brianbarber Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 I've inherited a Kenwood amp that I want to install in my Loyale wagon. Why? Because I can. I use the back to haul stuff. Also, I don't want the amp to be booted when people get in and out of the back seat, nor do I want anyone to use it as a foot rest. (There's a ridge on the floorboards under each front seat that would make the amp stick out if I installed it under one of the front seats.) Where should I install it so that it won't be in the way? Thanks, BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RdNkBrt Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 i dont know how much you use this space, but im putting mine in the area where the tire iron and stuff goes in the back of the wagon. you have to take the entire back piece of plastic off to install it correctly, but once you have it wired and mounted on the side of the car, when you put the plastic bakc on you can open that little access door thingy and you can get right to the amp to make any adjustments you might need to make. not sure if this will work for you, but that's my plan anyways... the only downside i've seen is that you may need to buy some xtra wire orther than the amp kit you'll need so that you can power it all the way back there. hope this at least sparks some ideas for you.... ROCK THAT SOOB OUT!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtonsnowman Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 That should work on your EA82... Let me remember back to when I had an EA82 wagon... I think that space on the other side...or maybe there are two compartments like that... I don't know. But there is at least one. (p.s. RdNkBrt...love the picture!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchsub Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 RdNkBrt if your planning on putting it behind that panel i would advise against it. Amps need some air to stay cool and putting it in there would probably get it really hot especially on summer days and you run the risk of frying out the amp. I would just mount it to the outside of the panel if i were you. just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I had one under the passenger seat, but it would overheat on really long drives and turn itself off after about 1.5 hours. I think this next time I'm going to put it on the roof - good airflow in the summer with the windows down, and theives rarely look "up" when scanning a car. Besides it's a cheap amp anyway in my case. You could put it behind that panal, and drill a hole pattern on the door with some small PC fans mounted to it. That would give you the airflow needed to cool it and still retain the hidden look. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtonsnowman Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 You could put it behind that panal, and drill a hole pattern on the door with some small PC fans mounted to it. That would give you the airflow needed to cool it and still retain the hidden look. GD Beat me to it. that's what I was going to say. ...Or just leave the little panel off when you're in the car (put it back on when the car is left unattended). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RdNkBrt Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 YUUUUUP... it's like PIMP MY RIDE status.... "yo yo yo, and check out what we have hidden for you behind THIS dawg!!!! it's like all secret and stuff! WORD!!! Your ride is THUMPIN bro!!!" .... thats my gangstr for ya'll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davalos Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I've inherited a Kenwood amp that I want to install in my Loyale wagon. How big is the amp? What are the dimensions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I have an amp under the driver's side front seat in my EA81 wagon and it has never overheated on me dispite not having an internal fan. If yours is slim enough, I encourage this route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I have an amp under the driver's side front seat in my EA81 wagon and it has never overheated on me dispite not having an internal fan. If yours is slim enough, I encourage this route. Had mine on the passenger side under the seat, and it took like 60 to 90 minutes to overheat in the summer with no fan (internal or external). But it was an older MTX 150x2 Blue Thunder (mid 90's). A newer amp may be better on heat. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davalos Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Seems like there'd be enough room there to be able to tower-it a bit .. even an inch would do wonders ... as long as you dont have big-ole fat butt like me & squash it. The headliner idea is not bad, either - same concept with some standoff spacers ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_whirly Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Bump- cuz I am putting an amp in my wagon this week still not sure where I was gonna put it, so this thread caught my eye..any more ideas? I'm not going the headliner route, maybe up front passenger side "hump" out in the open...who the hell looks to rip off stuff from an '89 subaru wagon anyway?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 A few of my friends have Porsche 944s. Their ECU is under a piece of wood in the passengers side foot well. Maybe make a hideout for the amp like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
76mgb88rx Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I have 3 amps in my rx. I mounted a smaller alpine 3545 in the glovebox. I have a PPI 2075m mounted under the drivers seat and a kicker x50 under the passenger seat. I have not had any problems with my amps overheating, the amount of heat an amp makes depends on the load that is place upon it. An amp running at 4ohms will produce less heat than an amp running a 1ohm load because it is not being worked as hard. All my amps are old enough to match my car, they are all pieces that could have been acquired when the car was new. I did have two newer kenwood amps in the back compartment where the jack handle is stored and they would get extremely hot. Once I moved up to my current setup and mounted them underneath the seats I have not had any problems. My ea82 has floor vents underneath the seats, If you have amps under there that are overheating try turning on your floor vents with cool air. I would think that an amplifier that did not have a huge load on it would be fine under the seat, I have driven four hours with mine playing at high volumes and have never experienced an overheat problem. This may not work as well for you, but it is a good place to put them if you want them out of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobGoob Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I had one under the passenger seat, but it would overheat on really long drives and turn itself off after about 1.5 hours. I think this next time I'm going to put it on the roof - good airflow in the summer with the windows down, and theives rarely look "up" when scanning a car. Besides it's a cheap amp anyway in my case. You could put it behind that panal, and drill a hole pattern on the door with some small PC fans mounted to it. That would give you the airflow needed to cool it and still retain the hidden look. GD hey that amp isnt that bad GD it works better than the piece i have now. i put mine in the area under the cargo area. works great. never gets hot or kicked or anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 hey that amp isnt that bad GD it works better than the piece i have now. i put mine in the area under the cargo area. works great. never gets hot or kicked or anything Ok - if you say so It's just a brand I have never heard of, but then I'm no audiophile either I thought that one you got was better? Maybe it just doesn't *sound* as loud now that your car is rust free!? GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobGoob Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 haha less amp and not a nice. but like i give a s&*t. i have to rewire my whole stereo its so messed up. nothing works right. but i did finally get a FM transmitter from frys like 10 bucks too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davalos Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 can anything be done under or behind the head unit itself? It woudl require some gutting, but it seems as if there's space there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suberdave Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 bolt it to the back of the back seats. here is my wagon when it had the system in it. (the wires were fixed after the pic was taken) -=Suberdave=- http://www.suberdave.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbarber Posted December 5, 2006 Author Share Posted December 5, 2006 How big is the amp? What are the dimensions? Off the top of my head, it's about 9"wide x 14"long x2"thick. I can't put it under the driver's seator else it will be liquid cooled on wet days (hole in the floorboard in back seat). I suppose that I could try it on the passenger side. It would only stick out from the back of the front seat by around 4", though I forsee a problem with little snowy boots and electrical connections. If I could come up with some sort of screening that will prevent it from being kicked around and slopped on, underneath the passenger seat would be ideal. The car is a daily commuter for me and I'm usually by myself. Besides, everybody in my family is pretty small and the seats don't compress too much. Otherwise, I'll mount it in the back a la RdNkBrt's photo. I want to put speakers back there and in the back doors, which would make it pretty convenient for installation. When I go home tonight I'll grab the model number and actual dimensions. Thanks for your help. Cheers, BB PS: I don't know if I said this earlier, but for you Canadians who may be reading, Princess Auto has a car amp installation kit (wires, looms, connecting hardware and instaructions) for $2.99. The kit plus the gifted amp tell me I've got nothing to lose by trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 My amps have not complained so far in the storage bin in the back. One 4 channel and another for the subs. A lot depends on how tolerant the amp is of heat. If I run into a problem I will get a PC fan powered back there to circulate the hot air. I usually have my A/C running if it gets real hot outside, I don't know if that makes a difference or not (I know the tinted windows do). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzcon Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 I'm getting ready to install my amps, too, in my '88 wagon. My 4 channel going to be installed under the passenger seat. You have to put 1/4 to 1/2 inch spacers (made out of platic or wood) underneath each side of the amp, so the air can circulate under it. I screw the spacers to the amp and then put velcro under the spacers, to grab onto the carpet. That keeps your amp from moving around.(Use the hook part of the velcro) Plus if the carpet gets wet, your amp stays dry. My subwoofer amp is in an aluminum box, that I built. I built a plexiglass door for one end of the box and mounted two cpu chip fans, from radio shack, in it. The other end is open. I'm bolting the box to the ceiling in the aft end. That way it's up out of the way, so I can use the cargo area. Just got to bolt it in tight. I'm going to use either nut plates or nut clips. Oh, and for the wiring, I'm running a 4 gauge wire thru the firewall from an 80 amp fuse, in the engine compartment. The wire runs to the ashtray, in the back of the console, where I installed a double fuse splitter. The splitter takes it down to two 8 gauge wires; one for each amp. I was going to take pics and put them in the stereo section, but I'll never figure out how to get them up. Everyone should post pics of their installs. ~Myles~ that's my 2 cents and it's worth a couple of bucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbarber Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 Both of your ideas sound great, and either would work for me (because I only have one amp). My plan has been to run the front speakers right off the head unit and the rear speakers out of the amp. If I go with your idea for the amp that's going under your passenger seat, I could remove the amp when its safety is in jeopardy (i.e. small humans with muddy or snowy boots), since it's only velcro'd down. The latter idea (amp in ventilated box on the ceiling) would be a more permanent solution and does everything I need. If you can't figure out how to post the photos, please PM me and I'll give you my e-mail address for you to send me pics. I'd especially like to see the aluminum box prior to installation. Thanks, BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted December 7, 2006 Share Posted December 7, 2006 My plan has been to run the front speakers right off the head unit and the rear speakers out of the amp. If you don't mind me asking, what is your point in installing the amp? There is very little benefit to amping the rear speakers with the fronts still on HU power. The rear speakers will play loud and clear but also destroy the soundstage in the front where you will be (not to mention the fronts will sound muddy and weak in comparison). Personally I would amp all 4 speakers, amp just the fronts, or just forget doing the all the work of installing an amp. If you amp just the fronts, you can either run them bridged (if the amp is bridgeable) or add a subwoofer on the rear channels later if you want. Sorry if I sound rude. But it took a me a long time going the hard way to finally hear what a car sound system should start to sound like in my car. I don't want to see you go the opposite way starting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaru_styles Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 here's 5 amps, crossover, & dvd player in my wagon. 7 yeras ago I was into that stuff, just a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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