Aftermarket amplifier mounting

[Vman455]

I'm currently shopping for a new (more powerful) amplifier, and am curious as to how others who have replaced theirs mounted the new amp? Anyone rig something up that utilized the stock mounting bracket? Or did you drill holes in the panel behind the bracket (I'd like to find out if that's safe before I take a drill to it)? Or mount it somewhere entirely different?

 

[RobZilla]

It's perfectly safe to mount in center, vertically against the back wall of the GTS. Ive seen it done many time and it actually looks good with a nice amp.

 

[SquadX]

Mine is mounted on the floor, where the spare rest. So when you remove my spare, you see my amp and that still leaves me room to add a amp for a sub where the factory amp was.

 

[triblk6spd]

Same basic subject, different question. Can you just "wire in" a new amp, or do you have to run all new wiring as well?

 

[Vman455]

It's perfectly safe to mount in center, vertically against the back wall of the GTS. Ive seen it done many time and it actually looks good with a nice amp.

You're talking about the back wall of the trunk, between the stock speaker locations?

 

[dave6666]

Sounds like this thread has the potential to be followed by another thread, subject line How do I fix holes I drilled in my gas tank while mounting my new amp?

I've actually got replacing the OE amp with a couple of Alpine stackable amps on my short list.

I'm going to make a plate that fits the stock mounting location. Probably a piece of aluminum or something. The new Alpine amps are smaller than the OE amp so they'll fit the plate just fine.

For the wiring I'll use the factory speaker wire but run new RCA cables from the Alpine head to the amps. Also some additional multi-conductor wire for remote on etc.

For the B+ I'm going to drop straight through the floor to the battery.

 

[SquadX]

For the B+ I'm going to drop straight through the floor to the battery.[/QUOTE]

I did the same, run straight through the floor to the battery. Easy and simple.

 

[GTSnake]

Here's mine behind the passenger seat back.

 

[RobZilla]

On the rounded portion. If you are standing at the rear bumper looking into the back it would be right in front of you looking back.

You're talking about the back wall of the trunk, between the stock speaker locations?

 

[Vman455]

I'm going to make a plate that fits the stock mounting location. Probably a piece of aluminum or something. The new Alpine amps are smaller than the OE amp so they'll fit the plate just fine.

For the wiring I'll use the factory speaker wire but run new RCA cables from the Alpine head to the amps. Also some additional multi-conductor wire for remote on etc.

For the B+ I'm going to drop straight through the floor to the battery.

That's exactly what I was thinking, with the Alpine PDX-series amps. I'm not about to drill holes back there without knowing exactly what's behind those panels (and where), which is why I thought I'd ask about it here.

On the rounded portion. If you are standing at the rear bumper looking into the back it would be right in front of you looking back.

Interesting. Any pics of this? And, isn't the gas tank directly behind that panel? How would you mount the amp to it without drilling?

 

[2001 GTS]

Mine is mounted under the passenger seat.

 

[GTSnake]

That's exactly what I was thinking, with the Alpine PDX-series amps. I'm not about to drill holes back there without knowing exactly what's behind those panels (and where), which is why I thought I'd ask about it here.



Interesting. Any pics of this? And, isn't the gas tank directly behind that panel? How would you mount the amp to it without drilling?

Dude, that's where mine is. Check the pic. I made two aluminum straps and drilled a hole through at the top then removed the rubber bumper and reattached it with the straps sandwiched within the rubber bumper. Then I mounted the amp to the aluminum straps.

 

[2snakes4us]

You must be registered for see images attach

just mount same way as old unit

 

[bdelass]

I've got two of the new Alpine amps mounted under each of the seats like this. One runs the door and rear speakers and one is a mono amp for my 10" sub. No clearance issues or noticeable excessive heat and they are not visible to anyone when looking at the car. It can be a very clean installation to do it like this.

 

[triblk6spd]

I've got two of the new Alpine amps mounted under each of the seats like this. One runs the door and rear speakers and one is a mono amp for my 10" sub. No clearance issues or noticeable excessive heat and they are not visible to anyone when looking at the car. It can be a very clean installation to do it like this.

Nice!

 

[dave6666]

I've got two of the new Alpine amps mounted under each of the seats like this. One runs the door and rear speakers and one is a mono amp for my 10" sub. No clearance issues or noticeable excessive heat and they are not visible to anyone when looking at the car. It can be a very clean installation to do it like this.

Nice job for sure. Same thoughts I have with the stackable Alpine amps - a 2-channel for the door speakers and a mono channel for a rear sub.

Speaking of a rear sub in a GTS... To avoid covering the cabin vent on the passenger side or nixing the option to have my spare in on road trips, any acoustic problems having it centered by the glass latch and pointing at the passengers? This would of course be a small sub like the JL 6W3v3.

 

[bdelass]

Nice job for sure. Same thoughts I have with the stackable Alpine amps - a 2-channel for the door speakers and a mono channel for a rear sub.

Speaking of a rear sub in a GTS... To avoid covering the cabin vent on the passenger side or nixing the option to have my spare in on road trips, any acoustic problems having it centered by the glass latch and pointing at the passengers? This would of course be a small sub like the JL 6W3v3.

I actually just went with a standard pre-made 10" sub box covered in black carpet for my Alpine sub. It is centered in the hatch firing forward and up into the glass. I toyed around with the idea of a custom box mounted underneath the passenger side cabin "vent area", but others have suggested not to cover that up with a speaker box so I went with the easy-to-remove standard sub box.

Somewhat off topic here I guess...but as far as head units to run these aftermarket amps are concerned...I went with the JVC Kameleon and have been very happy with it with only a few exceptions. Sorry for the pre-install, poor quality picture, but he main thing that drew me to this unit was the fact that the entire front plate completely "blacks out" with the exception of the small white power-on light in the top right corner. It gives the illusion that there isn't even a stereo in place. You don't really see the control panel on the left most of the time. I guess I'm also a little "O.C.D." at times because I like my aftermarket head unit lighting to match the rest of the car and it is difficult to find a nice looking head unit that matches the orange interior lighting in a Gen 2. The screen background color can be easily changed to orange, red, etc.. with this one.

The downside...access to the CD player comes from a tilt-down mechanism that is kept from working because of the stereo/AC/shifter trim plate on a Gen 2. Not a big deal for me because I play all of my music through either the USB memory stick wire or through an actual MP3 player via the auxillary input wire. If you are a CD type of person, this may require some additional modification of the interior stereo trim panel.

Again...a little off topic here, but just some additional information for you...

 

[dave6666]

I think anything that says Alpine on it matches just fine