HDC3 18"....what size box and tuning?

[ferguson621]

I just recently got my hdc3 18"......It's the first 18" i've owned and holy ****! It was well worth it ha.....anyways, I currently have it in a 6 cu ft@35hz slot ported box with a 6" port in an 05 chrysler pacifica. I'm running a kicker kx2500.1 with a yellow top under the hood and regular battery in the back....****** I know....but it works for now. Oh and stock 140 amp alternator. I have it wired to 1 ohm, I had the gain turned up to exactly half and for some reason it started smelling weird....so I turned the gain down to a quarter and it seems to be doing fine right now. But it's not very loud. I know it has way more potential that what I'm seeing....So would someone be willing to help me out with a box design so I'm able to push roughly atleast 2000 watts to it daily? Thank you

Click to read more...

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

6 inch port is choking the **** sub. 8 inch port at the least. If you really want it loud, put it in a bigger box with a 10" port. What is the depth x width x height of the box? Whats the depth x width x height of the space you are willing to give up?

Learn how to set gains properly with the DMM method with that amp. Need to do the big 3 upgrade too.

you DO know that amp is not 1 ohm stable right? Its lowest impedance it can handle is 2 ohms. You want to rewire the subs in series or else that amp will die soon.

 

[ferguson621]

Enclosure Specifications:

Fb = 35 Hz

Vb = 6 ft^3

External Height = 19 in

External Width = 40 in

External Depth = 23 in

Port Width = 6 in

Yes I know it's not 1 ohm stable.but I was ready a few forums and people were running it at 1 ohm....although they didn't say for how long lol.....I should wire it to 4 ohms just to be safe....or sell it lol. And yes I finally used a dmm to adjust my gains. But I was curiousand decided to turn it up to halfway....slightly stupid I know.....my max dimensions are 40 wide....30 deep......30 tall.....I don't mind using all my trunk space if that's what it takes......I just don't want a wall, I prefer to see out of my rear view mirror lol

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

my bad, didnt read "slot" there lol..

Could be a lot of things causing the clipping/coil smell either clipped music, playing too low, Voltage drops driving the system into clipping (yhes your current electricals might not be able to handle that especially on a lower ohm load than the amp can handle.

Is the box sub up port back or sub back port back? If done right, your rear view should be absolutely useless

 

[ferguson621]

Voltage drops are definitely a likely issue, I was playing it earlier today for about an hour and my battery light came on while I was driving down the highway. Lol my rear view mirror is somewhat useless as of right now but I can still see out of it during certain songs lol. It's sub up port back

 

[ferguson621]

If you had to guess about how long do you think the kx2500.1 would last running at 1 ohm?.....and what size box do you recommend if I'm wanting to push 2000-2500 to it daily? And if its not to much trouble for you could I maybe possibly get a cut sheet? Lol.....I do appreciate your reply's

 

[NinjaBass]

my brother has one in a 7cu ft box after all displacement with an 8in aero tuned to 33hz and it performs very well

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

And here comes the reality of power handling when OP is actually getting rated power out of his amp and wondering why the sub smells funny.

My experience with Kicker amps is that they generally protect if you hit their minimum impedance.... That said running low impedance is sketchy. Amp could last for years or break tomorrow, there's no telling and if/when it fails you have nobody to blame but yourself.

You mentioned "trunk". Can we see some pictures of this? The size and tuning of the box seem acceptable (though could go a little larger and tune higher IMO). Position of the box/port can be just as important or more-so.

What sort of electrical upgrades have you done to feed that amp? You do realize that the gain knob isn't a magical volume knob where you get free output right?

 

[ferguson621]

yeah I've been seeing alot of other people's posts on different forums saying 6 cu ft is good.....but i'm wanting to push 2000 to it daily, but the sub starts to smell a little after about 45 minutes....that's why i'm needing more opinions on a box that will allow me to do that. hispls what size box and tuning would you recommend? I don't mind tuning lower than 35hz. I've always wanted to be able to do a hair trick lol.....the only electrical upgrades i've done are add the yellow top plus my stock battery, 0 gauge for the amp and batteries, and I upgraded my alternator wire to 4/0 awg....I'm running stock 140 amp alternator

 

[ferguson621]

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Mickeydee]

Box size and tuning is not problem the amp your running is problem your giving sub clipped distorted dirty power by running it at 1 ohm that's why sub is getting hot just because amp isn't going into protect or cutting off does not mean it's ok to run it like that get you a amp with around same power the capable to be run at 1 ohm and don't turn gain over half or 1/4 way in most cases and it will not get hot and smelly from you burning coil caused by clippings from turning gain levels up to high problem solved

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Box size and tuning is not problem the amp your running is problem your giving sub clipped distorted dirty power by running it at 1 ohm that's why sub is getting hot just because amp isn't going into protect or cutting off does not mean it's ok to run it like that get you a amp with around same power the capable to be run at 1 ohm and don't turn gain over half or 1/4 way in most cases and it will not get hot and smelly from you burning coil caused by clippings from turning gain levels up to high problem solved

you can still clip at 1/4 gain setting. Its not a certain spot, its to match the head unit's pre-out voltage.

 

[Mickeydee]

Well I use a smd distortion detector to set mine at the max vol am going to be playing at on the headunit I turn eq to flat low pass crossover to 0 and my pioneer deh-80prs it will go up to max vol before distrotion occurs but I like it at 50-55 so that's my max vol I go to so I then begin to set my eq,level and cross over adjustment to were I would like to have it on after doing that I set amp gains till distortion occurred and leave it alone because anytime you turn eq and crossover levels up on the head unit it It's just like you turning gain on amp up it will start clipping in my case before I get to my 50-55 vol setting I originally had it set for

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

DD-1 is cool and all but sometimes just knowing your system and its limits is better because each musical recording has different DB levels of bass. Sometimes you have a lot more clean output on tap and you never even reach it with a DD-1. Heat and voltages will also have a big impact on if things clip or not. If you train your ears, you can definitely hear the differences between 1% thd vs 10% thd and 15% thd. Competitors have done this method waay before the DD-1 was being dreamed about and a lot are still doing the same.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Bumped a month old thread to brag about his overpriced magical "distortion" tester. Go over to SMD board and tell them about it, they'll be a lot more likely to give you the recognition you deserve for giving Steve Meade your money.