Subwoofer firing direction

[LuvnThatBass 10+ year member]

Hello! I have a 2000 Dodge Dakota and am going to be putting either 2 12" vvx's or 2 15" vvx's in the ext cab behind the front seats. I was wondering what is the best firing position of the sub and port to maximize SPL/SQ? I now have a 12" HDC312-A sub up port up and it sounds ok, gets loud, but now that I have made more room and needed a box designed for me, I would like to know what is best. Thanks in advance for any help! Im about to pounce on that SKAR VVX deal they got goin on.

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[LuvnThatBass 10+ year member]

Im thinking subs up, port firing towards drivers side, side of vehicle (not towards seat). Would it really make much of a difference if all I am playing music?!?!?

 

[jokers10 10+ year member]

One of the loudest Extended Cab setups I have heard that wasn't walled, was subs, and port facing up, but every truck is different. What sounds good in one, might sound horrible in another.

 

[LuvnThatBass 10+ year member]

Bump

 

[LuvnThatBass 10+ year member]

Now I want to try and do sub and port facing rear?? Will the factory vents installed on the back wall have any effect? should I seal those off? What are your thoughts?! Remember 2000 Dodge Dakota Extended Cab, and I have all panels and seats take out or the rear for extra space (and to sound deaden then carpet over)

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

ive always had good luck with subs forward port/ports up running below the window line. iv i were it build a larger box that what be above the window line i might would reverse that orientation but its mostly trial and error when u are at the comp level. my old s10 would gain 2.5 db just by taking the front headrest out. never made sense to me but the meter never lied was always consistent

 

[LuvnThatBass 10+ year member]

Thanks for the reply. The only thing that I did not mention was I have a box already made for my existing set up and the sub and port face the same direction. So, which would get louder sub/port forward, rear, or up?

 

[Below20hzonly 10+ year member]

sub up port up, what u gonna tune the box to

 

[LuvnThatBass 10+ year member]

36Hz if I stick with my HDC3 12" Aluminum (D2 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif). 30Hz If I go with 2 12" vvx's. But I am trying to sell my HDC312-A D2 with Trupan Ultralite box 2.15cuft 36Hz. Going to possibly post it to the classifieds this weekend.

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

id do sub and port forward

 

[Fi-brations 10+ year member]

Well u can go ahead and move ur box around if u already have it made, and see what direction sounds best to u

 

[907tacokid 10+ year member]

I have a Toyota Tacoma with two tens in a 3foot cube box tuned to 36hz

When I have the subs facing directly up they sound alright, not to loud but also not the best quality, probly because my lack of deadening in roof

But when I face them tword seats they sound a lot louder and much better mix with front stage. Dosent sound out of place.

Just wanted to give you my 2cents

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Each vehicle will yield diff results, as will diff enclosure sizes/types/alignments. We can guess and say it will have more exaggerated low end facing the rear, as that's pretty common, or sound best firing up, as again that's pretty common. But in the end, we are just guessing, and no amount of guessing, educated or otherwise, can make up for direct testing on your part.

 

[LuvnThatBass 10+ year member]

yeah I was hoping someone with a dodge dakota would be able to shine some light on what sounded loudest and best in their applications. The reason I ask without testing is that I am in the process (slow at that) of sound deadening and have takin EVERYTHING along with out more panels and replacing with deadener, insulation and then just carpet; just to give things a little more solid ground and provide more room. And I have two big pieces of wood ready to make an amp rack and the direction of the subs/port will be the determinant of this decision. So while I am in the month process of figuring out all that, I wanted to see if I could sell my sub set up now and upgrade a little.

Let me get a little different kind of information then....

If I face the sub towards rear wall, how close can it be without effecting the bass? How about facing front seats?

The rear wall of my truck has two vents, should I seal those up if I face the sub towards the rear wall? does it make any difference?

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

yeah I was hoping someone with a dodge dakota would be able to shine some light on what sounded loudest and best in their applications. The reason I ask without testing is that I am in the process (slow at that) of sound deadening and have takin EVERYTHING along with out more panels and replacing with deadener, insulation and then just carpet; just to give things a little more solid ground and provide more room. And I have two big pieces of wood ready to make an amp rack and the direction of the subs/port will be the determinant of this decision. So while I am in the month process of figuring out all that, I wanted to see if I could sell my sub set up now and upgrade a little.
Let me get a little different kind of information then....

If I face the sub towards rear wall, how close can it be without effecting the bass? How about facing front seats?

The rear wall of my truck has two vents, should I seal those up if I face the sub towards the rear wall? does it make any difference?

First, I hope you didnt think I was implying you shouldn't ask this question, that's what this forum is all about.

How close to the wall the sub is will affect its perceived freq response, as this will alter wave reflection, cancellation nodes, etc. Usually you dont want to be any closer to a loading surface than half the diameter of the port, or double the excursion potential of the cone. Much closer than this will tend to suffocate output. But this also depends on the angle of the surface, if its a flat wall or a corner, etc. The best thing you can do is educate yourself on the topic a bit (by making threads like this, research, etc) to get you into the ballpark, and then do as much testing as is feasible in your circumstances. Unless you are a hardcore SPL or SQ competitor, this method will usually yield less-than-ideal but more-than-adequate results.

I know Im not being very specific, but I hope Im helping anyway.