I see plenty of subs with incredibly stiff suspensions that don't seem to tear themselves apart. IDK, I guess if it's poorly made it will break under whatever conditions. I'm just not sure what kind of cotton/nomex fabric becomes brittle at 0 degree temperatures.
What evidence do you have of any of these claims?
What types of soft parts become brittle? At what temperatures? What power level is safe or dangerous at what temperatures? Whoever is making a case that there's anything to this theory can put up some real data right?
Well built woofers won't break unless abused
Couple comments:
I never used the term "brittle" in responding to the OP's question about slamming a sub in cold temps. I think that was your term.
Cold temps to me means something beyond the norm. If one assumes that a typical operating range for a speaker is 0-140 degrees F, and that a 'typical' test range is more likely somewhere between 50-100, then surely giving a sub max volume immediately upon starting your ride in -15 degree temps is not what most would agree is a good idea. If it is something that one practices with some frequency, that would be even worse. In fact, I would put that into the realm of "abused," where you note that well built woofers will break, but that is just my opinion.
The function of a sub (electrical--->mechanical) is not quite the same as your comparisons to seats, seatbelts, foam rubber, window gaskets, etc.
A bit better comparison might be your car's engine. If you have to head in to work on a bitterly cold morning, do you generally go out and start your car, throw it into gear, and immediately upon the tires hitting the asphalt, slam the accelerator to the floor and see how quickly you can get it from zero to 100MPH ?
Pure foolishness, and imo it is just as foolish to throw max volume on a sub in similar circumstances....simply begging for trouble, regardless of how well built and reliable either the engine or the sub may be.
Regarding numbers, I know that testing the VVX at room temp versus retesting on that cool day resulted in some skewing of its numbers. I likely still have access to that data, somewhere, and will try to locate it. (Recollection of this info is my "evidence" , to use your terminology)
It really doesn't take much imagination, tho, does it, to view a manufacturer designing and then testing a sub at the "best" temperature to garner "best" results for publishing T/S parameters on that sub? If one picks the middle of the ranges, above, that would be around 70-75 degrees.
Is it really feasible that everything will remain the same at 20 degrees? Much less below zero...?
Test any sub as one normally would, with proper box, proper test tone, everything at room temp, and capture its numbers.
Toss it in the fridge overnight, and conduct the same test, same box, same test tone(s) without allowing any time for the sub to warm up...the numbers will surely change a bit. (Very similarly to the actual VVX tests)
Now, toss it in the freezer overnight, and repeat.
For those that argue the T/S parameters are not going to change, I say BS: they have no choice but to change.
Imma be looking most critically at Qts, Rms, Cms, and Bl. I simply have no doubt that they are going to be notably different. And if you extrapolate that even further (to slamming the sub with max volume on those bitterly cold mornings), then surely one can recognize that you're asking for more outta that motor than it was likely designed to give.
In the end, I still say it is good "preventive maintenance" to allow a sub a bit of time to warm up before doing any slamming, but to each their own!
I surely won't be abusing any of my equipment in that manner, lmao.
