At the '07 SEMA show in Las Vegas, Digital Designs unveiled their latest rolling audio masterpiece, an '07 Civic Si. Built by Jason Carson and Brad Firgard at Performance Audio in Enid, Okla., the Si was used to showcase Digital Designs' latest audio components, like their new 1508 8-inch subs. Though the installation only took a few weeks, the results are impressive. Using some old-school techniques, with some modern materials, Carson and Firgard created a unique showpiece that proves you don't have to go over the top to be different.
Last month we showed how the trunk lid was built up from MDF and Duraglas. This month, we take a look at the most intriguing aspect of the project, the subwoofer enclosure. The main purpose of the Civic build was to feature the new Digital Designs' 8-inch subwoofer, so the enclosure had to stand out. Hanging the enclosure from the roof of the trunk would accomplish that task, but they also wanted to show off the huge motor structures, so a little acrylic was involved as well.
The enclosure was built to spec using 3/4-inch MDF and the inside was lined with carpet. The box was ported with an Aeroport to each side and tuned to 40Hz for some serious street beat. Simply mounting the subs in the face of a square box with an acrylic window just wouldn't do. The front face of the enclosure was cut for three 9-inch acrylic tubes. Each tube was trimmed out with a 9-inch acrylic ring, which was narrowed on the bottom side to match the inner diameter of the tube, then glued in place using capillary plastic cement. This created the mounting surface for the Digital Designs' 8-inch woofers.
The enclosure hangs from the trunk rear package tray via an assembly of bent tubing. The end result is a sub enclosure that not only catches your eye and puts the focus on the Digital Designs' subs, but also sounds amazing as well.