Big Autotuna in a small car...

[MikeHunt77]

I'm not sure if BMW have introduced the Mini over in the US, but my car is smaller than this, in fact it is almost as small as the original 1960's Mini. It's a Peugeot 205 (pics here of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_205 )

Anyway, I found I had just enough room for an 18" wide dual driver autotuba in the boot (trunk). I went for dual drivers as I'm using a 4 channel amp and have 2 channels for the sub. Also, I sometimes like to use it in the house, and the extra power handling helps... It wasn't until I finished the cab I realised what a tight squeeze it would be, but I just about managed it....

Anyway, I've went from a vented 12" pioneer sub to this. The Pioneer was getting over twice the power (160Wrms), and the AT actually gives more output with only 40Wrms going to each driver. Amazing. The AT sounds nicer to my ears, but it also makes my rattly French interior rattle even more... I need to get round to sorting this...

I'm running a 12db/oct butterworth LPF that is fixed at 120Hz (it's built into my amp), but I'm soon gonna switch to a 4 channel class-d amp that will give almost twice the power (75Wrms per chan), and I'm also gonna have a go at making a 24db/oct filter which may give a better sound. We shall see. Even with 40Wrms per chan this thing is very loud, so 75 is going to be way more than I need. I would have to get ear protection if I was ever going to try 100w per chan!

Overall, I was impressed when I tried this in the house, so I already knew it was gonna work well in the car. Tight, clean bass... You can feel it as well as hear it. I like a lot of bass heavy music (dubstep, etc.), and this really suits

If anyone with a smaller car is having doubts, build it anyway. It will should fit with a bit of effort...

[MikeHunt77]

The seatbacks are actually touching the cab... It couldn't be any further back tho or my boot wouldn't shut...


There is around 7" between the mouth and the side of my car... I'm guessing this is ok, I can maybe increase to 8" or 9" a little later when I finish the class-d amp... It's a lot smaller them my current amp, leaving more room for the cab. I'd have to remove the while thing and drill a few more holes tho, i'm not really sure if it's worth doing...


This is the only place I have left for my jack and wheel wrench... Right in front of the mouth... This shouldn't really affect the sound tho really should it?

[Tim A]

Autotuna?

You can't use an Autotuna unless you scale it down.

But then it would look fishy.

I'd certainly like to sea that....

[MikeHunt77]

Autotuna?

You can't use an Autotuna unless you scale it down.

But then it would look fishy.

I'd certainly like to sea that....

This isn't the time or plaice for this sort of sillyness.

Damn my bad typing...

[Strapping Young Stu]

Mike what drivers are you using in that?

Where did you get them?

I am thinking about making one of these now, perhaps using the Alcone BX10 http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Drive_Units/Alcone/bx10.htm

Partially because I want to see the suitability of the BX10 for horn loaded subs in general. Sure Fs is a bit low but so is the price compared to an HL10.

If the Xmax is as good as others are quoting (11mm) it should be pretty good and for £50 I think its worth a punt to find out.

Stu

[Harley]

Autotuna?

You can't use an Autotuna unless you scale it down.

But then it would look fishy.

I'd certainly like to sea that....

You're floundering about there Tim...are you finished yet?

[Tim A]

Autotuna?

You can't use an Autotuna unless you scale it down.

But then it would look fishy.

I'd certainly like to sea that....

You're floundering about there Tim...are you finished yet?

I figured if I played out enough line I'd net you....

[MikeHunt77]

Mike what drivers are you using in that?

Where did you get them?

I am thinking about making one of these now, perhaps using the Alcone BX10 http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Drive_Units/Alcone/bx10.htm

Partially because I want to see the suitability of the BX10 for horn loaded subs in general. Sure Fs is a bit low but so is the price compared to an HL10.

If the Xmax is as good as others are quoting (11mm) it should be pretty good and for £50 I think its worth a punt to find out.

Stu

I'm using the MCM 8"'s. The first lot arrived dented to hell, but they sent me some more. If I was going to get more 8"'s, I'd order the tang-bands from europe...

That driver looks like it may be ok, I'm not sure tbh. The FS of the MCM driver is 25Hz (I think), so it may not be a massive issue. Maybe ask over at the autosound forum? Some of the JBL GTO series have been used successfully according to Bill, and they are also available for around £50.

[Strapping Young Stu]

Mike what drivers are you using in that?

Where did you get them?

I am thinking about making one of these now, perhaps using the Alcone BX10 http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Drive_Units/Alcone/bx10.htm

Partially because I want to see the suitability of the BX10 for horn loaded subs in general. Sure Fs is a bit low but so is the price compared to an HL10.

If the Xmax is as good as others are quoting (11mm) it should be pretty good and for £50 I think its worth a punt to find out.

Stu

I'm using the MCM 8"'s. The first lot arrived dented to hell, but they sent me some more. If I was going to get more 8"'s, I'd order the tang-bands from europe...

That driver looks like it may be ok, I'm not sure tbh. The FS of the MCM driver is 25Hz (I think), so it may not be a massive issue. Maybe ask over at the autosound forum? Some of the JBL GTO series have been used successfully according to Bill, and they are also available for around £50.

I have been wanting to try that driver for a while simply because with a 10" cone and 11mm Xmax regardless of the Fs its going to displace a lot more air than the MCM.

I think for an Autotuba in a car there is no real disadvantage in having a lower Fs since the low end is reinforced.

Its how well an autotuba loaded with that vs an HL10c in a normal room that will be the most interesting thing. For that the low BL of 11.4 is a concern as would be the lowish Fs but there may be some ways to fiddle it.

Thanks for the info, glad you're happy with them!

Stu

[AntonZ]

Cool Mike, brings back sweet memories. I have had 2 Peugeots 205, loved the handling of these little cars. Great fun to drive on twisty mountain roads. Despite lack of power they were a lot faster there than most other cars. Mine were a 1400 XR and a diesel, the interior of yours looks more like XS or GTI to me. Cost next to nothing to run as well. But I didn't have that much bass in mine

[MikeHunt77]

Thanks for the info, glad you're happy with them!
Stu

No problem. Don't forget the 10" should handle more power also, but I've never seen them for sale in the UK. Was it PE that still had some in stock?

Cool Mike, brings back sweet memories. I have had 2 Peugeots 205, loved the handling of these little cars. Great fun to drive on twisty mountain roads. Despite lack of power they were a lot faster there than most other cars. Mine were a 1400 XR and a diesel, the interior of yours looks more like XS or GTI to me. Cost next to nothing to run as well. But I didn't have that much bass in mine

I've had it almost 10 years now... We have quite a few twisty country roads in the UK which these cars seem to love.

Mine's a turbo diesel (XRDT), which has a similar amount of power to the 1.4XR (80hp), but does weigh a little more. So far, it's been cheap to run, easy(ish) to fix, and great fun to drive, so I'm sticking with it. A friend of mine has managed to put an Mi16 engine in his 205, and put a few go faster bits on there, and he's getting 180hp at the wheels! The main problem he is having is getting the power down, as it wheelspins in the first 3 gears, even in the dry!

It's been over a week now with the AT in the car, and even tho it sounds great in the car, I now need to build a table tuba as I now have no sub for the house...