight up, or they are, or in the corners, the output isn't going to be nearly as well as pointing back. It'll be a lot better than just building a box and pointing it forward though. The problem with straight up is the waves only travelling a short distance before hitting the rear deck and coming right back. I had that problem with my old box, and when the windows were down, cancellation was mostly gone. Windows up, sounded like crap. If you go sealed in the corners, angled forward, that'll probably be a lot better because it'll give the waves some time to expand and do their thing without cancelling.




Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.

Anton Miller (PPC) wrote:im saying sealed back by the tail light area. best for you. saves space as well... and im not sure but i dont think alpine suggests going with a ported box on these subs. i oculd be wrong tho.

owners manual,apparently the numbers I got off another website are slightly different than the owner's manual, none the less, they have ported box specs.

Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:

Daniel Simoes wrote:

Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:In a trunk car, unless all sealed up, rear firing subs work the best. If space is an issue, go sealed box.

Wouldn't an enclosure behind the taillight, or in the well not be the same as sealing it off from the rest of the car, since there is no way air could travel around it? I know a box pointing towards the rear works well in a trunk, but it just looks boring.

The recomended specs for a ported box, are barely larger than a sealed box for this sub, so I am not worried about the space. I want the sub either in the spare tire well, or preferably corner of the trunk, mostly for visual reasons. But I want the subwoofer to perform as well as it possibly can, while in one of those two spots.

If its pointed straight up, or they are, or in the corners, the output isn't going to be nearly as well as pointing back. It'll be a lot better than just building a box and pointing it forward though. The problem with straight up is the waves only travelling a short distance before hitting the rear deck and coming right back. I had that problem with my old box, and when the windows were down, cancellation was mostly gone. Windows up, sounded like crap. If you go sealed in the corners, angled forward, that'll probably be a lot better because it'll give the waves some time to expand and do their thing without cancelling.

So if I don't want the subs in a rear facing box, I should go sealed in the corner. Should I not use a port because I'll run into cancelation issues, or is there some other reason you feel a sealed enclosure would work better? If sealed will work better that is great because it will be easier to design the enclosure. Just wondering why you say sealed, and sndsgood says ported.

Your subs are a whopping 300 watt rms each. You shouldn't notice a gigantic difference going from sealed to ported, and also, since you're making a unique corner box, a sealed box is much more forgiving in size. That is all.




Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.

Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:Your subs are a whopping 300 watt rms each. You shouldn't notice a gigantic difference going from sealed to ported, and also, since you're making a unique corner box, a sealed box is much more forgiving in size. That is all.

Alright, that makes sense. No point in me figuring out how to properly port the box if it will barely make a difference. Thanks for the help.