Ways to improve bass... Polyfill and gasket tape?

[Justinw303 10+ year member]

I'm satisfied with what I have right now, because I've accepted that it's pretty much all I fit behind my seat. Bass is good, but I'd like it to be a little better.

For one, I do have some air leaks around the outside of the woofer, where the mounting holes are. Someone told me to put some gasket tape on the underside of the mounting ring and that should stop it...

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=260-542

Should I use 1/2 or 3/8 inch wide tape?

Secondly, how much would polyfill help? My box isn't too small, it's actually a good size, and I heard polyfill is only helpfull for undersized boxes. But if it helps at all, I'd like to use some.

Thanks for any input! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

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[Shinobi 10+ year member]

Personally I'd look into your subs being a factor while it is true install is very critical sometime you can only muster so much from certain equipment in your situation i'd look into possibly some image dynamic IDQ's they should have better output than RE series 10's . Also you may not want to change setups however another possible option is I honestly dont know how bit your box is but you could possibly do a single ported 12 .

But like i said I dont know ur box size or power you have on tap for the subs . You also may not want to change anything and just want it louder you can try polyfill gasket tape prolly wont help even if u've taken ur subs out several times and put them back in as logn as your subs have a rubber gasket around them that came factory that area should be ok . As for polyfill its helped in some cases but only made small differences in most applications i've seen. So to me it sounds like you've hit a brick wall with ur current setup but thats my opinion.

 

[tRiGgEr 5,000+ posts]

Any leak in the box will sacrafice output and accuracy. You can just run down to home depot and get some weather striping in the window door section. I bet it will give you more out put if you do so. And get the widest strip you can buy that hides well under the speaker.

 

[dakotus 10+ year member]

I have that gasket tape from PE. I cant figure out how to make a straight piece of tape fit smoothly AROUND a round speaker. All I get a ugly creases.

 

[Justinw303 10+ year member]

Any leak in the box will sacrafice output and accuracy. You can just run down to home depot and get some weather striping in the window door section. I bet it will give you more out put if you do so. And get the widest strip you can buy that hides well under the speaker.

Is wheather stripping basically the same thing I linked to?

And am I right on the location of where to put the tape? On the part of the mounting ring that touches the front(outside) of the baffle?

 

[Shinobi 10+ year member]

Any leak in the box will sacrafice output and accuracy. You can just run down to home depot and get some weather striping in the window door section. I bet it will give you more out put if you do so. And get the widest strip you can buy that hides well under the speaker.

True any real leak but as I said if its just holes freom the screw from the under the mounting ring what would work better than weath stripping would be a some caulk but normally none of that is needed if you sub is secured down tight enough with the rubber gasket that comes on it.

I have that gasket tape from PE. I cant figure out how to make a straight piece of tape fit smoothly AROUND a round speaker. All I get a ugly creases.

best way to to work with that is cutting V grove i nthe tape every so often to make it bend to the curve of the circle.

 

[Justinw303 10+ year member]

True any real leak but as I said if its just holes freom the screw from the under the mounting ring what would work better than weath stripping would be a some caulk but normally none of that is needed if you sub is secured down tight enough with the rubber gasket that comes on it.

The RE's don't come with rubber gaskets like the rest of the lines from RE do. It's just metal on the bottom.

 

[stones 10+ year member]

I always put a bead of silicone around the mounting hole before mounting the woofer, it helps hold the screws and provides a nice airtight seal.

There is some controversy about silicone eating foam surrounds, I will elaborate on this.

The fumes given off by fresh uncured silicone do indeed corrode foam. However, this rate of corrosion is very slow, you would need to keep the foam in direct contact with the fumes of uncured silicone for a very long time before any noticeable damage to the foam surround to occur. A bead ran around the opening of the box will cure within hours and cause basically no damage.

 

[Justinw303 10+ year member]

I would prefer to put a liquid sealer around the screw hole rather than take the sub out to put the strip on there, but I don't like the idea of my sub being "stuck" to the box. How difficult will it be to remove a sub if there's silicone covering the screw?

 

[Shinobi 10+ year member]

I apologize I wasnt sure if the RE series came with the gasket. since they dont weather striping is a option or get your self a small 1/8" thick 12"L x 12"W peice of black rubber I'm sure you could find it some where. I'm jsut to lazy to look and basically cut your own gaskets to go under the sub.

 

[stones 10+ year member]

I would prefer to put a liquid sealer around the screw hole rather than take the sub out to put the strip on there, but I don't like the idea of my sub being "stuck" to the box. How difficult will it be to remove a sub if there's silicone covering the screw?

I recommend complete removal of the sub and putting down the bead of silicone then placing the sub back and putting the screws back while the silicone is still wet, that way the silicone conforms perfectly around the screw and doesn't cover the head.

Silicone will not "glue" the sub in, a gentle pry with a large screw driver will pop the woofer out and the silicone will stick to the carpet forming a permanent gasket on the box opening.

 

[96civ 10+ year member]

Try buying some rope caulk from Lowe's or some other related store; it's in the weatherstripping section probably. Works really well in sealing and sticks somewhat like sticky-tack, worked well in my sealed box.