Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio Where does everybody mount their amps?

what's wrong with it laying in the back of the trunk!?!?!?

i understand where your confusion is. i didn't mean in between the interior rear shelf and the metal trunk part.

i meant: lie down in trunk. look up. see metal trunk shelf. mount amp. so, the cooling fins are free and clear to breath.

Fins pointed down don't work. It doesn't matter if you've got 70ft of airspace below the amps. Heat rises.

This seems to be a common no-no that quite a few people seem to be doing lately.

At the very least you'll have higher distortion and reduced output levels. Worst case scenario is a fried amp (big risk for hot running amps or amps with poor/no heat protection circuitry).

I've made it my personal mission in life to cure the audio world of this horrible affliction. It's either this or the (false) belief that a HU will put out 50x4.

I don't even want to get into impedence loads and stereo vs. mono and stable loads. :rolleyes:

Sure.... but it'll cost you... I accept cheque, cash , or money order... :p

Seriously, I mounted a carpeted board in the rear fender for the rails to mount on, and then I fashioned the rails out of "L" bar stock I bought at a local hardware store. Painted them black(to hide them), screwed them down to the board, and then attached the amp and EQ with screws through the mounting holes. Here's another pic to help illustrate it:
[img]http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/standard?pictid={03D49B73-6DD7-40B9-AD89-DF70E60D786D}[/img]

Can someone send there e-mail to me @ svtjoe@aol.com.

I just finished my new setup with the "fake floor".

I dont know how to post the pics so can someone do this for me??

Thanks

right. i forgot that this is all dependent on science.

hmmm.... well, i'll have to make a fake shelf and hang them from the rear deck. or i could just screw them to the seat backs, but then they'll get all gnarly if i ever have to put skis or other things across the passthru.

Page 2 is mine, thankyee

Kai's setup is pretty easy to do. You really only need a couple of inches above the amp for dissipation (even less using a 12v cooling fan like you'd find cooling the CPU in a computer).

Hate to start something here, but I thought the functionality of a heat sink is based on increasing surface area of the heat source (the amp) and lowering the heat spreading resistance. The primary effect on efficiency of a ventilated fin heat sink in a free convection environment (like a trunk with no forced air movement) being the size of the fins (increasing the surface area) then in decreasing levels of impact, the ambient temperature, thermal coefficients of the fin material and the cooling fluid (in this case air), perpendicular air flow across the fins, thermal bypass (heat flowing through the base to the metal package tray), following finally by fin orientation in a low flow (no fan) environment. As they say hot air rises and heat sinks. Given the fact the amps were designed to be used in a low flow environment, the amps being upside down have an insignificant impact on the efficiency compared to surface volume and the regeneration air volume around the amp (the 3 to 6" the manufacturer usually calls for in their install sheets). Sorry for the rant. For me it's a big surprise that i actually remember the thermodynamic classes from college.

You're forgetting one important factor, there's air inside of the amp.

When mounted upside down, the heat can't efficiently escape the circuitry into the heatsink/cooling fins.

But... If you don't believe me, feel free to ask the couple of people who have fried an amp mounting it in this manner. :p

I'm not saying that it can't be done. Some amps have sufficient cooling capabilities or never even generate enough heat to become a factor. Or, they might have great thermal protection circuitry which will shut down the amp when it gets too hot. However, as you start decreasing the impedence load and/or driving the amp closer to its limits, it will generate more heat, which is the ENEMY!!!

"As they say hot air rises and heat sinks"

How is this possible? Could you explain please? Sorry, never got into thermal dynamics with my accounting degree.

i think you both have valid points. although, with the power i'll be running, i don't think the amps will heat up THAT much. and the MOSFETS are screwed into the heat sinks, so wouldn't the transfer of heat be primarily from the transistor to the heat sink? or will the heat transfer to the circuit board instead.

also, the alpines do have protection circuitry, so at least i am covered if they do overheat.

i also have some cooling fans. i could hook up a thermostat and a relay to turn the fans on when the temp reaches a certain level. with the fans circulating the air around the amps, mounted upside-down, with only about 160 watts per amp, i think it still might work.

of not, i'll try some rendition of kai's install...