yes i have searched and found some stuff but i thought i would ask for a straight up answer. i have been helping my friend work on his truck alot and instead of just paying me he gave me 2 brand new 10" Lighting Audio subs (yes they are the ones from walmart) and a 300 Watt VR amp (yes its a walmart amp). my question is would they be worth the time to build a box and install them in my 4runner. I know they are some cheapest crap that they make but i mean, for free, come on. IS it worth it or should i just give um back.
-Kyle

 

get some sub box at walmart too!

 

im not sure if he was kidding but....

NOTHING influences how your sub will sound MORE than the box it resides in.

To that end, build that sucker the best box you possibly can! Port it and overbuild it with fiberglass and polyfill

 

subs arent that terrible really, a better pick than the sony line there. Lightning audio is made by rockford fosgate. put em in about 1.5 cu ft a piece ported.

 

yeah bumpin..thats wut i was thinking. i think i can build my own box out of MDF. im only 16 but ive built a few things around the house for the rents includin a deck and a recessed shelf so i think a sub box should be no problem for me. i have some questions that i would like to ask you about it since u seem to be very knowledgeable about it.

1. MDF is the right material to use correct?
2. If i make the openings for 10" Lighting Audio subs, will those openings also work with other 10" subs.
3. which way should i have the subs face, towards the rear seats, towards the back window, or seperate boxes..one on each side facing each other.
4. last but not least...how do u cover those suckers.
5. i know a ported box has that tube thing stickin out of it...but how exactly do i do that..just drill a hole with a hole saw and slide that bad boy into place?

I know alot of these questions could prolly be answered by searchin on here..but just thought i would ask. Im not looking to break the bank building my box or anything..just want somethin to hold my subs that would serve its purpose well.

 

1) yep
2) generally yes...but not always
3) easiest way for you at this point is to face it towards the rear
4) buy speaker grills?
5) use this port calculator to help determine your port dimensions: http://www.carstereo.com/help/Articles.cfm?id=31

Its not just drilling a hole in it. The port area and box dimensions will determine what frequency your box will be tuned to.

 

find the specs for the subs, and build the box accordingly. make sure you silicon all the seams to make it air tight, and polyfill can help make the box "bigger" than it actually is by slowing down the sound a bit.

3/4" mdf is fine to build with.

i got carpet off of ebay for cheap and just sprayed adhesive to hold it on. just remember the size of the box talked about is the INTERNAL part of the box! so build to take the 3/4" mdf in to account.

 

Great advice save the silicon.

Silicon is useless. Inside of 1 year the MDF will dry out the silicon and it will flake off. That combined with the vapors that silicon gives off during curing and it's deleterious effects on foam, avoid using silicon all together. (The JL website even states this.)

Instead use WOOD GLUE liberally during assembly then again on all internal corners after assembly is complete. Then if you are still worried, fiberglass the whole interior of the box.

Polyfill also works great in ported boxes too...