nick_19

Another idea is to run all of your stock electrical off of one alt at standard voltage and set a "stereo only" electrical system at 16~18 volts on the remaining alternators. Just an idea.

I was excited when I clicked on this post, as I thought I had nearly the exact same question as you, seeing your list of subs. I was, however, greatly disappointed when I read your goal of achieving "the most boom." I have my own thread on nearly the same question, save the fact that I have volume constraints, where you do not. Try reading the replies to my topic whenever they come, because nobody will give you advice with your question posed in that manner (not meaning to sound like a dick).

As of now, I've got a SAZ-2500D and the electrical to back it up, so it's time to get a new sub to be powered! Here's my dilemma: I've always had 15's and experimented thoroughly with them in my car, but I feel as though it would be fun to venture into the world of 18's. However, I can only get up to about 5-5.5 cu. ft. net in my trunk. I would put the 15" in about 4.5 cu. ft. tuned to around 30 Hz. This has shown to provide a fairly non-peaky curve in my car, while being efficient and very, very low. Now, if I stuff an 18" in 5.5 cu. ft. and tune it to 30-32 Hz, will this make it significantly peakier? Will the lows be better or worse? Do you think it would be louder (perceptively) or not? Thanks for the opinions. Goals - loud daily driver with excellent low (25-35 Hz) freq response, while not sounds like complete crap (never been into the whole ProBox thing)

An hero.

Never heard of this. I, too, have the same radio and absolutely love it. I can't think of any settings or anything I have thus far encountered that would cause what you are describing to happen. It is a great radio! Make sure you have DSP set to through. The sound processor in that thing really does make a difference. Supreme+ basically boosts very low and very high frequencies lost in the lossy mp3 format. The bluetooth feature of that radio is very cool. Could you be accidentally pushing the attenuate button on the remote (I know... just trying though).

Supah gloo?

Anyone have experience? This is the "DR series" alternator and supposedly voltage is controlled by the PCM. (info from Missing Link)

Hey all. The topic pretty much states it all. I've got a 225 amp EA alt and 13.6 idle voltage isn't cutting it. If anyone knows of a VCM or way to simply increase voltage I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

Still curious.

Why does one need two RCA cables (i.e. red and white) to plug into a mono channel subwoofer amplifier? It seems to play just fine with only one "channel" plugged in... Why is the subwoofer output "left and right"? Thanks for answering my stupid question.

On topic... hehehe Oh and now I don't know about that BTL... Dammit you are making things difficult.

Those results are misleading. Don't pay any attention to them. Any way you could elaborate on this?

I see you have a 06 Grand Prix. I have a old 04 Grand Prix, I went with powerbastards alternator 220 amp. It it working fine now for 6 months. Im allways willing to change to something better. Please post more about your experience with your alternator. I run a single 15 with 2 sundown 1500s strapped. My best so far is 152.0 db and my voltage stays at 14.2 volts at the amps constantly playing a 49 hz full duty cycle. I also have 2 c&d 100 pound batteries. Anyway I interested in your experiences also. Thanks ! I will do man. I will be running 2000-3000 watts, but I will only be using my starter battery. I might try to check out your system sometime if I'm around Dallas. I'm down in College Station.

OP here. Y'all are quite interesting for sure. Thanks for all the opinions. I'll probably end up going with a SAZ2k or similar. I'm not stupid with my equipment and know how to care for it. I'll put the system on the meter for sure, but it's me and friend's personal meter; I won't compete with this setup unless it's for fun. If I can't tell the difference, I don't need the extra power. Besides, the SAZ2k, for example, puts out over 2400 watts at 12.5V in Jacobs test, so after everything is accounted for, I'd rather have a solid 2k watts than a voltage dropping, unclean 2.5k-3k watts. It sounds like I won't be able to tell the difference anyways. If I find a good deal on a 3k, I'll get it just to have the headroom and be able to not run the amp as hard. And as far as the budget goes, I don't want to waste money, but I will spend money to have my system work at its full potential. I mean I'm not going to buy a $500 sub just to not use it like it was meant to be used (it'll be fully loaded).

AHHHHH! I WANT!

Screw a port calculator. Go with what Fi recommends on their website: 12-16 in^2 of port per cubic foot. Your good man. I always have around 12 in^2 port area per cubic foot and haven't had problems.

Awww you know he meant volume Even enclosure volume. Really? I've always been under the impression that, generally, you'd want more port area for a higher volume box... So they aren't related in any way?

Awww you know he meant volume

That's enough port area. 28 Hz is on the bottom end of the spectrum but will give you great low bass and a pretty flat curve (I prefer tuning in this area personally). Those specs look good as far as I can tell!

not to be rude... but you would not know the difference untill you start that topic of " my amp is blown" 1500@1ohm on factoy cell on a 220 peak alt = trouble IMO. I've run my T10001.bd (birthsheet at 1400+ RMS @ 14.4V) on my stock cell and stock alt (125 amps) for ~2 years now and have had zero issues. I never drop below 13 volts and almost never see 13.5 volts.

Do you think something like this would be available by summer? Or is it earlier in the testing phase?

I've always wondered how you figure all that out. Is there a formula you use. I know how to calculate the volume but how do you figure out the tuning. Any input would be greatly appreciated. thanks It's a forumla. The most popular source for it is JL Audio's website. However, I do not want to support JL Audio by giving their website hits. PM me your email address and I'll send you handy little Excel worksheet to aid you in your box building.

Option A would actually be 34.5 inches (don't forget to add .75 for thickness of wood). IMO, the best option would be to put a 45* angle in the corner of that port to make the width more consistent and call the length 33.475 inches (Option C plus the hypotenuse of the isosceles triangle formed by the 1.75" legs plus the .75 thickness of the port wall). That's how I measure with ports like that, personally. Port area is simple: width x height. In your case, this is 50.75 in^2 Give me total outer dimensions and I'll give you your tuning and volume.

It may be cheap but if you fo some searching people generally scorn down upon PowerBastards for cheap and unreliable products... And you will be fine with that much power on a 200 amp alt. Look at Excessive Amperage or DC Power or similar.

Old thread. So old that the pic isn't even there anymore. Well I did do the testing, albeit I did not write down the results. I will re do the test in the coming days. However, the qualitative conclusion from the TL metering is that, in my application, sub up, port firing in the rear of the trunk towards the drivers side wall of the car (the first drawing on the left) was the loudest, and had the lowest peak frequency. My bad for not posting results for... 1.5 years. However! I will redo this test and come back with quantitative answers. I'll even redraw the picture real quick.... Edit: The reason I am using this box design is because it allows me to have boxes with MUCH larger volumes (over 6 cubes gross in a trunk with the ability to remove the box anytime) for my boxes as opposed to sub and port in the same direction. The reason is that my box depth is limited when I have to build the box tall enough to mount a sub on a vertical wall. This way I make flatter boxes with a square top and bottom (current box is 33x33x12). In this way, I could even fit.... oh no. I may want to try to fit an 18 back there now (rushes off to Excel).