Hey guys,

After having a false floor in the trunk for a few months, I've finally come to my senses. I came to the inevitable realization that function does indeed come before form.

Now I know a lot of you guys with the big 12s and 15s have no problem losing trunk space, especially since you've already got a huge box taking up almost your entire footprints back there. And I'm not ragging on that or anything; to each his own. But for me, trunk space is a necessary and much appreciated commodity.

My 2 ARC 10s are in a fairly small box (~0.45 ft^3 per sub). The box has a footprint of about 23" x 12" so that's not taking up too much trunk space by itself. Having the false floor was the real killer. I lost about 4" in height all around the trunk. You might not think that 4" is a lot, but you really don't know until you see first-hand. I didn't think it would be such a big deal, but there were times when fitting boxes, etc. was a serious pain in the ****. When you lose 4" of height, you're losing a lot of trunk opening, too, because you can't squeeze things in below the deck so easily.

So this is what the trunk looked like with the false floor (pics were taken before I had subs and second amp installed):









It might be hard to judge from the pics, but the height loss was very apparent.

So last night, with my free time, I finally ripped all this crap out of my car. I have no stereo system right now, but I'll deal with it for a few days. After removing everything, putting all the wires up near the back seat, and returning the trunk to its normal form, I busted out the measuring tape and came up with some ideas.

In all of these locations, I took into account the space required for the torsion bars, etc. to make sure the amps and wires would fit.

1) KAR 400.4 (smaller amp) on right side wall, next to wheel well.

It just squeezes in there, but it does fit. I like this location because the settings will be easily accessible, and because the amp is completely off the floor and out of the way of any cargo. Also, weather is not an issue, because the amp will be behind the lip of the trunk. This space is otherwise useless in our trunks.

 

2) KAR 1000.2T (larger amp) on left side wall, over that useless cutout.

I'm not too crazy about this one, because it will prevent me from putting cargo right up against the wall to the left. Also, weather might be a concern if I open the trunk in rain. The settings are easy to get to, though.



3) One or both amps under rear deck.

They will be lowered from the deck by an inch or two, using threaded rod or versa-bar. They will be mounted on wood of some sort. Obviously this is an otherwise useless spot and it is completely protected from weather. I like this idea for the 1000.2T because if I put just that amp here, I will still be able to access the settings with some ease. If I put both amps here, though it will look more uniform, I'll have to deal with the 400.4 sitting a little bit lower to fit the torsion bars when they stick down their farthest. I also may have to relocate the trunk light (not a big deal). And with both amps here, settings might be a pain to access.




Right now, I'm leaning towards putting the 1000.2T under the deck and the 400.4 on the right side wall. I have to get this done in the next few days; I go back to school on Sunday, and I can't do anything about it from that point on. I don't think it's a very time consuming thing, but I may run into obstacles.

Anyway, your input is appreciated. Any other suggestions would also be great. (Just remember, nothing on the floor or backseat, or in the spare wheel area, please.) Thanks.

-Brian

 

Under the front seats?...Theres a ton of room down there for us 5th gens. See the thread 2 pages or so back entitled Woo Hoo (by SC2K1), there are pics of the Diamond D3 amps I did under his seats. Just a thought.

 

what about just putting them in the car...better cooling and if you get into an accident they will be possibly protected better.

 

^^^

Thanks for the suggestion, but I did try that a couple months ago before even going with the false floor. The ARC amps, especially the 1000.2T, are just too large. Also, I'm afraid of people kicking them, dirt, and blocking the rear ducts.

But thanks again.

 

you can make it easy and build an amp rack right behind the back seat for the sub amp, and put the highs amp on the back of the subwoofer box.

 

Well the box is so small that it will practically squeeze right into that area back there, so I don't think I can fit any amps between the box and the rear seat. I don't want to bring the box any further toward the trunk opening because that kinda defeats the purpose of maximizing my trunk space.

What's a'matter, Rich, you don't like any of my ideas from above?

 

if the box is built at an angle it would be a nice fit...i used to have a small box for 2 10s and the amp on back. it was great for saving space. i like your ideas but im lazy so i figure my ideas will take less time.

 

Well, I don't exactly see how building a new box is going to take me less time...

And besides, isn't mounting an amp directly to a sub box not the best idea in the world? (Yes, I know this has been addressed before.)

EDIT: And I know all about being lazy. It's practially my forte.

 

dont mount the amps on top the trunk roof, it will affect the cooling purposes, becasue the heat is suppose to rise up

 

Have you taken that carpeting off to see if the amps will fit INSIDE the metal of the wheel wells? Maybe one on each side. It will take a little building, but that is what will save you reoom and give you a stealth look. There's quite a bit of space fo be found.

 

You could save a few inches if you built an amp rack that sits in the wheel well. Its a few inches from the floor to the top of the spare. My amp rack is there and I only lose about 1" to 1 1/2" with my floor installed.

 

make a panel behind the back seat, and mount the amps to that. i believe Tim on here was running a similar setup just til recently.

 

why not put the 400.4 under the passs seat, and the 1000.2t on the enclosure itself centered to the passthru?

you wont lose any trunkspace this way

 

I wouldnt think twice about it- with a family, trunk space is needed period.
If you dont like the idea of mounting it on the enclosure itself, mount it behind the seats (just will have to lower both sides at the same time from then on), with an enclosure in the way, really no other need for the passthrough.

 

This is how much space there is with seat ALL the way forward- amp is 13.5" x 8.75" x 2.375"

Whereas the 400.4 is 13" x 8.5" x 2.5" to give you an idea.

 

You could mount one in the spare tire well and one at the top of the deck. I used to have one mounted at the top of the deck, now my amp is in the spare tire well; secured on top of the spare: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=417419 .. I lost at most 1.5" in some areas ... 1" in the rest of the trunk. If you mount an amp below the torsion bars, you are going to lose a lot of space...or at least that is what I discovered when I was tempted to put my huge eclipse there.

 

Do you still ahve the false floor pieces? I need them! let me know

 

I think this idea is one of the best, you did a great job on the design, i did it an easier way given it was my first system...i just made an amp rack at an angle and screwed it to the false floor that i made out of 1/4 or 1/8 mdf and also screwed my sub box so it doesnt slide and hit the amps.....two years going and no probs... i can also take out my spare and have room in my trunk for my many many costco trips(college students' savior store). lol here are some pics.


not a super good pic but you get the idea, the seat is about 1/2 of an inch away from the front of the amps.

 

Just go buy a truck to haul everything My 2.4 in my Frontier gets awesome gas mileage, even with all that weight from the system.

 

Iam working on my trunk now Currenlty with my dad. fiddling with ideas, were making a wall enclosure the sub will be mounted in the middle and the amps on each side behind the Enclosure, there will be a box that the 12'' kicker will be in . The wall will be made out of MDF and it will be carpeted wiht Charcol carpet matching the trunk liner, if you would like to do the same i will get you all mesure ments, they are all Precise as we already tested it with cardboard and it will clear the hinges so when the trunk closes it will clear the enclousre.

 

Looks like you did a really nice job on that false floor. Can you take a shot from inside the car with the seats down like I have above? I'm trying to get an idea of how much height you lost. It's obviously a lot less than what I was dealing with, so I guess it's an option.

Manny- When I test fitted the 400.4 under the seat, it just seemed very tight for some reason. But maybe I was imagining things. Either way, the 1000.2T is around 3-4" longer still.

I'm going to go outside at some point and take another look around with the amps. I'll let you guys know what I decide. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

send me ur email address...I've got about 8 high res pics

 

Hey guys, I've got an update...

I finally got around to doing this last night and today. I went with the option I was leaning towards. The 1000.2T is under the deck. It's hidden very well and it really looks clean. The 400.4 is right on the side wall where I pictured the possible location above. Again, it came out really well. I'm so glad to have my normal trunk floor back again (even though I broke that stupid particleboard tire cover ). The only problem is that the ARC logo has to be upside-down on the 400.4 in order for the settings to be easily accessible (facing out). I'll take some pics for you guys when I get a chance, probably tomorrow or early this week.

 

Lookin' good, man..that trunk board...is that one peice or sectional? I am thinking if doing the same thing since my butt creased the cheap fiber board Nissan supplied us with.

 

You could do more than one piece, mount them together on a hinge, hang the amps from above, and tilt the whole thing up and access your amps and spare tire...

By the way, Manny and Maxima 112..great amp racks!

You should put them on ratemyrack.com lol

 

Yeah, I still have the false floor pieces. They're kinda big and heavy though (obviously) so I don't plan on shipping them anywhere, but I will give them to somebody in the area for free. It would definitely work well if you wanted to cut some plexiglass into the top piece or something. (By the way, the top piece is now hinged so I could access the amps more easily.)