Sub face direction - ported enclosure - trunk car

[sethbuckner 10+ year member]

Running a single dc lvl4 xl 12" in ported enclosure with port face and sub face facing same direction. I've heard mixed reviews about which is the best/proper direction to face your sub(s) in different types of vehicles (car/suv/etc etc).

Based on the way i built my box my choices are obviously backwards (facing out of trunk) or forwards (facing into cab of vehicle)

what are ya'lls opinion of this? I've read some about some driver's creating sound with the back side of the cone and vice versa...

All opinions & advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, seth

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[Ronny 10+ year member]

Sub back port back, or sub back port to the side.

Unless you want to fire forward and seal the trunk off..

 

[sethbuckner 10+ year member]

So sub and port face facing backwards in your opinion correct?

 

[sethbuckner 10+ year member]

And if anyone would like to explain why.... Please do tell //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

It gets louder in most cases if you aim the port to the back instead of the front. BUT it can also cause a lot more vibrations with the trunk lid...

 

[sethbuckner 10+ year member]

i've always had them facing backwards and had good results i was just wondering if i may have been missing something since i have seen different people with different setups.

thanks, seth

 

[SPLaudio 5,000+ posts]

subs and port foward. if not sealed off pull the box tight to the tail lights...

 

[tlooknbill 10+ year member]

Study the Japan earthquake tsunami's exponentially compounded wave dispersion pattern to tell you it won't matter which direction you point your subs. Low (large wave) frequencies are non-directional and need LOTS of air (tsunami LOTS of water) to create large waves from the point of source (subs) with a lot of torgue energy=(SPL=lots of power) to be heard REALLY loudly. Being in the car's cabin is too close for these waves to build up this compounded wave energy pattern to be effectively heard as loud as compared to someone listening 50 yards away.

This is why neighbors complain about hearing in their homes the car booming down the street when the driver isn't aware they are THAT loud. I verified this physics lesson with a local high end car audio installer. I tested this myself when I went up to the car that had stopped at an intersection and noticed I could no longer hear that annoying low humming boom from the driver's ported subs I heard in my home. He hadn't turned down his system either.

I have my two sealed 2 ohm 10" subs facing toward me in my trunk as close to the back seats as possible because I need the room to put groceries in the trunk of my Nissan Sentra. I've rearranged the subs in every direction possible and couldn't hear any difference in sound or loudness.

However they are powered with maybe at the most 50 watts each RMS wired in series to present a 4 ohm load to a 250 watt Alpine amp so they don't have enough energy/torgue/SPL to project their peak compounded wave pattern outward but only a small distance which happens to be my front seat. They aren't reproducing any directional frequencies for me to detect what direction they're pointing especially since the car is acting as an additional enclosure.

 

[SPLaudio 5,000+ posts]

^huh. its abou wave distance and cansuation you have to concider...

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

lol, id say fire sub and port into cabin and seal off the trunk from the cabin

 

[thevic24 5,000+ posts]

Firing towards the back of the car also helps with loading in most cases.

 

[tlooknbill 10+ year member]

Whatever you do don't remove the vapor barrier off the back of the rear seat facing the trunk like I did with my Nissan. Didn't make my subs sound louder, but I did get sinus headaches from mine and others exhaust driving in stop and go city traffic. Probably got some carbon monoxide as well, but that'll put hair on your chest.

Hey, I think I do have a photo to submit after all in that other thread on "what not to do in an installation".

Thevic24...helps with loading what? Just curious.

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

It will probably sound better and be "ear louder" firing toward the rear. It'll probably meter better facing forward. Not always though. In the testing that I have done, sub up/port to the side has been the best and most reliable configuration.

 

[dooski3 10+ year member]

Do your back seats fold down? 60/40, 50/50? If they do fold down, do you run them down or up? Have the little center console in the backseat that opens? All of these make a considerable difference. Also Ive never liked subs/ports facing up if you have speakers in the rear deck, just feels wrong.

 

[UMWDawg92 10+ year member]

just try it each way and do what you think sounds best