My Sub Build (Ongoing)

[jmtiseo]

I currently have the box just about buttoned up. Just have to seal the inside (using a latex caulk as I read that silicone will eat the driver's surround and materials as it emits some sort of acid as it dries), add the face, cut the holes, and install the sub and ports. Waiting for my brothers to bring this stuff from work. Only thing I strongly recommend is making your cuts square. I had Home Depot make the cuts so the board will fit in my car, then my brother squared them up on the table saw. My box is close to the original plan but is just a skosche under what I wanted, I had one gap that I filled, and only had the wood split in two places. You can just glue it, or you can add screws. Until a box falls apart on me I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing by gluing it and screwing it together. I started pre drilling the holes but I was getting frustrated (not the best thing) and just started screwing into it. Overall the box is looking mighty fine given the resources I have at my expense. Pictures to come later.

I'm using my brothers broken in sub, the same exact thing as mine, hooked up to my amp at 4 ohms to see how the box sounds before installing mine for a very lengthy break in period, it's cold, and I don't need something to go breaking by getting anxious on hearing it pound..

Also, purchased my 1/0 gauge wire today, along with the 12 gauge speaker wire, remote wire, fuse holder, and connectors. Pics below. The cables/wire I'm using is DB Link, this does not look like true 0 gauge wire and from what I've read this is more like a 2 or 4 gauge wire. This is not a big concern of mine because many people have been using 4 gauge wire on these amps without any problems. Also, the run of wire is not that long, less than 6 feet, if the battery was located in the engine bay I would wait out and get higher quality stuff. The fuse block has a volt meter built into it and I'm hoping that I can mount this on the box and still be within the max length of 16" or 18" from the battery so the volt meter on it can still be readable (won't due much good if it's mounted in the spare tire well, we shall see). Anyways, here are some pics of the wiring hardware I'm using just for shnitz and giggles.

The ground and power cable, the casing is rather thick. Got mixed reviews online but this will suffice? for my installation for the moment. As mentioned if I was running long runs of wire, or a larger system, I would purchase higher quality wire.

Just showing that the stuff is relatively flexible.

The fuse block with the built in volt meter (not sure how accurate this or the one on my radar detector is) with 150 amp fuse.

Just the ring terminals to connect this stuff to the battery.

 

[jmtiseo]

Completed

Well It's been well over a week since the system's been buttoned up nicely in the confines of my trunk and I am impressed but some things could have been better. Remember this is pretty much my first build from scratch. Anyways, here it is. I apologize for the shotty pictures I didn't think to open up the doors or windows while doing this.


The enclosure:
Mid box build before putting on the face board.

The innards (minus the ports). I'm an idiot and never took a pic of the completed box unloaded. :Bang :slam

Again, I used 3/4" MDF, 1-5/8" screws, predrilled most of the holes, got anxious and quit doing that. You might be able to see some of the screw ups. This job would have been much easier had I known my brother had a table saw. Home Depot ripped the boards and not a single one was square (I wasn't expecting them to be) you live and learn.

Prior to putting on the face I sealed it using a latex based caulk. Really didn't need to (could use wood glue) but I used this, kind of a finishing touch to the interior. I read not to use a silicone based caulk because as it cures it releases an acid that can eat at your subs parts. I also read that if you do use it, let it to cure for a day before installing your sub so I chose not to use silicone.

Then came the challenging task of cutting holes. Ended up using a sawzall for the 11" sub hole (Not recommended), and a Dremel on the port holes the next day after getting a bit. I later used the dremel on the second face board to give the sub that recessed look. I highly recommend picking up one of them bad boys.

My ports are glued and screwed into the box and they felt firm after it was all said and done. Again, probably should have planned to put a brace in there for them but it felt pretty solid putting a long screw through the back board to hold them in place.

Amp/Wiring:
I didn't want to get too exotic on the amp placement and I liked the idea of not being able to see it. The amp is mounted on the back of the box, out of sight, and tucked nicely behind the rear seat. The only problem is that this makes for long runs of cable considering the battery is in the trunk.

Again, I used 1/0 gauge DB Link Cables and 14 gauge DB Link Speaker Wire. The RCA's out of the line out converter are Rockford Fosgate.

My sub is wired down to 2 ohms and so far it has been good with it and the amp runs cool. Crutchfield has Wiring Diagrams for various setups which helped me a wee bit. I didn't want to bother with terminals, or bolts, so I drilled a hole to run the speaker wire through the box. The hole was just the right size, I had to pull the wire through with a little bit of effort, but not enough to pull the casing off of it.

As I may have mentioned before, the remote wire for the amp is run to the fuel pump relay in the spare tire well. I got a new line out converter but didn't go through the trouble of wiring it in. The new one had a remote wire hookup where the one I'm currently using does not, so my remote wire remains as is.

The first problem my brother and I encountered was where to mount the fuse block with the built in volt meter (see pictures below). It is not within the recommended approximately 6-18" from the battery, more around 20" or so. The next was wiring the stupid thing. Figured the only thing that needed to be done was find a place to ground it, we did and next thing you know it doesn't work so I said screw it. I now have a $45 fuse block with a blank readout.

The ring terminals were crimped and then soldered on using a vice and torch respectively. Then came something I took out of what I thought was Frank's sub build but after searching through his I didn't see it. I wanted a quick disconnect where I wouldn't have to touch the amp to take it out. THis is almost completely quick disconnect except for the remote wire and the RCA's. Using these Battery Cable Connectors (I bought mine from a Warehouse in Sterling Heights that supplies Batttery Giant) for about $7 a piece I was able to make a quick disconnect for the ground and power cable. The connection is rated at 175 amps, my fuse 150, so the fuse will blow before this connection will see any heat. We stripped the cable, filled the connections about 2/3 with solder, while it was still hot inserted the cable into the connection. Then, again while still hot, pulled the casing over the connection slightly to seal 'er off. This is probable the part I'm most impressed with, assuming that it doesn't fail. This connector serves two purposes, a quick disconnect, and two, I never have to worry about my cables touching one another when disconnected. Don't have to switch off a circuit breaker or pull a fuse.

These make for a very solid connection from what I can tell.

Mounted 'er right up there on the back of the box.

Current settings on the amp. This is where my brother did the most help, I don't know a bloody thing about these settings but I know more now than I did before:

The Fin 'ol Solution (A Squidbillies reference):
Overall, to me, it came to a clean install. I'm no seamstress (you should see the under side of this thing) so the carpeting on the box could have been done a lot better. Maybe if I'm feeling extremely board I'll pull it out (giggity) and redo it but until then it's doing just fine for me. I added another faceboard to give it the recessed look and ensure that the sub won't hit the grille. I had to pull it out to put the rear deck cover back on as I couldn't finagle it in with the box pushed all the way back, it's tight (just the way your mother likes it Trebek).

Just the final install pics. I wanted to keep my old grille but this one is growing on me.

I'm an amateur when it comes to taking pics and videos as made evident by this one right here. It didn't cross my mind till after that almost all of you won't be rotating your monitors as I did my phone.

Below is a vid of my sub playing "Put On" by Young Jeezy. I like this song and it sounds very nice in the car and I'll maybe post another video inside. I'm surprised on how my phone picked this up but believe me it sounds bangin' in car. THere is port noise up the wazoo as mentioned by some of you guys. However, as mentioned by others, in the car you can't hear it, with the seats down in the driver's seat I can't hear it either. I don't know what that slapping noise is when the frequencies change is that the "chuffing", clipping, or what? Overall this box is good for rap/hip-hop, I came a across a few of my metal songs that hit pretty good. This is very responsive though hitting double and triple kick drums, not loud but you can still hear it.

Image Dynamic iDMax 12 D4V3 - "Put On" Young Jeezy

Of course your feedback, "constructive criticism" and opinions are welcome.

*****Also, is it possible to change the name of this? The only thing ongoing now is the wait for my double din to magically appear in my dash.

Lastly, my brother took my old system and threw it in his daily driver Saturn. It has killed the battery twice. He found that the remote relay is faulty in the amp leaving it on constantly. Explaining why it gets hot when not in use and probably why it would go haywire if the radio was turned off.

 

[FALECF4]

Sweet set-up and great job for your first time! The first time is always the hardest and if you decide to do it again you can get even fancier if you want(and if you have the patience).

 

[Andrizzle]

You did a good job.

However, I am confused as to where the port is? Why don't you have it firing back like the driver? Also, you mentioned wood glue, but did you use it on the joints?

 

[Onefreshls]

looks good bro but whats with the fuse hanging out like that man you got to put that away lol

 

[FrankLS]

Nice work. Looks and sounds good. I like your grill. Much more than the one you had before. I would personally spray paint it black. I think it'll look much better and cover up any existing flaws, if any.

 

[Lownslowlsc]

Very nice work!

As for the amp, why is the x-over set to 125hz? Also, I can't tell from the glare but is the gain minimized while you're and using bb? Normally I'd reverse that.

 

[jmtiseo]

Thanks for the support fellas.

For starters patience is the main thing I need if I build one of these again. Not having boards cut square really grinds my gears.

As for the prots Drizz, they're firing out the side, they're nearly two feet long each, will take pictures at a later time. As for the caulk/wood glue issue, I used glue in the joints but since some of them were not cut square I just wanted to make sure I hit all the spots where the glue didn't ooze out.

The fuse block is where it's at because it was originally supposed to have a volt meter readout on it. After installing it all it turns out it doesn't work. Plus, Putting it in the spare tire well means I'd have to take the box out to get to it, for now the fuse will remain where it's at. I will probably relocate once I get the double din then have to run the remote gain knob (which I don't see a purpose in considering it's barely used.

There actually are defects in the grille, a little rust that I couldn't get off with the steel wool. I like the idea of painting it black and will get to it in time.

In regards to the amp settings. I'm not too sure how to properly set it up. I thought it was odd that the crossover was set so high also but my brother turned the knobs. I'm actually scared to play with it.

Any suggestions/pointers on adjusting the gain, bb, and x-over frequency? I'd really like to fine tune this bad boy but I don't want it to blow up on me.

 

[Lownslowlsc]

Sub's can play 125hz but it should be set at or below 80hz. From looking at the Sen setting it goes by incremints of 25, so just a hair above the second line. 80hz+ should be taken care of by you're mid's.
I don't see the point of using bb if the gain is set all the way down. 0 out the bb and adjust the gain. There are plenty of guides on how to set it properly all over the net.

BB is a dangerous setting to those that don't understand it. It's a really easy way to clip the crap out of your system.
Can't really screw anything up by messing with the freq knob but it should stay around 65-80hz.
Gain knob you don't want to set over half most the time. This setting varies from 1 install to another.

 

[BlackLS06]

Very nice work!

As for the amp, why is the x-over set to 125hz? Also, I can't tell from the glare but is the gain minimized while you're and using bb? Normally I'd reverse that.

Sub's can play 125hz but it should be set at or below 80hz. From looking at the Sen setting it goes by incremints of 25, so just a hair above the second line. 80hz+ should be taken care of by you're mid's.
I don't see the point of using bb if the gain is set all the way down. 0 out the bb and adjust the gain. There are plenty of guides on how to set it properly all over the net.

BB is a dangerous setting to those that don't understand it. It's a really easy way to clip the crap out of your system.
Can't really screw anything up by messing with the freq knob but it should stay around 65-80hz.
Gain knob you don't want to set over half most the time. This setting varies from 1 install to another.

Good tips.

The install looks good but theres a couple things i would change first of all with the gain and x-over. Do exactly as he said.

No need to be scared to mess with it. Also i agree with the fuseblock but that can be addressed later.

And i do recommend you install the remote gain control. I find it very handy when i want to knock down or turn up the bass in a split second without taking my eyes off the road or changing a setting in the headunit.

I can tell you right now my setup hits harder than that and you are running it at twice the power i am with bigger gauge wires. The levels need to be adjusted.

 

[jmtiseo]

Well I attempted to fine tune the thing but to no avail. Really only accomplished setting the x-over to 80hz and reconnecting my drivers door speaker. The BB is all the way down as well now, conservative. The gain is only up one click on the knob. I noticed the surround having a slight wrinkle. I don't want that to become a habit for it so I tried to leave it conservative as to not rueeeen it.

If anyone in the Northern Indiana would like to meet up and really tune this bad boy in I'd appreciate it, throw some doll hairs for yah, get a brew or few etc. Which reminds me. Once spring rolls around, have like a tri-state area meet.

 

[BlackLS06]

Let the sub break in some more.

I recommended playing a high quality version of on my level by wiz khalifa.

It has some nice deep lows. Dont worry about the surround its meant to do that. You arent overpowering/underpowering the sub so you have nothing to worry about.

 

[jmtiseo]

Funny you say that, the only album I have of Wiz Khalifa is Rolling Papers with that song on it, should be quality enough.

I actually contemplated making a new box or retune the bloody thing. I'm getting barely anything out of the kick drums when I play some metal/rock.

Thanks for the support.

How will I know when it's reached it's max then, go by the "listen for clipping" then back it off a skosche regardless of what the surround's doing? I mean the past couple times through the second I saw it wrinkle I turned that sucker down.

 

[1MiC]

hey bro how is your system working for you? You have the most similair system i can find to what im planning to go with. How many ohms do you have it wired down to? Also how is it affecting your electrical?

Im planning to do between 700-1000w RMS, im leaning towards 700w @ 2ohms to avoid electrical strain.

 

[jmtiseo]

2 ohms. My lights dim at full retard but at comfortable listening level it is perfect. I want to rebuild the box and upgrade the head unit and my cables but it's not going to happen till mid to late next year when I start my career.

 

[Chubbs765]

Must be nice to see at night. Haha my lights dim like crazy when I'm poundin

 

[jmtiseo]

Can only imagine with that haus in the trunk.

 

[jmtiseo]

How bored am I? Bored enough to post here that I'm still running this system and that Image Dynamics is set to release the IDMaxV4 in a 15" sometime in April. Still wanting to rebuild my enclosure, I allow my surround to wrinkle at full retard now that it's broken in, and I took some more pics that are clearer than the last ones I posted. I took a video too but the quality is still **** so I'm not posting it. When I'm home next I'm going to plasti-dip the grille to cover up some of its defects. I think I have a can or two there, not worth buying one for such a small piece.

Meh. :/

SonicElectronix.com was at CES and posted a video explaining some of the updates.

Image Dynamics IDMAX v4 Car Subwoofer | CES 2013 - YouTube

 

[Lownslowlsc]

That new max looks nasty, to bad it'll probably retail for $500 bucks.

P.S. A little roll in the surround at full excursion is normal.

 

[blwnbyu]

If you're that bored you should move your fuse and clean up that wiring

 

[Lownslowlsc]

If you're that bored you should move your fuse and clean up that wiring

I think it looks good compared to most. Only thing i'd do is route the remote lead under either the ground/power wire and tuck it above/under the fuse block.

 

[jmtiseo]

That new max looks nasty, to bad it'll probably retail for $500 bucks.

P.S. A little roll in the surround at full excursion is normal.

I'm going to guess around $600 or more.

Yeh I remember when I first got it I was concerned about it with it not being broken in. Knowing that it was designed to do that helps me sleep better at night.

If you're that bored you should move your fuse and clean up that wiring

Fuse has been moved to the spare tire well. Wiring will get cleaned up the next time I disconnect it. Don't underestimate the power of the lazy.

I think it looks good compared to most. Only thing i'd do is route the remote lead under either the ground/power wire and tuck it above/under the fuse block.

Duly noted, thanks.

 

[jmtiseo]

Posted in the video thread but just updating this thread here. I'm still waiting for the resources (money, time and space) to rebuild the box.

iDMax Flexing - YouTube

 

[jmtiseo]

The time has come. I'm in the process of revising my setup here with the help of Frankie the Technical Director at Image Dynamics. We've been emailing back and forth since Monday about this enclosure build and he's taken our general trunk measurements and requests and punched them out into a cut/build sheet for me.

He also ran the enclosures, both existing and revised through a program and spit out a response curve. I don't know what they all mean but figured I'd load them up for resource/reference sake. Also, I threw the birth sheet V3 vs. V4 for the iDMax driver in for good measure. They recently revised their drivers and now have a 15" in the lineup.

I'm going to be adding the beauty board like Rollin's to hopefully finish it off. Lastly, I'm upgrading my power and ground cables from DB Link cable that I don't know what it is to Knukonceptz Kollosus Fleks. My cables need to be a little longer to be comfortable and the Knu cable is OFC with a higher strand count.

The game of trunk space is a game of inches. At the end of the day, I should be getting 3-4 inches back.

General Trunk Measurements (Depth measurements are the enclosure's limits):

Rollin's Beauty Board:

Old setup spec sheets (built to print earlier in thread):

Revised setup spec sheets:

Driver birth sheets V3 vs. V4:

 

[M4rk]

Do you have any issues with the upper carpet rattling? That son of a bitch is driving me nuts, along with the lid liner.