Subwoofer's in trunk?

[jnorman7911]

I am looking to install a sub box in the trunk. My question to all of you that have installed subwoofer boxes in your Camaro. Which direction should the subs face to get the optimal sound? Front of the car? rear? up? Down? Any input that you have would be greatly appreciated.

[Spartan01]

Honestly it really doesn't matter all that much with subs.
With tweeters it matters a lot, hence component speakers for better imaging and phasing.
A bass note is simply an overpressure wave, basically a mini explosion.
It expands from the source in an omnidirectional pattern, basically moving out in all directions at once.
Now, you can sometimes get slightly better performance from facing the sub towards the interior of the car, sometimes.
However this is often not so much about the fact that the sub is facing you, and more to do with the fact that the sub is using the interior of your car as another box, or rattling the trunk less, or both.

Also unless you are running an SPL competition setup, just get what fits your budget and looks good to you

[jnorman7911]

Thank you for the response Spartan01. I was thinking that it didnt matter much but wanted to check what others thought. When I was younger, I just stuffed it all in and the quality didnt really matter to me much. Now I am looking for good quality sound.

[Spartan01]

OK, GOOD!
Quality sound, the opposite of "noise" is exactly what you want, a tight bass thump, not a rattle.

Also consider sound damping- Dynamat, Hushmat, and their competitors. Reduces resonation and rattle of the car, reduces road noise and ambient noise, leaving you with better sound from your stereo.
Primary areas to consider-
Both door surfaces (inner and outer)
Rear Shelf
License plate
Trunk lid
Along the driveline
Floor, especially near the engine.

Dynamat is primarly designed for anti resonation, stopping vibration noise, Hushmat is an insulator that goes on top of the dynamat to add additional reduction in noise with less weight.

[ToddB]

It does matter. Usually louder one way or the other. In most cars facing the rear is louder. The bass waves reflect off the back of the trunk reinforcing the bass. Try it both ways you will be surprised. I am using 2 12s and one 10 with 4800 watts in my convertible. Also 3 batteries and a 275 amp alternator. Lol


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[mmarx82]

I have a rear facing ******** box in mine.

Looks like this:
[IMG]http://********.com/images/cam10-212.JPG[/IMG]

[ToddB]

Google is your friend. Lot of mis information in this thread. Oh and mine as clean and loud as you would ever want.


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[Spartan01]

Originally Posted by ToddB

It does matter. Usually louder one way or the other. In most cars facing the rear is louder. The bass waves reflect off the back of the trunk reinforcing the bass. Try it both ways you will be surprised. I am using 2 12s and one 10 with 4800 watts in my convertible. Also 3 batteries and a 275 amp alternator. Lol


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He asked for optimal sound, not loudest sound,
just because something seems louder does not mean it is better.

I know of a stereo shop in Lima Ohio that puts nuts and bolts into the fender wells of vehicles so that they rattle more. This is because a large majority of the population of Lima that like large stereos do not know the first thing about how sound works, and think that loud, noisy, and resonating is really good, as opposed to tight, crisp, clean sound. Drives me crazy.

Also, changing the direction of the subs cannot, in any way make the louder. Because, physics...
You are talking about your perception of how loud they are, which is entirely subjective, in no way a true reflection of their actual power output.
Again because of physics. The only way to make them louder is to increase power.

This is why sound damping works so well- take away the ambient noise, road noise, and resonation, and the same exact system at the same exact power level sounds better.

[ToddB]

Try google. LOL


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[ToddB]

I will say one finale thing. Anyone that has any knowledge of any sound system KNOWS the the position of the subwoofer changes the way the bass will sound. Louder softer better or worse.


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[Spartan01]

Originally Posted by ToddB

I will say one finale thing. Anyone that has any knowledge of any sound system KNOWS the the position of the subwoofer changes the way the bass will sound. Louder softer better or worse.


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Yes, you are correct, placement of the sub(s) can change how they sound, but it cannot change output.

Again, he is asking for optimal sound.
One of the best car systems I ever heard was a full size sedan that had been completely sound damped like an SPL car, and was using 8 8" subs.
SUPERB, tight, crisp, clean bass, but not really very loud.

Do you want loud, do you want tight and clean?

[Spartan01]

I just looked at my earlier post (#8)
It does look kind of $hitty.
I am not bashing your opinions or expertise ToddB
If it seemed that way I apologize.

Just trying to steer a newb audiophile in the right direction

Op- the other area of consideration, where ToddB really has it done correctly, is that car audio systems use DC vs AC in your house.

DC is SIGNIFICANTLY more dependent on things like wire gauge, capacitors/batteries, and more powerful alternators.
typically home systems run at 8 Ohms, while car speakers tend to run on 4, 2, or 1 Ohms.

Just something to consider, the more subs/ power you add the more important these elements become

[ToddB]

I was not trying to bash you either. I just have some knowledge of car audio and home theater. I had a hard time figuring out what would work in a open top convertible. So I had to find the best way to get the bass out of my system. I am sorry if I attended you.


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[ToddB]

My 7 channel home theater runs at 8 ohms. My car subwoofers run at 2 ohms and the component speakers run at 4 ohms. What your trying to do by moving the sub around is you don't want the sound waves canceling each other. Just moving it a few inches can change that.


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