Is bigger better? Subs that is.

[99CivicEX]

I'm going to be glassing my spare tire well soon and was wondering what size sub I should get:

1 15"
2 12"
4 10"

Thanks in advance. If anyone can point me to other threads on this subject, it would be appreciated.

[defhalotones]

First off, you posted this twice.
Second, it all depends on what you want out of your system. With the info you gave us, i have no idea what is better than what. More info....

-Jake-

[99CivicEX]

Don't know why it's posted twice. Anyway, I listen to mostly 80s, hard rock, some rap. For now, I will have a 6" component system in the front (1" tweet) but at some point will upgrade to a 6" mid-bass, 4" mid-range, and tweeter. I have a Rockford Fosgate P3001 for the subs.

I'm interested in sound quality, not booming from 3 blocks away, but I need to overcome the rear seat/rear deck as I my Civic is a Coupe.

Any more info needed?

[defhalotones]

Since you listen to a lot of rock music, i would say go for the 12's. 1 15" sub (depending on install and brand) is "ok" for the music you listen to. I would probably go with 2 12"s, but then again i dont know what brand of sub you are looking at. Also, one more thing: 1 15", 2 12", and 4 10" are not the same thing. You can get 1 10" to sound louder than 1 15" if its installed really good. What subs are you looking at, and how much room to you want to take up in your car for a box?

-Jake-

[defhalotones]

Also keep in mind that if usually the more subs, the louder. The less subs, the less loud. :p Looking at your amp, you are sorta limited on which kind of subs you can run, since your amp puts out 300rms x1 @2ohm. So, actually i would consider getting 1 12" for the moment. Find a sub that works great with 300 watts to it. And make sure if you get a single sub, it is dual 2 ohm. That way you can get the maximum power out of your amp.

-Jake-

[99CivicEX]

I currently have 2 RF Punch stage 1s so I would add 2 more of those if I decide on 4 10". I'm looking for inexpensive. Adding the 2 10" would cost around $100 or I could get 2 12" for around $150.

As far as the trunk, I'm going to raise the floor by about 2" for the box and mount the amps on the inner quarter panels. I figured the volume if I built a square box in the spare tire well at 1.88 cf (before thickness of the wood) so by glassing it in and going up about 2 inches, I will have enough volume for what I'm looking for.

[Mr.Hobbles]

The bigger the sub, the more efficient it is off the power given to it.

With small ammounts of power, you want big subs in big boxes.

Unless of couse you have endless ammounts of space, then 4 smaller subs in HUGE boxes may be better

it also depends if you just want it to be stupid loud, or if you want sq.. Or what you want

Also you gotta consider costs.. Do 4 10" subs cost more then 1 15" sub?

[99CivicEX]

And make sure if you get a single sub, it is dual 2 ohm. That way you can get the maximum power out of your amp.

-Jake-


And that brings up another point. I'm pretty confused as to wiring the subs. If I have a single 12, 2 ohm DVC, would I just series wire the VC together and present a 4-ohm load to the amp? And if I chose 2 12" SVC 4 ohm, can I wire the subs in parallel or will that drop the load too far? Or if I get 4 10" subs?

[99CivicEX]

The bigger the sub, the more efficient it is off the power given to it.

With small ammounts of power, you want big subs in big boxes.

Unless of couse you have endless ammounts of space, then 4 smaller subs in HUGE boxes may be better

it also depends if you just want it to be stupid loud, or if you want sq.. Or what you want

Also you gotta consider costs.. Do 4 10" subs cost more then 1 15" sub?

I already own 2 10" subs, so the cost is about the same to move to 1 15" sub or 4 10" subs.