Best 8" or 10" Subwoofers: 2008 Sport Trac Adrenalin

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

I've been going insane thinking about the best bang for the buck setup behind the seat of my 08 Ford Explorer Sport Trac Adrenalin.

Last Install:

Currently I've got two JBL 1202D subs that are supposed to run 1ft^3 in a sealed enclosure. I had them in my F150, which had significantly more room but the boxes the installer built were 18W x 14.75H x 5.125T x 8.125B He used .75 MDF for a total of .648 ft^3 before sub displacement. They sounded pretty **** good but I was missing the lows. I listen to a lot of alternative rock and a lot more rap. Anything with bass really.

The Amp:

I have a JBL CS300.1 mono amp. This is the same amp that ran the above subs in my F150. 4 ohms: 200 watts x 1 chan. 2 ohms: 300 watts x 1 chan.

Current Space:

I've got a total of about 2.5 ft^3 of airspace behind the seat of my STA.

I've got 48" width 21" height and 3" of depth at the top and between 7" and 9.5" in depth in various locations along the bottom.

The Questions:

I want the subs to get more of the low range that I feel I'm missing. I want to retain a decent amount of SQ.

What are my options?

From what I understand, to get more low range from my subs I need to:

A) increase the cubic feet of air in the enclosure

B) Port the enclosure and increase the cubic feet of air

C) Drop down in sub size and/or port the enclosure.

Should I run a single 12" sealed/ported because I certainly can't fit both my 1202D subs in there?

Should I run a single 10" sealed/ported?

Should I run a two 10" sealed/ported?

Should I run a two 8" sealed/ported?

Should I run a three 8" sealed/ported?

I've been very focused on the subwoofer but I started to think that maybe I should install the 1202D ina ported enclosure and upgrade the amp instead?

What do you think the best combo would be for me?

The Possible New Equipment:

I've been mainly looking at JL Audio 10W6 and the 10W3, Kicker Solo-Baric L7 and L5 in both 10" and 8".

Since I have such a limited amount of amps what should I do? Should I spend the money on the higher end subs or spend it on the subs that closer match my RMS.

Should I get Dual Voice Coils like my 1202D or Single Voice Coil?

Ugh!!! I'm so sick of this stuff.

Click to read more...

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

What I'm thinking at this point is, running two 10s or 3 8s ported. 3 8" will probably work better with the mounting depth issue.

I guess I just need to decide what subs to use and how the hell to wire it all up.

 

[KHARPS 10+ year member]

First off, your truck looks awesome! The 12'' Stereo Integrity Mag is 5.5'' deep I believe and needs 1cube or under sealed. If you have the depth for a pair of those I think that would be a good route to go.

 

[KHARPS 10+ year member]

If you decide to go with 8s look at DD 1508. They are about the same depth as the Mag and I think 3 of them ported will be louder than the Mags, but you will have to sacrafice some sq.

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

I can deal with a moderate SQ loss. I want the bass.

The reason I've stayed away from the SI Mag, the RE SL, JL's 13TW5 and other ultra thin subs is cost.

I'd like to keep this under $400 and those subs just make it really hard to do. I can't even buy two used 13TW5s for under $400.

I also don't have the amps to drive two of them. I figured it would be more cost effective to use smaller drivers and go ported so I don't have to upgrade my amps due to the fact that ported enclosures are more efficient.

Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate everyone's opinion here.

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

Oh and thanks for the compliment about my ride. I love it! I've never owned a vehicle that gets compliments or turns heads like this one. I've never seen another like it anywhere around here.

This is kind of the reason I want to make a great audio system for it. It's the one area that this truck doesn't 100% satisfy me.

 

[KHARPS 10+ year member]

If you want ported 8s with lower power look at the Sundown e8.

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

Should I be looking for SVC or DVC subs? 2ohm or 4ohm? I'm an electrical noob so I want to avoid any last minute problems when we install these things.

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

Since my amp has the highest RMS 300w at 2ohms, Should I concentrate on finding 2ohm subs?

 

[KHARPS 10+ year member]

With only 300w I think you should just get one dual 4 ohm sub.

 

[stangman67 10+ year member]

If you get one sub it needs to be dual 4 ohm or single 2. If you are getting 2 subs they will need to be dual 2 ohms or single 4 ohms. All these configs can be wired to a final 2 ohm load. Hope it helps

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

That helps a lot! Thank you!

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

Actually what if I'm buying 3 subs? What types should I buy? Would they also be dual 2 ohms or single 4 ohms?

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

What about enclosure shape? Will ported sound good with such a skinny box? Does that even matter?

 

[Psycareyo 10+ year member]

anyone?