I have a 12" JL subwoofer in a box that I built to the factory specs provided by JL for a sealed enclosure. I was now considering porting it but I wasn't sure how well it would perform due to the lack of air space in the box. If anyone has any opinions/experiences that could help me out I would appreciate it. Also, anyone know the price of the Stillen body kit for our car? I was quoted like $286 for the front lip alone. Just curious. Thanks everyone.

 

If you go to the JL web site they should have the dimensions for a ported application. In most cases it would sound worse to just add a port to a small sealed box. From my experience the best sounding ported enclosers are the large ones. You might want to consider building a larger box or just sticking with the one you have without a port. Also what series JL is it.


92GXE, touring wing, 18” racing wheels, Port&Polished intake, custom intake, custom yellow interior, racing seats, back seats taken out and replaced with subs and amps, NOS kit, Suspension tech. Lowering springs, custom grille, soon to be custom painted and have the whole engine rebuilt for big shot NOS and custom SC and tranny converted to 5-speed.

 

As chris said, you would probably be best off to leave the box how it is or completely rebuild it.

some of JLs boxes they recommend are close enough to the same size that you could stick a port in them (not the same size they spec for the larger box though.. that'll really screw things up)..
When I built the sealed enclosure for my 10s, I designed it with the possibility of porting it later.. it's 3.0 cu. ft, where the optimum sealed specs are 2.0 cu.ft... then I just stuffed styrofoam blocks in ther eto take up airspace and bring it down to ~2 cu.ft.
when I want to port it, I just pull it from the car, pull the styrofoam out of it, and cut some holes and glue in a port.

 

What kind of music do you listen to? Sealed enclosures work a little better for rap, rock, and everything type music. I think sealed let you hit a little lower, I'm not 100% sure. Sealed is most versatile though. Why would you want to port it?

 

Thats not exactly true. Sealed boxes sound best with music like rock. A ported box puts out deeper bass and is better for rap. It all depends on what you want. Ussualy a speaker that is made for both sealed an dported enclosures will sound better in a ported enclosure. A sealed enclosure also requires a more powerful amp. It really all depends on what you want. I prefer ported myself because to me it blends better and sounds cleaner. If you only plan on running one sub there wont be a huge difference either way but there will be a little.


92GXE, touring wing, 18” racing wheels, Port&Polished intake, custom intake, custom yellow interior, racing seats, back seats taken out and replaced with subs and amps, NOS kit, Suspension tech. Lowering springs, custom grille, soon to be custom painted and have the whole engine rebuilt for big shot NOS and custom SC and tranny converted to 5-speed.

 

hrmm, I must have been under the wrong impression. thanks chris! right now I'm running two perfect 12s off a DEI 1100d, they've got the manuf. recc. 1.0 cubic feet, I want a deeper louder hitting bass note..would 1lb poly fill do me any good in each chamber?

 

The perfects are in a sealed inclosure right? Well oddly enough I've heard that when you add any filler to a box it makes the c.i. bigger. I dont really understand it myself but it might make the subs a little deeper. I'm not sure what type of boxes the Perfect's are made for but if you can put them in a ported enclosure I guarantee you'll be happy with the difference. I'll check on the subs and see what can be done.



92GXE, touring wing, 18” racing wheels, Port&Polished intake, custom intake, custom yellow interior, racing seats, back seats taken out and replaced with subs and amps, NOS kit, Suspension tech. Lowering springs, custom grille, soon to be custom painted and have the whole engine rebuilt for big shot NOS and custom SC and tranny converted to 5-speed.

 

NG, it depends on the sub.. if your sub likes a larger enclosure than the 1.0ft it's in, then yes. polyfill will help. What polyfill does is convert motion energy of the air in the box into heat in the fibers of the polyfill- thus making the sub think it's in a larger box. it's always worth a shot and see what happens.. buy several lb of it (you can get it in a 5lb bag at most hobby/sewing shops for about $15), then add fill tot he box abou 1/2lb at a time until you get the sound you want. just be sure not to wear out the screws on your box!