Improve Car Audio – How to upgrade car audio system.

There are many types of subwoofers installed in millions of cars with different sizes or power, but how much does a subwoofer weigh? The subwoofers' weight is important when customizing the car sound system, so I researched and wrote a short article about it. The average weight of an 8" car subwoofer is 7lb. The average weight of a 12" subwoofer is 26lb. If your subwoofer is mounted in the enclosure, you have to add the bass box's weight, which is, on average, 45lb. The lightest are under-seat subwoofers with an average weight of 9lb. TypeWeight Range (lb)Under-seat subwoofers6 - 14Spare wheel subwoofers17 - 24Bass tubes15 - 21Enclosures (box subwoofers)23 - 806.5"4 - 108"5 - 1110"6 - 3112"10 - 5015"12 - 4018"32 - 64The average weight of different subwoofer types The above values represent the range of the popular models and not the min and max from all woofers available on the market. If you are interested in more detail, in the article below we will cover the weights of popular subwoofers in sizes. Tip: To produce a strong and deep bass, subwoofers, and especially their magnets, have to be solid and heavy. If you want to install such a woofer in your car, check the top-quality Skar car subwoofers on Amazon.com now. Why are car subwoofers heavy? Many factors are affecting the weight of the sub-woofers. Size and power are just two of them. So, if you want to listen to loud and deep bass, your sub-woofer must have adequate size. Low frequencies may not be achievable for the smaller speakers, while bigger sub-woofers will handle them without any problem. Below are few words about the heaviest parts of the car sub-woofers: Subwoofers baskets Baskets are the frames of the subwoofers holding all speakers together. There are two main methods to make speaker baskets. The first one, and most popular, is formed steel that makes the subwoofer stiff. The second one is using cast aluminum or magnesium for car subwoofers. Baskets made from aluminum or magnesium are not only lighter but also more durable and more rigid than steel. Their weight is different for each speaker type and material used and it is usually the range between 2 and 4 lb. Magnets Magnets are the heaviest parts of the speakers. Bass requires a lot of cone movement to make sound strong, and to make this movement, magnets in sub-woofers have to be powerful. They can weigh over 10 lb each, and their weight proportion to the overall speaker weight can be over a half. Producers use magnets that are made most often from Ferrite (ceramic) or Neodymium. Ferrite magnets are less expensive, but they are heavy, while Neodymium magnets weigh about 50% less than others for the same power. The lightweight and smaller size are their main advantage that allows installing Neo-speakers in places too tight for bigger magnets. The minus of the Neodymium magnets is that they are not very good at higher temperatures, so it is better not to use them at the maximum power with too strong amplifiers. Bass enclosures Subwoofer boxes (enclosures) are built from several different materials. Most commonly used are pine wood, MDF, or plywood. The thickness of the wood depends on the box size and mounted speaker. The thickness for the boxes is most often 1/2” for the smallest 6.5” and 8” speakers, and 3/4” thick wood for the bigger size speakers. The strongest parts of the boxes are the front baffles made from 1.25” wood. This part of the boxes must be the strongest due to direct contact with speakers. Each empty box weighs depending on its size between 20 – 80 lb. Enclosures have to be solid and heavy to hold big and powerful speakers in place and prevent any sound distortion. I would not want my subwoofer to start rattle or move back and forth in the trunk. When you are searching for an empty bass box, I recommend Skar enclosures. In last year I installed Skar Audio SK1X10V Single 10" in my car and I am extremely happy with this choice. It is not just made in great quality but it is also filled with sound deadening foam, which helps to achieve deeper bass. If you would like to add a Skar box to your car audio, you can find them on Amazon in various sizes, so click this link to check the latest price. Types of Car Subwoofers: Under-seat subwoofers Under-seat subwoofers are the smallest and lightest from all of the types. You can place them under the car seat, so they do not take much space in the cabin. Under-seat subwoofers are usually made of aluminum and have a built-in one speaker, between 8” and 12”. Also, they are equipped with the amplifiers, and that means they are active subwoofers. The installation of them is straightforward, there is only one connection wire with the head unit in the car. The average weight of the under-seat subwoofers depends on their type and is around 20lb, below are few examples of the most popular models: Under-Seat SubwoofersPower (RMS)Weight (lb)Rockville RW10CA - 10"200 W14.3Kenwood KSC-SW11 - 8-1/4" x 5-1/8"75 W6.2Alpine PWE-S8 - 8"120 W10.0Kicker 11HS8 - 8"150 W13.6Blaupunkt GTHS131 - 10"120 W14.0Weight examples of under seat subwoofers Spare wheel subwoofers Spare wheel subwoofers as the name suggest, are designed for spare wheel area. They are made from an aluminum frame to keep the whole construction light and have one speaker, usually between 8” to 12”. Spare wheel subwoofers are active, and they are equipped with amplifiers. Installation, similar to under-seat subwoofers, is straightforward. Their weight depends mainly on the design and speaker size, a few examples below: Spare-Wheel SubwoofersPower (RMS)Weight (lb)Rockville RockGhost - 8"200 W20.4Vega 12"150 W23.6JBL BassPro Hub 11"200 W17.6Spare wheel subwoofer weight examples Speaker Woofers Drivers are the heaviest parts of the whole bass system in the car. They are made in many sizes and types, from 6.5” to 18”. Some producers make them also in rectangle or square form, for example, Kicker 44L7S102 is the square woofer. While you can install most of 6.5” subwoofers in the door of your car, the bigger sizes will have to be placed in the trunk, unless you want to sacrifice space inside of the cabin. As I mentioned earlier in this article, speakers’ weight depends on their power, size, and materials used and can vary from 4lb to over 100lb. For example, 15” Earthquake HoleeS-15 with 7000W RMS, weighs 112lb and it is a real monster. See below actual weights for popular subwoofers: Model Type - 6.5"Power (RMS)Weight (lb)Rockville W65K9D4250 W9.9Lanzar MAXP64300 W3.9Skar Audio EVL-65 D4 200 W7.8JL Audio 6W3V3-4 150 W6.5DS18 EXL-6.2D 400 W8.6Weight examples of 6.5" subwoofers Model Type - 8"Power (RMS)Weight (lb)BOSS Audio Systems CXX8300 W4.6BOSS Audio Systems CX8200 W3.6Rockford Fosgate P2D2-8 Punch250 W10.8Pioneer TS-SW2002D2150 W6.1Pyle PLPW8D400 W4.0Weight examples of 8" car subwoofers Model Type - 10"Power (RMS)Weight (lb)BOSS Audio Systems CXX10400 W5.7Planet Audio AC10D750 W8.4Skar Audio DDX-10 D41000 W30.6Rockville W10K6D2 V2500 W17PIONEER TS-SW2502S4300 W8.2Weight examples of 10" car subwoofers Model Type - 12"Power (RMS)Weight (lb)Rockford Fosgate R2D4-12250 W9.9Rockville Destroyer 12D22000 W49.6Skar Audio EVL-12 D4 12"1250 W34.2Infinity Kappa 1200W 12"500 W11Rockville W12K9D4 12"1000 W28.7Weight examples of 12" car subwoofers Model Type - 15"Power (RMS)Weight (lb)Soundstream T5.152 Tarantula1300 W38.0KICKER 43C154250 W15.0Pyle PLPW15D1000 W11.2Rockville W15K9D2 15"1250 W30.3Skar Audio DDX-15 D41000 W39.2Examples of the 15" car subwoofers' weight Model Type - 18"Power (RMS)Weight (lb)Skar Audio ZVX-18v2 D11600 W57.0CT Sounds Tropo600 W31.1CT Sounds Meso 18 D11500 W64.0Skar Audio EVL-18 D21250 W35.3Weight of the 18" car subwoofers Bass enclosures Subwoofer boxes (enclosures) come in thousands of design types, they are often customized to fit a particular car, therefore their weight can vary. Producers make the most popular enclosures equipped with either one or two speakers so that the whole box can be easily placed in the trunk. Their weight varies depending on the size and number of speakers used. When equipped with three or more subwoofers, and each weighs 40lb, the total weight of the box will easily cross 200lb. These are heavy constructions though, majority of standard enclosures you will see, weigh between 20lb for the small single speakers up to 80lb for the 15" dual designs. See a few examples of the actual weight of subwoofer boxes: Single Speaker EnclosuresPower (RMS)Weight (lb)Skar SDR-1X12D2 Single600 W54.0Kicker 44TCWC104300 W36.0Rockville RVB10.1A300 W22.6Infinity PRIMUS1270B300 W24.6Memphis Audio PRXE12S2300 W51.2Weight of the single speaker bass enclosures Dual Speaker EnclosuresPower (RMS)Weight (lb)MTX Audio Terminator Series TNE212D400 W56.0Dual Electronics BP1204 Dual600 W58.0Rockford Fosgate Punch P1-2X10 Dual500 W62.5Skar SDR-2X12D4 Dual1200 W79.0Belva BPKG212v2 Dual600 W45.0Weight of the dual speaker bass enclosures Bass Tubes Bass tubes are lighter than boxes and also being produced in many types and sizes. Tubs are usually made from cylindrical solid lightweight polypropylene. They typically have one or two 8" to 12" speakers, and the weight of the bass tubes ranges from 15 to 30lb depending on the model. Bass tubes are usually equipped with an amplifier that makes their installation easy, but the bass produced is softer and not as dynamic as from the boxes. Below are some real examples of tubes weight: Bass TubesPower (RMS)Weight (lb)MTX Audio RT8PT120 W19.5Alpine SWT-S10250 W20.6Bazooka BT8014 BT Series125 W15.0Memphis Audio SRX18SPT150 W20.0Kicker 46CWTB102400 W19.5Examples of the bass tubes weight Related Questions What does a subwoofer do in a car? A car subwoofer is a speaker that produces sound in the lowest range of frequencies, usually between 20 and 200Hz. The role of the subwoofer in the car is to make strong and clear bass that standard speakers cannot achieve. Due to the high power of the subwoofer, an additional amplifier has to be installed in the car. What is the difference between active and passive subwoofer? Active subwoofers have built-in amplifiers and usually have smaller sizes. The most common active subwoofers are bass tubes, under-seat, and spare wheel subwoofers. Passive subwoofers do not have integrated amplifiers and are usually larger and more powerful than active subwoofers.

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