will mounting a sub with the basket exposed make it lose dB's vs. having the face exposed? Trying to come up with ideas for my box.

If you are going to face the sub outward in a sealed inclosure, then i would say yes, it will most likely effect the output. If the sub is in a ported inclosure of some kind, then there will be minimal effects. I never really measured the output of a sub like this compared to typical sub mounting, so i guess i cant say for sure exactly. Just try it i guess and see what happens..

The difference between mounting the "traditional" way and inverting is minimal. At most you might lose about 1dB which you won't even be able to hear with your ears. If the box is designed right it won't matter to much though, just remember that if you design the box to spec for the subs your gonna want to scale it down about .2-.4 cu ft in size since you won't have to compensate for the size of the baskets inside.

This is a question that has plaqued SPLers for years. And there is no definate answer. Some say there is a difference some say there is not, depends who you ask. I think it also depends on the car and the enclosure. If built correctly you should not gain, or lose, any db's. Personaly we are inverting 2 of my subs because of space requirments. I do not know how inverted subs sound for day to day listening. Mine will only be used for SPL and in very rare cases for "showing off" the boom. All in all though, I think there is not enough evidence one way or the other to support either arguement. Just my opinion.