debate of how to face subwoofers

I saw somewhere on here that someone said that they have had better sound from a system when they installed the subwoofers in the extra-cab of a sonoma/s-10, with the subs facing down. Something about the sound sounding better. Well I am going to be putting my subs in my 1997 sonoma w/x-cab. But I dont know if what I read really has any merit to it, because that would change everything in my set up. Also, I plan on putting my amps underneath my sub box, and if the subs are facing straight down at the amps, will that damage or rattle my amps apart? haha, sounds like a funny question but I want to get the best possible sound out of my setup. Thanks

cool, thanks. but what do you mean by 'saggy'? Ive never heard this term before?

Here's the laymans term. If the woofer is not 'stiff' enough, then, when firing down, will already be hanging down past the 'zero point' (centered) and when it hits, it can exceed it's mechanical limits and that's not good. Can one of the BigGuys help me explain this? I, too, am just a novice. -I actually have downfired 2 diff. kinds of subs that were too saggy for 6 months with no ill results (sealed boxes). They were overpowered by 50% also. It's just luck, I guess...2013 Kia Rio -90a alternator

DDX470HD GTO14001 GTO1014D (x3)

Big3 in 1/0G

1/0G to GTO14001

ok, i see what you mean. Like that rubber ring on the woofer could be worn out, and gravity could be pulling it down some, etc etc.

Well, not only that. The woofer itsself would already be sticking out -down, so when it gets power it might move too far and exceed it's mechanical limits, destoying the sub.2013 Kia Rio -90a alternator

DDX470HD GTO14001 GTO1014D (x3)

Big3 in 1/0G

1/0G to GTO14001

Actually, the way a subwoofer sounds WILL vary depending on what direction it is facing.  This is due to wavelengths.  Depending on what frequency the box is tuned, the woofers can have peaks in certain frequencies and effect the response if they are not facing the right direction.  Usually in cars with hatches or trunks, the woofers facing rearwards will give you deeper bass while facing them forward will give a more accurate sound.  The problem with trucks are that the woofers are usually not far enough away to give you long enough wavelengths to give you good sounding deep bass without the box being tuned to do so.  You can do a ported box and help this problem.  Downfire boxes also help too but ported is the best design usually for truck "behind the seat" boxes.  As far as the woofer stiffness and downfire boxes, there is not too much you have to worry abou tin that area because if the woofer has a "looser" suspension, the cone mass is also lighter (unless the woofer is just a total turd).  I have installed cheaper woofers to more expensive ones in downfire boxes several times and never have had a problem with  gravity messing up the woofers.  If you do a downfire box and install your amps under the box, take these two suggestions into consideration:  make the bottom baffle that the woofers will mount to far enough away from the amps so they don't hit them, and leave enough space for the amps to have proper ventilation to keep cool or they could overheat and shut off or start to distort."If a man made it, another can modify it...it just takes some thinking."

"If you ask questions, you're a fool for 5 minutes; if you don't, you're a fool for a lifetime."

installer_mss, so are you saying that I wont be able to reproduce a deep bass sound because I will be putting them in my extended cab of my sonoma? Or, only if I am very careful in building a box to tune the speakers correctly, so that I will be able to hit the deep lows that I so desire. Im rather discouraged to hear that subs in a truck have less performance, because I love that really deep bass and fidelity. Thanks

not necessarily.  if the box is built to the woofers' specs and you have the right power, you will get what you're looking for.  i'm just saying it's a little more difficult to do in a truck than a car or hatchback.   if you are good at building boxes you can build one with good trans. response and get that really low bass.  if you build a ported box it hits lower notes better or you can opt for an EQ to help with the lower freqs that small sealed boxes generally roll off before.  don't get discouraged man...if anything tell me the measurements you have to work with in the truck and the woofers you have and i can design a box in my program that will perform nicely.  the EQ thing might still should be a consideration as it would help quite a bit to adjust the sound to boost or cut the frequencies the box needs help with."If a man made it, another can modify it...it just takes some thinking."

"If you ask questions, you're a fool for 5 minutes; if you don't, you're a fool for a lifetime."

According to the manufacturers box specs, it actually looks like having a sealed box will give about the same frequency as a ported box will at the correct box dimensions. The only thing they say is the ported box will be about, up to 10 dB spl more. And im not really to concerned with that much of a differance on loudness. SQ is really important to me, and I've read that sealed boxes are better for sq. And the specs that im referring to are from JBL website, JBL 15" gto12504d parameters. Either way, at about 60hz and higher the scale drops significantly, more so with the ported box.