InsaneInNC

Is there a specific reason you said under the driver's seat, instead of the passenger seat? I'm not trying to give you a hard time; I'm also trying to figure out where to put an external amp, and have been toying with under the passenger seat (although I haven't actually measured anything).

Another question I have for everyone: If one is to use an external amp, should the optional rears (say one of Lucid's kits) also be driven by the amp (requiring either a single 4 channel amp, or two 2-channel amps), or should the rears be driven by the HU? I was talking with one installation "expert" last night, and he recommended getting a single 2-channel amp for the fronts, and driving the rears via the HU; I have a hard time believing this will really sound good.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Lucid, feel free to chime in.

SC_Highlander

There is more room under the driver's seat than under the passenger's seat. The exhaust runs down the passenger's side and thus there's a hump in the floor next to the center console on that side.

I have my rears running off of the HU and it sounds fine. It depends on what speakers you go with, though. My fronts are Adire Koda componants (100W RMS) and the rears are Kenwood Excelon coaxials (~30W RMS). Driving the rears with an amp would be overkill, so they're fed by my HU and my 4-channel amp is bridged to feed the Koda's.

GamecockS2K

Take a look under the passenger seat and you'll understand why... There's much more room under the driver's seat. As for the rear speakers, it would definitely be best to power them with an amp. I think you'll find that if you power them with the head unit, you'll hardly even hear them because your front speakers will be so much 'louder,' if you will... If you can afford to do it right, amping the fronts and rears would definitely be the way to go. How you go about doing that is up to you. Generally 4-channel amps are used because there's less wiring to do and it's much cheaper.

This is just my 2 cents remember... There's other, more experienced, folks on this board that may want to chime in. I'd definitely get several opinions and try to listen to as many systems as you can as a point of reference. Everyone's opinion is exactly that, relative to their own experiences and expectations.

Good luck!

InsaneInNC

[QUOTE]Originally posted by GamecockS2K
[B]

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mgiang7

i'd be suspicious of this dealer, if he has in fact installed systems into an s2000, he would know that 6.5s will fit in the door fine, you just need to make a spacer out of mdf for extra clearance.

don't worry too much about the brands. find ones you like to listen to (particularly speakers) and go with what your ear likes. for amps, there are tons of high quality amps out there, Zapco, PG and JL are all very good amps.

InsaneInNC

MG:

Let me clarify what he intended to say, as I may have not quoted him correcly here: He said that the 5.25" speakers would "drop in" without a fuss; the 6.5" speakers would require a bit of work (I understood it to mean that he would need to rig up an adapter - he obviously did not have access to Lucid's adapter kit )

InsaneInNC

OK, I just came home after going back to vendor #1, as I wanted to listen to the MB Quarts again. With the Phoenix Gold amp + 6.5" Discus (or Reference) Fronts + 5.25" Discus Rears, the sound was pretty good (given a decent CD, no head banging hard rock ). Started talking to the install "expert", and he did not think the amp would fit in either a) under either front seats, nor b) inside the spare tire. If I am to do this, I'm going to have to give up some room in the trunk which I did not want to do; it is too small to begin with.

At this point in time, I think I'm going to surrender and rethink what I am going to do.

For those of you who have put the amp in the trunk well, what do you plan to do if you indeed get a flat and need to put the flat tire in the trunk? Yes, I have read the "owners manual" (give me a break, I'm an engineer - I do that), and the flat tire is supposed to fit in the well (minus the emergency kit, which is to be moved to where the spare is kept). In normal situations, can you put "stuff" on top of the amp, i.e., is there a shelf above it?

THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!

mas

Aren't you already "Insane, In NC" J/K.

Don't worry, there are many solutions to the problem:

1- Install the amp inside the spare tire:

You will need to pick the right sized amp for this.

2- Install it under the driver's seat, like Wlaurent's Blaupunkt PA4100:

There could be more choices, just look for amps with similar dimentions.

3- Install it on the trunk wall:

This is easy and ideal for keeping the amp run cooler.

4- Install the amp towards the left of the spare tire, on top of the fuel tank area - it does not really touch the fuel tank. Just don't drill any holes there and make sure to leave breathing space for the amp. This install will be good for a cool running amp otherwise the plastic rear deck might start to melt.

There might be a few more options, do a search.

Good luck and take it easy!

PS: The pictures are already posted on the electronics board, I'm just pointing to them. If anyone does not like this, I can remove the links.

InsaneInNC

YUP!!!!

You have learned my secret.

GamecockS2K

Call AAA.