Rep Power: 269

I followed the DIY, I ran the wires, hooked them all up and it all works!

But then I went to screw the amp to the back of the back seat in the trunk and there's nothing but fabric back there. I read that I should get some wood and put it behind the metal rods behind the seat and screw the amp to that.

Is this the best way to mount the amp? I don't have a saw, etc. Is there something better? I don't have a box or anything else in the trunk to put it on. Has anyone DIY'd the amp and put it on the sidewall in the trunk?

 
Rep Power: 812

Beats me. I just have mine sitting on the trunk floor with some padding underneath

 
Rep Power: 0

I built a platform out of MDF and stuck it in underneath the cover (I fastened it to the metal with double-sided velcro, but you might not even need to fasten it to anything, I don't know -- or just use duct tape or something), then screwed the amp to that.

 
Rep Power: 304

screw it onto the gas tank

 
Rep Power: 328

Go to home depot and get a small piece of MDF or particle board cut to the size you need for the back of the seat. only costs about $10 max.

 
Rep Power: 310

If you've got a subwoofer enclosure you can screw it to that as well.

 
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I've read that this is not the best idea since long term the internal components of the amp can suffer from vibrations of the sub/box.

 
Rep Power: 528

^ Really? My amp is on the back of my sub box, which is behind my right rear seat, so to adjust the amp I just put that seat down and I have access to it. I put it by the right rear seat because where they fold down, the left one is bigger so if I need to carry something I'd be better off having the small one blocked rather than the big one.

 
Rep Power: 812

road vibrations can ruin it as well.

 
Rep Power: 328

Thats retarded...the amp will be fine, they are made to handle vibrations from subs.

 
Rep Power: 786

How can you ruin something from vibrations when there are no moving parts inside. If your amp is so weak that it causes the internal components to break out of the PCB then the amp deserves to be ruined

But really, I've had my amp on my box for a year now and guess what, no problems.

 
Rep Power: 0

Road and bass vibration can have some effect on your amplifier.

I bought a brand new Kicker DX350 about three years ago, and I had it mounted on my trunk sidewall, with a Kicker 2ohm round 10" Solobaric back there. One day it stopped working, for no apparent reason. The local Kicker dealer repaired it under warranty, and he told me that it stopped working due to some subpar soldering with some help from all the three years of bass vibrations.

 
Rep Power: 786

Just like I said above, the POS equipment was more to blame than the vibrations. With properly soldered connections would the amp have broken down? Probably not...

 
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That's a bit ignorant of you to say since it may be so:
http://www.caraudioforum.com/vbb3/sh...d.php?t=191645
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/u...=038248#000001

In any case they recommend you use rubber washers and also consider it a greater security risk if you're gonan have the subs+amp in one place.

 
Rep Power: 310

Lots of things "Long term" can ruin an amp or speakers or whatever, doesn't mean you have to avoid them at all costs. Do you think running an amp at 2ohm is great for its longevity? Course not. A lot of the time people will say not to put an amp to the back of a sealed enclosure because the fewer holes you put in the thing the better . . . I'm not big on that either. I've used rubber washers every time I've ever put an amp to the back of a box. I'm not saying it is the absolute highest quality install thing to do, but Its not as so everyone in here is always looking for the 100% best solution. Mounting an amp to the back of box is just a clean, easy way to take care of the task if you are not looking to display the amp or anything. Plus, you won't have to put holes in the back of your seats either, where the amp will vibrate just the same anyway.

 
Rep Power: 328

Most of the people there echoed me and said it'll be fine. I've never heard of an amp getting damaged from being mounted to a box. If the solder breaks, then the amp was a POS to begin with.

The guy from JBL said you "may want to use rubber spacers, but it should be fine"

 
Rep Power: 310

Yeah, which is about as close to saying its perfectly fine as you'll get from a guy that actually works for an amp manufacturer. Try to get one of those guys to say "oh thats perfectly fine" or "You'll have no problems whatesoever." Those things don't exist in their vocabulary cause they don't wanna be responsible for telling you to do something that doesn't work out. They always say things like should, might, probably, I think .. ..

 
Rep Power: 328

The arguement against locating the amp on the box comes up yet again. My thoughts? It's ignorant to say that securing it to an enclosure will ruin it. Why? What is bass? It's a sound wave, omnidirectional. What makes you hear it? The traveling of these waves, and their dispersement over an area. Where are amps located in almost every install? In a car, most of the time in the trunk. Where is the bass generated at usually? In a car, from the sub in the trunk. Amps are made to handle vibration for this reason. Sonic vibration won't ruin an amp. It's ignorant to say that it will because they are made to handle it, assuming that it's an amp of a quality someone would purchase. I'd gurantee you that 99% of the amps out there could be bolted to the grille directly in front of the sub, and still wouldn't be damaged. They are made to handle it. If the vibration issue was really an issue at all, why are they bolted to anything? Whether it be the floor, enclosed in fiberglass, bolted to the seat, etc? To keep them stationary the majority of the time. Because an amp sliding around the trunk it not only dangerous, especially in the event of an accident, but it could possibly be damaged from driving and throwing it all around the trunk and bouncing it off of stuff such as the trunk walls, etc. Road vibrations and sonic vibration from music it is made to handle it. The arguement that you read it on car audio forums is a moot point. Anyone, world wide has the ability to post there, much the same as they do here. Rumors get started, and turn into internet myth. I'm sure I didn't cover everything, there's a post on here detailing this much further detailed by either Ludlam, or WhiteRabbit, or MohawkBoom, all of whom I'd venture to say has more knowledge than anyone here on car audio. There are also knowledgable people at car audio forums and the 12 volt, termpro, etc. They'll tell you the same thing. But there are still going to be those out there that tell you and recirculate these myths, and assumptions. I used to be under the same asinine assumption, then I began researching it further. I changed my opinion once I read things from reputable sources and began to learn more, and understand how things work. Remember, don't always believe the first thing you read, rather research and learn.

 
Rep Power: 323

My amps are mounted on my box - seemed the best place to put them. For those of you who have them mounted on MDF attached to the seat - how did you actually secure the MDF to the seat? I'll need to do this with our '98 Vic to save space (wife doesn't want to lose trunk space).

 
Rep Power: 0

Behind the seat cover are some metal bars. I lashed the MDF to the metal using double-sided velcro (i.e. velcro strips that stuck to themselves -- I think they are called "One-Strip" or "One-Wrap" or something). You could also shove another piece of wood below the metal, and then attach the top and bottom pieces together with screws or whatever.

 
Rep Power: 323

thanks Brash - what is the least invasive way to get under the seat cover? and what did you use to reseal the seat cover when you were done?

 
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this was my 2nd diy in my '02 coupe, and what i did to screw down my amp to the back of my rear seat was:
unzip the seat covers
mount a piece of mdf behind the seat. as brash said, there r 1/4" diameter steel rods goin across the seats, horizontally
i used those steel brackets or i dunno what to call em. they r normally used for electrical cables. but meh. i put one over the other and figured it would make a strong enuff mounting.
so i drilled holes in the proper location on my piece of mdf and used screws and nuts to tightly put it in place.
then i put the cover back on, zip it closed.
and screwed down the amp to the mdf!

if this isnt clear enuff, lemme know and i'll take some pics of my work. could even write up a diy for y'all but i doubt theres a lot of ppl wanting such a diy?
hell ive learnt so much from all the diy's on here, its only right for me to give back some

 
Rep Power: 323

you have zip on covers - what would you have done with a stock seat? I assume a cut has to be made into the seat to get it in - how to reseal it?

 
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The stock seats in the 01 coupe don't have to be cut, I'm positive, as I have done it. There's a plastic strip at the bottom, it goes in a groove. Pull that out, then unzip the zippers on both sides of the seat back (on the 60 seat of the 60/40 split). I didn't have to take the seat out or anything when I did this. Just removed the black plastic seal at the bottom, unzipped, cut mdf to size and cut some smaller strips to put under the bars, drilled pilot holes in large, outer piece, then used counter sinking bit to counter sink screw heads. Zipped seat back up, put black seal back in place, mounted amp. Be warned though, it's a good way to pinch the hell out of your fingers and crack bones in them if you aren't careful when closing. The first time I closed mine, I wasn't thinking, and started putting it up, lightly holding the seat along the top edge. Yep, the weight of the amp made it slam shut, cracking the bones in my middle and index finger. I learned quick to pay attention.

 
Rep Power: 323

what about the '98? (LX Sedan)

Thank you for replying about my 2K1 - now I know I have options....

 
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yea pop corn is right abt the 01, and it applies to my 02 too, the zips of the stock seat covers give u easy access to the back of the rear seats

but i really dunno abt the '98

 
Rep Power: 281

I wouldn't mount it on your box, strictly because if someone tries to steal your box they get your amp too, I mounted my amps on the side of my trunk wall usuing a custom cut and carpeted board to flush mount it