DIY: Underseat Amp Rack Installed

[02BlueSuperRoo]

My Eclipse XA1000 came in on Friday evening so I spent most of yesterday coming up with a good way to solidly hold it in place under my seat. My idea stemmed from this picture:



I started writing a how-to for this but then I realized that no one may give two s**ts. If anyone wants a how-to with some more pics and materials list, just say so. I do not think this amp tray is the greatest thing ever, but overall I'm happy with the way it turned out and it does it's job nicely. I am also very pleased with the new amp.

Without further ado:

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

[Daishi00]

not too shabby. how's the amp treating you?

[02BlueSuperRoo]

The amp is great although I'm not sure if I'm going to run it at 2 ohm or 8 ohm. I really wish my sub was D2.

[02BlueSuperRoo]

24 views and only one reply. I guess my craftsmanship is as bad as I thought.

[Texas25RS]

I will give you credit with a reply... and I will be ripping the idea off to mount my amp in my Integra since I carry too much stuff in the hatch... great idea and very nicely executed!

[02BlueSuperRoo]

Cool, I got all the parts at home depot.

[ScubaruImpreza05]

Originally Posted by 02BlueSuperRoo

Cool, I got all the parts at home depot.

Is the rack actually made out of plastic? Or metal? I'm wondering because I'm looking for mounting options under seat for an install....

[02BlueSuperRoo]

The arm coming off the seat belt is a strip of 1" wide, 1/8" thick steel. The bottom tray and wall are 1/8" thick hardboard.

[02BlueSuperRoo]

My bends don't match the contour perfectly but they are good enough.


The seat bolt bracket has a nice channel to fit the steel into. Since the seat bolt bracket is at a different angle from the floor, you will need to twist the steel a little as well as make the two bends


Here is the steel I got from HD


Here is the wood I got from HD


This is my setup for bending the steel. I just put it into the jaws of the large crescent wrench and used that to pry against.


Plenty of room for wiring under here.

[LastResort]

Nice bracket use of loom.....

Last time I did an understeat install, I just screwed through the floor pan "In the ghhhetoooo" [/cartman]


Hmmm this gives me a couple of ideas now. Maybe I will mount my amps under the seat, but with an enclosure around it. Hmmm....Suddenly I wish I knew how to glass.

[ScubaruImpreza05]

I think I'm going to make a modified version of this. I'll find some drawer rails and make an amp that is enclosed (open top) but is easily accessible by opening it like a drawer....hmmm *draws on scrap paper*

[G3Red04WRX]

Originally Posted by ScubaruImpreza05

I think I'm going to make a modified version of this. I'll find some drawer rails and make an amp that is enclosed (open top) but is easily accessible by opening it like a drawer....hmmm *draws on scrap paper*

Always some guy in the bunch that has to one-up the original poster...
To the OP, very clean looking install. I may have to copy you for under my drivers seat to have something to mount my CarPC enclosure to, which happens to look like an amplifier itself...

[02BlueSuperRoo]

Just make sure you check before hand that you have enough space because there is less room under the driver's seat.

[02BlueSuperRoo]

Originally Posted by ScubaruImpreza05

I think I'm going to make a modified version of this. I'll find some drawer rails and make an amp that is enclosed (open top) but is easily accessible by opening it like a drawer....hmmm *draws on scrap paper*

Originally Posted by G3Red04WRX

Always some guy in the bunch that has to one-up the original poster...
To the OP, very clean looking install. I may have to copy you for under my drivers seat to have something to mount my CarPC enclosure to, which happens to look like an amplifier itself...

No worries to me. As you can see the Eclipse has top mounted controls which are easily accessed by moving the seat all the way up and tipping it forward. Besides, an amp should be something that you set once and then forget about.

[ScubaruImpreza05]

Originally Posted by G3Red04WRX

Always some guy in the bunch that has to one-up the original poster...

It's not a contest, but an idea and progress towards a better design to fit someone's lifestyle. I'm thinking about doing what I posted because my friend loads his car up with alot of papers and the sort for long roadtrips, and he tends to have stuff under the seats alot. It is also to protect his amp from people kicking it, scrapes, etc...
No malice towards Sup's original design, I'm a visionary

Great idea though Super,

[Noeladams]

I think thats a good place, pretty nifty design there too.... gives me some ideas for mine because some a**hat didn't run the amp/rca cables right and thought he would get better sound quality to wrap the rca around the power done one side of the car (Weird). I haven't fixed it yet because I dont have any amps or subs yet.

Props!

[Daishi00]

Originally Posted by LastResort

Nice bracket use of loom.....

Last time I did an understeat install, I just screwed through the floor pan "In the ghhhetoooo" [/cartman]


Hmmm this gives me a couple of ideas now. Maybe I will mount my amps under the seat, but with an enclosure around it. Hmmm....Suddenly I wish I knew how to glass.

Glassing is not hard...just time consuming. If you want some info and a place to get supplies let me know. I did a ton of research before making up my sub box.

[02BlueSuperRoo]

A glass sub box is my next project. That way I can build a properly sized box for my IDQ and put the Kicker 12C in the wifes car.

Can you send me any details. I have done all the researching but I never write stuff down. :/

[LastResort]

It will be a while, I've got a number of things to do before I get to that point, but I'll hit you up later.

[Daishi00]

02 - Done. I'll send something to you later tonight

LR - no problem. let me know when you're ready and I'll send it over your way.

[02BlueSuperRoo]

Just thought I might let those of you who are going to do this in on a little tip. To work in this area, you DO NOT need to remove the seat all the way. Removing the seat can be a major PITA because you have to disconnect the airbag wire. It is on the bottom of the seat and requires, for me, an extra 4-6 hands to get the damn thing undone. That is assuming I get it without breaking it.

To work under the seat:

1. Remove the 4 bolts holding the seat in
2. Pull the seat forward and tip it forward so it is leaning forward up against the dash and the rear seat mounts are 1-2 feet up in the air.
3. Grab a rope, tie down strap, bungee cord, or whatever and run it from the steering wheel to the passenger door hinge.
4. Use it to hold the seat in the forward position.
5 . Profit!

[brizey]

I just installed an amp under the seat this weekend. I just mounted it to a 1/4" mdf board I sprayed flat black. I used two strips of industrial velcro, plus the four screws protrude through the mdf a bit to bite into the carpet. It is also essentially tethered by the ground lead. I tossed the **** out of the car last night and it didn't budge.

The amp I used is bigger in size than the eclipse (eD Nine.2), so I had to mount it the other way, so the conncections are on the sides.

And just in case you are wondering, the Nine.2 is driving some Diamond M651 separates that I have had for a few years. I mounted the tweeters on the sail panel.

[02BlueSuperRoo]

Yeah, I used to have mine mounted with velcro as well. The reason I didn't like that is because in the event of a bad accident and/or rollover the amp becomes a deadly projectile. Please don't think that velcro is going to keep your amp under the seat in an accident. I would even question the strength of having it screwed through the floor unless you really go to town. I also didn't really want to put holes in my floor. And your ground wire? I'm sure I could pull that out of your amp with my bare hand if I wanted to. This way also makes it a little harder to steal, or at least I like to pretend.

[fireball_jones]

Originally Posted by 02BlueSuperRoo

Yeah, I used to have mine mounted with velcro as well. The reason I didn't like that is because in the event of a bad accident and/or rollover the amp becomes a deadly projectile. Please don't think that velcro is going to keep your amp under the seat in an accident. I would even question the strength of having it screwed through the floor unless you really go to town. I also didn't really want to put holes in my floor. And your ground wire? I'm sure I could pull that out of your amp with my bare hand if I wanted to. This way also makes it a little harder to steal, or at least I like to pretend.

You could just cut the wires too

My amp is velcro'd under my seat. It weighs all of 10lbs, I really doubt it's going anywhere in an accident, there's a lip at the front of the seats, and it's not exactly going to shoot through the seat...

[02BlueSuperRoo]

Originally Posted by fireball_jones

You could just cut the wires too

My amp is velcro'd under my seat. It weighs all of 10lbs, I really doubt it's going anywhere in an accident, there's a lip at the front of the seats, and it's not exactly going to shoot through the seat...

You could just cut the wires for what? To steal the amp? I'm not sure what pictures you're looking at but they would need a wrench for the seat bolt to get the amp out. Or maybe they would be able to just snap the wood or something. It would take more than cutting the wires for sure.

As for your other comment, well, you've obviously never been involved in a violent accident. You know the kind that throws your body out the open windows if you're not wearing your seatbelt? TRUST ME, if you get in a bad accident your amp will not stay under your seat. It only weighs 10 lbs? Tell me that after you would've survived the crash because Subarus are safe but instead you got smacked in the head with a ten pound amp and it kills you. Oh wait, you won't be able to tell me about it, because you'll be dead.