I went to the Circuit City to see about getting an amplifier and speakers installed into my Z. I have a 5 channel Eclipse amp that I took out of my previous car. The amplifier fits perfectly under the passenger seat. I was planning on installing the amp under the seat until I spoke with the guy in the car stereo installation dept. He told me that installing the amp under the seat wasn't a good idea because it melts the leather seats. He claimed that this had been a big problem on another Z which he had worked on. I know that some of you have installed amplifiers under your seats. Have any of you had any issues with this type of installation?

 

depends on your amp.. if it is one that typically runs hot then you might have a problem

i have a 1200 watt sub amp and a 600watt 4 channel mounted under my seats and dont have any issues.. most people are putting them there.. i have done care stereo installs for years.. never have i fried an amp or blown a speaker on my setups

 

La Jolla Audio said they did one under there with no prob

 

Toykilla, which brand amps do you own? I want my amps to fit under the seats as well.

 

I am running JBL amps.. i have the 1200.1(last year) and 600.4 (this year)

i would highly recommend these amps

 

in the stock sub location with custom rack:

 

My guess is they had the amp at too low of an impedence, so it was running REALLY hot. Often, best buy sells the wrong amp for a given sub, and then it will run really hot. I bet that the other Z has problems with the amp shutting off too. Under the seat SHOULD be ok, but then again there are SO many other places it could go that would never be an issue (like in the factory sub location). Nice amp btw.

 

Alot of cheaper amps just don't handle heat very well. If you are running it at low impedance loads (lower than spec'd) it will run VERY hot, or even shutdown. A good amp will utilize a solid heatsink structure for proper heat dissipation or may even utilize internal fans...I have always had super luck with Phoenix Gold amps, as they are powerful, handle heat extremely well, they are conservatively rated, are widely supported, and look nice. I used to compete on the IASCA and USAC circuits, and PG was one of the greatest at that time. There are alot of companies making amps today, but only a handful are very well made.