Has anybody mounted their amp directly on top of their Stealthbox or other toolwell-mounted sub? An installer suggested that to me to simplify removing everything for the track, but I'm concerned that it will impair the sub's sound and/or be bad for the amp getting thumped all day long.

 

I've seen a lot of people that do it.

True, all electronic things don't like vibration but car amps are desgined to handle it...

Think about it. You're sending a few hundred watts to a W3. There are people out there sending 5000+ watts to 3 18" XXX's. Their amps aren't necessarily mounted to the box but even in the same trunk will probably vibrate those amps more than your Stealth Box ever could...

 

Well it sure makes it a cleaner install, maybe not totally stealth, but easy to get out. He said he's going to put in a molex connector so I can just pop it in and out without having to undo each connector every time. Cool, huh? I am so excited to get some real sounds!!

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Is my thread being hijacked for flaming?

 

while i do agree w/ you b0mbrman that car audio amps are definitely designed for more punishment, box mounting still can be a tricky thing. obviously they are going to be subjected to vibration from the sound waves themselves - but also, if mounted improperly on the box, the amp will also experience vibration from the box itself. in other words, the box may flex from the pressure changes within, causing the amp itself to shake much more dramatically. it's one thing to hit your amp w/ sound waves, it's another to communicate the direct vibration.

consider this as an example -- if you take a sledge hammer and strike the underside of a chair, while standing near the chair - you hear and 'feel' the energy from that strike. now, imagine instead that you are sitting in that chair. the quantity of energy that is transfered to your body (that you now hear and feel) is much greater.

if you must install this way, and based upon your needs, i can understand that you really want to... try to be sure that your amp is mounted in such a fashion that it will experience a minimum of vibration from the box. try to get it setup to where there is good bracing below the mounting position and if possible, use some sort of dampening device between the box and amp.

more info and lots of pictures... check out about midway down the page under the section 'amplifier mounting'.

[QUOTE]Amplifier mounting:

 

Yeah, I doubt it's as failsafe as I sorta alluded to...and I definitely should have added that it becomes a much safer gamble when using thicker pieces of MDF for the box

 

yeah...

but honestly, if you're not hitting super hard on a regular basis... most people won't experience problems...

still, since she has the opportunity to reinforce it a bit... why not do it?

i do know a bunch of people who have done it... (including myself 10 years ago)

some, no problems. others, big problems. i've had more than a couple amps go through my hands (mine and friends) where i had to pull them apart to soldier critical little bits back together after being shaken for a couple years.

better safe than sorry.

edit: and btw - honestly -- i'm w/ you... 145+db sound waves will probably cause just as much damage to a trunk mounted amp as a stealth box could to a bolted on amp... but those db drag guys probably don't keep amps long enough for them to develop long term vibe problems...

 

Well it's a local shop with a guy who's been doing this stuff for years, and he's been around awhile. So if it starts having problems, I'll know where to take it! Those are the times when ya gotta turn on the feminine charm to get your problem resolved!

Thanks for the input!

 

I had a civic with 2 12" JL W0 subs in the trunk. Both my sub amp and my 4-channel high's amp were mounted on either side of this box. I had it this way for 3 years and put 95,000 miles on the vehicle. Neither amp ever had a problem! I think you'll be fine if you've got a good quality amp that can handle it... You'll get several years worth of enjoyment anyway!