Deeper Bass in my GTI

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Alright, it is time for me to put forth some maximum effort and ask a serious question. I currently have a sealed 10" Alpine Type R in my 2013 GTI, and truthfully, it is usually enough bass for me, but I sometimes want something that would hit those 20 Hz to 30 Hz notes with more authority. In other words, I'm not feeling that ultra low, filling rattling bass like I did in my Rustang with a sealed 13w6v2.

Of course, that brings me to a paradox. Am I wasting my time by even trying to get lower bass in such a tiny cabin where it won't even have enough space to develop the wavelength properly?

I think back to my 1997 Civic EX Coupe, with a ported 10" sub, where it was loud as can be in the car, but the really deep bass didn't start to develop until I was 10 to 15 feet OUTSIDE of the car. Any content with a lot of bass in the 50 to 60 Hz range would give one a headache, as would a test tone in that range. Any lower and it seemed to be nonexistent in the car, but would develop well outside the vehicle with the doors opened, or closed, lol.

In the meantime, I will test an old ported Digital Designs 1508 that I have on hand to see if my theory is correct. I tuned the box too low by accident, so it is just sitting there waiting to be chopped up and disposed of. Regardless, I was just wondering if considering a sealed 12" sub or even a ported 12" sub was a waste of time when I am trying to get more authority in the 20 Hz to 30 Hz spectrum, which doesn't have that much content to begin with?

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[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

An update... The ported 1508 does give me the deeper bass that I am after, but, the sealed 10" type R sounds better. Argh... I swore I wouldn't get pulled back into chasing my tail again.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

An update... The ported 1508 does give me the deeper bass that I am after, but, the sealed 10" type R sounds better. Argh... I swore I wouldn't get pulled back into chasing my tail again.

Try a dayton ultimax or ssa gcon 10 in a 1.5 cube box tuned to 28 to 32hz. You can also try to sound deaden to reduce your peak frequency.

Or try making a t line for the type R if you can fit it. If not, a proper low tuned portedshould work as well, just cut back on port area

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

I've run into this before. One oldschool trick is to build an enclosure into the floor or make it rigid like it's coupled to the vehicle with bolts, then fire the drivers up or down. Everything becomes much more visceral and the lowest frequencies have lots of authority and clarity. The more violent the excursion is from the subwoofer, the more pronounced the affect (for sealed). Otherwise, like Jeff says tune proper low. Like 22-26Hz and that should balance out your situation.