Just looking for opinions on some ideas I have. I want my system install to be totally custom. Everyone is using 10's and some have used a 12 which I am still leaning towards but I was thinking about making a box with some 8's. From what I have been reading, there are some decent 8 inchers out there.

Anybody out there using 8's? If so can I get some feedback like brand names and what U like about the 8? How low do they play and what type of enclosure you have.

My next question is do you think that a 10 under the strut bar is better that a couple of 8's? I have seen Nazar's box with the 3 10's and I like it but I don't like the way it stick's out behind the strut bar. I am gonna need my room back there. So I was thinking about 3 8's under the bar instead.

I would like for my enclosure to be sealed. I am looking for SQ over SPL now that I am getting older. I have been in car audio for almost the whole 90's decade but started riding motorcycles around 1997 so I left the scene but now I'm back. I know how to build enclosures and wire everything up so don't take me as a newbie as I am just looking for your thoughts.

The brands I am considering are Image Dynamics, RE or Adire and I figure out what amps after I decide on the sub or subs. Is it 2 10's or 3 8's.

 

I'm going to use two 8" woofers. I have a pair of Rockford Fosgate Punch P28S8's sitting in my living room .. waiting for the boxes to be built.

I looked at the other installs .. and it just didn't feel right .. for me that is. I'm going to build a pair of boxes to fit between the rear speaker .. hump ... and the strut bar. These woofers require .25 cu ft (.274 including speaker volume) as *best* .. from the company. This works out to a box about 7" tall, width between strut and rear speaks and ... umm ... about 14" long (I'm not at home now so that is just a guess at the measurements). I'm planning to have the speakers firing straight up. A little comestics (MDF ring w/polyester streached & fiberglassed) .. textured and dyed to match the inerior.

If you only consider surface area, the two 8" woofers are about 130% of a single 10".

 

IMO, can't go wrong with JL 8w7. With 3 of them, you're gonna need a 1ohm stable 1000 watt rms amp.

 

8s are so small. I know people that put 8s in their doors as midbasses

 

At least go with 10" subs,if anything.

 

I'd do 10's but those JL8w7's are off the meat rack!

 

You may get more surface area with the dual 8" setup but a reduction in frequencies you will be able to hear/feel. I think the RF Punch series low end response is only like 40hz. If you have a LPF set at 80hz that's a limited range (40 to 80). A decent 12" will get you below 20hz response (50% greater range).

 

I have no problems with 8s, other than the fact that some do use them as midbass drivers up front. But honestly, 2 8's would sound pretty good b/c the Z's a smaller car.

I'd do (have thought about it) 2x TC Sounds TC9+ .. a pretty well regarded local/car audio forum member had 2 of them for sale .. and he showed graphs of testing etc and said he'd put it up against the 8W7 anyday. The price was less than half the 8W7, which is what got me considering them in the first place.

RE & Adire are good brands too .. but I'm not sure how well their 8's would compare w/the 8W7. Bright side is the RE8's are super cheap. Been to RE .. took home a 15XXX that day

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by og muddbone

Anybody out there using 8's? If so can I get some feedback like brand names and what U like about the 8? How low do they play and what type of enclosure you have.

I installed two 8 inch woofers and the sound is wonderful. I also gutted the entire Bose system and put in a system that rattles the windows and is probably capable of creating ear bleed. I did nearly the same installation in my second car.

My system is on the Sport Z Magazine web page for your review. BTW, I don't have any drawings of the sub-enclosure. It was always a work in process. My bill of materials, clickable images are all at: http://www.sportzmagazine.com/Z_Bobs_Z_MOD.htm

Good hunting,

Bob

 

2 quality 8" subs will give you both the sq and spl you want. I'm running 2 8" Image Dynamics V.3 subs at 250watts per sub. Everyone is amazed at the output of these guys and they were less than $100 each. IMO they really need to be under the stut tower and faced towards the rear of the car to achieve maximum potential. The facts are that two 8" subs will give you more surface area than a single 10", but in general a 10" or 12" can play a bit lower. The IDs and JL8w7 can get into the 25 Hz range, which is very impressive for a smaller driver. The SQ advantage is that in general a smaller speaker can play its frequiencies better than a larger speaker. This means better transient and linear response. Here's a pic of my install



If you want a bit of extra kick in the chest, go with three 8's. You won't be disappointed if you use quality subs.

 

2 8's are fine in the Z. i have 2 JL Audio 8w6's back there, and its plenty loud.