Will a sonotube sub work in a car?

S.C · 2004-05-29 4:02 am

I have some JBL LC -S1200w 12 inch sub, I want to use sonotube to build a 1.25 cu ft sealed enclouse for the sub. However, I see most of the home use sub will face the sub to the floor. Will my sub work fine in my 96 Civic Coupe's trunk if I build the enclouse and facing the sub to left or right in the trunk? Do you think it is a good idea to have a dual sub sonotube? It will sort of looks like some boombox back then.

My sub info:
specifications
Recommended Amplifier Power Range: 12-200W
Sensitivity: 91dB
Frequency Response: 40Hz¡V500Hz
Mounting Depth: 5" (127mm)
Cut-out Diameter: 10-3/4" (273mm)
Thiele and Small Parameters
Nominal Impedance: 4 Ohms
Revc: 3.45 Ohms
Fs: 27.4Hz
Vas: 124 Liters
Qms: 3.18
Qes: 0.37
Qts: 0.33
Mms: 109.2g
Levc: 2.2mH
Sealed-Enclosure Specifications
Enclosure Volume 1.25 cu. ft. (35.88 Liters)
Vented-Enclosure Specifications
Enclosure Volume 1.75 cu. ft. (49.54 Liters)
Port Diameter 4" (101.6mm)
Port Length 10-3/4" (273mm)
Bandpass-Enclosure Specifications
Sealed-Chamber Volume 1.25 cu. ft. (35.88 Liters)
Vented-Chamber Volume 1 cu. ft. (28.31 Liters)
Port Diameter 4" (101.6mm)
Port Length 6" (152.4mm)

edit 1: added some words

mr.bear · 2004-05-29 5:18 am

Of course it'll work. I've used a sonotube sub in my Volvo wagon for several years (1.2 cu ft with a single Alumapro Alusonic 12", Qts in that volume has a nice 0.6 or so, bass is deep and solid). I used a Neutrik 'Speakon' 4-pole connector on the end of the tube, with a nice length of Tara Time & Space 'Continuum' speaker cable. These connectors flow 2X20 amps and absolutely can't short out. The advantage of the tube is that it is VERY LIGHT versus an MDF box and can be removed easily when there's a load of junk to haul.

If you put the sub in the trunk, do allow an unobstructed passsage from the trunk to the interior of the car at least the area of the cone (holes in the deck, armrest pocket with the backing removed, etc.). It theoretically results in helmholz resonances between the trunk and the car but they occur so low, IME, they don't affect the sound of a sub signifcantly.

S.C · 2004-05-29 5:27 am

However, I am planning to build a sealed sub. Will it still work if I make a holes connecting from the trunk to the front? So it doesn't matter where the sub face, right?

P.S: what is IME haha, I am such a noob.

Hybrid fourdoor · 2004-05-29 7:42 am

IMO IME = In My Experience

Will it still work if I make a holes connecting from the trunk to the front?

Are you meaning your going to have the back seat folded down? The speaker will work in any direction...although firing directly at the rear window would probably be worse (reflections....rattle)

Hybrid fourdoor · 2004-05-29 7:45 am

Actually one important part to add. I have an 96 Integra and sometimes water leaks into the trunk. So if you use a sonotube, seal it up real good....the outside of the tube I mean. You don't want that cardboard egtting wet. Use a primer or something, or maybe a wood sealant.

S.C · 2004-05-29 11:16 am

Hybrid fourdoor said:
IMO IME = In My Experience

Are you meaning your going to have the back seat folded down? The speaker will work in any direction...although firing directly at the rear window would probably be worse (reflections....rattle)

Um.... sorry, I may be misinterpreted your meaning of allowing an unobstructed passsage from the trunk to the interior of the car. Since Mine is a civic, I don't have arm rest on my back seat. How can I acheive that kind of passage without dropping the seats down?

S.C · 2004-05-29 1:52 pm

After reading a couple site, I'm thinking since I have 4 subwoofers laying around. I might use it to build a mini Isobaric sonotube subwoofer ! My rough calculation give me a sweet 14" diameter X 9-10" height X 0.25 thick. And I have one concern about the distance from end cap to the magnet/cone. The sub will be one inch a part from magnet to cone, and the sub itself has a height of 5.5". So two of them together and once inch a part will give me 5.5"+1"+5.5"= 12" height and how much space do I need to leave out between the driver inside and the endcap? Basically the 9"-10" Won't work..... Any suggestions?😕

m1abrams · 2004-05-29 3:40 pm

mr.bear said:
If you put the sub in the trunk, do allow an unobstructed passsage from the trunk to the interior of the car at least the area of the cone (holes in the deck, armrest pocket with the backing removed, etc.). It theoretically results in helmholz resonances between the trunk and the car but they occur so low, IME, they don't affect the sound of a sub signifcantly.

Well I once built a sub-box for my 95 neon that I placed in the trunk. It was a ported box with 2 10" woofers.

I had the woofers firing to the rear of the car, and the two ports straight up. It was placed against the rear seat, so the sub actually sat under the rear deck. The rear deck had two stock 6x9s that I had just disconnected and was going to remove them to allow for an "unobstructed passsage", however when playing around it actually sounded better and less boomy with the 6x9 inplace disconnected.

It is not a requirement in a car to provide passage way from a trunk to the interior. The rear decks and back seats really are not that well sealed in most vehicles, and in some case with experiement you may like one way over the other.

Bottom line, try different positions of the subs and see what you like best.

S.C · 2004-05-29 5:49 pm

After using the sealed.xls from here calculating the power I need to drive this sub, and I find out I need 489watt for max. AM I right? Is the X-Max = Cut-Out Diameter? And Do you think I can get an amp with enough power for around $150?

Hybrid fourdoor · 2004-05-30 1:13 am

Xmax means how far the cone will move in one direction (move back or move forward) (ex: 1mm, 5mm, 12mm). 12mm Xmax would mean 24mm total movement in both directions, (24mm = 1 inch)

Since you have a shelf in the back where the back speakers are, couldn't you have pipes that go from the sub up through the shelf and radiate into the interior? You frequency response might be limited, but it would get alot of sound into the interior without any visible speakers.

S.C · 2004-05-30 4:24 am

Ok, I got all my materials already for $40.6 ( one 12"dismeter X 4' tall, a MDF board cut into 2 14"width rectanglar board and the rest cut into 3 parts, 8 10-32 T-Nut, and 8 10-32 5/16 bolt.) from Homedepot.
However, how far apart should the sub from magnet-magnet, cone - magnet, cone- cone ? Let say I have a 13" Diameter, 12" height , and 1/8" thick sonotube cut out, and I want to place the sub magnet - magnet 2" apart because the mounting depth is 5", and I put one sub each side. 12" height- 5"+5" = 2" apart. Will that apporpriate?

S.C · 2004-06-02 6:28 am

This is what I had done so far- this is the end cap with wood filling and Silicon Acrylic caulk inside. Two of the MDF circle laid on the side with pencil on it are failures, and the bigger one is the result after I had made two mistake. It is good to keep the end cap bigger than you need because you don't want the end cap smaller than the tube, and then slowly sand it or trim it down to fit the size. :smash:

S.C · 2004-06-02 6:39 am

BTW I had 3 more 17"X4x" MDF to go Yepp !😀

S.C · 2004-06-06 3:29 pm

Here we go !

This is a shot of the sub placing vertically