uncleb

ok, i'm going to screw my amp into a board of wood. how should i stick that board into the trunk?? do i bolt it right into the metal, if so, how would i go about doing this? (what tools, what to do....etc)

elduderino

Always mount any amplifier in the privacy of your own home.




Common sense has already told you that you will need to eventually mount your amp board to the car in some way. The menthod largely depends on where you put it. Some people go to great lengths to make brackets and mount board to pre-existing bolts (like for tiedowns and such in the trunk). Others aren't as picky.

How picky/perfectionist/anal-rententive are you? And where is it going?

AND WHAT KIND OF ACURA IS IT?

uncleb

its an 02 tl-s.

i'm going to just put it probably centered toward the back seat (in the trunk) for right now. i am planning a big ol' grand plan, but that's in the future. for right now, i just wanna be able to listen to my speakers, i'm not very anal as far as that part of the car (since you can't see it anyways), i would want to use the easiest method, but don't wanna screw anything up.

Scott P

this is how i did it in my TL:



basically i made a template of the back, transferred it over to .5" trupan, and then used 2 twenty inch back straps to attach it from the back of the new wall, to the 2 diagonal braces that are behind the back seat. All in all not to hard and sturdy as a rock.

uncleb

hmm, got another link to the pic or something?
all i see is ICIXSound.com, which is what comes up as the picture....

Scott P

let's try this

jsbtn

I can't get the photo either.....It sounds like a great method though.

ResidualFreedom

if you are only mounting one amp you can drill through the trunk inlay.. and mount your amp on that. super easy and you can actually mount it before putting it in the trunk.. The trunk inlay is made of thin MDF or particle board, you'll have no problem mounting the amp there, if you don't have a box that is..

elduderino

And what hold the trunk inlay in place in the event of a fender bender? Gravity?

uncleb

o, quick side question too, anyone w/ a 2nd gen tl, where exactly did you place the fuse??



i think i'm tripping bout everything cuz i don't wanna drill right into the metal of my car. but if that's how it must be done, then that's how it should be done (what drill bit do i use to do this w/o hassle....i don't have the steadiest of hands, and would wanna use something i don't have to struggle with). i just wanna do something dumb like drill into the gas tank through the trunk or something.....

Scott P

this is annoying, i am thinking that ICIX won't allow hotlinking, so here is a link:

http://www.icixsound.com/vb/icixnati...do=view&id=120

ResidualFreedom

I've got that exact box in my trunk now.. I'm giving it to Andrew Gordon when he gets my 12inch Concept..

That box is great for space, and even thoughh it is exact specs for the sub I put in it, the sub sounds louder in a large ported box.

Nice work on the fiberglassing... I made mine out of wood, I knew it would be a temp box.. Yours looks great.


Your fuse should be within 12 inches from your battery in your engine.. no need for screws, just tywrap it to the existing wires (not tight, snug) There is no "need" to mount an inline fuse, it should be fine with few tywraps..

ResidualFreedom

Yes the trunk inlay will stay in place in the event of a fender bender, it is the size of the entire trunk, it only folds in one place, it has an amp mounted to it with wires attached to the amp...Where's it going to go? through the armrest hole? Plus the "banging around" of an amp in the trunk would be insignificant to damage done to your car in the fender bender.

elduderino

Cheesy way to mount an amp... it could move enough to pull on wires. Amps should never be mounted to something that can be taken out like that... the board should be hard mounted.

DerrickM

It's a hell of a lot of work, but in my last two cars I've been making shelves that hang from the rear deck. Involves coping pieces of 2x4 to fit, then drilling holes through the rear deck for 1/4" bolts, and using construction adhesive to make sure it doesn't squeak.

I think I might have a picture--it's a mess, but you'll get the general idea about the shelf. (The car is a 2001 TL)

uncleb

well, i'm going to end up bolting it to the ground. that looks pretty awsome derrick, but i'm a rook, i don't think it's smart for me to try that just now.

are there any spots to look out for...i don't wanna drill into the gas tank, or something important like that. how can i make sure that the area i drill is safe to drill into?

elduderino

Dude, are you an electrical engineer? 'Cause only an EE would like the looks of your wiring there...

Looks mechanically sturdy...

jsbtn

Great job on the amp mount Derrick. Did you run into any problems with the trunk lid hardware?

DerrickM

uncleb: I don't know where it's safe to drill and where it's not. I will mention that as you're looking for a spot, remember that an amp should never be mounted upside down. Sideways is fine.

elduderino: not an EE, but an SE (software). I know it looks pretty 'rough', but all the equipment is out of the way, and the subwoofer can be removed when necessary. (The blue cable has a dryer plug at the end of it). The wire on the left goes to the cd changer, which is just velcroed to the floor. It actually looks even worse now, because I put another layer at the bottom because I needed a place to mount some MB Quart crossovers. If you could see it from the side, there are actualy open circuit boards I made mounted to the side for preamp switching (cd changer) and cd changer gain control.

jsbtn: Well, the 2x4's are cut to avoid the trunk springs. I had to cut slots out of them and hand-fit them before drilling the holes. There's three .25 inch bolts in each stud, plus liquid nails to keep it from squeaking. My only mistake was not making the shelf extend all the way across--never seem to have enough room for cd changers, crossovers, etc.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

It looks like you have a bomb in your trunk with the timer...

elduderino

"Don't cut the blue wire..."

I'm sure it's robust and sturdy, which puts it ahead of most shade tree jobs ... but it's just too heinous visually.

Do something functionally equivalent with sheet metal... that could look good if done well.

DerrickM

That's funny--"heinous visually"! Ah I'm not too worried about the looks, since it is in the trunk. Besides, covering it would discourage airflow around the amp.

elduderino

Yeah, don't build a doghouse.

Why not measure out the functional dimensions (eliminating material thickness), and take a drawing to a sheet metal HVAC guy or a welder? He could give you a piece of galvanized sheet or aluminum sheet that bolts up to the same holes, has the same space for equipment, could have cooling holes drilled in it, but be thin and better-looking. Probably be cheap - you;ve done the hard work already!

Then you can get the aluminum gold-plated

DerrickM

I'm actually more interested in getting the damn thing to sound good. I made the mistake of buying a cheap subwoofer, and am waiting for my new one to arrive. After that I'm gonna get a RTA test to help me set the 18-band EQ. I've just got too much time into this project to put up with mediocre sound...

elduderino

In WA there should be a lot of dealers with AudioCOntrol RTA to help you out... or you could come to Portland and use my 1/3 octave RTA : )

DerrickM

You have an RTA?? Maybe you could give me some pointers! I'm taking it to a local shop (Boise) next week, and have never used one before. (They said it would be $35/hour with a tech to help me). I was thinking of getting seperate readings on the fronts and the rears just to know what I'm working with, then tune the system all at once. (I've got 1/2 octave eq on the front, with only 3 bands on the rears--it's a Sony XDP-210EQ dsp eq).

elduderino

First off, I would make sure that the mike is at the driver's head position.

Make sure the engine is not running when you check your baseline reading, and remember that in the lower octaves is where the running engine will make a difference (assuming you have no engine noise: )

It's probably an Audio Control SA-3-series, so you probably have no ready facility to print or save your screens. I would print out ahead of time some charts (like IASCA scoresheets maybe? Or like that) to be able to quickly note your readings on paper for later reference. Or, take a digital camera and snap pics of the display! You can google the OM for the SA-3050/3055/etc and read it and at least you will have some head start...

It's important to remember three things:

1) The SA-3050 can't measure distortion - just energy. By boosting a sound to "flat" on the screen, you may be overdriving your system at that note, and it might sound shitty with music. Remember, it sounds better to be missing something than to have sounds that are really distortion that wasn't originally present.

2) Don't aim for flat. Aim for a curve like the Fletcher-Munson curve (do a google on it).

3) The RTA also does nothing with directionality - the effect that creates stereo. F and R mids and highs complicate tuning because you get a lot of reinforcing interference as well as destructive interference. If you have real trouble getting rid of problems, you may end up killing the R speaks temporarily to see if the problem goes away. If it does, they are your cause.

Also, if you have a suckout near the xover freq for your F mid/tweet set, you may want to reverse polarity for your F tweets on both sides to see if it addresses your suckout problem.

Good luck!

DerrickM

Thanks!!! I really appreciate your help!