hey guys, I've just bought a Kicker 4 channel amp, and it's gettin installed tomorrow. One questionm where is the best place to place it?(advantage/disadvantage)..thanks for the help

In a desparate attempt to get rid of "Scooby Newbie" status and build up my karma in the Scooby community, I'll try and answer this for you. A few common places to mount an amp, in reverse order of personal preference:
<ul>

Under driver/passenger seat-
Advantages:
Easy to get to for adjustments and wiring.
Disadvantages:
Right in front of heat ducts (not good) and likely to get kicked/beat up by rear seat passengers.
</li>

Underneath rear parcel shelf-
Advantages:
Out of the way, easy to wire, you won't lose any trunk space.
Disadvantages:
Amp is mounted upside-down. Not good for heat dissapation, but I've seen it done without any problems.
</li>

Best option-
Mounted to a board on back of seat, side of trunk, or other convenient location.
Advantages:
Easy to access, looks best if done properly, secure, and amp is in ideal position for cooling.
Disadvantages:
None really except you lose a bit of trunk space and it takes a bit of work to make it look good. All in all, the best option.

Hope this helps,

------------
Josh Beach
<a href="http://members.tripod.com/~jabeach">World's Slowest Impreza Project</a>



[This message has been edited by beachbum (edited January 17, 2000).]

I'm in the process of installing a VCR into the trunk of my RS. My first idea was to drill holes in the deep right side next to the rear seat. I don't know if you taken out the trunk carpet or not, but if you have you will notice two plates in the rear. The right one houses the fuel pump and a bunch of gas hoses. The moral of the story is don't let anyone drill holes dowm in the trunk space near the rear seat.

If you were to mount the amp on the upper deck of the trunk, why would you mount it upside down? This is bad. All you have to do is get spacers and mount it right side up.

ShaneW

If the amp is very big at all I would mount it in the trunk somewhere. If you are getting subs and a box you could mount it on that, the only bad part is that makes it easy for thieves http://208.9.184.110/NonCGI/frown.gif I agree with BeachBum on his best option.

You really shouldn't mount an amp upside down, it will overheat all the time.

Good Luck,

Aaron

i mounted my amps to the back of the speaker box with the subs firing into the back seat. this also makes the whole thing easy to remove for hauling other stuff in the trunk.

Personally I wouldnt put my amp on the sub box inless you have to. It just puts the amp through more abuse being even closer to the cause or the vibration. And in most cars its better to face the subs to the back of the car because a mature bass soundwave is about 12-18 ft long. Just open your trunk and walk away from it, itll get louder as you get farther away.

Brian G

I have mine under my drivers seat. But, I'm tall and always the seat all the way back, so no one kicks it. I assume this is power your speakers (since its 4-channel), so you might not have a sub box, but if you do mount it there. I would try mounting it to the back of the back seat, put a wood board or something against the back and mount the amp on that. You can carpet the board to match if you want. Car Stereo Review had a how-to on this a few issues back, I *might* be able to find it an explain in more detail.

Originally posted by JC:
I have mine under my drivers seat.

I currently have my main amp under the passenger seat and the sub amp under the driver's. I once had my amp mounted to the sub, but that made it very easy to remove (and some thieves proceeded to do so).

The problem with mounting the amp under the driver's seat is the very limited room. The passenger seat is much more spacious underneath. I ended up putting my power distribution under the driver's seat; if I had to do it again, I'd find a way to bolt the sub amp down in the trunk.

I should also caution everyone about the high current amps our there (Rockford Punch comes to mind)...they run terribly hot. I wouldn't even consider putting a Rockford under the front seats.

Hehe........ "Heated Front Seat" for your Impreza..... That's a nice mod!!!

I currently have my amps mounted on the floor behind the seats traveling under the seats. I removed and blocked off the heating ducts. The plan is to raise the floor so passangers can use my back seat. I have tried every combination possible in my '98 RS. The neatest trunk install I did involved mounting the amp on the opposite side of the tail light. I had to build a wood ring to mount through the thin liner, but it looked real sharp. Had to move the amps to the passenger compartment for weight distriblution. I had one on each side behind the tail lamps and 2 on the box. Too much rear weight for the soobie through hard turns. One amp wont disrupt weight distribution too much, but 4 and a box is a bit extreme. Plus, mounting the amp adjacent to the tail lights keeps it out of view. You can't see it unless you're looking for it. Hope this helps.

My question is: Why would mounting your amp upside down matter? Location will matter but orientation will not, think about it. Actually, the amp would run cooler upside down because the cooling fins would be exposed to more moving air. No one should need an Electrical Engineer to tell them that.

Well, as I'm sure you know, heat rises. When your amp is right-side-up or vertical, the circuit board (and attached components) transfer heat to the heatsink, which transfers it to the air which then floats UP and away. When it's upside down, the heat radiated off the heat sink wants to rise back into the amp, instead of floating off into the air. It's not a reccommended way of mounting an amp, but if it's your only option, there are ways around it.

------------
Josh Beach
<a href="http://members.tripod.com/~jabeach">World's Slowest Impreza Project</a>

True, heat rises. On the otherhand, the purpose of mounting it in the trunk is to introduce airflow. Airflow removes the heat. If airflow wasn't a big part I'd be mounting my PPI 2100 under the drivers seat. http://208.9.184.110/NonCGI/wink.gif