Evening all.
Considering adding an amp to 06 minin cooper s.
Anyone had experience with this.
I really prefer doing the work myself, but i know i should leave it to the pros.
Im not cheep just like to do the work and get to know my car better.
Put in the head unit and speakers already and a pain it was but a few days and the job was done.
Thanks all in advance.
Neil

 

Amps are pieco of cake in the MINI S especially if you did an aftermarket headunit.... Power off the battery term, ground to the chassis, remote from the cigarette lighter. RCAs from the headunit tucked under the sils under the seat to the amp...

 

I don't know that I'd use the cigarette lighter circuit for the amp turn-on signal. The reason is, the amp will be on anytime the ignition is on, regardless of whether the stereo is turned on or not. Some amps have a nasty habit of generating noise in the speakers if the amp is on without an audio input present at the pre-amps.

If you've already installed an aftermarket head unit, I'd just use the amp remote turn-on wire from the head unit. That way, the amp will turn on and off with the head unit.

 

Lots of space under the front seats for your amp, just dont turn the key on with the seat disconnected

 

if you can do the HU and speakers, you can do the amp. unfortunately, involves tearing the inside panels off again. placement depends on what year your MCS is and what amp you're going to use; since yours is an 06 like mine, i wouldn't even try under the seats, because there are floor vents for the back seat people under each front seat, which leaves you no room.

i also looked at putting it on the car body on one side (passenger better) in the back, behind the side panel. only problem is not much room, and poor heat dissipation, so virtually impossible if you're wanting to place a 4-ch (which i did).

my way, long story short: did it directly onto the boot carpeted surface, so that i can lift it up w/ the amp attached and access the battery if i need to. used a thin low-profile Blaupunkt 4-ch amp, which has been superb, cool & clean. can give you more details if you want.

-b

 

Hold on the battery is in the boot?
If thats the case i wont have to go through the engine firewall!
I have an 06 MCS is that true?
Neil

 

Yes i ve got the after market HU alpine it has front rear and sub rca outs.
So power the amp from the battery
ground the amp from a good paint free location
run the rca's from the Hu
and thats it?
Dont i have to run the speaker wires to the amp or is that done by the rca cables?
sorry moron question. but then again i didint know the battery was in the trunk until 5 mins ago!!
neil

 

RCA cables –> no speaker wire.. Battery in the boot.

EDIT: Oh, but FYI. You'll also be running the turn-on from wherever you tap in, to the amp. And I'd recommend grounding close to the amp. The less cable the better.

Not to be condescending, but I'd try to find a manual or write-up somewhere on the web, just to double-check everything yr doing. GL

 

No thats fine i dont feel bad about your comment.
I just have to think of it the same way as i hook up my stereo..> Source>preamp>amp>speakers.
Its the tight spaces thatbother me about this project plus the fact that i dont drive my music room to work.
Thanks all.
Neil

 

Under the seat is an ideal space. But UNDER the carpet! If you remove the carpet (much easier to do than it sounds), there is a large block of styrofoam. Remove that and you can fit a really really big amp (I fit the Alpipn 90x4 in there). If you mount above the carpet you are only mounting to a piece of styrofoam and you'll block the vent. This preserves your boot space and makes it nearly impossible to steal (at least while it's parked on a street, someone can always steal the whole car to strip it). You also can't see it which is nice.

By mounting it under the carpet you will have to cut the carpet so you can vent (massive heat unless you spend $$$ on the digital amps. I believe those don't generate much heat). The good side is you don't block your vent or take up any "toe" space from anyone sitting in the back.

Note: if you do mount your amps here use short screw because they'll come out the bottom of the car. Make sure you seal them with some silicon (prevent moisture from rusting out your body). Also, there are brake lines running under the passenger side. Be careful around them (I accidentally "roughed" mine up).


(here is a pic of the installed amp. I later cleaned up the edges and then attached the seat. The only down side is that you need to make all your amp settings and adjustments prior to putting on the seats. cuz you can't do it with the seats on. I eneded up leaving them at factory settings and just using the HU filters and EQ).




(this is the picture of the deck with the carpet lifted up. This is a pic of the 40x4 amp which I later decided didn't have enough kick for me)

Looks nice once the seats are back on. You can also clean up the edges of the carpet where you cut to make them look more professional. Cloth tape (you can get it at a fabric store) makes an nice edge when you tape and fold it over.