xseveredveganx wrote:It seems like a lot of the rules are relatively subjective. A 'custom' enclosure could be anything someone made in their backyard, either by the manufacturer's suggested guidelines or actually utlizing some types of acoustic theories.
You're absolutely right - a lot of this stuff is subjective. This is why the judges will have the final say regarding placement. I know it's not a perfect system, but due to the subjective nature of car audio in general I've tried to come up with a "catch-all" system as best I could. But I think we will all know whether someone threw together a particle board box in their back yard or actually took the time to analyze their system's performance and build a box based on their car, speaker, amplifier, etc. A purpose-built SPL box will certainly be more obvious as such than a backyard throw together box.
xseveredveganx wrote:And who says that someone will be running their amplifier at 4ohms or .25ohm? Power rating is very subjective.
Meh. I'll still say I'm running my amplifier at 4ohms.
Well, the judges will say.
We know from the registration sheet exactly what woofers and coil configuration you'll have, and we'll know what kind of amplifier you'll be running, so we'll be able to get a pretty good idea of what *possible* impedance loads you could have. For example, the guy who registered with 2 Alpine SWR1243D woofers and a Rockford T1500BD can really only be running either 1 or 4 ohms. To some degree I'll have to take your word for it, but I think we can all agree that someone with a 3000 watt, 1 ohm amplifier who only loaded it to 4 ohms is really doing themselves a disservice in the output department. not to mention that you'll have ample opportunity to check out everyone else's cars during the event, and guys like you who know systems and electrical theory will be able to call BS almost right away - especially if it's someone in your class.
But, if it helps everyone feel warm and fuzzy about things I can throw a DMM on all the car's as they pull in and verify the load as correct based on the registration info. but I'd rather just trust you.
kahoproductionz wrote:hey Risk, maybe you could(next time) go by "cone area"... it might make things a little easier, simplified for those who are NEW(to the hobby/sport) and might want to compete. I'm sure a NEWBIE gonna look at your requirements and be scratching their heads tryna figure which class and/or division they should be in.
I think you're totally correct, but I have one concern reqarding square instead of cubic inches. 10 years ago I had great success with this system, but then some products we lovingly call "super woofers" came along and really made this a more difficult breakdown. I'm sure you know the kinds of things I'm refering to - W7, L7, T9500, etc., etc., etc. The issue I had 3 years back was that guys with a basic sub (say, a JL W1 or something) would technically fall into the same class as guys with a super sub (a W7 or similar). All things being equal (rated power, speced box, etc.) the W7 is going to kick ass and take names all day long. Adding excursion to the mix moved these super woofers to the next class up, meaning that single W7's were now running with multiple W1's. Since the displacement is so similar (1-12W7 makes 96.9 cubic inches versus, for instance, 3-12W1's which make 91.5 cubic inches) the difference should come down to enclosure design and install application, again assuming all other things are equal (thus the power divisions). While I agree that square inches is much, much easier to figure and allows me to just have a simple chart, like the one you posted, of common woofer sizes and their standard surface area, I think it leaves out one critical dimension.
That said, I may eat my words after July 2. In actual practice 3 basic 12's may blow 1 super 12 out of the water and I'll feel really stupid for overthinking this. But again, I really hope some of you guys come, observe, and make suggestions based on what you see. I'd love if you'd compete, especially for the reason you pointed out . . .
kahoproductionz wrote:more time to give demos and show people equipment being used and Q&A and stuff like that to better educate(hint hint) other competitors!
. . . but just having you guys there would be awesome.
Thanks again for all the feedback. I really appreciate all the time you're giving me. I may not have the experience with competing that you all do, but I'm pretty good technically/electrically/acoustically and I hope someday I can offer some assistance to repay the favors.
Risk
doesn't have much xmax... but it still throws like crazy. 
