Custom sub box build.

saitrix

saitrix

saitrix

Soldato
Joined
2 Jun 2003
Posts
8,950
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Nottingham
Well I have decided I will make myself a custom sub box so my new sub keeps my boot as usable as possible. I know Tesla asked me to get pics for it so I decided to make a thread.

So far the total cost is £31 for all the stuff I need to build it. Though I think I went a little over the top on the contact adhesive, I bought 1L of the stuff. :p

Used 18mm MDF for this to make sure that it does not deform at all when my sub is going, makes it a bit heavy but it certainly feels strong enough!

Here are a few pics of what I have done so far.

sub1.jpg


sub2.jpg


sub3.jpg


sub4.jpg
 
You won't regret using 18mm MDF rather than the thinner stuff. My mate did a boot build for his 106 GTI a few years ago and used braced 18mm MDF.

I'll get the pics dug out.
 
Nice, but I will hopefully will have more boot space by the end! :p The 12" hole was hard to do by hand with a jigsaw. Hard to get it real neat.
 
Just out of interest, did you make it to the right size?? By that I don't mean the correct size that it will fit in the boot, but regarding the volume of the box?? Different subs need to be in different boxs due to the volume of air they are designed to push, same as some subs are designed to work in ported boxs and some sealed. A lot of people overlook this when building custom boxes, and it can result performing quite as good as it would in the correct box.
 
dale1uk said:
Just out of interest, did you make it to the right size?? By that I don't mean the correct size that it will fit in the boot, but regarding the volume of the box?? Different subs need to be in different boxs due to the volume of air they are designed to push, same as some subs are designed to work in ported boxs and some sealed. A lot of people overlook this when building custom boxes, and it can result performing quite as good as it would in the correct box.
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It needs to be 1cu.ft for the 12" 1202 JBL sub. That is including the volume the sub itself takes, the design itself comes out at 0.98cu.ft from my calculations, yes I remembered to take off the thickness of the MDF. :p
 
saitrix said:
It needs to be 1cu.ft for the 12" 1202 JBL sub. That is including the volume the sub itself takes, the design itself comes out at 0.98cu.ft from my calculations, yes I remembered to take off the thickness of the MDF. :p
Click to expand...

Nice, its surprising how many people just build the box to fit the space available, and not take into account that the sub needs a certain amount of air to work properly.
 
Looks good Dan, appreciate all the pics and stuff, they will be most helpful when I build mine in the near future :D
 
I put a bead of silicone sealant around the edge of the wood that is on show in the first pic. As I screwed it tightly down this forced it out of the sides and make an air tight gap and meant I didn't have to apply the sealer through the small hole. Just a little tip.
 
hehe, looks familliar - I still need to make my enclosure a little bigger as it really is starved of air.

And btw, you're now officially a chav ;)
 
silicon sealant is bad for sub boxes. it releases aceatic acid (cant remember how its spelt) which dissolves the rubber suspension on the sub.

youre best of sealing the box with watered down glue (the white paper glue you used in junior school, which i cannot remember the name of!)
 
That looks excellent Dan, fantastic work :D

Wish I had the talent to do something like that. Last time I used my jigsaw, I ended up making a nice wavey pattern instead of a straight cut.

Although, it was starting to rain so I was trying to hurry it up.

Hoping to get started on my boot build in the summer.
 
Matt82 said:
silicon sealant is bad for sub boxes. it releases aceatic acid (cant remember how its spelt) which dissolves the rubber suspension on the sub.

youre best of sealing the box with watered down glue (the white paper glue you used in junior school, which i cannot remember the name of!)
Click to expand...

Ahh lucky I didn't use silicone sealant in the end! I use some kitchen abd bathroom flexible sealant that is acrylic based. So shouldn't have the same fumes. :)

Sub box all finished now, just didn't get a chance to take any pics. Monday will be the next day I can work on it, I will be adding the handles over the sub then and also making the board for the amp to go on, on the other side of the boot.
 
Matt82 said:
silicon sealant is bad for sub boxes. it releases aceatic acid (cant remember how its spelt) which dissolves the rubber suspension on the sub.

youre best of sealing the box with watered down glue (the white paper glue you used in junior school, which i cannot remember the name of!)
Click to expand...
Acetic acid is used in the silicone to cure it, when the vinegar smell has gone it should be fine. The acetic based silicones are pretty carp tho so it would be better to use a neutral cure silicone, these take longer to fully cure but give a stronger seal.

That looks like a good job mate, i hope you'll post up some progress pics when you do some more to it.
 
Well here is an update from today, just went out and took pics so sorry if you can't see that much!

I put the carpet on, damn I shouldn't have gone for the high quality carpet! Way too thick to cut easily, so not as neat as I could have.

Just need to make the amp board now and put the grill over the sub. Want to get this done before going back to uni, too hard to do it in the hall's car park.

Damn the flash shows up the joins!

sub5.jpg


sub6.jpg
 
agw_01 said:
That looks excellent :) Nice snug fit.

Is that a 75.4? Looks pretty big.
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Yup it is a 75.4. :) That is powering my front Alpine componant speakers. Will be much nicer when the wires are all neatened.
 
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