Hey I thought I'd chronicle my efforts for the benefit of others. Kinda give back to the community that's helped me a lot over the past few months.

This is my first stereo / amp install, and I had the following goals in mind:

1) The install had to take up minimum space. I must be able to haul stuff in the trunk
2) Minimize the showing of wires
3) Allow for the back seat to be still folded down
4) I like my donut spare
5) I also like my glove box and console
5) Nothing underneath the seats. My car is a convertible and god forbid it starts raining and I get screwed.

Equipment list:
1) refurb Kenwood DDX-7019 with Sirius and Navigation add-on
2) Memphis Audio 4004 (50x4) amp
3) Sony X-1S (250x2) mono amp
4) Polk 6.5" for the front.
5) Blaupunkt 6x9" in the rear
6) 2 kenwood 10" shallow subs for the trunk
7) Wiring harness and chime retainer
8) 4ga wiring to both subs, 12ga to the main speakers, 10ga to the subs


MA amp install:

I looked all over the net and couldn't find anybody who'd installed their amp underneath the glovebox.
If you look under the glovebox, you'll notice there is flat recessed surface perfect installing an amp.
The measurements are approx 16.5" wide x 7" deep (due to the blower motor) and about an inch recessed.
I cut and glued two pieces of scrap plywood (3/4" to 1" I'm can't remember) together so they went lower than the blower motor.

Here's a pic of the board half mounted to the amp:



You'll notice the amp is wider than the board. This required using a piece of steel bar from Lowe's and screwing this to the board (only one installed on the pic).
Then the two ends of bar were drilled, threaded, and screwed in with allen wrench screws for a stock look.

Board installed (glovebox view):



Board installed (underside view):



Amp installed:



head unit and accessories:

Again looking around the car I was looking for a hidden place to put the Metra chimes retainer, Sirius radio, and navigation brain.
Well there happens to be a great location just beyond the console near the firewall.

You can see it in the lower left of the following pic (the dusty part):



Well there happens to be a nice big gap here. there are some tabs here making me think GM wanted to put something here at one time but didn't.
Maybe on a different year/model. Ohh well more space for me.

Here's the same location with all the boxes and wires sticking out of it:



Hell of a mess and made putting the cover back on a nightmare.
End product:



The two wires you see are the USB cable and the audio in for an MP3 player.

The head unit itself was difficult only because I didn't cut away all the plastic supports before installing all the wires.
As a result, I had to use my Dremel and cut around the wires very carefully. So if anybody is installing a double-DIN radio,
please be sure to remove the back plastic and some of the underneath plastic.

Finally screwed in:




Main Speakers

The back speakers were a breeze, although I had a couple of speaker mount studs broken off due to upholstery shop carelessness.
This was fixed using some slightly larger machine screw, a nut and a locking washer.

Here's how they look dead on:



The front speakers were a pain. I purchased the adapters from http://www.mjmautoinnovations.com/speakeradapters. They ship slow but the adapters are of high quality.

Installed with purchased adapters:



Unfortunately, unless your speaker is flush, they don't fit right. In retrospect, I should have bought some components instead for this reason. Luckily I was able to disassemble the adapters and use washers wrapped in electrical tape to mount them. It is a tight fit because the windows almost touch the magnet and the tweeters rest against the door panel. Ohh well live and learn.

Sorry no pic of this.


Subs/Sub Amp

I purchased a couple of Schose sub boxes from walmart only to find they were too big. So I pulled out my circular saw and went to town.

Smaller sub box:



Covered and filled with Great Stuff foam:



I don't think I'll ever use Great Stuff again. I guess most people use some sort of silicon caulk to seal the box. The stuff is a real PITA to get off of your hands.

Installed pic (it has a twin on the left side of the car):



The amplifier is a class D and is absolutely tiny (less than a sheet of paper). Basically I screwed it into some plywood and stuck it in the stock amp location on the left side.

Sub amp pic:





So that's my install. Looking at my car you couldn't even tell I had that many wires running through it. I'm sure I have left some details out, so feel free to post questions.

Ohh, in case you were wondering ... IT SOUNDS AWESOME. Top down 70 mph, and I can still understand lyrics. I am a happy man.

to tell you the truth i really like that set up. i have mine the same way. but my amps are under my rear seat. i just cut the cushion out to fit around the amps. but under the glove box is really smart. so how does it sound? I was going to do my friends system here pretty soon. and he wanted some like that as well. very nice man.


http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=108174799

texasjsz24 wrote:to tell you the truth i really like that set up. i have mine the same way. but my amps are under my rear seat. i just cut the cushion out to fit around the amps. but under the glove box is really smart. so how does it sound? I was going to do my friends system here pretty soon. and he wanted some like that as well. very nice man.

Wow, bad idea.


The Amp will Overheat like a M*F* if you mount it in the seat cushion, not to mention The uncomfortable nature of sitting on hot metal.

yeah i usderstand that concern which made me not to do it but my amps do not get hot at all. although stuff happens. and nobody rides in the back but my dog. its been like that for about 3 months now. i have the 200 watt infinati and a 460 watt dual amp. the 200 watt amp is pushing my 2 10" subs and the 460 is pushing my jbl 6"x9". but i do understand the fact that its a huge fire hazzard but there not hot at all to the point of fire. yes i know playing with fire


http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=108174799

nice setup, but i dont like to mount amps upside down cuz the tend to over heat....i want a doubledin but dont feel like cuttin...if you could show me a picture so i could see what that came out like....nice work tho....but i think you should made your own adapters for the front door with mdf wood. Ima see if i could get a picture of mine...

illdwes . wrote:nice setup, but i dont like to mount amps upside down cuz the tend to over heat....i want a doubledin but dont feel like cuttin...if you could show me a picture so i could see what that came out like....nice work tho....but i think you should made your own adapters for the front door with mdf wood. Ima see if i could get a picture of mine...

I had a reservation about the cutting thing too, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Basically you are just removing the bracket for the stock stereo, which by the way, the double DIN adapter doesn't use. I thought I'd hear rattling, but there isn't any.

What does mounting the amp upside down have anything to do with heat? I've never heard that before.

I thought about using MDF, but the tolerance for those speakers is within 1 mm. Any further back, they'd hit the window and any further forward the door panel doesn't fit. MDF would require glue and a planer I don't own. Besides I like the way the speakers sound now.

I'll try to get you some finished pics later. I'm not leaving my house today.

heat travels up..usually throughthe heat sinks..now you have the heat travelling up back into the board..

Philly D wrote:heat travels up..usually throughthe heat sinks..now you have the heat travelling up back into the board..

Ohh, never thought of that before. Good thing it's in the cool cab and not the hot trunk then.

your thinking of it the wring way, Philly is right heat sinks are made to make heat travel away from the amp...if you flip it upside down your eliminating the heat sinks because your causing the heat to travel back towards the amp...any way good luck

the link for the door adapters doesnt work.

i see that they fit flush... and not at an angle, do they make 5 1/4's?

Some of you people are idiots. Have you ever taken an amp apart to see what's inside? The transistors are mounted right on the heatsink, so as long as the outside is somewhat exposed to air, orientation is irrelevant.

2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd

Heat travels up. it gets trapped on the board. It shortens the Amp's lifespan. Unless there is a fan. Or a different amp design.

that would defeat the purpose of it being a heat sink. Ive seen very few amps with anything mounted to the heat sink. it may appear that it is but i will bet it is most definitely not.

With a fairly low powered amp. This heat talk may be insignificant.

Quote:


Heat travels up. it gets trapped on the board. It shortens the Amp's lifespan. Unless there is a fan. Or a different amp design.

What board, the PCB? That's the most heat-tolerant component in there.

Quote:


that would defeat the purpose of it being a heat sink. Ive seen very few amps with anything mounted to the heat sink. it may appear that it is but i will bet it is most definitely not.

What would defeat the purpose? Every single amp I've ever taken apart had its output stage mounted to the heatsink, from $30 single chip amps to high dollar ones.

2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd

either way you look at it heats rises so even if its attached to the heatsink the majority of heat will sit inside the unit and possibly cook some of the electronics, the board may be heat tolerent but thad doesnt mean everything attachted to it is. its just a poor way of installing an amp in my opinion.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

Did you know that the boards on most amps are already installed upside down? The boards tend to be attached to the heatsink because that's where the active devices are. The way he mounted the amp, the board probably is mounted component side up, not that it matters anyway. He's ahead of the game just by keeping the amp out of the trunk.

2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd

The most heat sensitive components in amps are capacitors which are good to 105C or 221F. Plus, nearly all amps have some kind of thermal protection which will shut it down if it gets too hot. As long as the amp isn't shutting down, there's no need to even talk about potential, theoretical overheating, component orientation or anything of the sort.

2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd

either way to me its still a poor way of mounting the device. not all amps have built in thermal protection and if his amp didnt have it, he might not find out if it was a bad location until his amp was fried. even if his does, if someone else sees this who doesnt have a amp with the protection built in he could install it this way and then end up with a fried amp. i'd personally rather see things mounted properly so there isnt a risk for damage to an amp. its always best to talk about these typse of situations before they happen instead of waiting to see if your amp goes into protection mode or fries.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

^X2...i also dont like mounting amps upside down.....

If your amp has a mounting preference, it will be in the manual. Amps are mounted sideways and upside down all the time. I've got mine mounted underneath the rear deck upside-down, no issues whatsoever. If you want to talk about the best way to mount an amp for convection cooling, it's vertically with the fins in a vertical orientation. Even then, I doubt temps would be more than a few degrees better. There's no need to sit around here and talk, this is something that can be tested. Go run a sine wave through your subs for an hour or so with the amp in a different orientation each time. Record ambient and chassis temperatures and let us know how it goes.

You still haven't told us why it's a poor way of mounting the device. I told you that the boards of most amps are installed upside down already and you seem to have no comment.

Again, he's ahead of the game just by keeping the amp out of the hot trunk. At best, you're being penny wise and pound foolish.

2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd

okay here you go. most doesnt mean all. most amps may be made that way but not all. most amps may have built in thermal shutdowns but not all. someone who has that type of amp may come in here and see the install and go hey i'll just do that back in my trunk and he may end up frying his equipment.


call me mr overkill if you want. but in 20 years in this hobby ive never blown an amp or any car audio device. where as you see posts on here every week about people blowing this up or that up. maybe its overkill to you, but i'll stick to my method and you can stick with yours.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

It's not overkill if it's not proven to run any cooler, and it isn't. What evidence besides pure speculation do you have that amps run cooler when mounted heatsink-side up? You claim the board runs cooler right side up, but in every amp I've seen, the amp is mounted to the heatsink which means, mounted your way, the board is upside down. If you stick with the assertion that the board should be right side up, then the amp should be upside down.

High-heat devices are regularly designed with the intent of running them upside down. Ever take apart a PC? PCI/AGP cards are upside down. Same with ATX power supplies, and those components are far more sensitive to heat than car amps.

You're going to have to provide more than religious conviction and voodoo if you want the rest of us to believe that amps run cooler oriented your way than his. Yes, amps will run slightly cooler vertically than horizontally, but when run flat, they will run no cooler heatsink side up than heatsink side down. By the way, I've mounted several amps upside down and none of them have blown.

2002 Cavalier 2200 5spd

ive seen several applications where amps mounted upside down have fried the componets. and i dont have time to go out and get amps and do specific testing just to prove my point, if you want to prove your voodoo and religious convictions by all means go out, get every amp on the markte and test them each way. testing one amp wont prove anything really you'd need to test the majority to prove its okay in every application and my time is to important for that.


your remark about the pc really isnt relevant. you have a small board in a big box in a house wich doesnt get up over 70 degrees give or take and you have the pc designed with large fans to pull all the heat away. not to mention nowadays they are even liquid cooling them to help them run better. that pretty much doesnt relate to being mounted upside down in a hot trunck in the middle of arizona being pushed to its limits with no built in fan.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

oh and if you want you can try some audio manufacturer's websites and ask them. this was copy and pasted from rockford fosgates website but hell what do they know.


Print Answer

E-mail Answer Can I mount my amplifier upside-down in my car?

Question
Can I mount my amplifier inverted/upside down in my car's trunk?

Answer
We do not recommend mounting any amplifier upside-down, as the heat generated by the parts inside the amplifier end up transferring right back into the amp itself instead of passing through the heatsink. This results in an area of the amp that gets superheated, and can cause premature thermal shutdown, or failure to the components. To save space, try mounting the amplifier vertically on the back of the back seat or along the side of the trunk instead.


KEYWORDS: amp, amplifier, mounting, installing, upside, down, inverted












http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography