Sub needs a massive ported box?

[RSDXzec 10+ year member]

Received my pcw-12 subwoofer in the mail today. And using the subs specs on this calculator Car Audio - Ported Subwoofer Box Design Formulas & Calculator

It tells me I'm going to need a 7.5cuft box if I go ported.

My limits are about 10.5" high and I believe about 4cuft internal total and my boot would be full.

I'd like to use a cylindrical port tune it to 32hz, should I make the box 4 cuft? or could I go down to about 3cuft?

Cheers.

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specs for reference:

RMS - 350W

Fs - 32.87 Hz

Vas - 1.839 cuft

Qms - 4.963

Qes - 0.733

Qts - 0.638

Xmax - 0.413"

SPL - 89dB

dual 4 ohm VC

Click to read more...

 

[SMS 10+ year member]

7.5-thats almost like running it free air. Is it hard to get good subs in Austraila?

 

[RSDXzec 10+ year member]

7.5-thats almost like running it free air. Is it hard to get good subs in Austraila?

yeah it's a real pain.

Also from what I've read this was a pretty good sub in its time, only reason it says 7.5 on that calculator is because the sub was made for sealed, this tends to happen a lot for subs with sealed specs. Yet I have seen most of these on youtube running ported, and pretty well at that.

So I'd like to know what kind of volume I'd actually need.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

generally with 12's its anywhere between 1.5 and 2.5 depending on the application and the woofer, with that sub i would shoot for around 2cubes net.

 

[Joseph7195 10+ year member]

I would give a holla at Mobile Enclosures

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/members/moble-enclosurs.html

He could really help you out. There are certain factors a calculator couldn't take into account, like the installers needs. Give him a shout, he will help. Hope this helps!

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

indeed, ram_designs knows a thing or to as well, and is always happy to help.

 

[RSDXzec 10+ year member]

I would give a holla at Mobile Enclosures
http://www.caraudio.com/forums/members/moble-enclosurs.html

He could really help you out. There are certain factors a calculator couldn't take into account, like the installers needs. Give him a shout, he will help. Hope this helps!

indeed, ram_designs knows a thing or to as well, and is always happy to help.

alright il send a message to ram_designs as I have already contacted mobile enclosures and I'm waiting for him to get back to me.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

That woofer really wants to be in a sealed box to sound good. You can put it in whatever ported box you want and it may get loud, but likely won't have a good response.

Volume displaced by woofer and port counts against internal volume of the box FYI

 

[RSDXzec 10+ year member]

That woofer really wants to be in a sealed box to sound good. You can put it in whatever ported box you want and it may get loud, but likely won't have a good response.
Volume displaced by woofer and port counts against internal volume of the box FYI

are you saying that based on the specs or on previous experience with it?

and thanks I didn't take into account the port volume.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

are you saying that based on the specs or on previous experience with it?
and thanks I didn't take into account the port volume.

Low Fs, high Q, and somewhat low Vas. Good indication it'll play nice and flat in a large-ish sealed box. Really getting close to the kind of sub that would do well in infinite baffle. A poor choice if you planned to use ported alignment IMO. Like I said, it'll probably get loud, but without cabin accoustics working in your favor (dumb luck or a shitload of experimenting) you won't get a really flat response out of a ported alignment.

 

[RSDXzec 10+ year member]

Low Fs, high Q, and somewhat low Vas. Good indication it'll play nice and flat in a large-ish sealed box. Really getting close to the kind of sub that would do well in infinite baffle. A poor choice if you planned to use ported alignment IMO. Like I said, it'll probably get loud, but without cabin accoustics working in your favor (dumb luck or a shitload of experimenting) you won't get a really flat response out of a ported alignment.

ah ok, well would you say it would get considerably louder if I put it in a 2 cuft sealed box as opposed to the 1 cuft sealed box that it's in now? I just upgraded from a kenwood 200wrms 12" sub and didn't notice too much difference so I was a little disappointed, I'm hoping the box can increase the output a fair bit.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

It will be louder in a ported box....whether or not it will sound good ???? Come back and let us know.

 

[RSDXzec 10+ year member]

It will be louder in a ported box....whether or not it will sound good ???? Come back and let us know.

probably will go sealed... it's just finding the right point between 1.25-3cuft that I need to work out now. Manufacturer specs say 1.25 is max output and 3 is best sq, I'm trying to go for the box that will help me "feel" the bass the most. I guess 2cuft would be a good balance, but would you say leaning towards 1.25 or 3 would be best for "feeling" the bass?

 

[The_Grimy_One 10+ year member]

probably will go sealed... it's just finding the right point between 1.25-3cuft that I need to work out now. Manufacturer specs say 1.25 is max output and 3 is best sq, I'm trying to go for the box that will help me "feel" the bass the most. I guess 2cuft would be a good balance, but would you say leaning towards 1.25 or 3 would be best for "feeling" the bass?

The bigger the sealed box, the lower the frequency... So I would probably shoot for around 2.25 or so. I think you would be much more satisfied.

 

[RSDXzec 10+ year member]

The bigger the sealed box, the lower the frequency... So I would probably shoot for around 2.25 or so. I think you would be much more satisfied.

alright, for the record it is a hatchback so it's not a big car so feeling the bass shouldn't be hard to do. I definitely have room to go the full range between 1.25 to 3 if I need to. I probably will aim on the higher volume end of that to get the lower frequencies if I can feel them more. I'm not sure if max output means the most you can hear or the most bass you can feel, based on your statement I would assume that it's hear. I however am more interested in feeling the bass than hearing it