Building a sub box

[JohnnyT]

Anyone ever done it?

I'm picking up (2) Kicker comp CVR's along with a Kicker ZX1000.1 amp soon but don't have a box. If I can get away with doing a simple box (likely sealed), built to spec, and for cheap I figure why not. There's a little 'nook' in the trunk at the back that would be nice to fill with the box.

Wiring's already good to go, installed and routed to the trunk.

As for the amp, I was thinking of building a false floor and putting the amp where the spare tire was here:
http://i30.tinypic.com/2c0mkj.jpg

Or, there's space between the trunk and the rear seat, as seen here:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2083/1510164987_b8e64f64d9.jpg

Anyone have experience with this and willing to lend a hand??

[mndsm]

I don't have a ton of experience with volumetrics and whatnot, but building the box itself is pretty easy, if no one else wants to, I'll lend a hand. There's some fairly experienced installers here.

[JohnnyT]

I definitely don't need anything crazy, as price is my biggest concern here. I really have no issues on going with a pre-made Kicker box and doing something easy like that fake floor with the amp rack. Just figured if it's cheap enough and someone has the skill it'd be nice to utilize what would be the empty space and do something kinda cool.

[dmention7]

I have no experience either, but you can do some decent work with thick MDF, liquid nails, some wood screws, and some carpet covering. I'd be down for lending a hand.

Also, I seem to recall there being some fairly straightforward math when it comes to figuring out how to size/design the box. I could help with that too.

[mndsm]

Cheapness is all in materials. I'd use 1/2'' MDF for sure... be heavier than Dans' mom, but solid. Carboard templates are your friend when it comes to making custom shapes. a decent jigsaw (I have an ok one) and a table saw are required. I'd be happy to take a whack at it, I just can't guarantee perfection. The best way to do it might be to build a couple of basic cubes with the right volume, leave the faces off, and then make a one peice front for it. The floor itself will be the easy part.

[JohnnyT]

I have no idea how much materials are, and measurements shouldn't be too tough to calculate because it'll be basic angles and I know the specs on the subs:

Size (IN.,CM) 10, 25.4
Impedance (OHMS) 2 or 4 DVC
Max Rec Amplifier Power (WATTS PEAK/RMS)* 800/400
Sensitivity (dB 1w/1m) 85.5
Frequency Response (Hz) 25-500
Mounting Depth (IN.,CM) 5 9/16, 14.1
Mounting Cutout (IN.,CM) 9 1/4, 23.5
Min Rec Sealed Box Volume (CU. FT., Liters) 0.8, 22.7
Max Rec Sealed Box Volume (CU. FT., Liters) 3, 85
Min Rec Vented Box Volume (CU. Ft., Liters)** 1.25, 35.4
Max Rec Vented Box Volume (CU. Ft., Liters)** 1.75, 49.6

Floor likes pie. I have a better pic of it too:

http://i26.tinypic.com/2uygajt.jpg

So what's a realistic price to expect to pay on labor and materials for this?

[mndsm]

custom mdf box? 2-300min.

[mndsm]

Welp, if you wanna get together some time and hack out some measurements, I'm usually free.

[JohnnyT]

Yeah, I'm pretty flexible on this as I haven't even bought the amp yet. I'd just like to try and get it done before the cold really sets in.

btw did you just see in my previous post I wrote 'floor likes pie.' I'm not even going to edit that lol.

[mndsm]

Nope, it makes more sense that way. Lemme know, I'm down.

[1Kris06]

buy my subs instead :D Subs (http://www.mnmazda.com/forum/showpost.php?p=52021&postcount=1)

i haven't built a box yet, but like others said. once you have dimensions, glue, and carpet it isn't that hard. i could help out depending on the day.

[JohnnyT]

^ I need more boom booms. (2) 10" CVR's are perfect for my needs.

Tom, we could take some measurements at Porky's this Wed?

[Picklz]

I've built a few so I could lend a hand.

Some of this has already been mentioned. I'd go with 1/2 or 3/4" MDF and for what your planning half would probably be good. Liquid nails is FTW to help make sure its sealed up well. depending on how big the box needs to be you can probably get away with 1 4x8 sheet of MDF, glue, nails, carpet, etc. Should be able to do it for $100-200 pretty easily.

If you don't have it already you can get carpet here:
http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=Cat&srchCat=834&CFID=152118&CFTOKEN=41623449

That site (parts-express) has lots of other goodies too.

[JohnnyT]

Nice! Thank you sir. If it's going to be anymore than $150 I'd rather just build the amp rack in the spare wheel well and just buy a pre-made box. I'll price some things out when I have time...

[ZoomZoom Diva]

I'll just say I'm very leery of the idea of using the spare tire well, as I consider a spare tire to be an essential piece of equipment. You never know when you'll be out of range of a cell phone or AAA and have a tire too FUBARED to use fix-a-flat.

[Picklz]

99% of my driving is in town or at the very least in range of cell phone reception, its easy enough to toss the spare in if you know your going to be going somewhere where cell service or repair service may be hard to come by.

[mOjO]

go 3/4" MDF fo rizzo. less flex and minimaly more expensive.

Liquid Nails is a good suggestion, though I've found that screwing and wood glueing work wonders also.

The problem with prefab boxes is that they're not designed for the subs (unless you get them from the sub manufacturer). Building the box yourself should give you a better overall sound AND carpet match your trunk.

If you want your subs flush with the box, plan on doing a double baffle.

[JohnnyT]

Isn't that a bit overkill for (2) 10's?! I'm not dealing with Kicker square's here.

The prefab box I was looking at was made by Kicker and designed for the 2 subs I have. I just figured if I can get away with doing it cheaper I might as well.

[mOjO]

Sounds like a win!

And what's overkill? 3/4 mdf?

[mndsm]

No such thing as overkill. Go big or go home.

[keke]

Building a box won't cost you more than a sheet of MDF, which is cheap. Use 3/4" since there is minimal cost difference as compared to the 1/2". Use wood glue and some long wood screws. Maybe some silicone along the inside edges to make sure it's completely sealed but that shouldn't be necessary.

If you want advise on an amp rack/false floor I should be at Porky's this week. I'm sure most of you have seen my setup. I took the spare tire out and built an amp rack there. It's not hard, just make sure your measurements are accurate. I can show you what I did. I would also recommend thinking about some sort of cooling for your amp. I ran into issues during the summer time with the amp overheating so I had to install computer fans to cool it down.