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Thread: Need help with calculating volume of subwoofer area...

  1. #1
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    Need help with calculating volume of subwoofer area...

    I would like to build a box in the factory subwoofer area of my Touring. Has anybody done this and could tell me what the volume is? I have taken some measurements.
    The best I could figure was
    15" high x 5" deep, then 15" wide at the base. Anybody have any ideas? I think its around .6 cubic feet of space?

    1999 E39 Touring Sport and 3 pedals

  2. #2
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    You'd be correct with the rough calculation using those measurements on the volume. 15"x15"x5" nets you .65 cubic feet. Just remember if you're going to reinforce things with MDF or any other type of surround material, you'll need to subtract the material thickness from your calculation. Most subwoofers will have a recommended sealed (I'm assuming you wont go ported) enclosure size and you can vary some amount depending on the type of sound you'd prefer. Whatever you end up doing just make sure that the enclosure is well sealed and has no leaks. Good luck!

    2000 Biarritz Blue/Beige 540i/6 | M5 Front | Koni FSD | H&R 50464 | 19x8.5 19x9.5 Miro 346 |

  3. #3
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    Hi mate!

    Here's my prototype that I've had made up professionally, and you're ready it's 'about' 0.6 cu. ft of volume. By using that special acoustic filler/wool stuff, that will 'trick' the subwoofer used that it's in a bigger enclosure.

    The thing is, the available depth is much and so the hole in this box is for an 8 inch diameter driver. There's not many slimline subwoofers on the market, however I know some of them will work. I'll be using the SWS range of Earthquake subs and I'm now an official dealer for thier products here in the UK. You guys of course have plenty of Earthquake specialists over there. I know the 'Boss' brand has a slimline 8 inch and I think Pioneer do one as well but it's quite 'deep'.

    This box I've had made has been done from one of the UK's best know speaker boxes manufacturers, he really knows his stuff and sells to all the In Car Audio specialists throughout the country, so build quality is 100%. I want to make a few more tweaks though.

    In my car, at the bottom there is a screw thread sticking up about 15mm, I'm going to remove that so that this box can be correspondingly bigger and the flat surface will sit on the 'floor' area better.

    I'm going to be modifying the original cover with Holes drilled in to allow the sound to pass but without going right through the carpet. If it turns out it's still muffled, then I'll cut the holes right through.

    Here's the Pics









    You can see the shape is very slightly trapezoidal which allows some space for the gubbins/wiring under the top trim.

    Cheers, Dennis!

  4. #4
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    volume is Length x Width x Height if thats what youre asking :S

  5. #5
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    Check out Elemental Designs for a slim 10" sub. I built one for a stealth box in a Scion TC that only needed .5 cf for the 10 and it sounded very very good with 200 watts. Great guys to deal with as well.

    Didnt mean to HJ the thread.

    05
    Last edited by 05swtc; 04-17-2010 at 03:27 PM.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by 05swtc View Post
    Check out Elemental Designs for a slim 10" sub. I built one for a stealth box in a Scion TC that only needed .5 cf for the 10 and it sounded very very good with 200 watts. Great guys to deal with as well.

    Didnt mean to HJ the thread.

    05
    What 10" was that again? It need .5? Sounds good. Should that sub go in a sealed or ported box?

    Everybody what if you add a passive woofer? You know those things that make the enclosure act like a much larger one? Doesn't the Basslink from infinity use one?

    1999 E39 Touring Sport and 3 pedals

  7. #7
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    Elemental Designs SQ 10.
    http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=106

    .3 to .5 cf in a sealed box. I put it in a .5 box and it really sounded good.

    05

  8. #8
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    Hi there,

    Yep, I've been looking at the Infinity Basslink T. Single 10 inch subwoofer in the middle and two 10 inch passive radiators each side of it. Perhaps to somehow fix to the inner rear tailgate of my Touring.

    http://www.infinitysystems.com/car/p...&Region=EUROPE

    I need to also look into some more of the lesser well known car audio brands who seem to offer excellent products, some of which just may be potentially well suited to the E39 Saloons/Sedans and Tourings.

    The mentioned Elemental Designs sub mentioned above is 3 inches deep or 75mm. I 'think' that might just be small enough to fit into the box I've shown above. I'll measure it in the morning.

    Cheers, Dennis! West London UK!

  9. #9
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    Radio shack used to sell a book on speaker design and it included instructions on building a fiberglass sub enclosure that was constructed in the actual opening for situations just like this which maximized the available volume. once you had made the enclosure you could use a gallon jug and water to calculate the actual volume of the enclosure.
    >'97 528i, 200000 miles, Hella Xenons, 17" Stilauto wheels, Vogtland Drop Springs, Dynomax Race Muffler, Homelink, 540 brake upgrade, 15mm spacers >'65 & '74 MG Midgets BFC OT Lego Club #48 Manual conversion in process!!!



  10. #10
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    I have heard of the water trick to calculate volume before.

    1999 E39 Touring Sport and 3 pedals

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by xpcgamer View Post
    I have heard of the water trick to calculate volume before.
    That is actually how they measure combustion chamber volume when blueprinting engines.
    >'97 528i, 200000 miles, Hella Xenons, 17" Stilauto wheels, Vogtland Drop Springs, Dynomax Race Muffler, Homelink, 540 brake upgrade, 15mm spacers >'65 & '74 MG Midgets BFC OT Lego Club #48 Manual conversion in process!!!



  12. #12
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    You will also need to account for the volume that the sub takes up when it is in place as well, and subtract this from your volume. I think you've seen the mdf box I built for my wagon. I went with a Kicker solobaric and it gives you specs on the size needed for a sealed box, and also gives you the volume the sub takes up installed. I made my box as thin as possible while still allowing the depth of the sub to fit, and with that the cover just barely fits back over the sub with it in place.

    <img src="http://www.imagehostfree.net/is.php?...g=DSC03909.JPG" border="0">
    <img src="http://www.imagehostfree.net/is.php?...g=DSC04823.JPG" border="0">

  13. #13
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    +1 for the elemental designs 10" slim driver....I have never heard the sq10 but my old flatcone 12A was a great sub, a poor mans W7 if you will

    ED makes great stuff don't let their prices fool you


    Rice is also a common way to measure internal volume for oddly shaped boxes, less messy than water and no wet mdf
    '02 LMB M5 with some dinan stuff, SS x-pipe, brembo

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