I have a 4 door with a hardtop and I am going to put 2 10" subs in the rear. I am trying to figure out what orientation I need to mount the speakers so I dont lose a lot of punch when I take the top off. I want to be able to remove the box if I have so I dont want anything mounted permanently.

Is a ported box better in open air (top off) or should I just mount the subs in a sealed downfired box. I dont know anything about ported boxes...I have always used sealed ones. I have looked at the all the pics posted of different ways to mount the subs. I am only interested in what box is better ported or sealed properly orientated.

 

I would go ported downfiring if you have the space, otherwise sealed downfiring.

 

I have a MTX box with 2 - 12" subs,1000 watt amp powering...It is a
vented - ported box and absolutely shake the sh.t out of everything...

 

I am running the MTX TA-4501 Subwoofer amp...And the sub box is SLH-T8512 enclosure...Always keep the
hardtop on cause of theft...

 

The vented box is going to give you more db's and a higher sustained SPL than a sealed box. So yes, ported is the way you want to go w/the top off.

I like the custom dynamat tailgate

 

x2 with ported for open top. also, it depends on what sub your getting. I have a 10 alpine type R in a ported box and the bass is tight.

 

Just going ported isn't going to help a ton with the top off... yes, you'll get more SPL but you're still going to be disappointed by the output when topless. You really need to downfire so the subs can load off of the floor.

 

^Very True^

I suppose the best option for you, if space is not an issue, would be to make a large vented dual 10" box set-up. Make it like a normal rectangular box, however install (4) 1.5"-2" solid MDF posts on the FACE of the sub box. This way you could down-fire the subs w/the same amount of space required for a regular set-up, w/out it being permanently mounted anywhere. At the base of the posts I would install some velcro-like material to prevent the box from shifting during driving.

If that doesn't sound like a good option you'll just need to bump the volume of the box up to ~max spec for the subs you're using. In my wife's scion I have 2 Hifonics Zeus 10" subs in a vented box powered by a Hifonics Brutus 2610d @1700RMS in 2ohm...Hifonics is not known for their sound quality, but the volume will blow your face off even in open air.

 

I like that setup...