PERRYinLA

Over in the SC400/300 forum, we are lamenting about how small our trunks are, and how putting any decent woofer enclosure takes up most of the trunk space. Here's the link: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...806#post254806

This is gonna sound dumb (though it is not the first time that's happened), but I started wondering why the trunk can't be sealed to the point where it acts as an enclosure.

I mean, I have seen many posts and photos of trunks being completely stripped for Dynamat and RAAMmat60 treatments. How come, at that point, the extra step is not taken to completely seal the trunk, making it airtight? Then the trunk becomes an enclosure, AND a trunk! It's the same principle as turning the spare tire well into an enclosure, only bigger!

I'm thinking this is not feasible due to the trunk lid never fully sealing well, given all the chassis flex involved. Similarly, the walls of the trunk are not stiff enough to be a good enclosure, even with matting. And gas fumes might pose a safety problem. You can forget about easily changing the tail light bulbs. Plus, if you parked your airtight trunk in the hot sun, the whole rear of your car might EXPLODE! (Oh wait- only the woofer(s) would blow, but in some audiophile's minds, that would be even MORE tragic!)

....well, I TOLD ya this was gonna sound dumb!

Even with the challenges I've listed, given all the efforts some of us put into our car systems, you'd think by now someone would have overcome them. So maybe I missed some even more insurmountable problems with using trunks as enclosures.

stevie

This is not a dumb question. It's actually quite an interesting one. I'll post something on this by the end of the week, 'though I expect you'll be hearing something from the resident gurus first.

Stevie

Mean Gene

Perry - I think U hit the downsides of things ( flex & the resonance of the thin walls - although Dynamat should resolve that issue ). I just don't think U can make the trunk TOTALLY airtight - how R U gonna seal the mating flange of the subwoofer because the rear deck lid's isn't totally sheetmetal. A larger ( key word here ) question in my mind is calculating the enclosure volume & them picking a sub which will work well in a huge enclosure. Of course there's always the probability of multiple woofers - now we're talking!!. Even the ambient temperature would play a factor - the pressure chamber of the enclosed trunk would vary based on the temperature ( although I doubt things would explode - think your insurance company would go for that!! ) :eek: Still, it's a thought provoking question & good to see that there are still some creative minds around in the audio field.