How To Compensate for Box Being Too Small?

[rcknrolfender79]

Hey guys, I have 2 alpine type S 10" DVC 2 ohm subs. Im putting them behind the seat of an 82 toyota pickup. In order for them to fit I'm pretty much having to building a box just right around the subs.... probably not near as big as it should be. The sub just barely fits in the box. Its 13" by 13" 5" bottom width and 3 1/2" top width. Is there anyway to compensate to help them sound as they should?

I read on another forum someone said to pack the box with pillow stuffing it somehow helps it sound better... is that correct? If so how much are we talking? Do I need to pack it tight or just fill the boxes up?

I could possibly make a little compartment to come off each box that would be as narrow as I need to fit easy just to leave more air in the box for the woofer to move... I thought about running a piece of 1 1/2 to 2" PVC pipe between the 2 boxes and sealing it with caulking would that help (probably be about 3 1/2 ft piece between the 2 boxes)? May look ghetto but IDC as they will be hidden behind my seat and wont be showing them off anyhow... just want them to sound good. Or I could maybe build a 1"x 13" x 1ft compartment at the top of each box to run up the back of my cab and stop just before the top of my seat... again would look funny but dont really car as long as it works... do I have the right idea? Just giving the subs more air to move around.. doesnt matter what shape or how tight the space is as long as there is enough air for them to move right?

If type of music matters.. I listen to pretty much any and all types of rock... classic, alternative, metal, indie etc.. I also listen to a bit of dubstep.. but I'm primarily worried about how rock will sound.

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[snyderd758 10+ year member]

Those enclosures are .22cuft before the subs are installed they need to be at least .65 then you stuff that with polyfill. The sub enclosure is probably the single most important aspect of a subwoofer system since your already running pretty low power it makes it even more important. could you run an enclosure the entire width behind your seat? if so what is that measurement?

 

[rcknrolfender79]

Those enclosures are .22cuft before the subs are installed they need to be at least .65 then you stuff that with polyfill. The sub enclosure is probably the single most important aspect of a subwoofer system since your already running pretty low power it makes it even more important. could you run an enclosure the entire width behind your seat? if so what is that measurement?

It would have to be a really narrow like 1" thick 1ft tall(maybe) 4 ft long. And connect it to the top of the sub boxes... with as high as my ****** hump comes up and how my seats made it really makes it a pain in the butt. I'd go out and make sure right now but its really cold here lol and dont want to spend much time outside atm. Can check tomorrow.. well actually I dont have the subs with me. May be a day or 2 before I can get exact measurements but it would be real close to the above 1" x 1' x 4'

 

[snyderd758 10+ year member]

is there room under the seats?

 

[rcknrolfender79]

is there room under the seats?

well the bottom of my seat kind of sits at an angle... dang near laying on the floor in the back... and about 10" or so off the floor in the front... Not enough room to get the subs under there... might be enough room to build on to the boxes though... they really meant mini truck back in the day heh...

Also I'm pretty tall and need the seat all the way back to drive comfortably so making the boxes bigger and scooting the seat up a bit is out of the question unfortunately.

 

[snyderd758 10+ year member]

go to Walmart and buy a pound of polyfill put about a quarter of a ound in each enclosure and see if that helps. if you can add on to the enclosures that or getting good measurements are your best bet.

 

[snyderd758 10+ year member]

well the bottom of my seat kind of sits at an angle... dang near laying on the floor in the back... and about 10" or so off the floor in the front... Not enough room to get the subs under there... might be enough room to build on to the boxes though... they really meant mini truck back in the day heh...
Also I'm pretty tall and need the seat all the way back to drive comfortably so making the boxes bigger and scooting the seat up a bit is out of the question unfortunately.

buy a half sheet of 5/8 medium density fiberboard and add as much as you can to those enclosures make them as big as possible

make sure they are sealed at every seam with bathtub caulk. when your building them glue it together with some kind of wood glue and let it dry overnight before you put your subs in the enclosure. vapors from the caulk and glue can damage your subs.

 

[rcknrolfender79]

go to Walmart and buy a pound of polyfill put about a quarter of a ound in each enclosure and see if that helps. if you can add on to the enclosures that or getting good measurements are your best bet.

Thanks for the advice. What about drilling a really small hole in each box? Enough to let the sub move better but enough to where it cant really just.. breathe easy I guess..?

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

Thanks for the advice. What about drilling a really small hole in each box? Enough to let the sub move better but enough to where it cant really just.. breathe easy I guess..?

You don't want any leaks if it's a sealed box. Polyfill is the only thing you can really do. If it still sounds like crap, then you might benefit from just using 1 sub instead and create a big enough box for it. If you are talking about connecting the box into something else and still keep it sealed, then it might be better to have a bigger hole to let it flow through easily.

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

another option is to fiberglass box. its complicated and hard work - but you can use every bit of avalable space.

you tube videos on this will help you understand what to do