Amp Rack Build

[Dean Bufton]

I'm looking for some tips on building a good quality amp rack.

I have added amps to cars in the past but have usually mounted the amps to a piece of mdf painted and screwed onto the back seats.

My initial thoughts are to build a false floor in the boot with some sort of cover (to protect the kit). I'm not sure if I should leave a gap in the cover so the top of the amps can be seen Or should I cover them with perspex or other suitable material.

If I cover the amps completely perhaps I could use the rear 12v outlet in the boot to power a set of fans to circulate air through the rack????

:cheers:

[genesis]

have you allready got an idea of which amps you will be fitting or have you to purchase them yet .
would ,nt advice running your fans of your 12volt lighter socket
should really use a seperate fused supply .

there is quite a lot of room in the back of a leon i have my amps
flat on a board but the board is mounted on a false fllor in the boot at angle just a very simple construction that allowed me to keep a little boot space
when designing your install you should also try to think of

1. access (if i have to change the gain levels or a lead breaks will it be easy to do)
2. is the position of the amplifier going to affect anything else in the car (will seats fold down properly )
3. will there be sufficient cooling (depends on which way you mount your amplifier)
4 can i access spare wheel and rear lights o.k when installation is in place . (bulbs and tires have a tendency to blow)
5 what would happen in the event of an emergency stop or accident (make sure everything is secure in boot)

[Dean Bufton]

Thanks Genesis,

I have an old but trusty Kenwood KAC-714 amp for my sub (A Hifonics Olympian 12" in a sealed enclosure). A also have a JBL P80.4 to power either the front components (bridged) or the four corners (havn't decided on this yet). (All component speakers are the cheaper JBL variety)

What I had in mind was to place my sub enclosure (prism shape angled to match the slope of Leon rear seats) in the middle of the rear seats, flush against the back of the seats. This way I can have the sub facing the seats OR rotate the enclosure and show off the sub (wichever sounds best really).
Perhaps an 8mm mdf false floor could be made with a slot cut out for the enclosure (giving some protection against movement). Then mounting the amps either side of the box, with an approptiate second false floor (raised up to cover the amps from view).

I've also thought of mounting the amps at an angle (one on top of the other) to save boot space - but this is bloody complex but it would look superb.

Thanks for your tips Genesis - how do you overcome the problem of the spare wheel??

Did you remove the original boot floor trim or just build on top of it?

Just to give anyone else a laugh, I'm 31 going on 18 :D and spend 2 hours a day in the car (commuting) so my sounds are very important to me.

:cheers:

[genesis]

when i did my car i removed the whole interior and dynamatted everything first before i even did anything i then routed the cables i was going to use and secured them properly then set about building a box for my sub i removed all the stuff from the wheel well and made a fibreglass mould of the well
once i had done this and built it up a little to make it stronger i made an mdf top to fit to it then made a complete mdf floor to build off no spare wheel in my car its a can of tyre weld and
an aa membership card .

[DaveP]

Have you got any pictures yet genesis?