stashing an amp in your Sport

[Black01Sport]

Mounting amps on the backs of seats works for some people, but some of us just require a more factory feel to our installs. I wanted a hiden yet some what accessable location to mount my amp. if you have ever removed an interior side panel in a Sport then you know why I did not go that route. Instead I put it under the rear seat. This requires slight modification to the vehicle.
First, with a 15mm socket, remove both of the side links on the rear seat.
Then I cut the studs that the bottom seat mounts to.( only cut it flush with the nut)
After the stud is cut, remove the remaining 4 bolts on the seat mounts.
underneath the carpet is a fairly large plastic spacer. I removed this piece completely by taking off the two 10mm nuts (one one each corner)
with the spacer out and the bottom of your seat bolted back in your ready for mounting.

The amp I used is a rather large 4 chanel, but the inside spacing on my cover is 36" which should accept two amps if you choose. luckily the amp I chose and the factory spacer were the same heigth with the way I have it mounted. as far as a cover goes, its kind of overkill, but I was on a roll

A veiw from the floor with my trim piece wrapped in tan carpet.

BE VERY CAREFULL IF YOU DECIDE TO MOUNT ANYTHING IN YOUR VEHICLE WITH SCREWS. ALWAYS NOTE YOUR CLEARANCE FOR GAS TANKS, BRAKE LINES AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT COULD BE DAMAGED

 

[ranger7ltr]

After removing the plastic spacer under the seat...

Do you notice anymore road noise? And does the rear seat still fold forward? I have a 99 Sport with a huge amp I want to install but lacking space to do so...

What are the dimensions of your amp? I will look under my rear seats to see if mine has the same spacer under it... I thought the bottom of the seat rested on floor pan... I guess I should look a little closer...

If you have pics of the spacer could you add them to your post?

Thanks...

 

[PandorasCustoms]

Nice little how to.
Never really looked under my seat.

One thing, if you can, you might want to change the title of the thread to match year of the vehicle. I am going to look into this for my '94 Sport and see if it is set up the same. Will update when I get a chance to dig around. I already need to get under there as I plan on doing a wiring upgrade soon.

Also, have you ever heard of anyone that rides in the back complain about the seat getting hot on a long trip? Just wondering on how that might effect heat dissipation. Maybe throw a few little 12v 80/120MM fans down in there somewhere just to promote airflow would help. Just wondering as I have had trouble with AMPs overheating in the past (FL Summers, gotta love 'em). I also had to take the internal fan out of the Audiobahn AMP as the bearing in it went back and it sounded absolutely horrendous.

 

[PandorasCustoms]

I just went out to the truck during a small break here at work, and found out that the '94 Sport model has the same spacer.
Although I think it is shallower than your model is. Looks like maybe 3-4" high (Will confirm this sometime later when I get a chance to get back there with some tools).

And does the rear seat still fold forward? I have a 99 Sport with a huge amp I want to install but lacking space to do so...

And, Ranger

If this method is followed, the bottom portion of the back seat will become free-falling, and have no latch to hold it in place. People will still be able to sit in it, but it might pop up from time to time when people get out of the car. I hardly ever carry people in my back seat, so this woulnd't be a concern of mine. To lay them down, you would simple need to lift the bottom piece first, and then hit your seat release to lay down the backrest.

 

[Black01Sport]

The seat functions the same as it did before, it sits the same level and both sides fold flat with no problem. the spacer I took out was maybe 2 1/2" at the tallest part (I'll post some pics of it next time im in the garage). As far as road noise goes, I have a deccent amount of Dynomat on the floor so im not sure if that piece affects anything or not. The issue of the amp getting hot? Never. It is a 1600w 4 channel with a good 4g feeding it. The speakers are wired in seires ( left and right side) and my woofer coils are parraled with the woofers series making it 8ohm stereo on the front 2 chanels and 4 ohm mono on the rear. amps last for ever like this.

 

[PandorasCustoms]

Yeah, thanks for the follow up there Black.
I hate reading forums at work sometimes (I use that panic button a few to many times).

If this method is followed, the bottom portion of the back seat will become free-falling, and have no latch to hold it in place. People will still be able to sit in it, but it might pop up from time to time when people get out of the car.

When you said that you had cut down the studs, I had taken it as you cut the linkage between the seat cushion and the back cushion. But you literrally mean the studs that bolt the seat cushion to the floor of the vehicle.

When I looked at mine, it felt like a farlry thin piece of plastic. I don't think it would affect road noise very much.

the spacer I took out was maybe 2 1/2" at the tallest part

That is all? It might be I guess. I am going to take a ruler out on my next opportunity and get an better size est. for mine. What would you guess would be max height for an amp to sit in there without seeing to much pressure from the seat cushion? My soundstream is 2.5" high.

The Audiobahn is less than 2", so I don't see a problem there. I would love to get these off of my box and mounted on something more out of the way.

 

[Black01Sport]

The linkage from the bottom cusion and the back does not get cut, just remove the bolt so it moves on its own to make the job easier. The studs were on the bottom cusion mount and I cust took about a hlaf inch from them. to get the seat to sit right you might have to pull the amp forward, and that is the highest point. I would use the SoundStream if it fits, I've just seen too many problems with Audiobahn amps over the years.

 

[PandorasCustoms]

Yeah, Audiobahn was not the highest of quality, well at least their low grade was REALLY low grade, but there high end stuff (Rack Mountable mostly) was pretty intense for its time. It was just a flashy brand that peaked because it was one of the cheapest around. If I remember right, their low end was sold close to their cost to build. It was a strategy to get people to eventually get into their high-end products, but it didn't quite work out right.

I think I was browsing around the other day trying to dig up the original specs for A8002T and found the same model, but from a different manufacturer. I guess they got bought out somewhere down the line.

The only reason still use the A8002T because, simply, it wont die. I have had it for three years, and it was given to me by a friend a while back. I think he purchased it some eight years ago or something like that. The only thing so far is that the bearing for the internal fan went bad and I just haven't put a new one in yet.

Once it goes, I will find something else, most likely a matching Soundstream, to replace the power for the MIDS.

 

[Black01Sport]

here's a better pic of the cut studs. If you do cut them, put down something to catch the sparks, they will melt your carpet quick. then put a few drops of WD-40 on the stud, so it will clean the threads when you remove the nut
Im not brand bashing, just my .02¢

 

[PandorasCustoms]

Oh, I love me a good brand bash though!
It is fun watching people try and pull out technical data why something is better than something else. When really, deep down, it is all personal opinion and experiences that sway your side of the argument. :

But, yeah, thanks for extra pictures and comments. I am legitimately thinking about this as an alternative to the box mount. I will only do it if I can put both amps and a make it all fush and nice though.

As I said before, I was planning on pulling out the back seats this weekend anyways as I redid my wiring. So, I will post updates if I do move things around.