Does anyone know if it is possible to mount an amp under my drivers side seat? Has anyone done it? Pictures? I'm in the process of putting my system together, so any help would be appreciated. The reason i want it under the seat is b/c I have a STOCK 84 z28 HO with 23,000 orig miles and i dont want to cut or mount anything that will be in plain view or compromise the "stockness" of the car.

Thanks,

Paul

 

I'm sure its possible but how big will this amp be? If you look under your seat you will see that you dont have to much room for an amp that would power anything serious. I dont think you would like the idea of cutting away seat parts to fit a bigger amp.. and if you do manage to get an amp under there its going to get hot so you might want to think about putting a 12v fan under there to pull in cool air. This isnt really a good place if you ask me.. sorry.. but you may want to consider maybe more of a stelth look rather then hiding it under a seat. You can put it within the storage compartment near the back left side of the hatch or in the rear seats. If you decide to do this, plan out a cooling system for sure. You can put an amp anywhere, just as long as its cool, free of hazards such as water and electric.

 

i 2nd the rear compartment idea, also don't just look at the hxw of the amp, be sure u'll have enough clearance to slide ur seat back and forth w/out scratching up ur amp......

 

thanks, i'll do some more thinking before i mount anything.

 

A lot of people just velcro the amp to the rear hump. If you have a vanity cover for your hatch, it will be out of sight.

 

if ypur box doesnt go all the way down into the compartment mount the am to the bottom of the box there will be plenty of room and air travel.also it will give you a nice clean look

 

It's not a good idea to mount amps upside down, so putting them on the bottom of the box would only be good if you can build a little platfrom under them so they are right side up....

 

Mounting then to the box is also a great way to create bad solder connection in the amp over time.

 

to create bad solder connection? can you elaborate on that, i dont understand?

 

extra vibrations = loose parts

 

Not saying it will happen, but it's a lot more likely. Also makes things easier to rip off. They grab your box, cut some wires, and they have both you subs and your amp.

 

I agree with whoever said velcro the amp to the hump, get a roll out shade so nobody can see it and have fun. I mean you could do a big custom job. Amp rack etc etc. but it takes time and money to do these things....

 

If you're just looking to keep the stock appearance of the car, there used to be a tech article on how to mount amps in your back seat so it looked stock. the link isn't working right now, but maybe someone can tell you more about it. Also, there is ABSOLUTELY no reason why wouldn't be able to mount an amp upside down. There isn't a single moving part in it that can be affected by the way its placed. It's all electronic parts that could care less how they are oriented. Sorry i couldn't be more helpful about how to actually mount them in the rear seatbacks.

 

if it is small enough you could mount it in the fender well behind the storage compartment and not loose the storage compartment, i don't remember who's car this is but here is a pic. the only issue would be cooling...

NOTE this is not my car...

 

Genius: those electric parts need to be cooled by a heat sink. If the amp is mounted upside down, the heat flows back into the electronic parts (instead of out through the heat sink). Mounted upside down, the electronic parts overheat and the amp breaks.

 

ummmmmm.... NO
Heat sinks at their simplest work on the principles of conduction and convection. The heat sinks are attached to the parts that get hot. They conduct the heat away. Then convection takes over. Air blows across the fins in the heat sink and transfers the heat to the air blowing across the fins.

Thats why heat sinks with more fins (which equates to more surface area) are more effective. Heat DOES NOT and cannot "flow back into the electronic parts". The heat is trying to reach a point of homeostasis, that is, it wants everything its touching to be the same temperature. So the electronis are always going to be the hottest at its source, and eventually if put into a vacuum, the tip of the heat sink would reach the same temperature as the source of the heat.

Next time you speak up, why don't you have try having some scientifically proven facts to back up your big mouth

~Marc

 

Heatsinks will definitely work if its upside down. Anything that needs the heatsink will work no matter how its oriented. However, since heat rises, excess heat may build up if its position just right (or just wrong in this case). Probably won't damage the amp, but if the vents are facing down then hot air may get trapped, resulting in a slightly warmer amp.

 

i like the cargo compartment idea, just mount a fan in there somehow and it should be fine...........

 

I've had mine in the back locked compartment for months, its 40A and I've never had issues.

 

i have a 35W 2 channel (with it's power combined it becomes CAPTAIN PLANET! ... oh, i mean A 70W AMP!!!) and it is sealed inside a one gallon plastick buckedt with my 10 inch sub, it has no issues. (except some rust from when it was in my dads leaky VW bug)

 

wow, i actualy found the thread that hidden amp install came from, the pictures are no longer on it however. they guys user name is "freeze" and he hasent posted in a year and a half.... but here is the thread if anyone is interested.pics of my hidden amp install

 

Heat has trouble rising if it has to go down first.
The heat will still be transferred from the electronics to the heat sink (because metal is a better conductor than air), but then it will need to dissipate into the air, and will rise back into the amp. The result is a warmer amp (unless you install fans to blow the air away from the amp).

Who mounted an amp upside down anyway?

I don't see any problem installing the amps in the storage compartment.

 

WHAT????

Besides the fact that that makes no sense whatsoever,
You're getting closer. Both you and firebirdjosh bring up the point that hot air does indeed rise, and could become trapped on the heatsink if the amp is mounted upside down. While this is true, it wouldn't make any significant difference unless the amp is located in an area with stagnant air. And then once again it doesn't matter how the amp is mounted because if there is stagnant air in a confined space around the amp, the heat sink isn't going to be doing its job anyway... Bottom line is this...

if you're running an amp in a confined space you're probably going to want to add a vent fan just to be safe...

and 2, no matter how the amp is oriented if there is stagnant air around the amp, the heat sink isn't going to be doing its job efficiently

 

i know everyone says not to screw down your amps to the hump behind the rear seat because your gas tank is under there, but when i had my 90 camaro, i hadnt heard this and did it, with fairly long screws, i think 1 5/8th, and had no problems. maybe im confused though, by the hump, do you mean when you fold down the seats, the space in between them, or the platform between the seats and the well? i've got 2 good sized amps i need to do something with, definitely dont want to just velcro them down, and dont really want to build an amp rack unless i have to, the box im building is heavy enough as it is. do you guys think my nine.1 would get pretty hot if i cut out a section of one of my back seats and mounted it there? is there a way i could securely mount it there, so i could just throw the seats up when i park the car, and take them down to cool while im driving?

 

That guy basically just cut into the back of his seat, right? Pretty sweet if you ask me. I saw a super-clean setup like that at some point on here... the only problem is you are cutting away cushion for the back seat, and people will be able to feel the amplifier through the seat.

 

well yeah, but isnt it just padding in there? what do you mount the amp to? i could see maybe sticking a piece of wood in the hole, and mounting the amp to that, but my car is fairly quick, say i punch it, and the amp flies out?? sure its a long shot, but these things arent cheap lol

 

Unfortunately, the tech article on the subject is gone now, but i did a search and came up with this posting. If you scroll down to the bottom there are two pictures of it being done, and some basic instructions on how it was accomplished

Hope this helps

 

do 4th gen seats REALLY fit right in our cars?

 

lol pretty sure thousands of thirdgen owners with 4th gen seats can't be wrong...

 

Amps on the hump. I used a board and carpeted it and sat it on the hump and mounted my amps and cap with screws to that board. Using a 3/4 inch mdf board and 1" drywall screws, it worked perfectly. The screws bearly come out the bottom of the board, im talkin like 1/16 or so of an inch, and they hook into the car's carpet and keep the board from sliding...plus the weight of the amps, and the fact that the carpet on the board and the carpet in the car create a kinda velcro effect and keep the board from sliding around, and the box keeps it in place. Check out my Car domain site, page three to see some pics, my internet is f'ed up and wont let me open my pics, it just errors and shuts down on me...