SenseiEvan

Ok minor introduction
Vehicle
2006 Chevy Colorado Regular cab
bench seats (soon to be converted to buckets)
looking to build an entry level sq vehicle (with spl availablity.... mostly to annoy highschool guys with trunk rattle)

limits
- no cut through, (still have to use bed in truck... short enough as is)
- minor dash modification (i dont want to build a fibreglass dash from scratch... yet)
-kick panel speakers not an option (regular clumsy passengers, parking brake drivers side)
- not an unlimited budget (as much as i would like to have it. college is expensive)

personal background
-heavy woodworking background
-detail picky (all good work is noticed in the details)
- minor body work and metal fabrication background (last truck was a lemon, needed alot of work)
- have done painting, and stretched vinyl before
- dislike when things dont match and look out of place

intentions to start
2 - alpine SWR-T12
600w rms each
1800w peak
single coil 4ohm

1- alpine SPX 17 pro (6 1/2" component set)
100w rms
300w peak


1- alpine pdx f4 (for components)
100w rms x4

1- yellow top optima

sound deadening as necessary (dynamat, second skin, peel and seal, havent decided yet)

where im lost
- amp(s) for subs, preferably PDX (i like things to match and i just cant help myselt)

- wire size and necessary runs to power everything (would prefer a single run from the battery, with a union by the amps)

- capacitor necessity, or alternative

- sealed vs ported box (small truck, looking for overall sq),

- acceptable roll off point for subs

- crossover tuning

- benifits of seperate eq, or get a headunit with as many bands as possible?

ive tried reading elsewhere, but im looking for personal feedbacks on where i stand with what im trying to attempt
thanks to everyone for your help

in process of spec ing out a box for behind the seats with amp rack, will post as soon as its designed

SenseiEvan

sub box will be mdf, with a modfied wedge space, just trying to decide between air space (optimum is .6 cube but suggested space is .4 - .75, anyone have suggestions on which way i should go with this) from what i understand if i increase the box size i will have to lower the power put to the subs, but the will have a less dramatic roll off at low hz

Sinemeup

get yourself WinISD and play with different box sizes. I would rather see you get one 12 in the appropriately sized ported box, than 2 12's starving for air in a sealed box. If you want some output, that would be your saving grace.

SenseiEvan

thanks for putting me on to the software, couple things i have yet to figure out on it, but it will come,
im not looking to build a spl machine by any means, so pure output is not what im looking for, ive heard that ported boxes tend to sound sloppy in such a tight and confined area (such as the cab of my truck)
personally i would prefer a tight snap, vs something sloppy sounding,
but thats the ongoing battle of different enclosures
im looking for accurate sound reproduction, thats all this goes back to? the extra thump... is just for novelty purposes

Dukk

Get the buckets in first before trying to figure out anything else with the box. I have yet to see a truck that gained space behind the seats after adding buckets.

SenseiEvan

in not installing standard buckets, im cutting down the 60/40 split to accomodate, box is being built to spec for space that ive already got, (amps will be mounted in between "enclosures", with space for wiring in behind custom centre console)

LaZyLuke

iTrader: (2)

DO NOT buy a Cap, unless you want something that just looks nice.... wire runs will depend on the length (I would say 4AWG min no matter what)... since you asked about wires- check out BIG 3 upgrade....

I agree with Dukk about buckets...

boxes i like sealed, but I like them big (big as in 5.2cubes/2 drivers big- go low or go home)... if you want SPL go with ported (if you got the space), if you want SQ go with sealed... you can write a book about boxes so you will need to specify what exactly you are looking for (frequency-wise)

SenseiEvan

big 3 is a given, thanks though, im looking sq, so sealed is how im going, just off specs from alpine, they suggest .4-.75 cubes, optimum being .6, trying to decide if im gonna stick with .6 or got a bit bigger? anyone have input on this? (i wish i could fit more cubes behind the seats, but i like my leg room, and the depth has limited me to thinline subs.... and jl r too expensive)

LaZyLuke

iTrader: (2)

By thinline do you mean shallowmount? And jl don't have to cost alot if you buy them on kijiji ... Box size for sealed will depend on how low you want to go - bigger being lower (specs come in handy for this). Note that you will get much more efficiency out of drivers as the box gets bigger (less power to get to xmax - I have 2 700w drivers powered by one jl 500/1 and they hit xmax easy)...

SenseiEvan

decided to split the difference, box size of .755 cubes (.685 with driver removed)
just 3d modeling up the boxes themselves (dunno if ill get trim panels done tonight) should be up tomorrow evening