Maverick custom subwoofer box project - discussions

[Sonicaceman]

I know there are plenty of threads on adding a subwoofer on here. This thread isn’t so much about that but more of how to tune the subwoofer and what size, wattage, accessories etc. I am curious what everyone else has done to achieve the best results and sound from their Maverick.

I will post up where I am with my project and what questions I have for others. What worked, what didn’t work and so on.

Currently I made a custom box for under the seat on the driver side. I modeled my box off another member who posted they did a sealed box for under the seat with an 8” sub. The dimensions are 15 wide by 8.5 tall and 7.5 depth. Cubic feet with 3/4” mdf comes out to .33 or .35 not exactly. I bought a cheap Skar vd8 and have tested it with a Kicker cxa400 amp wired to 1ohm. Problem is I get very little bass out of this set up. Maybe it’s my box is too small or my amp wire at 10 gauge is too small and I do not have enough current. Idk. My kicker compr12 on the same amp at 2 ohms destroys my setup. I will include some pics of what I have made.

I have not actually wired the Maverick up for the amp and sub but have just tested my box in my Focus ST with the kicker amp which I plan to use for the Maverick. I’m severely underwhelmed by the output currently.

I also see people rocking these Skar 8’s and they are pushing great bass and all the reviews say they put out good sound.

What am I missing?

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[Montana]

Yea the box is too small. @colinl

 

[colinl]

Probably is too small, yes. It wants .35f³ and the Rockford Fosgate box wizard says those dimensions are .3ft³ and that is not counting the displacement of the woofer.

But the other factor is that the OP is used to a standard 12" and now he has a shallow mount 8". That's definitely not going to be a fair comparison. I love my Alpine R2 8" and it's very performant for an 8"... But no, hell no, it doesn't compare to the JL 12w3 I had in a previous vehicle. But my amp has a DSP and that's ridiculously good. No peaks and valleys, just nice smooth, deep, consistent bass.

 

[colinl]

Oh. 8.5" not 8 on one dimension, whoops. Could be a tad small. Also looks real close to the edge so hopefully it has a good seal.

Probably just not impressive as a shallow 8 when having played a traditional 12 a lot.

 

[Sonicaceman]

Good input and I used box calculator as well. I was shooting for .35 cubic but I used 3/4 instead of 1/2” mdf so I lost some space. I do not have a dsp either and it moves when I really turn it up but I have to push it a lot. I think I’m spoiled from the compr 12 and the box is on the small side. If I can get it to run off the 1 ohm at 400ish watts when I get it hooked up in the truck I’m hoping it sounds decent. I would love a dsp to dial everything in but I’m not dropping $300+ on one. Would an LC2i help with tuning and maximize bass?

 

[colinl]

If I can get it to run off the 1 ohm at 400ish watts when I get it hooked up in the truck I’m hoping it sounds decent. I would love a dsp to dial everything in but I’m not dropping $300+ on one. Would an LC2i help with tuning and maximize bass?

I guess it's time for more detail about what you have and how many watts RMS you were supplying when testing in your focus.

if you're underpowered it will definitely not help.

since you mentioned a cxa400.1 amp I assume you have a dual 2ohm model dv8 and you can do 1 or 4 ohm with it. what's the amp in the focus?

at any rate if you already own the cxa400.1 yes a lc2i with acubass would help a ton. however if you haven't bought the amp yet or can return it the key 500.1 has integrated DSP, more power and costs less than cxa400.1 plus lc2i.

 

[HushCarAudio]

I've have Kicker Key 500.1 amps in stock.

 

[rallyshark]

If you have Forscan, set the factory "special EQ" setting to flat, and that will help the bass a lot. It is super easy to do. Everything others have said will help too, of course. I was not happy with the bass in mine, until I set the factory EQ to flat, and I have a larger enclosure with a 10" sub and DSP. The kicker key amps are great and will help as well. Setting that factory EQ to flat is the first thing I'd recommend to anyone installing a sub on a non-B&O Maverick.

 

[sapperforward]

If you have Forscan, set the factory "special EQ" setting to flat, and that will help the bass a lot. It is super easy to do. Everything others have said will help too, of course. I was not happy with the bass in mine, until I set the factory EQ to flat, and I have a larger enclosure with a 10" sub and DSP. The kicker key amps are great and will help as well. Setting that factory EQ to flat is the first thing I'd recommend to anyone installing a sub on a non-B&O Maverick.

I haven't actually received my truck yet so I have no idea on how it sounds, but it does have the B&O system. Will I need to do anything to make it better? My previous system ( not recent by any stretch ) was 2 12" Jl Audio 12w0-12 running 1000w Phoenix Gold with a 1 microfarad cap I know old school and it sure as hell won't fit in the mav but I still have it all sitting in the garage.

 

[Sonicaceman]

The enclosure was tested in my Focus on the current amp which is the cxa400 kicker amp. I’ve tried it wired to 2 ohm and 1 ohm with little difference. The Focus ST it’s in has the Sony system and I’m running the amp off a kicker loc tapped into the rear speakers at the back near the amp. I do not have a dsp or lc2i and the Sony deck has very few options to adjust settings. The vd8 is the dual 2 ohm and is rated for 400 watt rms which I think would be a good match to the kicker amp that does 400 at 1ohm and was rated at 498 per the sheet it came with. My guess is the lack of dsp or lc2i in the Focus is leaving a lot on the table. I don’t know much about the kicker key500 but if it includes a dsp that’s a nice option. I’m going to wire the Maverick to a 4 gauge ofc power wire so I have room to expand if I’m not happy with this set up. Possibly I will upgrade to a higher rms output 10” and one of those custom boxes from “ Ground Shaker”. It is pricey but will allow me to go to a 10” and get some more bass. Since I haven’t installed the wiring or ran anything in the Maverick yet I’m thinking I should spend the extra and do the lc2i or dsp to maximize the bass output. I feel otherwise I will be underwhelmed if I do not.

 

[rallyshark]

I haven't actually received my truck yet so I have no idea on how it sounds, but it does have the B&O system. Will I need to do anything to make it better? My previous system ( not recent by any stretch ) was 2 12" Jl Audio 12w0-12 running 1000w Phoenix Gold with a 1 microfarad cap I know old school and it sure as hell won't fit in the mav but I still have it all sitting in the garage.

I believe colinl will have more to add on the B&O system than I can. I know many people aren't happy with it in the bass department. My personal knowledge is limited to the non B&O setup. I can tell you for sure that the flat EQ setting is a no brainer for the base stereo though.

 

[rallyshark]

The enclosure was tested in my Focus on the current amp which is the cxa400 kicker amp. I’ve tried it wired to 2 ohm and 1 ohm with little difference. The Focus ST it’s in has the Sony system and I’m running the amp off a kicker loc tapped into the rear speakers at the back near the amp. I do not have a dsp or lc2i and the Sony deck has very few options to adjust settings. The vd8 is the dual 2 ohm and is rated for 400 watt rms which I think would be a good match to the kicker amp that does 400 at 1ohm and was rated at 498 per the sheet it came with. My guess is the lack of dsp or lc2i in the Focus is leaving a lot on the table. I don’t know much about the kicker key500 but if it includes a dsp that’s a nice option. I’m going to wire the Maverick to a 4 gauge ofc power wire so I have room to expand if I’m not happy with this set up. Possibly I will upgrade to a higher rms output 10” and one of those custom boxes from “ Ground Shaker”. It is pricey but will allow me to go to a 10” and get some more bass. Since I haven’t installed the wiring or ran anything in the Maverick yet I’m thinking I should spend the extra and do the lc2i or dsp to maximize the bass output. I feel otherwise I will be underwhelmed if I do not.

You can skip the LC2i, as it really isn't necessary and won't fully solve your sub problems, and just go with the key500. That is, if you're not going to go full DSP and run the whole system(which is the best choice in the long run). If you're going to spend the money for the ground shaker, then add a little to it and go with the sound decisions sub enclosure for a 10". It gives you more air space and is built better. The ground shaker boxes are really better suited for an 8" and the air space is still a little small for a 10". I'm running the sound decisions enclosure in my hybrid with the Hertz mps 250 shallow 10, and it does quite well. If you were just going for SQ, I'd say get the ground shaker and stick with a good 8, because it can certainly handle all you'd need for a good SQ setup.

 

[Sonicaceman]

I’ve looked for this Sound Decisions box and haven’t been able to find it online. How much is it and what’s the difference from the Ground Shaker? I already have the amp so I’m not investing in another one so the kicker key 500 isn’t an option right now. I don’t think the 8” will be enough for my liking but I’m going to give it a go and most likely I’ll upgrade to a 10 with 800watts or more and at that point I’ll get a bigger amp. I’ll also get a suited box at that time.

 

[rallyshark]

The guy at Sound Decisions makes them in WI. For some reason, they never actually put this on their main site, instead it just says coming soon... Here's the link to the Maverick specific FB page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089569042381

They also make dual sub boxes for the ecoboost Mavericks. They do some pretty cool enclosures for many different vehicles on their CNC table. All of the prices are on their FB I think.

 

[Sonicaceman]

Update. After a while of waiting for parts and better weather I’ve finally got the Maverick wired and installed for my custom box. I went with the 800watt kicker and and turned it down and am running it at 2ohms on the Skar vd8 and I was very impressed once we tested it yesterday. Initially was going to go with the 400 watt kicker but I’m glad I went with the larger amp. It sounds great in the Maverick and hits way harder than I expected. My test of the box with the kicker 400 watt amp was very underwhelming. But hey it came out great and I guess the box wasn’t the issue but maybe the amp.
just wanted to update this thread now that it’s actually hooked up and in the truck.

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