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How much extra power can a sub handle?

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  drop1 
#1 ·
After trying to go with a sub enclosure and amp it didn't turn out how I wanted to so my next step is to just replace the stock 8" sub. The factory sub is enclosed in a plastic sealed box and I have less than 4" mounting depth to work with so that narrows my choices down.

I'm probably going to go with the Kicker Comp RT because that only needs 2 5/8" of top mount depth and that looks to be the highest RMS shallow mount I could find. The RMS for that sub is 300w / PEAK is 600w. Could I use my JL 500/1V2 or is that too powerful?
 
#3 ·
There's no room to make a different enclosure, the sub is packed in tight behind the rear cargo body panel, so I either have to use the factory location or go with an enclosure. I already tried a 12" Ported box with 12W3V3 and it turned out sounding terrible.

After doing some more searching I might go with a 10" down firing sealed enclosure and shallow mount sub. My Sequoia has 2nd row capt chairs so I can put the enclosure between the seats.

So far the highest RMS is the Kicker but I'm not too fond of them to be honest. About 8yrs ago I had a pair of their 8" shallow mounts in my Tundra DC, sealed box under the rear seats. They didn't overwhelm me and one crapped out early from the surround coming apart in one section.

What's a good 10" shallow mount sub for SQ?
 
#5 ·
500w is less than the 600W peak rating, so that seems acceptable.

If you crank it up then 500w is above the 300w rating. If your hand is not like Dr. Stangelove's, then it should be able to resist turning the knob too far clockwise?
 
#6 ·
Probably a stupid question to most but does adding more power just make the sub louder or give it more bass? The stock sub is 8" (factory amp is probably putting out 100-150W) in a sealed box (.2-.4cuft).

My goal is to add a little more bass to the factory system. On a scale of 0-10, 0 being no bass and 10 being an overly loud system, I'd say the stock bass is at a 2, I'd like it to be 4. I just want the cabin to have a deeper thump, I don't want my body panels vibrating etc.

So if I went with a 8" that had a higher RMS rating (So far it's between the Infinity Kappa 800W and the IDQ8) and put it in a .5-.7cuft sealed box would and ran it @ 500W would that give me the extra kick I'm looking for OR do I need to step up to a 10"?
 
#7 · (Edited)
I think in your other thread it was concluded that your sub issues are due to to cabin gain. For it not to sound boomy, you want to have a flatish/balanced frequency response in the low end. You will need the ability to measure and find out the offending frequencies and tune them so that the frequency response is smooth. Without the tools to measure and tune (a microphone and a DSP to equalize it), getting any sub/enclosure, regardless of size and brand, will be like the proverbial throwing **** on a wall to see what sticks. And you may have to throw a lot to find one that will work in harmony with your cabin gain.

Since you are not looking at a lot of bass, an 8" in the existing enclosure could work. In my case, I had no space for a box, so I'm running the Dayton Classic 8" subwoofer on the 4Runner OEM JBL enclosure cause it fits in the enclosure and it modeled well for its small size (and it was cheap). However, it wasn't until I measured and tuned (still a work in progress) that the boomyness went away and things started to sound good. I had to do a big cut around 44 Hz to combat the cabin gain and make it work. You won't find out where's happening in your vehicle until you measure. A $100 calibrated microphone will go a long way to troubleshoot your issues and will likely save you some time, money, and aggravation in the long run.
 
#9 · (Edited)
You can do few things - apply a good amount of damping plates on enclosure of your original ABS 8" sw - this will help, but it is only a band aid....or temporary solution

You can turn your existing enclosure with 12W3 so it is facing to the floor elevated for some 2-3" off the floor...

SInce you are sattisfied with none of your subwoofers I would start to look for a cause of that.... maybe your settings of x-overs and EQ are off, or enclosure is not facing-aiming correct in your vehicle or enclosure is just not calculated and built correctly...

how much extra power sub will hold is hard to say - depends on SW, type of SW enclosure....For dBDrag competitions I have used 5-7 x nominal power handling of the sub for those 3-4 seconds, for daily systems 2-2,5 x nominal power handling, but I never apply such big power for long time...
 
#10 ·
I have a 10" CompRT in my Subaru Forester (custom cavity enclosure, sealed) with 500w (Audiopipe mini 500w amp, can't recall the exact model, but it fits in a single din in my dash). I beat it up often and have not had it give me any hint of failure. As long as you aren't clipping or distorting it to death, I'd be amazed if 500w will fry it, unless maybe you are in the desert doing 60hz test tones for long periods of time, lol.
 
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