# Carbon fiber sub enclosure ?



## roger21087 (Aug 23, 2008)

Ive seen a few enclosures that use CF trim pieces for aesthetics, but I dont think Ive ever seen an entire enclosure made of carbon fiber.

I realize that a CF enclosure may not have any advantages in terms of SQ over a fiberglass box, but I would think it would allow for a lighter box, while looking absolutely AWSOME. 

Has anybody made, or seen a full carbon fiber enclosure, or would something like that simply be too cost prohibitive ?


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## Luke352 (Jul 24, 2006)

VERY cost prohibitive and it would ring like crazy unless you used lots of resin which means weight probably not much lighter then fibreglass, or if you made it very thick to prevent ringing then the cost would be extreme.


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## roger21087 (Aug 23, 2008)

To be honest, i have no idea how much it would cost to make an entire enclosure (even a small one) out of CF. 

i just figured that with some of the rediculously over the top installs out there, somebody would have done this by now. 

After all there are people willing to pay 13k for an Audison Venti amp.


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## br85 (May 2, 2008)

FOCAL BERYLLIUM BMW 323ci - BMW Forum - BimmerWerkz.com

This guy has gone crazy with carbon, have a look through the whole thread.


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## AceX (Dec 15, 2008)

I remember that car. I lost the link to the install a while ago. That guy has some serious skill...

I think that carbon fiber isn't the best use in an application like that. As a cosmetic indulgence it works out awesome, but I think it's just too dam expensive. What makes sense to me is to make the main structure from FG then overlay some carbon fiber. It's what most "carbon fiber hoods" available in the aftermarket are made from. A FG piece with a layer of carbon fiber.


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## bretti_kivi (Dec 3, 2007)

I disagree. CF is lighter than FG for a given thickness. A couple more layers, with some bracing, and away you go.

Bret


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## hybridspl (May 9, 2008)

It sounds terrible! I tried this for a customer, and as stated above, it rang like crazy. The resonant frequency is much higher than FG or Kevlar, and you will definitely notice. Also, for something like a box, unless you are a crazy F1 engineer and using dry carbon prepreg and an autoclave, a wet lay up will weigh the same either way. The best thing to do is use the carbon as an overlay, which is what Robolop has done throughout his install. I have had better luck with Kevlar for solid pieces, but still not the same as FG. I prefer to use a mixture of polyesther resin, body filler and sand (all stirred together) for adding mass, and then leave out the sand for the finish layer if you are going to paint it. Obviously if you are using Carbon for the finish layer, leave out the filler as well.


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## smgreen20 (Oct 13, 2006)

I can't remember which car audio company made a sphere enclosure for one of there subs. According to the test report it was bad a$$.


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## cetla (Feb 20, 2007)

Not really car audio but how about making something on the lines of (or rather lack of) morel's fatlady 

http://morelhifi.com/media/pdf/fatlady_catalog-s.pdf


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## thephallicphantom (Jan 11, 2009)

i have thought of making a box out of FG and vacuum bagging CF over it before


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