Gen 1 Standard Cab Install

[baxtej44]

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/UserFiles/File/Global/Consumer/Manuals/kfc-xw1200f.pdf

Their manual says to have a 3" diameter 14" length tube for the port.

can i just cut a piece of 3" pvc to that length, cut a 3" hole and put silicon sealant on both sides of the hole with the pipe in so that it's sealed around the pipe?

thanks for everyone's help so far, by the way...

bump

 

[RangerFabWorks]

yes, using pvc pipe will work just fine.

just cut a hole in the sub box, then use pl construction adhesive inside and out on the tube.

 

[baxtej44]

great... should i just let the pvc stick out just a tiny bit so i can adhesive it?

does location of the sub really matter? like will i have a noticeable difference if i center the sub behind the passenger seat, middle, or drivers seat?

 

[baxtej44]

went to lowe's today, picked up a 2 foot piece of 3" diameter pvc piping (it looks so huge compared to some ports i've seen! but oh well i guess... its what the manufacturer says....


also got the sheet of mdf... they only had 3/4 so i think i will need to increase the size of my box...


had them cut the sheet in half for me so its more manageable


going into my school shop on friday, and between now and then i need to mark out my pieces on the board, but before that i have to figure out the new sizes... i'll probably just increase the width of the box, since my available width is 50" minus the box minus the amp...

and my box was 30" wide... so i should be fine on air space still when i increase it.


wish me luck!

 

[Pistons23]

good luck

 

[baxtej44]

due to the increase in thickness of mdf, i had to increase the width of my box to 37"

nothing too drastic... it's a bit larger than .8cf than my last one, but my last box didn't count the driver or the port tube's volume, so this being a bit larger should be closer to .8cf than the last one anyway.


kinda bummed about the 3/4" mdf, but i guess it will just make it stronger..


got a free terminal cup at stereo west auto here in town, and had to pick up a new spade terminal for my power -> amp wire because the last one got jacked up threading it through my firewall. no biggie


the guy at stereowest was just so surprised i was using 4g wire for a 600w rms amp... is it really that much of overkill? i mean the bigger the wire the better the quality, it's like an 18v drill versus a 12v...

 

[RangerFabWorks]

if he seemed surprised at 4awg at 600 rms, then he was smoking crack. 4awg is for 400-800 rms. so your right in the ranger, and if your amp can accept it. all the better.

and i always recommend going with the 3/4 mdf over the 5/8

yes its a little more price wise, and a little heavier, but it makes a better box.

plus, when that woofer gets pounding, you dont want any flex in the box.

its definantly not overkill, its cheap insurance.

 

[baxtej44]

if he seemed surprised at 4awg at 600 rms, then he was smoking crack. 4awg is for 400-800 rms. so your right in the ranger, and if your amp can accept it. all the better.

and i always recommend going with the 3/4 mdf over the 5/8

yes its a little more price wise, and a little heavier, but it makes a better box.

plus, when that woofer gets pounding, you dont want any flex in the box.

its definantly not overkill, its cheap insurance.

the whole sheet of mdf was about 33 bucks i think? i honestly can't really remember. it was less than 40 for the sheet and the 2 foot section of 3" pvc

it just goes to show all these "audio experts" that actually don't know... i see people who have like two 12's hooked up with like 8g or 16g wire.. and i'm like WTF R U DOING?!


it's like just imagine how much better people's systems would be if they just learned about it, even just a little bit like myself!, before they just put all this money into everything.


a friend of mine didn't know what the gain thing did, so he said he figured it was a volume knob on the amp or something so he set it all the way up...


then he wonders why he's gone through so many amps and subs.....

 

[baxtej44]

okay so i cut almost all the pieces for my box out today! it went pretty dang smooth, and even with my mistakes i still have a whole half of a sheet, and a little bit more of the first half.


my dilemma right now is how to get a good side piece.

i'm sandwiching it between the top, bottom, face, and backside. so basically if you made a frame out of those four pieces, i'm putting the two sides pieces in between all of that.


the angle that the side piecce needs to be cut at is approx 4.39 degrees, and so i set the guide that fits into the band saw to as close as i think it would be, and cut the 13 inch height by 4 inch width piece and mark where the three inch width is at on one of the sides.

basically the side piece tapers from 4 inches on the bottom to 3 inches at the top.

i use a straight edge to connect the 4 inch with the 3 inch dot, and guide it on the band saw, but it just is never quite right... the closest i got was the 4 inch bottom was 3 15/16... is this going to be a problem? is that too much of a gap to fill in with wood glue/screws and silicon sealant on the inside?

 

[baxtej44]

basically the side piece tapers from 4 inches on the bottom to 3 inches at the top.

i use a straight edge to connect the 4 inch with the 3 inch dot, and guide it on the band saw, but it just is never quite right... the closest i got was the 4 inch bottom was 3 15/16... is this going to be a problem? is that too much of a gap to fill in with wood glue/screws and silicon sealant on the inside?

bump

 

[Pistons23]

if it were me id say that 13 15/16 is close enough. after i glue my boxes, i like to let it dry for a day. then i come back and lay another bead of glue on the inside seams. silicone would work too.

 

[4x4fun]

if he seemed surprised at 4awg at 600 rms, then he was smoking crack. 4awg is for 400-800 rms. so your right in the ranger, and if your amp can accept it. all the better.

x2

there are only minimum wire size to hold a set current not a maximum

 

[RangerFabWorks]

a friend of mine didn't know what the gain thing did, so he said he figured it was a volume knob on the amp or something so he set it all the way up...


then he wonders why he's gone through so many amps and subs.....

my first sytems were a crunch 400 watt rms amp, with 2 pg subs in the ranger. the box the subs were in didnt fit, so i cut open some house speaker boxes, and put the subs in, and duct taped around em to fit.

i set the amp by turning the gains all the way up, turning the bass all the way up on the headunit, and using the loud button.

lets just say those boxes didnt last long

my second system was a sony 800 watt max amp, and (2) pioneer 10'' subs from walmart.

once again, turned the gains up all the way, turned everything up on the amp. and used it like that for a year.

i paid probably 250 for everything, and the box i bought at a stereo shop for 50.00. so 250.00 all together.

sold it a year later, with the amp bad, for 200.00 to a kid who wanted some bump in his jeep.

i couldnt stop getting the amp into protect mode and never knew why.

till i realized that sony amps suck bridged.

lets just say, ive come a long way.

 

[baxtej44]

well after nearly sawing my finger off last week, i went back into the shop today and my box is SO close to being done. perfected the angles on the pieces that need it and got some cleats glued and nailed down to dry overnight.

gonna get in there tomorrow and put hopefully the rest of it together.


still need to cut the holes for:

1) the sub
2) terminal cup
3) port

that's bout it.
then i need to hook all the wires up, the power wire, turn on lead, and RCA's are already done.

so basically just the wiring from the amp to the terminal cup, terminal cup to the voice coil, and the amp to the seat bolt to ground it.

 

[baxtej44]

so everything is done on the box besides siliconing the inside seams, cutting the hole for the sub, and nailing the face on.


my friend was supposed to let me use his stuff to finish everything up over this winter break, and everytime he was too busy or something. really annoying to me. so i guess i'll take it back into my school shop hopefully sometime this week and get the last hole cut.



big (maybe?) problem though...

when i bought the mdf, i had them cut the sheet in half so i could transport it easier, and then i went straight into cutting it up for the pieces. never thought to measure the width to my desired width, and now it takes up my whole rear shelf and it's already attached...

so basically idk what i should do... it's a little over 1cf right now if i remember right, and the sub calls for .8cf...

here's my options:
1) leave it sealed and the size it is and just hook it up
~if i do this, i need to figure out a spot to put my amp.. NEED help with this. going on the box won't work, the seats are already up too far lol.
2) leave it sealed and figure out some way to cut the width down and put the side piece back on
~how would i cut width off of a box that is already nailed and glued together (besides the face)?
3) cut the port tube hole and leave it the same width
~same problem as above with leaving it the same width
4) cut the port tube hole and cut the width down
~same problem as above with cutting down the width


so any opinions on that?