A-rock96

I was thinking of mounting 2 of my amps (200x2, 400x2) stealth in the trunk in the spare tire compartment. Plan is an MDF panel to replace the carpeted POS ply that currently goes overtop the spare with the amps upside down. Clearance is not an issue. Chrysler doesn't provide much of a spare tire anyway.

My question is this: Will there be any long term damage to the amps by mounting them this way? Will heat be an issue?

I can only stick so much to the back of the rear seats! Trying to keep it as clean as possible.

smooth

iTrader: (5)

upside down will most likely create heat issues, especially if they are in a tiny enlcosed area.

BobOnAir

Hmmm, as a rule, you shouldn't mount your amps upside down, as most amps have heat sinks, or heat fins on the sides and top of the amp to disipate heat. So, mounting them upside down allows the heat from the sink or fins to go back into the amp, causing them to heat up faster.

Now,, if you amps have fans built in,, or you mount fans in your compartment to help circulate the air around the amps, you should be in a better situation.

Also, mounting them in the spare tire well will isolate the amps, and with two amps in there, the air around the amps is gonna get warmer faster.

smpl_gy

Ask Jacob (sassmaster) about his experiences...He had an amp mounted upside down under his backbash...

Nathan Siy

Airflow is key when your dealing with amps upside down. The problem is that heat radiates upwards, which is usually where the sink sits. Now with your PCB sitting that way, it's going to heat stuff up pretty quick.

If you do mount them upside down, cooling fans would be beneficial.

Tom.F.1

iTrader: (1)

maybe it depends on the amp? this is the 3rd car i've mounted amps under the rear dash and i've never had a problem with heat.

zzzzzzz

iTrader: (5)

it is hard on anps but you need to think how long do i keep my amps ?

i like to see 6 amps in a car ,it make me feel not bad knowing i have 3 or 8ch that i use

Newb

iTrader: (4)

I would think it depends on the amp... and the load you're running it at. Some amps run very hot, I would be reluctant to run old HCCA's at low impedance upside down... but I run my XM2000R upside down at 4 ohm mono no problem.

Reekor

Upside down or right side up, makes no difference at all. All of the heat from the transistors is transferred right into the heatsink.

Nathan Siy

Thats like lighting a fire underneath your amplifier PCB, probably not the best for your traces and components. Electrolytic capacitors contain fluids inside which is adversely affected by heat.

Same thing with your resistors, the tolerences change with heat.

True, your sink is supposed to transfer the heat away from the FETs, but where does the heat go? into the sink. Now the sink is a giant radiating heat source, which is now located underneath your PCB when you mount it upside down.