Amp mounting suggestions and/or pics of your own install

hondaguy2582 · 08-25-2009

Trying to decide where to mount my pg xenon sub amp and my arc audio amp. I have considered the back of the seat for one of them, but unsure of where I want to put the Xenon. I was thinking of putting it on the side of the box(I already know the spiel about the stealing or the vibration, which I will keep my car parked in the garage).

Anyone have any install pics or suggestions? I would highly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Aaron

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vsTerminus · 08-26-2009

I have two amps in my car, one on top of the sub box and one under the driver seat.
I'm not really happy with the one under the driver seat, but I didn't know where else to put it at the time, and I don't have a garage (or power tools) to do much about it at the moment, unfortunately.

The best thing you can do is a stealth install. One such option is to build yourself a false floor for the trunk, allowing you to mount the amp(s) under the floor, both hiding and protecting the amps and leaving you with as much trunk space as possible.

If a stealth install is just too much work, you could always build yourself a nice little amp rack to go beside the sub enclosure or along the sides of the trunk.

Here's a couple pics of mine for reference.

(The spare tire was out, and the weight of the subs caused the floor to flex without anything under it to support, looks fine with the tire back in place)

gearbox · 08-26-2009

just threw mine under the passenger seat. you cant even see it unless you look directly down under there. velcro keeps it from moving.

lowlife9 · 08-26-2009

this is the best place its cooler in the trunk you have easy access for fine tuning your amps also if someone tries to rip you off it makes it that much harder and longer to get at as apposed to just grabbing the box with the amps attached and best of all its nice and clean no wires scattered all over the place.

hondaguy2582 · 09-16-2009

Hey Lowlife, did you screw directly into the back seat?

lowlife9 · 09-17-2009

didn't you im me that question already ???. no i cut a piece of plywood and used self taping screws to mount the wood to the metal frame of the seat covered it back up then mounted my amps to that.

cloud2987 · 09-17-2009

here's my old set up.. ended up changing it when I built a single sub box..

.. I use to have the amp screwed into the back of my seat too. It held strong for three years, and then I moved it to the back of the box when I got the cap.

indoxsmokez · 4 Weeks Ago

i see that the rca's cross with your power wires, this doesnt cause any problems? also, is that 8 gauge power wire throughout ur whole system?

im bout to install 2 amps and this was my idea....

*Battery -> 4 ga power cable -> dist. block -> 8 ga powr cable -> both amps

- is the 4 gauge power cable necessary or can i just go with 8?

- also for both amps, do i use a 4 or 8 gauge ground wire?

* im placing 1 amp under driver seat the other amp under pass. seat..

- where would be a good spot for the dist. block???

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cwo715 · 4 Weeks Ago

i dont have pix but i removed my spare and did a false floor in the spare tire well, then cut a hole in carboard that covers it and in the lining and put a PVC pipe with a computer fan so air can flow in and out of the false area... no it wasnt fun creating, i messed up several times and spent $$$ on the stupid trunk lining haha FTl (FML) but its good now.

vsTerminus · 4 Weeks Ago

That's 4 awg power/ground in there.
At the moment, the spot where the power wire crosses next to the RCAs doesn't seem to be causing problems, but I would like to re-run that. I installed this with a friend, he put the distro block on the top of the box thinking it would look good there, without realizing that he would have to run the power wire so close to the RCA cables.

If you aren't sure about wire size, look at the fuses on each of your amps. Add them up, and that will help you determine what size of wire and fuse you need.

My one amp has 2x25A fuses, and the big amp has 3x30A fuses. 50 + 90 = 140.
140A is too much for 4AWG wire (Max 125A on 4AWG).
I should actually be running 2AWG or even 0/1 with a 150A fuse, but until I get around to it, I have a 100A fuse on my 4AWG wire. If I crank it long enough I'll probably blow the fuse, but it's fine for the volume I listen at.

One other thing to remember, if you decide to start with 4awg and drop to 8awg for each amp, you'll have to re-fuse the line any time you make it smaller. It's easier to just run the same size wire all-around, especially if you plan to upgrade in the future.

indoxsmokez · 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsTerminus

That's 4 awg power/ground in there.
At the moment, the spot where the power wire crosses next to the RCAs doesn't seem to be causing problems, but I would like to re-run that. I installed this with a friend, he put the distro block on the top of the box thinking it would look good there, without realizing that he would have to run the power wire so close to the RCA cables.

If you aren't sure about wire size, look at the fuses on each of your amps. Add them up, and that will help you determine what size of wire and fuse you need.

My one amp has 2x25A fuses, and the big amp has 3x30A fuses. 50 + 90 = 140.
140A is too much for 4AWG wire (Max 125A on 4AWG).
I should actually be running 2AWG or even 0/1 with a 150A fuse, but until I get around to it, I have a 100A fuse on my 4AWG wire. If I crank it long enough I'll probably blow the fuse, but it's fine for the volume I listen at.

One other thing to remember, if you decide to start with 4awg and drop to 8awg for each amp, you'll have to re-fuse the line any time you make it smaller. It's easier to just run the same size wire all-around, especially if you plan to upgrade in the future.

ok i see what you mean about refusing when i go from 4 to 8...but if i use a dist. block with a fuse...would that be ok? or theres no way around refusing both lines for each amp? also..the grounds for both amps should be 4ga also right?

Staninator · 4 Weeks Ago

Okay I have been pretty knowledgeable with car audio for a few years and I do some installing here and there. The big rule is that you need to have a big ground. I would recommend staying with 4 gauge (power & ground) because there will be better power distribution. How much power are you putting out? Also do not mount your amp to the box because that will cause distortion in the sound and it will ruin your amp in the long run. Just mount it to the back seat and put a 1/4" sheet of MDF on the metal struts of the seat underneath the carpet. Drill some holes mounting the MDF onto the seat struts and then put the carpet back on. Then find out where to mount your amp.

If you are trying to wire two amps, still use 4 gauge from one to the other. It will run better and they won't be robbed of power. Don't worry about your fuses burning out. They won't...

gearbox · 4 Weeks Ago

ground wire should match the power wire. having too big of a ground can cause issues too.

vsTerminus · 4 Weeks Ago

A distro block with an appropriate size fuse will work fine, yes.
And if you don't change the wire size you don't have to re-fuse. Another reason to stick with 4 guage all around.

taylorsherk · 4 Weeks Ago