Ok, not sure if this has been shown before, but I just finished it last night and am very happy with the results.

In looking for a place to mount my amp ( JL Audio 300/4 ) I did some looking, as I did not want to mount in the trunk. So where else ? Well when looking further I found I could not mount under the Sparco seat on the passenger side as there was no hieght. OR was there ? In looking under the carpet I found a nice big fat piece of foam between the carpet and the tin metal base. SO I removed it to see if the amp would fit there.......... and it did perfectly ! SO, I removed the foam, put some Dynamat down, and then mounted it with just two speakers.

By modding the carpet for a nice fit, running all the wires and so on, it came out very nice. It is open to the top so it can breathe, plus some spacers undernieth so it also got some air under it, it still is only FLUSH on the top of it to the carpet. PERFECT !

PLUS, as a added bonus, an air discharge from the a/c is right there under the seat, so it gets cooled too ! Now for those of you in cold climants where you use heat this may not be a good idea, but for me I am where it is hot usually, and the a/c is on frequently, so this works great, no loss of trunk space, half way between battery and the HU in my MCS, so for this amp it is a great location. For other amps it would depend on measurements, but just compare measurements to this amp. The space would accomodate a slightly longer amp, but not any wider .....

Chedck out these pictures to see how it went ..........












Let me know what you guys think .............

 

Brilliant! one thing though, why was the foam there to begin with? does it seem noisier in the cabin somehow? or no? will the road vibrations hurt the amp?

nicely done dude!

 

The foam was there to just fill the space under the carpet because the pan is so deep compared to carpet level. On the stock carpet there is alot of foam just for sound, and to level the floor. That foam piece was just extra to fill the void UNDER the carpet in that space.

As regards noise, I have not noticed any noticable difference, and I did line the whole area with Dynmat to give it some sound deadening affect under the amp.

I doubt road vibration will bother it much, but time will tell. It turned out to be a discreet location and I didnt loose anything except the piece of foam. Because I have the modded air box, intake and pulley those far outweigh any sound you might hear from under that seat area. This could also be done with stock seats, since the amp is flush with the carpet when finished, and in no way interferes with the seat sliding. Even more so with the Sparcos, as they sit a bit lower too.

 

WAY COOL! I think your amp was meant to be in your car. I mean look how perfect it fits into that slot. Good job! It's PERFECT!

 

Jigster,

THANK YOU for that awesome info! As I'm displeased with the HK setup, I was looking for someone that had found some space for an amp.

Kudos!

 

Nice install. Someone else posted a similar install a couple week's ago, but I think they had amps under both seats.

 

The foam block takes the place of the NAV computer on non-NAV cars. The NAV computer is the about the same size as a decent amp, so it's a great place to stash an amp there. There is a similar sized cavity under the driver's seat as well.

I intend on filling the driver's side space with an amp soon.

 

well glad I didnt go for that NAV option then. Good thing is, since there is space on the other side, you could always put one in for a sub too if you so desired and STILL keep your boot space !

I tied into the factory wire system in the center column, as running all new wires is a major deal for the fronts. Now just waiting for my AudioBahn Carbon component speakers to show up, and those will be the next thing to go in. That, and tomorrow, I go to pick up my hood air scoops up that are being painted. Getting there slowly .................. but surely !

 

any chance you can measure the foam? :smile:

i had an amp mounted in the same location in my old car. no problems with road vibration or cooling. but i'd like to make sure that the amp fits first before removing everything.

thanks.

 

Sorry jigster, beat you to it. Look at my post in this forum entitled "Ok, here's the status of my audio install" from 7/14. I'll be putting up a website soon with more pics.

Link to my post

I'll see your amp under one seat (2 amps actually), and I raise you a subwoofer under the other seat.

But i definitely agree, it's nice not to use ANY cargo space for audio equipment.

_________________
IB/Blk Cooper, Fogs, Xenons, Spoiler, Chrome Inserts, Blk/Blk/Anthracite Int, Sport Seats, Auto Wipers, Premium & Cold Weather pkgs. (Tapping foot impatiently in NH)

 

>>any chance you can measure the foam? :smile:
>>

The foam is approximately 16.5" (side to side) x 10.5" (front to back). The thickness varies from 2.75" on one end to 1.5" on the other end. The cavities on each side are mirror images of each other.

_________________
IB/Blk Cooper, Fogs, Xenons, Spoiler, Chrome Inserts, Blk/Blk/Anthracite Int, Sport Seats, Auto Wipers, Premium & Cold Weather pkgs. (Tapping foot impatiently in NH)

 

Wow, Excellent idea! My old BMW 325i had the same type of false-floor with very thick foam insulation. It's great to find new hiding locations for gear. Puts new meaning to having your amp "under the seat"

Good job!

 

Allright ScooterBoy, as I said I thought it had been done before. As for the extra amp and sub, YEP you got me, but for now I am fine and can always add it later. Have spent bundles on performance mods, so I just wanted some louder, cleaner tunes to match my needs. What Components did ya put in ? I went for AudioBahns which I think will be fine.

 

THAT IS BRILLIANT...
I have considered that voided area for some time... A Beautiful use of space.

You have one of the sweetest rides, and it just gets sweeter!

Keep up the good stuff!

-Doug

 

>>Allright ScooterBoy, as I said I thought it had been done before. What Components did ya put in ? I went for AudioBahns which I think will be fine.

I actually wasn't the first to do it - I was just bustin' your ballz. :smile: Someone had put an Alpine amp about the size of yours in that cavity quite some time ago.

I put a complete list of my components and costs in that other thread.

Anyway, great minds think alike...

 

woohoo! looks like the mtx thunder will fit just fine. thanks guys.

 

Wow! Looks great! Smart thinking!

Brilliant work. :smile: