Crouching Subs, hidden amp

[Sir Lance-A-Lot]

So I have a quick question. My subs are all wired up and what not and good, but I want to move them. Although winter is almost over I was thinking about moving my subs and amp so that I can fit my snowboard stuff in my trunk through the back seat. I was putting my subs behind the wheel well next to where my tail lights are and bolting them down to the floor, but I was curious is it safe to hide my amp under the floor where my spare is? I know the amp needs air flow to it to keep it cool and what not, I tried to mount it where my rear speakers are in my car and the amp is too big to mount there and I dont wanna mount it to the back of my seats, I dont feel like having my chords tugged on and stressed like that. I have kind of a big sony xplode amp so it will fit on the bigger seat on the back but not on the smaller. I found a good spot in front of the spare kind of, I cant really explain it but it will fit snug there if I am able to put it down there and poke a few holes for air.

[yitzac1990]

if you put the amp where the spare is, you will have to cut a section of the cover so you can put fans there, som blowing air in, some drawing air out. that is the only way to get good airflow in that position. otherwise, you must attach it to the back seat, and just keep slack in your wires so they can move freely. it will work if you do it right.

[Sir Lance-A-Lot]

yea that just sounds like more money for something thats already good. I'll just put it on the back seat or try to find a spot where I can put it in the trunk. How about under the drivers seat? I think it would fit under there but is there enough airflow there?

[yitzac1990]

Originally Posted by Sir Lance-A-Lot

yea that just sounds like more money for something thats already good. I'll just put it on the back seat or try to find a spot where I can put it in the trunk. How about under the drivers seat? I think it would fit under there but is there enough airflow there?

yeah that should be fine, but just make sure your passengers in the back dont kick it! lol

[Sir Lance-A-Lot]

Why did yours get kicked? Im hoping with those groves that are under the seat there wouldn't be any way to kick it. I have a flat board in my garage. Im thinking about cutting it to make it a little longer then my amp and bolting it down under the back window under my rear speakers, that way I can bolt the amp to it and it will be out of the way

[yitzac1990]

i never had an amp under my seats, but i have seen amps under seats and if its big enough, a passenger might accidentally hit it, and if there is a wire there, could knock wires out. but i wouldnt worry about it too much. mounting an amp to the underside of the rear deck is one of the worst places to mount an amplifier.

[Titaztik]

Originally Posted by yitzac1990

i never had an amp under my seats, but i have seen amps under seats and if its big enough, a passenger might accidentally hit it, and if there is a wire there, could knock wires out. but i wouldnt worry about it too much. mounting an amp to the underside of the rear deck is one of the worst places to mount an amplifier.

Yeah, you don't wanna mount an amplifier upside down under the rear deck....the heat has no where to go and just makes the amp hotter and hotter. If you have room under the seat, put it there and just make sure it can't be kicked.

Adam

[Sir Lance-A-Lot]

I dont have enough room under my seat. The amp is too big for it for some reason, **** sucks plus I forgot I taped the remote, power, stereo cord wires together all the way down to my trunk so cutting all that tape off would be a pain in the ass. Thanks for the heads up with the heating thing, I woulda mounted that **** and probably blown it then. I dunno where else to put it because isn't the backside of the back seat bad then unless you have the seat down? Because thats slanted upside down as well and I would think that cushion surface would be bad for the breathing of the amp.

[Nasty Evolution]

Just put a fan or 2 under there to blow the hot air away from the amp.

[yitzac1990]

Originally Posted by Sir Lance-A-Lot

I dont have enough room under my seat. The amp is too big for it for some reason, **** sucks plus I forgot I taped the remote, power, stereo cord wires together all the way down to my trunk so cutting all that tape off would be a pain in the ass. Thanks for the heads up with the heating thing, I woulda mounted that **** and probably blown it then. I dunno where else to put it because isn't the backside of the back seat bad then unless you have the seat down? Because thats slanted upside down as well and I would think that cushion surface would be bad for the breathing of the amp.

did you say ou ran the RCAs and power wire together??? BIG no-no! that will cause interference resulting in you having to re-run everything anyways! run the power wire and RCAs on the opposite sides of the car! also, in your situation, the back seat would be the best place because a seat's back doesnt get as hot as a metal rear deck

Also, whats wrong with mounting it straight to the sub box???

[Sir Lance-A-Lot]

The RCA's have been run with my power cord for over a year now and I've never had an issue. I haven't done anything to move my subs or anything yet but I thin I may just mount it on the floor in the trunk.

I don't mount it to the sub box because the vibration from the sub is bad for the amp over time, or thats what I've always heard. My old amp faded out after about 2 years (obviously with technology in time its eventually going to die) but I was expecting to get 4 or 5 years out of it, not 2, and I partially blame it on mounting it to the sub box before.

[yitzac1990]

Originally Posted by Sir Lance-A-Lot

The RCA's have been run with my power cord for over a year now and I've never had an issue. I haven't done anything to move my subs or anything yet but I thin I may just mount it on the floor in the trunk.

I don't mount it to the sub box because the vibration from the sub is bad for the amp over time, or thats what I've always heard. My old amp faded out after about 2 years (obviously with technology in time its eventually going to die) but I was expecting to get 4 or 5 years out of it, not 2, and I partially blame it on mounting it to the sub box before.

hmmm thats weird that you haven't gotten any noise...maybe you are using some high quality shielded RCAs? lol

how many watts RMS are you running? when i mounted my amp to my box, i was running 1600 watts RMS. i had a solid built box (by me) and once in my trunk, would not move even a millimeter. that thing weighed a ton! but as long as everything is solid, the box shouldnt even vibrate, if its built right. my amp never vibrated even at full volume

[Sir Lance-A-Lot]

Im not cranking out that much power, Im only doing 600 watts and the box and what not doesn't vibrate as far as I've noticed. I haven't really looked to be honest, but I figure if one burns out after 2 years and it was on top all the time then I dont wanna try it again. Plus now Im trying to mount the subs in the corner of the trunks and make a box for them to fit in there. Beyond that I just really want to hide the amp, I think I might cut the tape and move the power cord and find somewhere under one of the seats to make the amp work up in the car.

As far as the noise thing goes, I haven't ever separated any of my cables really ever. My last set of subs were 1500 watt jensen amp with 2 12 inch aura subs and they never made a noise or anything. My cables are somewhat thick but not really high quality, for all my sub cables (not subs themselves, just the wiring stuff) I actually buy from wal-mart. So I know it sucks, but its cheap and works and I've never had an issue with it. Thats the only stuff for my car I'll buy from there though.

[yitzac1990]

Originally Posted by Sir Lance-A-Lot

Im not cranking out that much power, Im only doing 600 watts and the box and what not doesn't vibrate as far as I've noticed. I haven't really looked to be honest, but I figure if one burns out after 2 years and it was on top all the time then I dont wanna try it again. Plus now Im trying to mount the subs in the corner of the trunks and make a box for them to fit in there. Beyond that I just really want to hide the amp, I think I might cut the tape and move the power cord and find somewhere under one of the seats to make the amp work up in the car.

As far as the noise thing goes, I haven't ever separated any of my cables really ever. My last set of subs were 1500 watt jensen amp with 2 12 inch aura subs and they never made a noise or anything. My cables are somewhat thick but not really high quality, for all my sub cables (not subs themselves, just the wiring stuff) I actually buy from wal-mart. So I know it sucks, but its cheap and works and I've never had an issue with it. Thats the only stuff for my car I'll buy from there though.

well alright, i believe iv'e given all my input haha just post pics when you are done!!!

[Sir Lance-A-Lot]

Sick, thanks for the help man! I'll have some soon as I get to work on it. It might be post poned until next weekend but I think I may put it on the backside of the backseat. I'll see when I get to it. Thanks!