Amps for my system....finally...

audiobliss

Hmm...I kind of like the idea about making a box cover the entire back of the car. This way, it won't be so obvious when you're looking in the window, and I won't have to worry about a 'step' in my floor when hauling stuff around. However, what would I do when the box reached the tailgate? I mean, I can figure out that It would just drop straight down to the floor, but wouldn't that kind of look weird? Also, how would I do the top? When I was first trying to picture this big box, I was still imagining having the top hinged. Then I tried to open it up in my mind; that didn't work too well, lol. Could I just have it sit on top of the 'box'? How could I mount it so that it wouldn't be loose and bounce around going down the road?

This could turn out to be an interesting project....

neomagus00

here is a false floor installation. if you don't have the recess that he does in the trunk (if the floor is level with the bumper), you'll have a 4 or 5 inch lip when you open the trunk... but the thing as a whole will be very solid, assuming you bolted the bottom to the car.

you'd have to modify it a bit from his design if you wanted it to be easily openable, but that shouldn't prove too difficult (say, have most of the top be a hinged sheet, perhaps with a built-in prop).

the cooling fan idea is a good one, since you'll be enclosing amplifiers in a small space, which is just begging for thermal shutdown.

audiobliss

That is an awesome install! I had seen that before, but forgot about it. I wish I could do something like that, but there just isn't much to work with with the Jeep. I'll see if I can't post some pictures later today so y'all can get a better 'picture' of it.

The fans would also be nice. However, how would I get power to them? I don't want to have to get an inverter and do all that, and I don't have a computer in the back of my car to hook them up to! lol....that would be nice, though....

neomagus00

convieniently enough, the fans are 12V . and pics would be cool.

exalted512

http://www.cardomain.com/shoptype/12+Volt+Fans
-Cody

audiobliss

Originally posted by exalted512
http://www.cardomain.com/shoptype/12+Volt+Fans
-Cody

You know better than to go off and tempt me to buy something online! lol

exalted512

i do it on purpose...i will break you...lol
-Cody

MacLeod

You can get fans like that at Radio Shack.

audiobliss

All right, I apologize since I couldn't take any pics today; maybe I can do that tomorrow. However, I don't understand how the fans would work. What would I hook them up to? Could I just run a wire from the battery to the fan? And splice the wires or something? How would that work?

neomagus00

yep, you'd parallel all the fans straight to the nearest 12V line (and ground, obviously). i would modify his design somewhat, however, to put several fans on one end of the false trunk blowing in to the enclosure, with an open slit at the other end to vent out the hot air (maybe with fans to help)... it seems that this arrangement would move more air through the entire enclosure, which is good for amps.

audiobliss

Ok, I don't know how to attach more than one picture in one post, so I'm going to take up a few posts to attach these photos. (That's not all bad....I'll get some more posts on my counter....:D )


Here is a pic of my back seat. This is where the guy at the audio store said I'd have to put my amp. Notice how little space is there. I'm beginning to think that even a Memphis amp wouldn't fit there. I checked under the front seats, and I think an amp would fit there a lot better. However, it would still have to be no bigger than a Memphis amp.

audiobliss

And the bottom of that seat tilts forward to give access to the amp under there....if I get one put there. I didn't describe the floor under it quite right, but you can see that due to the contour of the floor and the bottom of the seat (when it's lowered in place), there really isn't a lot of space for anything under there.

audiobliss

Here is a picture of that same space from the back of the car. You can see the 'lip' in the floor that comes up to meet the bottom of the back seat. So, the amp can't stick out beyond the seat. In case you can't get a feel for the depth of this area (which is deepest right by the 'lip'), it's only about 3".

audiobliss

And here's the pic I meant to attach to that post. :rolleyes:

audiobliss

There is a hump between the two sides under the back seat, and there is a jack under the left side.

audiobliss

Since there doesn't seem to be much room at all under the back seat and I still want that Alpine V-12 MRV-T420, I also took some pics of the cargo area where I could make a box.

audiobliss

This is a pic of the left side.

audiobliss

And guess what? This is the right side. (NOT the wrong side....)

audiobliss

Cargo space again.

MacLeod

Why not just mount the amp in tha back. Im sure you can come up with a mounting surface or amp board thats kind of inconspicuous. Then tint your windows.

audiobliss

Here is a close-up of the spare tire area on the left.

audiobliss

And lastly is a close-up of the right side.

audiobliss

Originally posted by MacLeod
Why not just mount the amp in tha back. Im sure you can come up with a mounting surface or amp board thats kind of inconspicuous. Then tint your windows.

What are you suggesting? Perhaps, at least as a temporary thing, I could make a box very much like the one we've discussed, but only make it just large enough to cover the Alpine amp. I could put a fan in the top and call it a day until I get time (and incentive or another amp) to make a big box like we were talking about. What do you think?

MacLeod

You could build a box to house the sub downfiring and place it near the back of the rear seat then mount the amp on the back side of the box. Someone looking in your windows would see a box and thats it. Carpet it right and it wouldnt look like much at all. And TINT YOUR WINDOWS!!

audiobliss

I'm not getting a sub for a while, and when I do, I don't think I want to mount my amp to it. All my back windows are tinted except for the one in my liftgate; it will get tinted soon enough, now that I'm going to get audio stuff in it. The front windows will not get tinted.

MacLeod

There is a ton of room in the back of that Jeep. Im sure you can come up with some kind of stealthy install.

You can make something like a box mounted to the floor and the amp mounted inside the box then you have a cover to put over it and there ya go.

spwuinmk67

I'd say 'glass a box in where that big opening is, opposite the spare. Replace the plastic panel with it, and cover the front up with some grille cloth, and you'll never see it.

audiobliss

I'm thinking that I could mount the amp to the floor about 3 inches or so behind the back seat and then make a box with a hinged top perhaps to go over it. I'd make the box just big enough to cover the amp so that it'd take up no more space than necessary. If I make it that small, wouldn't I need a fan for ventilation? And I still don't quite undestand how I'd hook up the fan. Could I somehow wire it from the amp so that it's on only when the amp is on? Because I wouldn't want it to be running when the amp isn't; would I? And if I just run a wire from the batter to the fan, wouldn't it be on all the time?

Thanks!

audiobliss

Originally posted by spwuinmk67
I'd say 'glass a box in where that big opening is, opposite the spare. Replace the plastic panel with it, and cover the front up with some grille cloth, and you'll never see it.

That sounds like a pretty cool idea besides these facts:
1) I've never fiberglassed before.
2) While I'd love to someday, I really don't have time to right now nor in the near future.
3) That plastic panel, if you'll look in the pic, goes all the way to the door; I don't want to have to fiberglass all that!!

audiobliss

Sid just brought up a good point, too. How loud would this fan be? Would just one be sufficient? What kind of connectors could I use to that I could disconnect the fan/fans and remove the top quickly?

Thanks!!