finally spending time on my own ride :)

[hamiltonaudio]

Well, have had the product in for a few weeks and now have some time to wrench on my own install...here's how its coming.

Here you see the tub of the enclosure with my first amp rack design - it turned out that it was going to be WAY too complicated to get my wiring into and out of it, so I scrapped it.

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk1.jpg

Here's the new amp rack - looks like an angled piece of mdf in the pic - its much more than that....I mirrored the top of the tub (inverse of course) and laid a 1/2" mdf panel to fit both amps side by side....then stretched it to give it some shape and contour - theres a lot more there than the pics show....

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk4.jpg

From the side you can see just how much sub the RE MX12 really is :) You can also start to see some of the contours of the amp rack...

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk5.jpg

A pic through the back seat opening...you can see the frame up I'm using. Thats a 1.5" thick laminated mdf baffle (3 x 0.5") that the driver will be mounted invesely on.

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk6.jpg

First coat of resin is curing :)

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk7.jpg

Ever notice that 98% of fibreglass sub enclosures are SEALED? I did too...and thats what the extra ring is for in case ur wondering... a 4" Aeroport will be mounted there. Not sure if I'm gonna mount it inversely as well, or inside the box...we'll see...

I'm estimating the box is going to be at least 2 cubes once finished...maybe a little more...once its resined inside and out I'll fill it with water and know for sure down to the 1/10th of a cube....then I can calculate where to trim the vent for correct tuning (38 hz, btw)...no guesswork or "close enuf" for this shop! ;) Should have the enclosure stretched and resined tomorrow...

bmoney

[inferno]

wow thats a really big sub

[hamiltonaudio]

bump - added pics

bmoney

[Bumpin1OHM]

RE FTW

[hamiltonaudio]

bump - can't add to the main post anymore, so here's another one (getting closer tee hee)

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk8.jpg

the 4" aeroport is just sorta laying in there (not quite in the hole) cause I haven't drilled the holes for mounting yet :) I know somebody will point that out... as well, yes I'm aware that the RE logo on the magnet is off-centred....I guess the way they stuck it on there, with the VC terminals straight, the logo was crooked...solution? I'm going to cut up another black background and re-do the chrome decal and apply it straight (yep, Hamilton Audio does custom vinyl work too :) )

One more thin milkshake and this one will be smooth as glass...but I'm not gonna waste my time on it now...I've textured the enclosure (which hides 95% of everything) and will be leaving it that way for now.... just working up the amp rack as we speak...

bmoney

[hamiltonaudio]

Originally posted by Bumpin1OHM
RE FTW

don't you mean RE RTW? (rules the world) :D I've had very good luck with this product line...never EVER a disappointment, and quite frankly its usually the opposite (people are FLOORED by the results)

daddy like :cool:

bmoney

[hamiltonaudio]

final update until finished install....the box is essentially complete and the amp rack is 100% done.

The box in the as-finished state. I left it a little less than smooth and threw a coat of texture on it (3M medium) and left it the satin black color. In direct light it shows some of the imperfections still, but in the trunk they'll be invisible....

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk8.jpg

Test fitting the amp rack (hate to finish it completely and things not fit :)

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk9.jpg

Youc an see some of the contours here - the angles underneath this lip were severe....

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk10.jpg

The final wrapped up piece...using Cinder stretch carpet. Those severe angles unerneath were a BIATCH to wrap...ended up with a seam on one side (oh well).

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk11.jpg

Wrapping the amp rack killed the last bit of Cinder I had in stock...so the box will be going in as-is until spring time. Plan is to lay out and wire in the system in the next few days....and just ride it... Towards the spring I'll finish it up with trim panels, wrap the enclosure, accent pieces, some lighting, etc... As of right now my budget for this project is dry :lol:

And you'll notice the single 2" grommet instead of a multitude of grommets or a single larger slot or whatever.... plan is to run all the wiring, neatly strapped and tied down, through a single opeing... Time will tell how it looks :)

bmoney

[hamiltonaudio]

well, the g-wagon is done, for now :)

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk12.jpg

http://www.hamiltonaudio.com/imgpost/trunk13.jpg

Enclosure was left semi-smooth and textured black so it didn't look rainbow-licious (blue and red filler all over it) Its going to be wrapped at some point, so no sense in spending more time/money/dust smoothing it to perfection. The system:

- Kenwood KDC MP732 head unit
- REAudio RE6.1 compo set in the front doors
- REAudio RE6.1 compo set in custom fibreglass rear shelf build
- US Amps Merlin2 MD42 pushing each speaker (over 100 wrms per ch)
- REAudio MX12 subwoofer in small vented enclosure
- US Amps Merlin2 MD2D pushing the sub (about 2kw)
- full 1/0 power system being distributed by a 2 farad cap under the amp rack

At first blush the bottom octaves were WEAK....and I got worried Then I realized I used an Aeroport and started playing hahaha. I removed about 3" of tube and the sub woke right up. I removed another inch and it got louder yet...and thats where I'm leavin it....

This thing GETS LOW. Its easily comparable (if not superior) to last years XXX12...which to those who know are legendary for severe bottom octave output. Impact is solid and it hits HARD. I'm seriously impressed for it only being a single 12. The RE6.1 compo sets came alive with power as well...very crisp and clean...and even with the sub turned off they thump pretty good....I'm impressed for the money.

One thing I noticed tho - its got dual spiders with about a 1/2" space between...being inverted, it seems that air pressure builds in that gap and farts like crazy pfffft pfffft....initially I thought the box was leaking but you can feel the air coming out where the tinsel leads go through....only audible when the trunk is open, so I don't care

I'm gonna play with the TermLab later today and see where the box is peaking...then measure my vent and work backwards to determine roughly how big the box actually is... my bet is this single 12" will easily put a 140+ up with any music I want...and thats MORE than enuf for this deaf old guy

bmoney

[Classifieds]

Nice job, but I think that port looks horrible. You can even seen the wood inside the box from that port. Props are the hard work tho.

[hamiltonaudio]

actually, I'm gonna disagree with you....the extreme angle of the camera captured the brace for the front baffle. Under normal viewing conditions, its invisible. I think I may pull the port and paint the brace black so its completely gone....

Ever been to a DB Drag Racing event? Ever see how the hatchback guys do it? Ahh...if not, you see it in my trunk....there are reasons for inverted ports (not just looks)

bmoney

[inferno]

Originally posted by hamiltonaudio
actually, I'm gonna disagree with you....the extreme angle of the camera captured the brace for the front baffle. Under normal viewing conditions, its invisible. I think I may pull the port and paint the brace black so its completely gone....

Ever been to a DB Drag Racing event? Ever see how the hatchback guys do it? Ahh...if not, you see it in my trunk....there are reasons for inverted ports (not just looks)

bmoney

because i dont know. whats the reason for it?

[hamiltonaudio]

couple of benefits to running things inverted actually:

1. you don't lose any displacement - maximizing volume in space-limited applications

2. there's just something about the pressure...whatever it is, it works. Inverted ports add output ;)

bmoney

[car audio dave]

if youre talking about inverted subs then i can say from first hand experience that inverted subs have less output. when i went from my old setup to the new one, i didnt even retune the amp. i pulled everything, made the box to have the clearance for the motor structure inside the box, and dropped them in. the output was at least twice the previous output. this is accounted for by more cone area. i do have to confess that i suspect that the inverted sub box was probably too small while the other box was slightly oversized (but within the recommended range for a sealed box).


EDIT: oh i didnt see those new pics before. i realize that youre talking about the inverted PORT, not the sub.

it looks really good. i would paint the inside black or id paint it white and drop some neons in there. either way it looks good.

[hamiltonaudio]

if you think about it, there's just as much radiating area behind the sub as there is in front of it... any loss in output you suffered is due solely to the change in box design. And yes, I was talking about the port. Nobody can explain it, but somehow there is at least a full decibel in it if you invert an Aerovent....on massive installs the gains are greater :)

the system works PERFECT for what I was going for...clean, tight and loud front end, backed up by MASSIVE bottom octave output...turn the sub down and it behaves like a sealed 10" sounding very tight and controlled... defnitely a two-faced driver <tee hee>

bmoney

[nineteen88ga]

It looks good, but I agree, do something with the inside being that visable from the port. A little black spray paint will do the truck. If it was seen by a camera, it will be seen in person. You invested sme time in making it look good so go all the way and take care of the fine details. Also do you plan on carpeting the rest of your trunk to match the enclosure?

[hamiltonaudio]

black paint already applied ;) the enclosure will be wrapped to match the amp rack (cinder stretch carpet) and a set of inlay trim panels wrapped in contrasting black vinyl will trim out the area and increase the "height" of the trunk floor.

I'm also going to do something in glass for the trunk lid...but I'm out of steam right now... gotta spend more time on PAYING jobs :)

bmoney