man-ol-man, where can i find a small piece of MDF to do this upgrade
i've been to both home improvement stores and the smallest sheet i could find was 2ftx4ft way more than i'll ever need. anybody have a scrap piece laying around?
Just a tad off topic (but definitely related), would someone be so kind as to post the dimensions of the factory subwoofer tube. Mine has always been missing from my '86 GT. I'd like to make a replacement one up from PVC tubing.
I found these dimensions posted in an old thread, but it's not very clear where the measurements were actually made from.
I've included an image here that I found in an old thread. Keeping in mind where exactly I've indicated in the picture, could someone please tell me the measurement of both "A" and "B". Thanks.
measurement A is 9.5 inches measuremetn B is 2.5 inches
i've been to both home improvement stores and the smallest sheet i could find was 2ftx4ft way more than i'll ever need. anybody have a scrap piece laying around?
You could use a solid heavy wood (nothing light like pine, spruce or balsa wood )
Just don't use plywood. The plys can start to separate and you'll hear a buzz that you'll never be able to find.
High end speaker cabinets used to be made from 5/8" thick Maple, Cherry, Birch etc. A board would probably cost more than the MDF you were looking at.
...somebody has to buy a MDF sheet, cut them into 1 foot squares (or whatever) and sell off the pieces.
Well my first attempt with MDF was NOT successful. i had the MDF all ready to go and drilled the pilot holes like mention before then when i went to screw in the screws the MDF split. Argh! I was pissed i spent a lot of time getting the MDF to the right size and it all go to sh!t in a flash.
So i learned from my mistake i did not want to go thru that again so i bought a piece of oak plank from the local building store. after spending hours getting to fit in the sub enclosure i finally had success. YAY!
i am now rock'n the TB sub and it is freaking awesome! so much better than the RD sub i had in there before.
... at the bottom of my first post when I started this thread.
Oh, guess it would help if i read the entire thread first. doh! i didn't get that far cause i was only interested in the sub and speaker setup cause i have the factory sub, now i think i want to upgrade that next.
I would like to know if this factory amp will power the tang sub speaker enough to make a difference ,or if I should just buy the Rodney dickman sub replacement speaker here
I would like to know if this factory amp will power the tang sub speaker enough to make a difference ,or if I should just buy the Rodney dickman sub replacement speaker here
I just got my Tang Band installed. I had to use a Kenwood 1502 amp as I did not have a stock amp. The system will not knock your socks off so to speak but it is a HUGE improvement over no subwoofer. The system does not rattle and shake the mirrors but you know there is a subwoofer kicking in the car. I got the amp off ebay for about $54.00. It was an easy install and fits perfectly behind the passenger seat.
Because the tube is tuned for the stock speaker, it needs to be modified to match the new speaker's specs. Cut off 2 inches from the end.
quote
Originally posted by fierosound:
Originally posted by timgray: ... if you are using the Tang Band speaker as mentioned in one of the other posts, stuff it loosely with the poly fill, put a little in the port tube and cut 3/4 of an inch off the end of the port tube to tune the box perfectly to the Tang Band 5.25" subwoofer driver.
Should this be 2" or 3/4" cut off the end ?
I just ordered a kicker 6.5 inch sub for a sealed box (0.2-0.3 cu. ft.). Would the factory enclosure work ok if i use polyfill and just capped the tube ?
Anyone else use a 6.5 " sub in the factory enclosure ?
[This message has been edited by PaulJK (edited 04-24-2014).]
I just ordered a kicker 6.5 inch sub for a sealed box (0.2-0.3 cu. ft.). Would the factory enclosure work ok if i use polyfill and just capped the tube ?
Anyone else use a 6.5 " sub in the factory enclosure ?
Cut 2" off (I just edited the quote on the 3/4" cut to avoid this confusion again). That's for the Tang-Band subwoofer. If you're using something else - that's another matter (and another calculation I guess).
(Tim Gray) UPDATE : I updated fierosound with this info.... Increase the trimming of the tube to 2 inches instead of the 3/4" I recommended above. It get's rid of some of the boominess I found. I also added more poly fill to the box as well. I had a problem with a "boomy sound" when anything with heavy bass was played. Taking off the 2 inches made the bass response flatter across the frequencies.
[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 04-27-2014).]
What's the final word on sealing the tube after cutting it? Tape it tightly closed or just enough to keep the poly fluff inside? Can you give a better description of how densely to pack the fluff? Similar to a newborn's floppy stuffed toy, like blown-in attic insulation, or like a more rigid teddy bear?
I did find a piece of 3/4" MDF at Home Depot for $6. It was a 12"x48" piece. I would have paid that for a scrap so it was a no-brainer to buy it. I made that stupid ring THREE times and all three broke. The first one broke from the pressure of my jigsaw blade vibrating the whole piece. It broke along one of the thin sides.
The other two split horizontally when I tried to tighten screws into them.
The third one split even though I had only cut a 1-1/2" hole in the center. Apparently, MDF just isn't made for wood screws!
I went back to Home Depot and found a Red Oak board that was 3/4 or 1", can't remember. It was something like 6"x24" and also about $6.
I'm still working on it. Got to open the hole up some more. The oak is definately more difficult to work on. It takes more effort to remove material. The good news is that I already have fit it to the box, the holes are drilled for the screws, and they have been run in and back out. No sign of splitting anywhere this time!
The other thing I will mention is that I cut the connector off the original speaker and soldered it to the contacts of the new TB speaker. I hope it doesn't matter which tab the wires go to.
[This message has been edited by Boostdreamer (edited 05-01-2014).]
Fierosound, thank you for the clarification. I ended up completely rebuilding the subwoofer box to make it MUCH bigger and getting it all sealed with fiberglass. I'm using a sealed volume, so the tube cut didn't matter.
BoostDreamer,
When I added the wood across the bottom, I used "L" brackets to attach a larger piece of wood to the bottom of the box. That way you don't have to worry about splitting the wood. Seal the seam with silicon.
Also, you need to make sure the + terminal on the speaker is connected to the + terminal on the amp. Polarity Does matter in the way the speakers sound.
[This message has been edited by PaulJK (edited 05-05-2014).]
By the way, I have a neobium TB subwoofer speaker in the Mall for sale if anyone wants to do this mod. I'll probably be listing another one (not sure if it's neobium or not) already mounted in the speaker box soon (it will b plug-n-play).
I guess I got lucky. I only made ONE insert for the speaker from MDF. I predrilled the mounting holes and used the original subwoofer housing screws. Wood screws are basically wedges and will even split "real wood".
But I think a better alternative to MDF etc. may be Plastic HDPE Cutting Board. You usually see these at the Dollar Store. 1/2" thick or better should work OK.
I got mine installed and is working very well. At first it was buzzing. It took some time to figure it out but the buzz was from the four sides of the box vibrating against the four sides of the wooden insert. It was tight but not tight enough. You can see in the pic that the screws are more toward the corners so that leaves a long unsupported space in the middle to vibrate. I solved it by using some thin foam rubber sheeting that I bought at Walmart or Ben Franklin on the construction paper isle. It is like the thin separators that come inside socket sets.
Anyway, I cut some scraps and stuffed them from the inside edge of the wooden ring toward the outter edge of the plastic housing. I got a piece stuffed in on all four sides. Then I made a ring out of the same stuff and placed it between the speaker and the box. That's all it wanted. Just some insulation between the different materials. No more buzzing and I didn't have to use any goop or fiberglass or anything messy to get a good seal. Whether or not it will last remains to be seen, though. If it starts buzzing again, I have a sheet of rubber that I'll cut up and use.
I still need to figure out a way to protect the sub speaker. The grills from my dash component speakers didn't fit it so I'll have to come up with something else.
I was thinking of buying the subwoofer that BV MotorSports posted above, but I noticed that it's an 8 ohm speaker, while I used 4 ohm speakers for the dash and B-pillars. Is this going to be a problem or anything? Or will having a good amp erase any problem that might occur (such as not being loud enough)?
EDIT: I think the stock subwoofer is 8 ohms also, so now I'm assuming that there will be no problems?
[This message has been edited by rbell2915 (edited 06-10-2014).]
I got mine installed and is working very well. At first it was buzzing. It took some time to figure it out but the buzz was from the four sides of the box vibrating against the four sides of the wooden insert. It was tight but not tight enough.
I smeared a thin film of silicone around the edge of the board before pressing it into the housing. Never had any buzz.
I bought speaker adapters (sold in pairs) made for Harleys to adapt 6.5" speakers in the 5.25" hole, I should know in a few weeks when I get the time if this is a bolt together deal, if so.. it make adding a 6.5" sub so much easier..
fierosound, of these three speakers how would you think they would perform in relation to each other?
I have absolutely no idea! You'd have to buy all 3 and try them. All I can tell you is how well the Tang-Band I HAVE works. Those who want to buy something else and experiment are free to do so.
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