mounting amps under rear seat good idea or bad idea?

[WSUDrummer]

I have two amps that im thinking about mounting under the rear seats, one on each side. But im wondering if I should screw them down to the floor, I dont want to drill into something important under the truck. So if anybody has done this let me know if there is anything problem with screwing the amps down to the floor, or maybe some other idea for mounting them under there...thanks!

 

[tipdrill]

if you put them under the seat wont the amps prohibit the seats from folding down? i dont know if that would bother you though. i fold mine down a lot.

 

[jimbo74]

some people have done it, it is possible, but it may impede folding hte seats down... and i know i would not want my amp smashed by my seat

 

[WSUDrummer]

yea I do fold my seats down sometimes so i would rather it not smash the amps, I dont know where else to put them that would keept them cool and concealed

 

[toypaseo]

My current amp, and past amp, were under the rear driver seat.

My old amp did get hit by something on the underside of the seat. Very minimal damage, but I did not put the seat down alot. You can see a 1" thick scrap piece of wood with metal brackets on each end that go under the seat mounting. Two screws held the amp to the board.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/toypaseo/explorer sub/Alpine_MRP_T220.jpg

I am sure something will hit my new amp. It is larger. Brackets from above were bolted to the amp through the two mounting holes, and electrical tape was wrapped around the brackets to avoid possible electrical issues.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/toypaseo/explorer sub/V12_mounted.jpg

Here is the general idea of the bracket. Mine have a longer top piece, with a slotted hole. These do not utilize the seat bracket bolt, but rather just go under the mounting, which holds them in place.

 

[greyphox]

I have my amp mounted underneath the passenger back seat. I mounted it to the bottom of the seat so that nothing would hit it. I just cut little slits in the elastic and bolted it to a bracket the same length as the amp that is between the elastic and the seat. Folding the seats down is not a problem as long as your amp doesn't have a high profile and you leave some slack in you wiring

 

[toypaseo]

So, your amps are mounted upsidedown...?

 

[WSUDrummer]

I think im just going to mount them in the rear panel, it looks like my seat is going to go down just enough to smush them and I need to be able to put the seats down to hall drums and stuff. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get the back panel off !

 

[toypaseo]

This will give you an idea on what it takes to remove the rear panel...

http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/manualsQuickInstall/thunderforms/FEX10.pdf

This is the tool my ex-Ford mechanic neighbor recommended, and borrowed to me. It worked great. ZERO broken panel "Christmas trees" It worked so great that I got my own set of 3pc Snap On trim tools off eBay for a bargain price

 

[greyphox]

So, your amps are mounted upsidedown...?

You got it. and its easily accessible from the back passenger door to change settings if need be. Also, this leaves room for a bag or something small to still fit under the seat, as well as keep the amp out of harms way.

@WSUDrummer:
i'm assuming the back panel is the right side with the storage compartment?

 

[toypaseo]

You got it. and its easily accessible from the back passenger door to change settings if need be. Also, this leaves room for a bag or something small to still fit under the seat, as well as keep the amp out of harms way.

@WSUDrummer:
i'm assuming the back panel is the right side with the storage compartment?

I am fairly out of the car stereo loop, but don't your amps bake to death being upsidedown? Back in the day, doing that was a big no-no.

 

[greyphox]

Well on some amps perhaps. But my amp doesn't reach oven temperatures like some. Its been like that for over a year and no overheating problems, even with the seat down. On the other hand tho, if your gonna be pushing like 500+ watts or something you might want an open air setting.

 

[WSUDrummer]

Thanks toypaseo that should be very useful for me! and i think i will invest in one of those panel removal tools

 

[briwayjones]

Why would mounting Amps upside down affect the cooling as long as there is adequate ventilation around it?

 

[sjr033]

briwayjones- Heat rises and most amps have the heat fins on the top. So if they are upside down, when the heat rises it rises to the circuit board not to the heat fins. It is just not as effective and it bothers some amps more than others. So for the majority of installs it is not recommended.

 

[briwayjones]

Ah I follow. I was thinking it more in terms of how fins cool a computer processor. It wouldn't matter if it was upside down because the fins are in direct contact with the heat source, the processor. But since the heat gets to the fins on the case of a Amp just by floating up to the top of the Amp inside the case that makes sense.

 

[Infinity08]

Actually, the major heat producing parts of an amp ARE connected directly to the heat sinking fins. I've mounted amps upside down for about 20 years now in hundreds of cars and I've never had one fail from that...actually, only one has ever failed that I was informed of, and it was a dead short issue. It seems to be one of those perpetuated myths. I had a class in thermal management once that really opened my eyes on this (and computer cooling). I can't find any reason that right side up or upside down matter as either place the fins horizontally. If you can vertically mount your amp (so the fins actually run 90* to the ground) that is the most efficient way when convection cooling.