Need some advice on an enclosure for Skar ZVX18v2 D2 Honda Element

[David Stone]

Hi guys. I recently got a Skar 18v2 d2 for my 2004 Element. I just have it in the Skar prefab 18 enclosure with an extra BB 3/4" baffle added to the front to beef it up a bit. It sounds good but i just ordered 2 full sheets of 3/4 Baltic birch and I am looking to design and build a new box. Skar recommends 5.25 ft of space with 78 inches of port at 32hz. The prefab I have is 4.75ft tuned to 29 (not accounting for displacement I am sure and who knows on the port area). I am looking for ideas on the new box. 

 

I have 0 gauge to the back, big three 0 gauge (all OFC) an X2power AGM 24f battery in the engine bay and a JS 320amp alternator on order all to run my Taramps Smart 3 and a Taramps ds800x4. 

 

I have been messing around with box design and Torres keeps giving me the old too complicated to show for the cut sheet for a slot port. No that big of an issue to figure out those cuts. I have also been toying with the idea of bigass ports versatune kits in either dual 6, 8 inch, or 10 inch varieties. 

 

My space is roughly 39 wide x 20 x as high as I really need but let's say  25 inches high (current box is 19.75 deep and port faces back with just like 3 inches til touching the door so I want to stay under 20 deep if I go rear port)

 

What would you guys do? Sub up port back? Sub and port up? Slot port? Aero port? 

 

I have plenty of wood and was planning on double baffle and trying at least one window brace internally. But I was also considering triple baffle with the first baffle cut bigger for a flush mount. I am open to try thing but would like to avoid attempting a kerf or anything like that. I will be staining and using a roundover router bit on all the outside corners of the box and doing 45s in the internal corners. I have also tossed around the idea of mounting inverted on a sub up configuration to show off the magnet of the 18.  

 

I saw one of the newer calculators one here recommending up to like 110in (if I recall correctly) of port area and man that is hard to get too. Plus I am overpowering it and was not sure how much over spec I should go on the enclosure because of that. Let's hear your ideas I really value the input.  I would really appreciate any designs you might have or pointing me in the right direction on a design. It does not need to fill the whole space up either if not needed. Thanks! 

 

 

 

 

[Joe X]

i am going to guess you have the ZVX 18v2, the prefab box is almost the size of the suggested box, only the port area is a little low on the prefab but not low enough to be of concern if you are just playing music, here is the difference between prefab (yellow plot) and the suggested spec (red plot) in frequency response:

 

 

Recommended : use the box sub / port up reverse mounting the sub to see any improvement in performance, Prefab with low port area but performance hit to rated power seems low, only marginal improvements from a rebuild to recommended specs.

 

 

[David Stone]

Correct it is a v2. So you think I may be alright sticking with the prefab but changing to inverted with the sub and port up? The angled enclosure my be an issue with that. Any benefit from going bigger on the box like 6 or 7 cubes?  I have the wood and time so I can definitely build a nice box port and sub up. Is skar pretty accurate with the enclosure recommendations? At what size would I see problems in that configuration with a smart 3 amp? It is mainly for music yes.  Non rebassed. Thanks. 

[David Stone]

I guess I am just wondering if a sturdy box made of Birch with double or triple baffle at like 6-7 cubes would be an improvement over the prefab? 

Edited August 11, 2023 by David Stone

[David Stone]

How about something like this with a 10" aeroport sub up port to the passenger side? I could also bump up the height to get enoug clearance to go port up.

[David Stone]

Here is one closer to 6 ft net that could do port up with an 8 inch bigassport.  Much less port area though. I love the idea of simply build a stout rectangle box and adding the aeroport. Would do triple baffle with flush mount third baffle for the sub

Edited August 11, 2023 by David Stone

[Joe X]

Sure you can do that for some moderate improvement, larger improvements involve greater cone area like for example doing 2 15s, if doing a larger than recommended box and tuning higher requires you setting up your subsonic filter higher to prevent sub bottoming out.

[David Stone]

Awesome I think I am going to try the 7ft with the 10" port. Thanks

[David Stone]

Man now you got me thinking. Would it make a huge difference if I added a second 18v2 2 ohm. The smart 3 will give them 3k at 2 ohms. Would be half the power but double the cone area. I could easily bump up the footage to 9 or 10 net. I already ordered the 10" versatune kit though. I could run a second 0 gauge in the future and step up the wattage later. 

Edited August 12, 2023 by David Stone

[Joe X]

There is a 6+ dB gain from doubling power and cone area, There is a 3 dB gain from using professional round ports (around tuning). Those can be dramatic gains as long as you can make it all work as it should.