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How strong is the rear part with the 6x9s? Mounting amp....


1990lumina

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Okay, I want to mount my amp in the trunk, under where the rear 6x9s are and whatnot.

 

So, the following pictures are where I want to drill the holes, and mount the amp...I'm holding the amp up with my hand in an approximent area of where I want to mount it.

 

1. My question is how strong is this area...I'm guessing it is pretty strong since it is part of the unibody, but,

2. Will drilling 4 small holes into it hurt the structual intergrity?? I'm guessing not, but I want to make sure before I go ahead and drill the holes.

 

My plan is to make a clean install, and don't want the amp visible when the trunk is open.

So the plan of where to mount it is this. Provided the area is strong enough and whatnot, I'm going to remove that rear carpet stuff and drill the 4 holes from inside the trunk. Then, I'm going to drop 4 bolts down with flat heads to when I put the rear carpet back on the top, everything will look fine.

Then, I'll put some rubber around where the amp is mounted to it doesn't vibrate and it somewhat cushioned...and yeah, basically then I'll wire it up and be down with it.

 

Here are the pics:

 

0609_002.jpg

 

0609_001.jpg

 

Notice on this picture, the holes will be drill right before where the two pieces are spot welded...

0609_003.jpg

 

For this area, the holes will be right before where the two pieces of spot welded together...

0609_004.jpg

 

0609_005.jpg

 

Anyway, this will look neat when I'm done, I'm setting aside a day to install this thing nice and neat, so if I could questions 1 and 2 answered that would be awesome.

 

Thanks!

 

- Jeff L.

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i'm pretty sure it'll be strong enough...just make sure the rods that hold the trunk up arent gonna hit them amp when the trunk's closed...also, be carefull when you drill the holes so you don't tear up the carpet in your rear deck :lol:

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i'm pretty sure it'll be strong enough...just make sure the rods that hold the trunk up arent gonna hit them amp when the trunk's closed...also, be carefull when you drill the holes so you don't tear up the carpet in your rear deck :lol:

 

Yeah, I'm planning to take the carpet out, I'm more worried about putting the bit through the rear window ;) lol

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You will be fine putting it there. That is where GM mount their factory amps in most newer cars.

 

Okay, cool, thanks for the quick response :D!

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I don't know if i'd mount it there...

 

All the heat from the amp will be pushed back into the amp. Heat rises and all the heat from the amp will come off the heat sink, and be thrown right back into the amp. I'd consider mounting it vertically or with the back of the amp on the floor to give it more cooling.

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Bake82 is right. It may not seem like a big deal, but I have seen people do this before and have had their amps shutoff after a few minutes of running. The extra heat forces the amp into protect mode.

 

The reason GM can mount their factory amp there is because it is too small to generate a significant amount of heat. Put a large amp up under the deck and it is really hit or miss if it will work right.

 

I would try it and see how it runs. If it keeps going into protect, try attatching some computer fans to the amp that will blow air onto the heat sink. Good airflow is critical if you are mounting an amp upside down.

 

-dan

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Well I have a whole bunch of fans, so if it goes into protect mode then I guess I'll be wiring them up.

 

Hmm, how much heat would this amp actually generate?

It is a Clarion APA450

400watts max

200watts rms (50x4rms)

 

I didn't even think about the heat problem because this amp doesn't make that much power - but if it clicks out then I'll know I guess, thanks!

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well clarion's are generally stable and tolerant of high heat, so it looks like you should be ok.

go for it and good luck. I think that is a pretty trick place for and amp if you are doing a stealth install.

 

-Dan

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I had a friend back in the day who mounted his Alpine 4-channel amp up in that spot and it started cutting out after 15-20 minutes from the heat, so I concur with everyone who says it's a poor location to mount an amp.

 

I mounted mine to a board on the passenger side right in front of the power antenna.

 

lowerbracket.jpg

 

bumperbolt.jpg

 

ampboard2.jpg

 

You can see in the top 2 pics how I made a bracket to affix the board on the bottom and attached it to one of the bumper bolts. I attached the top of the board to the tab that hangs down from the lip of the trunk where the power antenna's ground strap attaches (also visible in the top pic.) Your car should have the same tab, even if it doesn't have a power antenna (my 95 GP had the tab and no power antenna...)

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After considering other locations, I'm going to try to install it in the original location that I had wanted to.,..but I'm going to wire up this bad boy as well to come on with the amp.

 

 

The only thing I'm worrying about is that the fan will introduce noise into the vehicle's electricial system and the amp will pick that up...we'll see what happens..I'll make sure everything is grounded very well

 

0610_001.jpg

 

- Jeff L.

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