pnthr30

I was thinking about making a false floor/amp rack for my trunk (99 Integra GS sedan), like many of you have, but I just want to make sure that the amps don't get to hot. I am running a Rockford Fosgate 400a4 and a Rockford Fosgate 250a2 (I usually don't push them that hard). How much room do these amps need to breathe? Do I even need to be worried about them getting hot at all? Do I need to have some sort of air circulating under the top "floor"? Thanks for your input.

SumAccordGuy94

They need roughly at LEAST an inch of room in all directions around the amp (except the mounting surface). A few fans will also be a requirement. Good air flow is needed to keep the amp at same operating temperatures, and the cooler it stays the longer the amp can last. Heat rises, and with a plexiglass top over the amps, the heat wont be able to rise, so the fans will push cool air over the heatsinks. You may also want to think about mounting the amps to a piece of thick aluminum and using heat sink compound between the mounting points and the aluminum. This will help draw heat away from the heatsink of the amp.

Amps do get very hot, even if you're not running them at their full output capability. Especially if you're running them bridged or at less that 4 ohms.

k3ifers

mine get REALLy hot.. they are mounted on my back seat, so i fold it down and keep the windows open as much as possible when they are using a lot of power.

i would go with what accordguy said and get some fans on the top of the plexi glass.. my friend has that setup in his jetta, and he has one fan blowing air into the amp area and one on the other side blowing air out of it..

rcurley55

Mounting them to aluminum won't be that great considering that on a RF amp, there are only 4 small places where the amp will contact the plate. also, the plate doesn't have a large surface area for heat transfer.

That said, those amps get extrememly hot!!! I had a 600a4 that would thermal on a very simple load (Diamond Audio S600s and a single IDQ12 d2).

If you wanted to mount them under plexi, you have a few options.
1. Cut a design out in the plexi to let air escape - pretty simple operation if you have a router
2. Use some 12v fans to circulate air in and out of the rack. This is also a pretty simple operation, but takes some planning to pull off without creating too much noise. You also have to get the air from somewhere and let it exit to somewhere....all considerations.

Go to www.bcae1.com to learn more about using fans.

pnthr30

Do any of you guys have any pics of fans in a setup like this?

GSteg

some amps gets hot, some dont. regardless, ventilation is always a must, unless you have a 100% efficient amp that puts out no heat at all (impossible anyways).

I'll try to go to my friend's house and take pictures of his setup. He has almost no air space between the top of the amp and the glass. He has two fans hooked up (not too big, not too small). He's an engineer (machinist) so he can pretty much do anything with metal. SOOOoo....he drilled holes horizontally through the heatsink and viola, water-cooled system

Not the cheapest thing to do, nor the easiest, but when the amp stays cool all the time, we have a peace of mind.

cheezthis

RF amps are generally high current, but there's nothing wrong w/that. If any of you deal w/pro audio stuff on a regular basis, you'll understand that one. Besides, RF amps casing are big heatsinks as is.

Ventilation is key here

SmutWanter

Typically most amps that are on the market now have their own heat sensors so if the amp does get too hot the amp will shut off on its own and then come back own once they are cooled down.

If you are really concerned about this (if your amp is installed in your trunk) you can install ventilation tubes in the rear deck of your car. Not only will this give you more air ventilating around your amp it also allows more sound from your subwoofer to penetrate out of your trunk into the rest of your car, so you won't have to turn your amp up to full power. Vent tubes are relatively cheap too.

Gusto222

ive boiled water on my amp b4 - it was a old map i had back when i was in HS -- a sony amp.. got soo hot - i put a soaked shirt on it-- it dried out in 30mins... + the amp melted to tha carpet of my car.. then proceeded to melt all tha plastic in between tha terminals... -- but it still worked... got relaly really hot... but still kept pushin my subs...

wing_zero

yes, very true amps get very hot, but i doubt hot enough to boil water. by then the amp should of died by then. components can not get that not. i had a 400 watt amp with a audiobahn sub. it was bridged so it really got hot really fast. so i had a fan mounted on it. and after so 30 mins i started smelling buring so when i opened the trunk all you saw was smoke pouring. the amp died even with the fan and the amp had heat protection. so i sent it in for warranty. of course a lot of warranty is bs. the reciept said 04 and they tried to bs me saying it said 03. wtf?
anyways i got them to fix it. when i got it back. i turned the bass down some what. and cut some wood about 4 pieces each screw to mount the amp. and 120 mm high cfm output fan on the right on the bottom of the heat sink, so there is atleast 3 inches of space all around the amp. its like an amp on stilts. and then i put an 80 mm fan over the top of one other side of the heat sink. of course i had to run wire to near the driver so i could turn them on and off. and so far i've never had a problem.

you can really the temperature difference with the fan and without.
if your not running a lot of watts (300 or less) you shouldnt' have to worry unless its bridged and your running a lot of bass. if you have more than 300 bridged you should really consider a cooling system. no amp is 100 % efficient.