slim142

Question in title If a subwoofer is meant for a 1.6 cubic ft ported enclosure, but let say I put it in a 1.8 or 2.0 cubic ft one, what exactly are the risks and/or consequences? Also, what would happen if a port is too small for the sub? what if the port is too big (too wide/long)?

Anyone?

Yes, I contacted one company a probably over a year ago and they told me because they didn't have vehicles available, they couldnt proceed to make brackets and measurements etc. I have kept an eye at the SSA store and BMW has never been listed. At least from what I recall.

So I'm about to purchase a second battery for my car. My questions are the following. Only one fuse is needed (just like in my current setup, same one I currently have)? and it still goes between the last battery and the amplifier, no more than 12" away from amp, correct? The batteries are very close to each other (trunk), do they need to have their black (ground) terminals connected to each other or can each battery have their own ground? (I know for the red (positive) they must be connected to each other or else this wouldn't work). No problems if my main battery is a D2400 and my second is a D3100? After plugging in the second battery, should I let the car accommodate to balance the voltage before blasting bass? Any tip, recommendation,comment you could give me that I should know?

Hi Im trying to replace my factory battery with an XS Power one. The one and only battery (according to the XS website) I can upgrade to is the D4800. However, I contacted them to verify this and they told me it would be recommended to make some measurements just to verify this. I went ahead and made some approximate measurements (since I did not want to deal with removing all this wires at 11pm) The measurements I got were the following: Height: ~8" Length: ~12" Width: ~71/2 These seem to match the dimensions from the D4800. However, as you can see in the following picture, right next to the bolt there seems to be another hole (RED arrow), it appears to be an extra inch of space for the length? I have already contacted XS Power about this. I just want to verify, do you guys think I can fit a bigger (better) battery? Will I need a new battery plate? Is it worth taking the chance? I dont see returning a battery very appealing when it comes to shipping cost. I know asking this is very difficult as a picture cannot really justify great judgement, but hopefully someone can help me out. Im not looking to mod the car in any way, just a direct fit. Going as far as buying a new battery plate as long as a better battery is guaranteed a direct fit. 2008 BMW 328i Sedan Any help is greatly appreciated!

What happened to this? Sorry just saw this thread and it looked very interesting, except most photos dont work now. Is this project finished?

Great! for a moment I thought it could have been my receiver or my iphone signal. Seems like Im not the only one who noticed. Thank you all for your input!

I noticed that FM signal (radio) songs play with a lot more bass, and I mean A LOT more. When I listen to the exact same song using my iphone, some songs sound dead. I can tell there is a huge difference. I understand some radio stations boost their signal or use EQ, but why is the difference so noticeable?

I'm sorry, I read that in the reverse for some reason. What app are you using to play music from? I know in spotifiy under music settings you can enable compression making all of the quietest points as loud as the lowest (Iphone only IIRC). Also it depends on at what rate your music is encoded at, since mp3 compression works by removing things that are normally out of the human hearing range which can cut out a lot of low end. Another thing to check for in your headunit settings is gain or in unit compression, when using bluetooth I had to enable this to even out the vast differences of recording standards. Thats why always having a little more power on tap or gain room allows you to make up the difference. Sometimes the standard music app. Sometimes the djay app. All my music is 256kbps AAC (itunes automatically converts it during sync). Might burn a CD with .wavs to see if the conversion could be culprit. I use the 3.5mm phone jack. No bluetooth. Im using my factory radio (BMW), no major sound adjustment options other than bass (on +2) and treble (default). Why would I want to make the signal flat? I never play with EQs because even though some people like to make music sound a step better, those settings might not be the best for the upcoming song.

I'll give it a shot on flat. Not expecting miracles though lol. Correct, so if some gain and frequency response are lost for FM transmission purposes, why does so much bass get played through my sub? I understand sometimes "muddy" low quality music can produce that extra-bass effect, but honestly, it doesnt sound as if this was the case.

Im not really the type of user who plays around with EQs. I like leaving it off. Regarding your second question, I buy high resolution music and CDs mostly. I understand iTunes converts them down to 256kbps AAC and a lot is lost, but still, the amount of bass missing when comparing the radio and my iphone playing the same song is too big to not question it. The music from my iphone plays very good regardless, but that extra punch the radio provides makes me feel like my iphone is not providing me the whole experience.

Just got my brand new D4800. I would like to know, should I charge the battery before installing it in the car? Assuming I do need to fully charge it, I dont happen to have a car charger. I read in the documentation included that it needs to be a charged with with a charger that does no more than 2.4v per cell. If I was to take it to Pepboyz or Advanced Auto Parts, how can I make sure they charge it properly?

I thought about buying the charger, but buying something for a one time, single use at that price does not seem very reasonable to me. Opinions?

Ok so I'm trying to answer the following questions What is it? What does it do? Does it benefit the subwoofer and/or sound? Should I get it in my enclosure? For the following terms: Flush Mount, Double Baffle & Kerft Port Can someone please clearly answer those questions for each term and explain them to me? I'm completely lost. Thanks!

Yea you are right, I guess a small circular piece of wood underneath the front baffle could allow you to have a flush mount without necessarily having a double baffle all around the front. Ok so it looks like flush mount is something I would want (looks nice I think) and double baffle to reinforce the front side of the enclosure which will hold the sub. About the kerf port, I think I heard long time ago that it benefits the sound coming out from the enclosure and makes it "smoother" since it is not straight angles. Any input on kerf ports?

I see! That was clearly explained. Thank you! So if you get the flush mount option in your enclosure, that means you are technically getting the double baffle automatically, right? Also, besides the looks, how exactly does the flush mount/double baffle help/hurt the subwoofer?

So here is my situation I have a Sundown 3500D in my car. It is a BMW 328i with factory everything. Im trying to jump on the sale and buy either an XCON or a ZCON. However, what is stopping me is the rated power. I plan on getting a single 12". It will, of course, be powered by the Sundown 3500D. Because it will be just one subwoofer (due to trunk space), I plan on getting a Dual 1ohm voice coil (so I can get a final load of 2ohms). My question is, should I proceed and get the XCON (which at 2ohm, will be fully powered @ 1750 RMS) or get the ZCON (which would be underpowered considering its rating is 2250 RMS and I would only be feeding it 1750 RMS). (the reason why Im not buying dual 2ohm voice coils to have a load of 1ohm is because my entire car is factory. I have not replaced the alternator or battery and I think asking 3500 RMS from my stock bimmer would put me in risk of damaging the electricals, wouldnt it?) The price difference is not really a problem here. I just want to make sure I get the best performer for my money. A first quick guess would make anyone think the ZCON would be the best option, but I just want to confirm a fully powered XCON will not outperform the underpowered ZCON. (and yes, I plan on getting a custom enclosure from one of the vendors here to get the maximum optimal results) Any help is greatly appreciated!

If I change cars, I will definitely upgrade the electricals. A new beginning deserves a better story haha. The more answers that get posted, the more I'm feeling like replacing the stock battery. Since the sub will take some time to arrive, I could work on the battery in the mean time. Im thinking an XS D4800 which seems to fit my car according the XS website. I really wish I knew about the big 3 in this car, a quick google search didnt bring anything I could use other than the current wiring in the car is 2 gauge.

My alternator is 180 amps according to the technical sheet (2008 BMW 328i Sedan E90). I have no plans to upgrade the alternator. I cant justify the price of upgrading it when Im not sure how long will I be keeping this car for. Also, Im not even sure how is the big 3 done in this car since the battery is in the back, everything is tight, the battery cables are all hidden, and the cables have this special fit connectors built into them for the positive and negative terminals. Sorry, not very familiar with the configuration here. Not sure if I would need to replace my battery even if I was to go the 1750 RMS route either. These are the two options I have so far A) Buy dual 2ohm vc which means, buy an XS battery as well. OR B) Buy dual 1ohm vc and enjoy at 1750 responsibly ///M5, noway you would run the 3500D with stock electrical. Not even at 1750? Impious, when you say "if you are planning on upgrading your electricals..." which ones do you mean? battery? big 3? alternator? all three?

I dont think I will upgrade the electricals in this car. I have too many miles on it and I think a car upgrade will not be happening within the next 6 months, but probably within the next 6-12 months. With that said, I think the best choice would be to play it safe and go for dual 1ohm and wire it for 1750 RMS. Thank you all for the useful comments!

Yeah honestly, the more I think about it, the less I want to go for 1ohm load. 3500 RMS sounds like a huge stress to my car in its current factory condition. So I guess I will proceed to go with the dual 1ohm voice coil (2ohm final load) and avoid any dangerous situation.

ABSOLUTLY NOT an option if you don't plan on electrical upgrades. So in this situation, even leaving the bass knob at 50% would be very dangerous?

I have one last question Would it be (crazy / unnecessary / completely stupid) to buy the dual 2ohm voice coil version instead and have a final load of 1ohm? Now that Im thinking about it, I will probably stick to one subwoofer (had plans to buy two in the future, but I doubt I will at this point) so Im not sure if I should just buy the dual 2ohm voice coil, wire it at 1ohm and keep an eye on the gain remote.

Probably around the low 30s? I have to discuss that with whoever I decide to build the enclosure with. No big 3, No upgrades planned to any of my electricals. Thanks Aaron I use my car as well as the radio daily, but I definitely want to get the most output especially since my trunk is super sealed. Every bit of dB counts in this case. I have been aiming at the ZCON for over a year and I think the time has finally come.

I have a black 08 BMW 328i which I want to wash and make as shiny as possible. I have no idea where to start. I enjoy washing my car, but I would like to know if there is a special soap or shiny spray/gel to make it look even better. Any ideas?