Subwoofer firing direction...

[CVP71 10+ year member]

Hey guys. I recently had a meltdown over subwoofer selection and finally figured that part out. Now, I’m turning to my enclosure. My plan is to construct a box in which the subwoofers face forward, just behind the rear seatbacks.

Now, I’ve read a couple articles on subwoofer firing directions and have discovered that placing your enclosure in the rear of your trunk, with the woofers facing the rear, will give you more SPL. My question is, do you think that also translates to better SQ? By facing my subwoofers forward, will I lose SQ? Right now, it’s an issue of looks vs. sound. If my SQ is in any way compromised by firing my subwoofers forward, I’ll rethink my box.

Also, the two articles I read ran a battery of tests on different subwoofer configurations to verify SPL loss with forward firing subwoofers. They did not, however, talk about port aiming. What would happen if you had forward firing subwoofers but rear firing port into the trunk or, firing up through the rear deck lid into the cabin?

Here are the two articles if anyone is interested. They are very good.

Aiming your subwoofer box

Aiming Part 2

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Click to read more...

 

[CVP71 10+ year member]

Is this thread in the right section?

 

[spltuscon 10+ year member]

I've had good luck facing subs forward for more sq, but it does depend on the vehicle and box design. In the article you linked to they used the box in the middle of the trunk facing forward, whereas it should be all the way at the back if facing forward. A design with the woofer(s) on the passenger side facing forward and the port facing the driver side works very well in a variety of vehicles. It gets loud and sounds good, despite it being an unconventional approach. Aiming the subs back does typically increase spl (not always though) but often makes the bass sound boomy, so you'll probably have to build your best guess and do some experimenting till you find what you like best in your car.

Good luck!

 

[inkfx 10+ year member]

It's impossible to give you an answer without even knowing what kind of car you drive. Even then, unless someone has the same car as you, we wont be able to tell you. Honestly, the only way you are going to figure this out is by trial and error. Only by trying different boxes and locations will you be able to determine what is best for you.

 

[Kyle_Keating 10+ year member]

ports only generate SPL around the tuning, if you're tuning at 30Hz that's a wavelenght longer than your car by several times, it wont make any difference which way it fires.

 

[CVP71 10+ year member]

I ended up talking to a local builder today. He gave me the rundown on different setups. There's a lot of info to know and a lot of experience to be had. I found it easier to let someone who had both recommend sub and port firing directions.

Thanks for the replies!