# Alpine Type R SWR-8D4



## newport2002 (Oct 7, 2009)

I have a 1976 BMW that I am restoring/modding and I am finishing the audio system. The Alpine Type R is the last piece. The car has a Nakamich CD500 head unit, Hertz HSK 6.5 components and a Soundstream TN5.950 amplifier. I wanted to round out the system with some nice low end. I am not looking for super loud. Just solid, clean, punchy and deep. I also didnt want to cut this car in any way for the sub install. Its a small car and there are not a lot of places a sub will fit. What to do? I found a guy back east that has a 1974 BMW and he built his own fiberglass box to fit under the rear seat and not compromise the use of the seat. It was a perfect solution, except because of the small size he mated it with a JL Audio 6.5" Subwoofer. I loved the size, but I was skeptical that the 6.5" subwoofer would give me the sound I wanted. I got the exact measurements of the box and looked at every option and could not find an 8" subwoofer that would both physically fit and work well in .15 cubic feet. I was just about to concede and order the JL Audio 6.5" when I stumbled across the Alpine Type R. Designed to work in .15 cubic feet of space and it was only 4.5" deep, the EXACT depth of my box. In addition to that the magnet did not vent through the rear like some subs so the rear could be flush with the box. The Alpine sub is a monster, will take 350 watts RMS and a peak of 1000 watts! That means my 270 will work perfectly. How will it sound in such a small box? I couldnt find any reviews of it in a tight space. All reviews were of the sub in larger boxes but they were ALL very positive about how clean, and clear they were as well as getting deep frequencies. The sub box arrived and I looked it over, very well made, came with Polyfill already inside. I marked out where I was going to cut to make the 8 fit. Grabbed the dremel tool and a few minutes later it was done. Grinded the hole down to smooth it out and test fitted the sub...perfect! I put some weather stripping around the mounting hole so the sub would be airtight. Marked the mounting holes, grabbed the drill and the sub was ready to be screwed in. What a breeze! Wired it to the amp and slowly turned up the gain....WOW. Tight, clear and deep bass. No rattles, no creaks, just clean sound. Adjusted the crossover a bit and the subsonic filter and I played a variety of tunes. From Beyonce to Black Eyed Peas, to Muse to Depeche Mode to Steely Dan to Stevie Wonder. All sounding great! From the head unit I have the sub at about 5 or 6 out of 10. Its that loud that I have to turn it down. I also did not set the gain very aggressively so there is probably room there as well. I am driving around with it for a few days to see what adjustments need to be made. I will do some more tuning next week but its clear that this solution will more than exceed my requirements. Even in such a small box, the sub delivers very deep bass frequencies, as well as nice clear punchy bass. The Type R is a WONDERFUL piece of gear that does a great job in tight spaces. I feel like I didnt have to settle for inferior sound because of the small box. Shallow mount speakers usually have mixed reviews and the 6.5" subs out there usually sound gopod, but are not loud and have problems with really low frequencies. The 8" Type R handles all these things extremely well.

Alpine Type R Subwoofer


















Subwoofer enclosure









Marked for widening for 8"









Test fitted in box










Box installed under rear seat


----------



## Old Skewl (May 30, 2011)

Glad it worked out for you! I have the previous gen Type R in one of their prefabbed ported boxes and it is shocking for an 8"


----------



## 1996blackmax (Aug 29, 2007)

Nicely done! It's always a nice feeling when things come together.


----------

