ĦMR.AWESOME!

iTrader: (2)

I want to put my amp behind where the rear speakers are. The problem is that it's too long to stick in the hole. My solution is to cut out a piece so that the amp will be able to fit. The only problems I see with that are reducing the structural stability of the metal in that area and causing the car to twist and stuff. If that is the case, I would need to get someone to weld up the holes. Let me know what you think and if you have any other suggestions other than to put the amp somewhere else.

I would either cut where the green line is or where the yellow line is. It depends on if anyone thinks one place is better than the other.

Mathius

I'm not an engineer, but I would be willing to bet neither area would cause you major problems unless you cut both areas out.

Also, you don't actually _have_ to weld in new material to support that area. Get a piece of steel.. I'd go 1/16" (16 gauge) to 1/8" (10 gauge), make yourself a template out of poster board or thin cardboard for the bracket you want to use as a stiffener and then you can use tek screws or rivets to attach your bracket. If you were welding in a piece I'd suggest using the same thickness as the surrounding material, but what you really want is to stiffen the area and prevent flexing. So tek screw a thicker piece around the area to keep the integrity.

You can use a piece of stainless if you want to (and use a slightly thinner piece) prevent rust, but if you want to go cheap, plain old steel will work. Just be sure to paint the backside of the piece before you attach it. Also, if you use tek screws, keep in mind they are self tapping. If you spin them too much you will ream out the hole. Also, they will burrow into your sheet metal and leave exposed metal around the hole. You can probably get your hand behind that panel with a small brush and primer and paint that area for the purpose of preventing rust.

If possible, I would attach your brace first, then cut the area, that way you know the piece didn't move before you attach the brace.

If you're set on welding it, I would probably either weld a piece around it the same thickness and procedure as the brace I suggested above, or, temporarily tack weld a piece in place to hold your integrity, cut out your hole, and then weld in braces 90 degrees to your hole stiffening it to the outside sheet metal. Small 1/2' stitch welds would be more than enough, spaced around the hole.

Again, I'm not engineer and will not take responsibility for any damage your car incurs during this process or due to you taking my advice, but I believe any of these suggested methods will be strong enough.

Mathius

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

That area does little to nothing structurally. But I'd wonder about airflow & the amp overheating in a confined space.

ĦMR.AWESOME!

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the informative replies. I think I will go the route of screwing in a brace, just to be safe. I was also wondering about overheating, but I figured I would find out after it was in there. If I did have problems, I would mount a fan in there and see if that fixed it. If not, I would have to move it somewhere else.

92RS_Ttop

iTrader: (3)

Have you thought about mounting the amp in the spare tire well? That's where I put mine. Plenty of room(no spare tire/jack) and should get lots of airflow.

I'm not even sure the amp would fit behind that speaker panel?

ĦMR.AWESOME!

iTrader: (2)

Yea I was originally going to put it there, but I kind of want a spare tire and I eventually want to put air suspension in it and that's where I would put the compressor. I also might not have room for my carputer up front so it might have to go back there as well.

I'm using Rockford amps and they are pretty small. The subwoofer amp fits in there without a problem. The 4 channel is longer and so wont fit without enlarging the hole. I will even have room for rear speakers, I just gotta move 'em down a li'l bit.

Also, on the side opposite of the spare tire, where the lock box is, I have my subwoofer box. So can't mount it there either. My goal is to keep everything hidden and to keep a lot of extra usable space.

92RS_Ttop

iTrader: (3)

I didn't realize you planned to cram that much stuff back there. I will be putting a carputer in at some point as well, and will probably mount it near my amp. My car didn't come with a spare tire so it wasn't really a difficult decision for me. I've also got a truck and friends with trucks and car trailers so if I blow out a tire, it's not a big deal to call one of them or grab my truck and borrow their trailer. Have you thought about under the front passenger seat? Depending on how small the amps are, you might be able to squeeze them under the center console, between the shifter and the console storage box.

ĦMR.AWESOME!

iTrader: (2)

You know, I didn't think about under the seat. I feel like it wouldn't fit, though. It's 13"x2.25"x7.625". Besides the fact that I have my RFID door unlocker module in the center console, the amp's size rules out that space as a possibility.

88iroc52387

iTrader: (2)

You could get it to fit i'm not conviced yet that its going to get enough airflow. Even if you put a fan there i'm not sure you would get enough airflow to keep it cool. Good luck tho let us know how it turns out. I hate to say you'd be the guinnea pig but im just not confident on the airflow back there.

92RS_Ttop

iTrader: (3)

Have you given any thought to how you're going to secure it if you put it below the speaker? If you don't have it completely immobilized, it's going to rattle and make all kinds of noise.

Measure under the seat, I think that will fit. The main concern there would be the height.

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

regarding air flow, the little vent in your door jamb is open to the area behind the rear speaker and there is a rectangular hole that can be seen in the top right of the picture you posted. Worst case is the air is stagnant and you add a fan, but you do have an open path for air to travel though. For mounting, I would look to use a very strong sheetmetal panel epoxy to attach mounts to the inside of the rear quarter panel and then bolt the amp to the mounting points, possibly with small rubber isolators.

ĦMR.AWESOME!

iTrader: (2)

I decided to have no rear speakers for now. I'll see how it goes and then decide if I need them.

I asked over on the car audio forum if overheating would be an issue and I got the advice to mount it so the heatsinks are vertical and keep the gain from being turned up too high and I should be fine.

@92RS: I tried to fit it under the seat with no luck.

@Jeremy: The square hole up top is mostly closed off to the rest of the space. The whole space back there actually continues all the way to the back of the car where the spare tire goes. So plenty of airspace.

Is there a reason I would need to epoxify some mounts? Could I not just drill some holes and put some bolts through with washers on the metal side? And what exactly do you mean by mounts anyway?

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

well I was thinking that you would mount the amp to face the inside the car, which means it would be mounted against the outer skin of the b-pillar/rear quarter panel. You don't want a drill hole going outside of the car! Maybe you were thinking of mounting it facing away from you when inside the car and drilling into the interior sheet metal... that should work. By mounts, i just meant small metal tabs to screw into. some kind of rubber isolators, even if it's just small rubber washers, might be a good idea to reduce the hard vibrations the amp would feel if directly bolted to the car.

ĦMR.AWESOME!

iTrader: (2)

Oh ok. Yea I wouldn't drill through the skin. No way. I think I will do isolators. That's a good idea. Thanks

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

good luck, it'd be cool to see some pictures as you progress.