hispls 5,000+ posts
CarAudio.com Veteran
Any vibration in the box loses a shitload of output. It is unlikely to break the plexi/acrylic but if you can put your hand on it and feel it flexing your gains might be audible from securing a good windowpane brace onto it.It's ¾" thick. But you're right. It's holding up so far ok. It vibrates a little. I think I'm going to try and mock up a brace for it as well. I'll have to come up with something
And opening a door or window in a pickup truck will consistently gain over 3dB. I don't think this even implies that you have a huge advantage, just that you'd be at a wild disadvantage if you were competing in a class where you had to meter sealed. You do not see pickup trucks in competitive DB Drag leaderboards because almost any other vehicle shits all over them with comparable power and cone area.In every competition that I've competed in people can leave the doors open or closed.
You should be able to verify this yourself by just sitting in there playing music with everything closed up and then opening the opposite side door or window. It usually will make a dramatic difference.
Again, this doesn't really matter, and at the end of the day, if you're happy with it driving around playing your favorite tunes you did it right, but sealed or door/window open and sensor placement are very important details to include if we're trying to compare apples to apples sound intensity from 2000 miles away, and also important things to consider if someone is doing a new build for the sake of trying to compete. Buying a pickup truck to DB Drag is a recipe for disappointment, in USACi it can be competitive and they seem to do well enough in music classes in dB Drag where you must leave a door or window open.
The meter will tell you the truth here.I'm think of metering on 31 hz. music next time. I think it's louder on music.