Subs hit, but don't pound

Whoaa there turbo turn down the bass boost and gain, they arn't volume controls. Set the gain properly and turn that bass boost down! Are your subs wired out of phase (are all the + connections going to the + on the amp and all of the - connections going to the - on the amp). If you have a ford explorer the alternator should be around 100 to 120 amp so the sub amp shouldn't be too bad off right now. By the way don't waste your money on caps just buy a HO alternator.

I would take into consideration the enclosure. I'm not an expert on ported enclosures, but I always thought the ports should be on the same face as the subs. Are the subs in their own seperate chambers? And when you say the ports are on the sides, do you mean each port is firing into the wheel well? Jon

Don't like rockford subs? Then don't look at my car =)

Yeah-I've always been under the impression that your ports should be on the same side as your subs.  Did you build the box?  If so, are the insige edges of the ports flared(or sanded smooth?)  If not, you will get the whooshy port noise sound.  How bout' your port length, are they the right size?  You can use the port length calculator on this site to determine port size and tuning.   You are right though, your set-up should make your ears bleed.  I know that sinking feeling when you get a new system and it doesn't meet your expectations-Good luck!

The above comments are right on.  With ports facing different directions from woofers, acoustic cancellation will occur.  Here's an explaination from another thread that may apply in your case.Support the12volt.com

k, guys, more details for u....for 1, the subs are all wired properly, i checked and double checked....The gains and bass boost are all set properly.......i spent hours taking care of that, once for initial break in, and a second time for a secondary break in period. The ports are firing toward the wheel wells, while the subs are firing toward the roof.....all ports are cut EXACTLY to audiobahn specs...   The ports are all smooth as well, no flares or anything like that....I have yet to read the noise cancellation thread.......cuz i'm afraid i'll have to rebuild!!!~wayland

ALSO, yes, the subs are separated (so there's two 2.5 cu ft sections).I was reading THE CAR STEREO COOKBOOK by Mark Rumreich, and it said that ports can be placed on any side of the enclosure, as long as they're 4-6 inches away from the woofer (for clearance).  The acoustic example you said in that other thread would seem logical, but only if the two subs were in different phases...............maybe i need some more info on that part....~wayland

Sounds like you have your woofers and your ports 90 degrees out of phase physically and your loss of SPL is due to phase alignment issues.  They are certainly cancelling each other and you are losing some of the SPL being generated by your fairly extreme setup.  Do you have an SPL meter?  Does your amp have a phase control?  Can you mount a reflection baffle above the woofers that will re-direct the sound rearward to introduce a time delay?  You might be able to correct some of the effect with enough time and manipulation.... but most likely, and most easily, a rebuild is in order if you really want max SPL out of this system.  Sorry! Support the12volt.com

wayland1985 wrote: After 2 weeks of initial break-in, I've turned up the gain a bit, and cranked up the bass-boost.

wayland1985 wrote: The gains and bass boost are all set properly.......i spent hours taking care of that, once for initial break in, and a second time for a secondary break in period.

They arn't set properly if they are cranked up (especially the bass boost).