Measuring Your Vehicle for Your Subwoofer Enclosure
I received a request recently for instructions on how to measure a vehicle for a subwoofer enclosure. It would really be too long to put in the Q&A section so I have decided to make it into a feature article. This is the generic instructions for measuring your vehicle for a custom enclosure.
- Use a tape measure and measure the amount of space you have to work with in your vehicle. Take width, height, and depth measurements. You may have more than one depth measurement if you're mounting your box to an angled surface (i.e. a truck box type wedge). Make sure you take into account the space you will need to place the box in the vehicle. If you have 40" of width behind the back seat but only a 36" trunk opening then you might have a problem.
- Doing some simple geometry, determine the maximum amount of airspace these dimensions will give you (1,728 cubic inches = 1 cubic foot). You can use Blaubox if you don't want to do the math by hand. It's good for wedge boxes too and can save some time. Highly recommended.
- Now consult the specification sheet to see how much space your subwoofers of choice need. You may find that you don't have enough air space and need to choose a different subwoofer or a lesser quantity of subwoofers.
- If you have more space than you need (common) you have to decide what dimensions the extra space will be subtracted from. Do you want to make the box less wide, less tall or less deep? For a trunk installation I usually maximize the height and minimize the depth. Then I take off some of the width if necessary. This maximizes the usable cargo space once the enclosure is installed.
Be sure you have enough mounting depth for your woofer and that your box isn't too tall to slide into the trunk. You might test fit a piece of cardboard cut to the same size as your box's height and depth dimensions. If you can't slide the template into the trunk without twisting it then you need to lower your height until you can. Some rear seats fold down and you may be able to slide the box in this way instead.
- Once you have all of the dimensions you can either manually determine the box pieces needed or use a computer program. I'd really recommend using Blaubox for this. You input the box dimensions and material thickness and it tells you what size pieces you need and how to cut them (including blade angles).
- Once you have all of your pieces cut, your last step is to assemble it. If you've never built an enclosure before you should either consult someone who has done it (successfully) or pick up a copy of my installation video. I show how to assemble an enclosure from scratch using nothing more sophisticated than a power drill and a jig saw (for cutting the woofer opening). I also cover carpeting of the enclosure.
You should also check out Advanced Enclosure Design and Fabrication. It covers designing enclosures using free computer software, maximizing the output of a subwoofer system, building the box like a pro and testing the output using inexpensive equipment.
Click here to get the details.
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