View Full Version : anyone install an amp in the cabin somewhere?
im trying to keep a nice simple do it myself install and plan on using a 3 channel amp with built in xover and locating it somewhere in the cabin. im not comfortable enough doing it myself and locating it in the trunk so im wondering if anyone has an amp in the cabin somewhere, where you located it and what the length of the amp is? most of the decent 3 channel amps im looking at (older xtant, older ppi stuff) seem to run 18-23 inches in length and i was thinking maybe under the seat but that just seems to long to fit. any ideas greatly appreciated! thanks.
Michigan NSX
07-06-2002, 00:26
robr,
You own one of the most sophisticated cars ever designed. Don't take a short cut here - let a pro do the install. He will be more familiar with routing wires, removing and reinstalling interior panels, fusing the amp at the battery, etc...and he will be insured!!
Just my opinion (I had a shop install an amp in the trunk and have been very happy). I would hate to see you damage the interior of your beautiful car.
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'91 Black/Black
eh, thanks but ive been doing this stuff myself for close to 20 years, i just dont have the proper tools to do the job i'd want to do if i were to wire it to the trunk. as far as a shop doing it, forget it. there isn't a single shop in new england that i would trust with this car. the one with probably the best reputation is rich's car tunes in watertown, ma and i've heard plenty of horror stories about accidents that have happened to assorted ferraris and porsches where the owner was never told. i'll do it myself, thanks :P.
The best in-cabin location I've seen for large amps is behind the seats - mount vertically on the rear firewall. If you buy an extra trim panel you can cut one up for the install and have one to return the car to stock anytime you want. This location also makes it easy to run the cables under the carpet along the side sill and to the dash.
thanks, though i took a look and while a sqaure shaped amp might work there, my harness bar would get in the way of a long narrow one... and frankly, i dont feel like dealing with removing the harness bar to do an install and putting it back in. that thing was a friggin )(&#@)$(*&#$ to get in in the first place. i'm curious to see that custom seat mount thing that someone else did. i checked the dimensions on his amp and its a bit clearer to me now how it fit (the longest dimension is just under 12"). maybe something thats around 12x12 would work under the seat toward the back.
Originally posted by robr:
i dont feel like dealing with removing the harness bar to do an install and putting it back in.
Big change from your former times when you would spend a thousand hours (or more!) on a car stereo install, huh? http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif
screw that, all done with that crap :P. im preassembling all the parts, and i figure 8 hours from start to finish if i plan everything properly and have all the tools and wires and connectors i need. (yeah ..... right, i went to the nick mattatucci school of DIY).
Michigan NSX
07-06-2002, 21:29
Originally posted by robr:
eh, thanks but ive been doing this stuff myself for close to 20 years...
Sorry Rob, I didin't realize you were an IASCA competitor.
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'91 Black/Black
nah no worries, you were just trying to help http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif. besides, while i was a competitor, i was by no means an expert installer. i know how to do basic installs, but the custom fiberglassing, woodworking, lighting, and plexi are WAY beyond my skill level http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif.
anything more than connecting wires and screwing stuff down and basic woodworking i am useless at http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif.
jorligan
07-07-2002, 13:07
I put my amps behind the seats. I used a JL Audio subwoofer amp to power the sub in the passenger foot well and a Soundstream Picasso amp for the speakers in the doors. The Soundstream amp is behind the drivers seat and JL Audio amp behind the passenger seat. Couldn't get any amp thin enough under the seats.
nsxlover
07-07-2002, 16:15
I have an ADS P850 amp behind the drivers seat. The shop originally put it in the trunk and it fried from all the heat. Don't mount any amps in the trunk. They cut a piece of plywood and carpeted it and mounted it behind the seat. It was an expensive lesson for the shop as they ate the cost for the fried amp.
Rob
brickdds
07-07-2002, 21:21
I have been running my McIntosh 4 channel amp in the trunk using the tool tray area. It has not fried, nor thermalled since it has been installed. I have an RM exhaust below it and live in Arizona (just a little warm here), where I have driven the car with a trunk full of crap covering it as well. The amp does have internal cooling fans which figured into my decision to use this amp; that as well as it being a McIntosh.
did i say 8 hours start to finish up in this thread somewhere?!?!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
I think I have about 8 hours into this and JUST finished one door. Had to take it apart about 7 times today to keep moving the tweet to get the panel to fit..... then after I cleared the tweet, I find the crossover is in the way..... arggh!!!!!
Next I think I'll do the amp so I can wire up the drivers door so at least I won't be without tunes when I replace the passenger door speakers. Wish my subwoofer I ordered would get here (I managed to find an Illusion Audio nd10).
Ive had my AMP in the trunk and never had a problem. As long as the amp has proper cooling and overload protection (almost all decent amps these days do), then it should be ok.
Yes the trunk gets very hot, and if not properly ventilated could go into overheat protection mode. (This has only happened to me one time, due to 2 hours of stop and go traffic on a 100+ degree day, with clothing/luggage sitting on my amp rack so there was no airflow). Other than that one time Ive never had an issue.
Also installing the amp in the trunk is fairly straight forward. There is a terminal block in the fuse box in the engine bay that you can get your power from, and a pre-cut grommetted hole in the trunk firewall on the right side (looking at the car from the rear) that you can run the wires through without drilling any holes. If you ever decide to pull it out, spend the $1.00 on a replacement grommet and its back to factory specs.
Just my 2 cents http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/smile.gif
-B
thanks but i'd have to remove my harness bar and to be able to get under the paneling to get to the grommet. i refuse to do that after the nightmare of putting that harness bar in. its going in the compartment somewhere :P.
nsxxtreme
07-15-2002, 10:23
robr,
Let me know how that Illusion Audio speaker sounds. I bought one and just finished the fiberglass enclosure, although I'm not sure if I have enough air space. I liked to know your impressions of it. I hooked it up to my house stereo and wasn't impressed. Hopefully it sounds better in the car. I am kind of thinking a JL might have sounded better, and the JL is way cheaper.
Does putting the amp in the back restrict the seat from going all the way back? Anyone have any photos.
[This message has been edited by nsxxtreme (edited 15 July 2002).]
>robr,
>Let me know how that Illusion Audio speaker
>sounds. I bought one and just finished the
>fiberglass enclosure, although I'm not sure
>if I have enough air space. I liked to know
>your impressions of it. I hooked it up to
>my house stereo and wasn't impressed.
ive heard them many times before, they are actually pretty decent given their design. you cant beat the laws of physics and for something with a <2" mounting depth and a 0.8 cu ft volume requirement, they literally are the only speaker in that class (literally, there is nothing else out there with a <2" mounting depth of this diameter in existance today). If depth wasn't a consideration, I would have most certainly gone with JL because I have three 10W6's sitting in storage doing nothing. Seriously though, they aren't bad given enough volume.
>Hopefully it sounds better in the car. I am
>kind of thinking a JL might have sounded
>better, and the JL is way cheaper.
>Does putting the amp in the back restrict
>the seat from going all the way back?
>Anyone have any photos.
Yes, the seat as it is pretty much goes all the way back and hits the back panel, you can't help but lose room if you put anything back there (including a harness bar).
nsxxtreme
07-15-2002, 12:02
robr,
If you click the icon farthest to the right of the date you can reply to posts.
I haven't calculated my air space yet. I am hoping I have the correct air space.I was hoping for a little more out of this speaker considering the cost of the thing. I am interested in knowing what type of grill you are going to put on. A standard grill will fit, it just makes me nervous since the magnet is in the front where everyones feet go.
I sold my three 12w6's for this one ten
[This message has been edited by nsxxtreme (edited 15 July 2002).]
right now the sub is the least of my worries. im not sure what im going to do with that yet, but as far as grill, obviously you lose the aluminum panel that went over the stock box, but i figure a decent grate type material that can probably be had at home depot, plus the sound insulation, carpeting, floor mat should protect the speaker just fine. i just had a brainstorm with the amp though, im going to see if i can somehow adapt the dali fire extinguisher bracket to mount the amp on.
Industrial strength velcro is great stuff!
http://www.nema.com/nsx/caraudio/nsx/IMG_0046_small.jpg
.... and yes, that's a rusty bolt. i have no idea why or how it rusted. it wasnt rusted when i put in the harness bar :P.
actually, i suspect that bolt could be used as a ground for the amp once cleaned up.
Hey there
I will put my .02 cents in on this. When I bought my NSX some one had mounted an amp behind the seat. When I took the amp I was soon to find out that when the person put it in they had put the screw right into the gas tank. I moved the amps into the truck. I had to pull the gas tank down to fix it. I would just say be very care full if you mount it behind the seat.
I have 2 amps mounted on their side in the place of where the CD changer was. I have them mounted on a carpeted wood mount with the center cutout so that air can flow around them. You can only see one amp. The other one is in the back. I have it so you can easly remove to wing nuts and get to the one in the back. It some one wants to see pics I can let you see how I have done this.
If you put it behind the seat, the problem is you can not move the seat back all the way and the amp get very hot and can be bad on the leather when the seat is against it.
Jim
[This message has been edited by Diveboy (edited 15 July 2002).]
Originally posted by Diveboy:
they had put the screw right into the gas tank.
http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/eek.gif
no screws, just velcro. the heat might be an issue, but as ive explained numerous times above, its not going into the trunk (hence the title of this thread :P). the seat really doesnt lose any more room that it did for the harness bar, i'll just have to keep an eye on the leather and see if it's affected by the heat.
Please check this out!
http://www.psycho-acoustics.com/nsx1.html
Has anyone ever tried the dali racing after market stereo upgrade kit ????
the selections are pretty decent gear, though some of it is no longer available. basically its just standard off the shelf stuff with pre custom made wiring and enclosures. generally you can probably do as well or better yourself taking your car to a decent shop. if youre unsure of what is quality and what isnt though, then mark's system is a decent way to go.
Michigan NSX
07-16-2002, 01:18
Originally posted by robr:
Industrial strength velcro is great stuff!...
Nice picture robr - now - VACUUM THAT CARPET!! http://www.nsxprime.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
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'91 Black/Black
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