Did you raise the amp up a little to allow air to escape? I have my Arc flush mounted at the moment, and it just doesn't seem like that is ideal for this amp. If you have it raised, how did you go about raising it up? I was thinking about using felt pads that go beneath kitchen chairs etc to raist it up 1/4 inch. Thanks!

 

well keeping is flat isnt a good idea ever...

if you go into stores that sell electronics.. speakers etc... they have hte carpet spikes... for the bottom of speakers.. so they dont move aorund..t hat might be a good way to raise them..

 

I've never had a problem with my amps mounted flat. This ones not giving me problems mounted this way either, and 95% of the guys on the board have it this way if not more. Thanks for the sugestion!! I will give it a shot.

 

This maybe a little ghetto, but it works. I used some big nuts under each corner to raise the amp, then put the screws through them on all sides. This allowed me to run my wires under my amps. I had planned on getting something like they have on the display boards to raise them (those black plastic tube things), just have not gotten to it. I think Manny or someone else has a picture of an older Arc on their site where they used some small pieces of carpeted wood on the sides to raise it. I thought this was also a very good idea, and it looked nice as well. Heck I may try doing that . Been thinking about redoing my worn out amp rack.

 

yeah when i had my cxl4150 and i was running it at lower impedances than it was designed for , after long periods of loud listening it would get very hot, raising it helped alot...specially since amp was against back of seat in the trunk during operation. I incorporated the same idea when i made my amp rack for both my xxk2500's, but my 4150 being under the passenger seat flat against the carpet has no heating issues...also the xxk's casing w/ heatsink and fins is a better combatant to heat than the cxl design..thats why it was redone

i guess it comes down to how hot the climate aound you guys is as well as how much you push the amp...keep in mind after i upgraded my battery and big3 i've had zero issues with heat- its amazing once your electrical can supply the amps with stable voltage how they dont have to work as hard...hence run cooler..

 

Lol i did it ghetto I used the material that they use in pegboards and cut to medium sized piece, stuck'em behind the amp and screwed'em in. It works, but who knows for how long

 

Oo I need to do my big 3, just kind of wary on doing it myself... anyone want to help?

 

I still have not done it .


Will do it soon though .

 

it bothers me that they mount the fan on bottom ... i mean heat rises so why not on top.. or at best the sides so the heatsink on top can absorb heat.. and fans bring in cool air....

 

It's cake. Get the wire and terminals and some large zip ties from Don

 

Well it shouldn't bother you...engineers know what they are doing- if you overheat the amp (as it it goes into thermal protection) then obviously the user did not appropriatly install the amp (wether it be mounting or wiring)

It actually makes sense that they are mounted on bottom when you have heatsink design on top with fins ...fan assists in blowing the heat upwards
off the board (as heat rises anyhow) and also pushed out the sides. Makes sense?

There are vents on both sides of the amp, plus rows of fins across the top for heat dissipation...they use 105 degree capacitors in the power suppy (used in bipolar transistor high end amps)

The amp does have close to 1/4" from the bottom plate to the feet mount for
the fans to have access to air- not an issue when mounted on hard surfaces, but when bolted down on carpet of course it closes that gap....

What I love is when people touch their amp and complain or it bothers them that amplifier 'feels' hot...its doing what it was designed to do, the byproduct of power is heat...

 

I have everything except for terminals, wanna help?

 

Yea, get some terminals. what gauge wire?

 

4 guage, what lengths do i need?

 

Just get like 15-20 feet of it. We'll cut it to length

 

I have alot of peieces that are already cut, I just don't wanna get more if I don't need to... I could always pick some up though. Let me go check what I already have.

 

Crap I have plenty of the wire, but it looks to be more like 6 - 8 guage, the insulation is huge on it. I have plenty of 8 guage that I could double it up....



On second thought the wire I have should be just fine. Just need the terminals, although some of it already has terminals on it so...

 

Picked up the terminals too so I've got everything.

 

you're doing a big 3 with 6-8 gauge?

or are you doing a grounding kit with it?

 

big 3.... should i use 1/0? The 6/8 is closer to 4 guage. I dunno its crappy wire I guess.... maybe I'll get some from Don.

 

if you want I can get you the full kit of 1/0 for like 41 (Think that was my price). Mine was done with the blue and silver.

I did my grounding kit with 8. I wouldnt think of doing the big three without at least the size wire you had mentioned.

 

My grounding kit has 4 gauge, I'll let you know about the wire kit Doug. Thanks man.

 

so teh fans are blowing inward? then okay yay that makes sense.. = )
well engineers build things but doesnt always make the greatest designs.. there are those cases where design has failed... take the Concord for instance...

 

the concord worked perfectly for 40 years

 

I think Rob Zeff's 30 yrs building the ZAPCO name qualifies him as a great designer.

 

... ahh not quite.. their structural integrity was weakening iwht each super sonic flight... the tilting pilot cabin was major source of problems.. 1 by 1 their frames started cracking


and ZAPCO ... i didnt say there not good engineers.. but im just saying sometimes engineers consider other factors while designing things.. and also sometimes flaws that are unexpected arise...


sorta like headlights that dont turn off by themselves on the 98 maxima.. the 98 quest had this so the technology was avaialble.. jsut when desingning they didnt think about it....

im not saying the amp designers are idiots.. or cracking on anyones amp.. im jsut sayign there are design flaws that arnt realized till later...

 

This is possible but I don't think this design was because of a lack of R & D. Now that I think about it, with the exhaust openings on the end caps of the amp, there really is no need to raise the amp since the air can go right through those openings, the only possibly reason is to allow the fan to draw cooler air from behind the amp in the scenario.

 

well you never wanan cover the fan on have the fan aganist a flat surface and not let it draw in air... because its a whole system of circulation....

i mean if you can have it covered they wouldnt add the fan... doesnt the website or manual for the amp give any specifications..?

 

IIRC the manual says nothing about it.