TeamSwift

I like the idea of swapping the amp from the back of the rear seats to under the front seat.
Just wondering how exactly it's mounted? Is in fixed to the floor or to the seat/seat rail somehow? And where do you route the cables?

Any info/photos would be much appreciated.

Thanks

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INCREASE THE PEACE

If you regularly have people in the back seats, I wouldn't recommend having the amp under the front seats. It's not fun hoping you can get the broken off piece of the composite cable out of the inside of the amp because someone stepped on and broke the plug off. Trust me I know. I routed the cables under the carpet under the center console and under the passenger seat. I used sheet metal screws in two of the corners to mount it. Luckily both times someone stepped on and broke the plugs off the cables I was able to get the broken off plug out of the socket but it's sucks having to pull the amp and that cable back out from under the carpet because of that. I didn't have a large sized amp either and it barely fit between the seat rails. On my current build I'll be putting the amps in the spare tire well.

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1987 Chevrolet Sprint Turbo under construction

Guess it depends on the amplifier. When I ran mine under the seat the power/signal cables came in from the side so there was no danger of having a connector broken off. I like the mount a board under the carpet that's screwed to the floor so that theres a nice level place to mount the amp. I usually use a 3/4" piece of plywood and then have 3/4" screws holding the amp down or 5/8" screws if the mounting tabs are thin. if you can't fit the amp under your seat with the cables entering the side consider orienting your amp so that power/signal wire comes in from the front of the front seat so that rear passengers aren't ripping your cables out.

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LNLC Founding Member

FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
REAL FRIENDS: Is the reason you have no food.

My amp had the speaker wires and power wires on the front and the headunit composite cables and level adjustments on the back. Had I turned it around so the power wires were at the back I wouldn't have been able to adjust the amp easily. The rear floor mats covered the back of the amp so you could barely see the cables unless you were in the back seat. It only happened twice in the 6 or so years I had the amp there and both times I told the idiots to watch out for the cables

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1987 Chevrolet Sprint Turbo under construction

Thanks fellas.

I very rarly have anybody in the back of the car so that wouldnt worry me too much but thanks for the warning anyway.

So it sounds like which ever way round you place the amp in needs holes drilling in the floor to secure it! I was hoping to avoid that. Thought it was maybe attached to the seat rail some how?

My car suffers from rust as it is so the idea of drilling the floor scares me

Any pics would be great by the way.

Thanks again.

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INCREASE THE PEACE

Another consideration is the Class of amplifier...Class AB amps produce a lot more heat than Class D amps, so unless you have your a/c on all the time, I would not recommend mounting a Class AB amp under the seat where there is not much ventilation.

I have found that with a reclinable back seat that splits, mounting the amp to one side of the rear seats is probably the best option and while driving with the a/c off you can just fold down the upright which the amp is bolted to, in order to catch the air flowing through the car to cool it.

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~the other Ralph~
Certified Suzuki Owner:
MKIII Swift GTi - The Green Destiny!
2010 Suzuki Jimny - The DD Workhorse!

Hmm, i have no idea what class my amp is! Never even knew ther were diffrent class amps

All i know is its a Kenwood and its pretty old. Will check out the model number tomorrow and let you know. Maybe you guy can tell me what class it is, unless its writen on it?

Behing the rear seat is where i had it mounted originally with a bit of mdf between seat and amp but the screws kept coming loose and pissed me of! The seat backs are just thin metal so the screws cant get any real purcase! Any one have a solution for that?

Thanks fellas.

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INCREASE THE PEACE

amp classification describes the various methods of biasing the output transistors. sometimes the manufacturers take license with their methods and their claims.

class a amps have a single output device with biasing which allows the output to simply amplify the input signal without going through a transition point at a zero output. a class ab amp uses 2 transistors, one for producing the top half of the wave, another for reproducing the bottom half of the wave. the top device is biased so that it cuts off near the zero point and the other device begins to conduct. those ab biased amps produce what is known as crossover notch which produces distortion but they are really the most common audio amplifier arrangement.

you'll never see a true b class bias in an audio amp nor will you ever see a c class, that would be reserved for super high power like for a radar transmitter. class d is one of those "honorary" titles which describes a digital power supply in an audio amp and is one of those big wads of baloney that the audio boyz ginned up.

the floor under a seat is a bad place for an amp for a lot of reasons. start out with the floor pan being subjected to exhaust heat and heat reflected up from a sun baked road surface. also, the seat acts as an insulator and doesn't let heat get away from the amp's case which serves as a heat sink. there's all kinds of trash and fuzz that collects under a seat and there's next to no air flow under there.

ever spill a pop or coffee? it'll run right onto the floor. floors seem to always catch whatever liquid, rain, etc. if i were you, i'd find a better spot to mount an amp.

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Wow, t3 you know your stuff.
Taking all your advice onboard i aint gonna mount it under seat. Back of rear seat its gonna be. Just gotta fix it there more securly somehow!

Its a Kenwood KAC-749S by the way
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_427 ... -749S.html

Thanks for all the help and advice fellas

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INCREASE THE PEACE

If you have a proper mounting surface attached to the floor you aren't going to have heat issues. While heat could be an issue with some larger amps I don't see it shutting down anything but a really hot running amp. The sub amp in my Swift was outputing in the neighbourhood of 2000W (was one of those big baloney class d's ) and never had any thermaling issues. My other seat had a nice MTX class A 200wx2 under it powering my components and it never thermaled either. Not saying it can't happen but I wouldn't be worried about heat in the swifts. Trunks/hatches are a great place to mount them too but they can also get pretty hot sitting in the sun all day. As far as trash collecting under the seats...I blame user error lol. Get a vacuum and keep your car clean .

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LNLC Founding Member

FAKE FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
REAL FRIENDS: Is the reason you have no food.

I had an amplifier(2-channel 500w) under my sit as well but it was a small set-up so never had temp-issues. It did got dirty down there as there's always a lot of dust all over the amp. If you have people sitting on the back, it'll be a nightmare, the amp always gets kicked.
I would put it on the trunk if I was you. You'll have literally no space back there if combined with a subwoofer-box though.
You could attached it to the back-seat but it can't be a big amp, otherwise it won't fit.

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MK2/3 PARTS FOR SALE - EVERYTHING MUST GO!

1993 Swift Gti

The point is made....if you have a 'pretty' amp (chromed up etc) then collecting dust and shoeprints under the seat is maybe not the best mounting place. Unless you're one of the fortunate few who only tote groceries in their back seat and nothing more.

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~the other Ralph~
Certified Suzuki Owner:
MKIII Swift GTi - The Green Destiny!
2010 Suzuki Jimny - The DD Workhorse!

As I almost everyone else has agreed, I would not mount the amp under the front seat. Whether for heat dispersal, possible environmental hazards (ie: dust and/or moisture), negligent passengers or sheer accessibility, my belief is that the best place to mount an amp would be in the rear of the car. Depending on how creative you are willing to get, it can turn out pretty cool. Unlike my set-up, of which, pictures are attached. This is half-way between how I had it in highschool and what I'll be fabricating soon. Please disregard the mess, it's been an off week.

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1992 Metro G10 2Dr. Swift front clip. GTi tail lights, mk2 Geo rear bumper, Konig Lightning 14's. Other fun, quirky odds-and-ends.

2006 Nissan Titan Crew Cab. 4" lift, Big Tow package, pretty bone stock.

2013 VW Jetta sedan. Wifelady's daily. The baby carrier.

Just remember, sanity is overrated.

-Anthony (They call me Geo around here)

Hey bro. Just figured I would tell you what I did in my stereo install, it's been in for a year and stays dry, cool, and undisturbed, even in south florida in a metro with no a/c.

First off, this was done in a 3 door 5 spd, 1998 chevy metro. So this advice is only for those body types.

I use a kicker 1000.1dx amp going to a 12 inch sub, and when installing, I wanted something out of sight and out of mind, unlikely to get stolen easily.

I settled on putting it in the space behind the inside rear plastics. The large pieces with the rear speaker grills on them.

Turns out, there is a large amount of space behind those plastics, and only a triangular metal brace held in by three phillips head screws in the way. I used the cardboard L shaped corner protectors from a new clothes dryer as they are very stiff, and put two lengths parallel to each other from the pillar behind the passenger door, back into the space over the wheel well. The bottom piece braces against the wheel well.

You will find plenty of room to route large guage wiring up to that spot, and the hole for the brace closest to the door makes an excellent ground location if you sand it down.

The amp fit with room to spare, and although it is a compact class d, a bigger one would fit. It rests floating in the air, held against the cardboard brackets by the metal brace behind the plastic. What I did to make it fit snug, was remove the styrofoam from the braces on both sides, trim them flat, tape them to the side of the brace facing the amp, and then wrap the whole mess in dynamat and electrical tape.

Be sure not to cover too much of the cooling surface of the amp, just enough to keep it from sliding and moving.

Also, make sure it is dry back there. My car has no rust and had years of dust when I first looked, which means no leaks.

I also drilled some half inch holes in the panel in the cargo area and screwed a 12v 120mm computer fan behind it, hooked up to the amp remote turn on 12v.

It sucks air into that area and the amp has never overheated in south florida heat. Ever.

Be sure to zip tie all your wires and crossbrace the amp, zip ties in the righ place is all mine took.



Oh, and there's still room in the other side for a nice 4 channel amp...

Hope this helps someone.