Hey all, I have a 12" car sub but no box. My question is the pros and cons of a large vs small box (cubic feet). It will go in the trunk so space is not a big concern. Thanks, later.

Different subs and different configurations can dictate recommended box size to get desired sound. I would check the mfg's page for specifics. Depending on your setup you may also want to think if you want a ported box or a sealed box.

The bigger the box the bigger the boom, and smaller the box the more sound quality and clarity if i remember right!!!!

Alot of stereo shops can print you out plans for the best sounding box for your cars make/model.

Do not go larger than the mfg's specs. There is a sweet spot that most subs have, and it varies anywhere from 0.5 cf to 2.0 cf typically. A sealed box at around 1.25 cf (12"x13.5"x13.5" interior dim) will work for most cheap-mid level 12" subs. Don't cheap out on material by using plywood. 3/4" cabinet grade fiberboard or 3/4" MDF are the material to use, glued and screwed. Too large and you'll ruin the sub, too small and you not be impressed with the sound.

Just make sure you test it out with the old school bass 305 cd. Hahaha. I haven't thought of that for years. Anyone else remember that one? or Bass Patrol?

Ha. I had a couple of those test CD's also to see how much my eyes would vibrate with the two 12" Kickers I had in my car.

BTW, I had them in a sealed, chambered box and it was built to the smallest volume allowable by the manufacturer. I liked the low's but wanted the tight kick for rock music too and they didn't disappoint. I also stuffed the box with polyfil to make the sub think it was in a slightly larger box than it was. The box was positioned so that the subs were aimed towards the back of the car to increase the distance of the sound wave. This really helped the sound quality. Seemed to work good and didn't take up the entire trunk. Some days I wished I still had them installed. Still have the amp and subs sitting in the basement though.

Thanks all, I'll check some specs for the sub.

I had 4 12" kicker solobarics crammed into the trunk of my mustang convertable pushing them off of 2-ppi a1200's. Man, those subs banged pretty good. Wow, I can't even remember what I did with all of that stuff.

Unfortunately I'm old enough to remember the bass test CDs....

OMG Bass Patrol

Before the Bass thing got really popular, I had a friend who moved here from New Orleans where it was pretty popular. He had a Cavalier and built a box as big as his back seat would allow (yes took up every bit of the available space) and put 2 15’s in it, wired Christmas lights to the Amp so they would flash to the beat, then tossed some lights under the car. Every single thing in that car (windows, mirrors, seals grommets) was rattled loose, but boy were we cool cruising around in that thing

The only bad part was picking up girls, there was nowhere to put them

I later rigged up my car, but gave up after having everything stolen twice and my insurance company dropped me.

Ah the days……..

Nice! I had a buddy with a 80's cutlass. He had no back seat. He had a wall of 8 10's instead of a back seat. All of them were the rockford fosgate pro punches, the one's with the huge chrome magnets. That one hit pretty good!

I also had a different car with 2-15's in the trunk. I had to kick the box in there to get it in the trunk. Had to saw it in half to get it out.

My high school buddy had an old Caprice with 2 15"s in it. We were driving down highway 15 one night, and when the bass hit, his headlights almost quit.

Yup, big amps liked to dim the lights a bit, didn't they?

No kidding. I fixed that with six capacitors configured to look like a 6-pack of adult beverages. No more dimming.