SPL Lesson #1
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Gold Member Username: ZacdavisBeloit, Wi Post Number: 1652 Registered: Dec-03 | Ok, for those who want to get into the lanes. First thing, buy a Termlab sensor. Anybody who wants to get serious...should buy a vehicle that will give you an advantage over other competitors. In USACi, and many other organizations, rules stipulate competitors can only utilize the cargo or trunk area for stereo equipment. With that rule, 2 passenger hatchback cars have a distinct advantage. Extended cab mini-trucks are good candidates as well. A few common vehicles that have graced the winners circle, and still being used today include the Honda CRX, Ford EXP, and the Chevy S-10. The bulk of my experience has been building Honda CRX's. The second gen CRX's seem to be put up higher scores than the first gen. So in this series of lesson's I'll be going into detail of how to build a 160+ db CRX. When first designing a system, people usually look for the biggest most powerful stuff, or what has the best price, either way this is a no no that can set you back. The third thing a person should doesn't require any money at all. (this step could be determined before you decide on a vehicle to buy...) The most important step to building an SPL competition vehicle is finding the class you wish to run. Knowing the amount of equipment needed for a given class should help most potential competitors decide a class. This is partly due to the cost of equipment needed, obviously higher/bigger classes require more equipment. Once you've decided on your class, study the rulebook. Understanding and incorporating the rules into your build is paramount. A small mistake can cause disqualification and lead to a complete rebuild. An example, going over the window line will get ya dq'd and all the time and testing put into that enclosure will be out the window, no pun intended. Recap for lesson 1 in SPL competition 1 Buy testing equipment 3 Buy a vehicle that suits SPL 2 Decide which class you plan to compete in 4 Read and then re-read the rules ...which brings us to step 5, finding equipment that best suits your class and vehicle. In db drag your somewhat required to buy thee largest amp on the market because there are no power limitations. For this reason I prefer organizations that have power classes, USACi being one of them. As it stands the current method of classifying an amp is rating it by it's 4 ohm output. If an amp doesnt specify it's 4ohm output one is determined by halving the output wattage. 4000 @ .5ohm 2000 @ 1ohm 1000 @ 2ohm 500 @ 4ohm Finding an amp that has a low rating gives you an advantage over other competitors. Becoming an active member in the forum of the organization you compete in can be beneficial for obvious reasons, knowing whats hot, whats not, knowing what your competition is using is important. So on to the building process.... To be fair to current competitors who've worked hard to be at the level they are, I'm going to go into detail of an older style build that many used a couple years ago. It's the infamous 4-12 set-up for the Honda CRX In my build I started out by looking at which class best suited my budget. 901-1800 superstock seemed to fit the bill. I studied the rules for this class, some of the important ones included that only up to 4 amps are allowed, equipment must stay in the cargo area and not exceed any window lines, and there was a voltage limit in the class. So the first thing I looked for were amps. I could have gone with one giant 1800watt@4ohm amp, 2 huge 900watt@4ohm amps, or 4 450watt@4ohm amps. I quickly realized space is factor and had to consider the footprint the amplifier will take up. Secondly, how efficient are these amps because there is only so much room for extra batteries to power them. The amps I chose, at the time, seemed to be the best, MMats 3000.05's. These amps had a rating of 3000watts at .5 ohm, using the halving method they came out to be only 375watts at 4 ohms. Having one of the highest efficiency of any other amp and taking up the smallest footprint per watt of any other class d amp on the market made it the right choice for this build. I think we'll leave off until lesson two to talk about finding subwoofers because of a few factors we need to discuss that include impedance rise and displacement.... |
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Gold Member Username: Philly306James Carrol is the re... Post Number: 1120 Registered: Apr-07 | I don't know what sparked this but thanks for the info. |
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Gold Member Username: Naledge503LowDownForum.com Post Number: 3868 Registered: Jun-06 | Excellent write up! I plan on attending my first comp in aug. I live in Oregon so there isnt much going on here. Last year there was 1 comp for the entire state and this year there are 2. Theres not even a state record listed. Both comps are USACi. I plan on competing in either 601-1800 stock or SB2. The equipment I'll be running is 2 12" AQsd2.5's and an AQ2200d. Gonna be in a 95', 2 door Integra hatch. I know that there should be alot of testing involved and I should have some sort of meter to do so. But I cant see myself getting one because of the lack of competitions. I have however talked to a couple of people who gave me a couple of frequency res numbers for my vehicle from their experience. Do you have a suggestion in which class I should compete in? Also since I wont have access to lots of testing. What is a general rule on enclosure tuning when knowing the vehicle res frequency? |
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Gold Member Username: MgbcsLincoln, Nebraska Post Number: 2535 Registered: Dec-06 | Good stuff Zac |
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Gold Member Username: Surferdude9371Im BTL Bumpin Post Number: 1020 Registered: Mar-07 | awsome thread i for one appreciate you sharing your knoledge |
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Gold Member Username: Naledge503LowDownForum.com Post Number: 3869 Registered: Jun-06 | BTW, I will actually have 4 12" sd2.5's at my disposal. Thing is, I dont know if I would be able to fit 4 in the hatch after port disp. I would also have to wire to 2 ohm on the amp with using all 4. If I use 2, I could wire to 1 ohm and get more power. So the option would be 4 subs at 2ohm, or 2 subs at 1ohm. |
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Silver Member Username: DlavanteTigard, Or USA Post Number: 109 Registered: Feb-07 | naledge, only runnin 2 sd2.5's?? we could probably get all of them in there no prob |
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Gold Member Username: InsearchofbassPost Number: 9493 Registered: Jun-04 | good write up....I look forward to further posts on this thread |
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Gold Member Username: Nyyfan1315 Mag USA Post Number: 9840 Registered: Jul-06 | Nice post Zac. Can you explain to me the difference between bass race and bass boxing (I think its called)? I looked at bass boxing rules and, to me (a noob when it comes to competitions), it sounds almost the same. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 7655 Registered: Jul-06 | 99% of the people on this forum don't have the money and/or desire to build a deticated SPL vehicle, myself included. |
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Gold Member Username: Talon01Team Revolution , Pa Usa Post Number: 1355 Registered: Jun-07 | i do and did but it is all about the fun too. you will make alot of friends doing the comp scene. i now know people all over the country anf overseas like trinidad. |
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Gold Member Username: Van_manBoston South, MA Post Number: 4023 Registered: Mar-06 | I agree, its not all about winning. Sure its nice to get killa scores, but meeting other ppl and seeing other competitors is just as fun. But Great info Zac. Im sure this can translate to most ppl to get the most out of thier current set-ups. |
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Gold Member Username: ZacdavisBeloit, Wi Post Number: 1655 Registered: Dec-03 | M.S.---99% of the people on this forum don't have the money and/or desire to build a deticated SPL vehicle, myself included. Well M.S. if you don't care about this thread don't read it. I guess this is only for 1% of the forum.} |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 7660 Registered: Jul-06 | Well I just wondered what the point of the thread is when the only people on here with the time / money to do comp vehicles are you and Scott s. |
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Gold Member Username: JkidderWorlds gunna end, In 2012 Post Number: 3600 Registered: Nov-05 | its better to have this thread than not have this thread... the cisco kid |
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Gold Member Username: ZacdavisBeloit, Wi Post Number: 1659 Registered: Dec-03 | Well I'm sorry M.S., I'll just post "vs" threads from now on, maybe talk about my ipod, ask who plays Warcraft, and ask questions like what is a capacitor. Does this meet your criteria for E? |
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Gold Member Username: SouthernrebelMonroe, Louisiana 2 DD3515s, 2... Post Number: 6432 Registered: Mar-04 | You don't have to be building a dedicated SPL vehicle to gain incite from this thread. You can simply read through and see what info give may pertain to situation. This can give ALOT of people a good place to start in the SPL world. Also, 99% of SPL competitors didn't just dive in a buy a vehicle for SPL their first season in the lanes. Most start w/ their daily drivers, catch the bug, and go on the buy vehicles later. Its a hobby that grows on you. Showing up to shows, talking smack, making friends, and bullshitting is all part of it  Zac, Thanks for starting this thread. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 7661 Registered: Jul-06 | I guess I just don't uderstand cause I'm not into serious SPL comp. In fact I'm going back to an SQ system soon |
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Silver Member Username: DeadrabitPost Number: 413 Registered: Jun-07 | that makes me happy to have a hatchback! |
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Platinum Member Username: Rovin1 15 = 149.1DBsTrinidad & T... Post Number: 13876 Registered: Jul-05 | good informative thread ... |
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Diamond Member Username: BestmankindPost Number: 21221 Registered: Oct-05 | "I guess I just don't uderstand cause I'm not into serious SPL comp. In fact I'm going back to an SQ system soon" that's where its at M.S. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 7663 Registered: Jul-06 | Werd haha  |
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Gold Member Username: Livin_loudCOD4 Addict -PS3- Post Number: 2504 Registered: Jan-06 | nice thread Zac |
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Gold Member Username: Talon01Team Revolution , Pa Usa Post Number: 1357 Registered: Jun-07 | thats funny because at all the comps i have been to the sq and spl guys always butt heads. point proven m.s. tyvm. here i thought is was just me but i walk the light[sq] and dark[spl] side young patawan |
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Gold Member Username: HdubbTeam Revolution Post Number: 3750 Registered: Nov-04 | zac, man please dont let m.s.' post steer you away from giving more great info like this. tjis a great write up and would love to see more of them. im sure 99% of the people on this board would like to compete in some form and ths a great starting point for them. oh and i never got to say thank you for all the info i got out of you a while back;) and also i think experimenting with boxes is also a huge part of spl. and 100% behind canaans post as well good info. |
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Gold Member Username: Th3pwn3rI compensate... Post Number: 8212 Registered: Jul-06 | M.S., you're a complete dumb azz. Just because YOU don't have the money doesn't mean that the rest of us don't. Speak for yourself. If you don't like SPL and aren't interested then why the hell did you click on the thread? Just plain retarded. Do you go into g@y men's forums and post there too and complain about them being homos3xuals? |
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Gold Member Username: Andrew571Stillwater/Edmond, Oklahoma USA Post Number: 1880 Registered: Oct-05 | cool write up. Thanks ZD |
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Gold Member Username: The_image_dynamicSan Diego, California Post Number: 4097 Registered: Dec-06 | Yeah because MS is already the King of SPL  Photoshopped by Nick V Design by Brad W/Nick V |
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Gold Member Username: Th3pwn3rI compensate... Post Number: 8214 Registered: Jul-06 | Lol, holy sh1t. That's the worst combing forward of hair to cover a receding hairline that I've ever seen. He looks like one of those gag mask things made out of the mustache, nose and glasses that kids used to wear to be funny. |
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Gold Member Username: Th3pwn3rI compensate... Post Number: 8215 Registered: Jul-06 |  |
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Gold Member Username: Th3pwn3rI compensate... Post Number: 8216 Registered: Jul-06 | Okay, not exactly but it's what came to mind haha. |
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Diamond Member Username: BestmankindPost Number: 21254 Registered: Oct-05 | alright come on guys. you guys are turning a nice thread in to something ugly. |
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Gold Member Username: Naledge503LowDownForum.com Post Number: 3874 Registered: Jun-06 | Zac, I sent you an email. When you get a chance could you email be back? Thanks in advance. |
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Gold Member Username: RedlinerWilmington, Ma Post Number: 4443 Registered: Jun-05 | nice info zac |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Northwest PA Post Number: 7671 Registered: Jul-06 | Haha it was only a matter of time......... I knew I shouldn't have let Yanks take that pic  |
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Gold Member Username: ZacdavisBeloit, Wi Post Number: 1661 Registered: Dec-03 | Naledge, yes I got your email. Good news...a team member of ours a few years ago had your very same make and model car. I'll email you the box design we used, btw, the score was very impressive. You've got a good car there for competing :D |
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Gold Member Username: Naledge503LowDownForum.com Post Number: 3891 Registered: Jun-06 | Awesome. Sorry about your friend bud. Thanks Zac. |
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Gold Member Username: InsearchofbassPost Number: 9542 Registered: Jun-04 | "You've got a good car there for competing :D" im sure he does after testing a earlier integra than his |
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