Performance-tire Subwoofer

Around 5 years ago I started building DIY-speakers and at some point I got bored of cube-shaped subwoofers and decided it's about time for me to have something really unique. Since I had a pair of used high-performance tires (315/30 ZR18!) I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately I built the subwoofers a few years ago and didn't picture every small step. However you should be able to get a good understanding of the process :-)

First of all, the shopping list:

- 1x Used high performance tire (the wider/bigger the better!): ~ free, if you kindly ask a tire-store

- 2x MDF/wood plate (depending on the tire diameter): ~5€

- 1x sikaflex glue: 5-10€

- 1x Mivoc AW3000 12" Subwoofer: 50€

- 1x Mivoc AM80 (80W Amplifier): 90€ (or any other subwoofer amplifier)

- 1x any Speaker-Terminal: 5€

- Screws

- 1x expanding foam: 5€

- optional: carbon fiber or carbon fiber optic foil

- speaker cable

Tools:

Power Screwdriver, gloves and a jigsaw (or even better a router with a circle-tool)

Depending on your tire you should have a volume of around 30-40 Liter for your subwoofer which is suitable for the Mivoc AW3000. I've build different versions (closed and vented cases) of the tire subwoofer and with the Mivoc AW3000 I preferred the closed version (which is also easier to build). I did simulations before the build, but unfortunately didn't save them. If you want to do the math: the AW3000's parameters are available here.

The buid itself is rather simple (see fotos).

1.) clean the tire

2.) Use the jigsaw or router to build the adapter plates for the speaker and the terminal

3.) Force the plates into the tire

4.) Use the screws and the sikaflex glue to mount the plates to the tire

5.) (not pictured): Use the expanding foam inside the tire to give additional strength to your speaker. Otherwise it might 'wobble' under power ;-)

6.) mount the speaker and the terminal and connect everything with speaker cables

Note: you might also mount your amplifier on the back of your subwoofer, but in my case this would have decreased the inside box volume so I devided to have the amp as external device and keep the subwoofer passive.

Be warned: People will immediately recognize you are a crazy gearhead (That's the male version of the crazy caat lady I suppose)... :)