Anyone have an amplifier rack in their z06? I have a new to me 2003 z06 inbound and will be putting JL 500/1 and StealthBox (both picked up on the cheap, believe it or not) in this weekend. I am looking for ideas for rear mounted (i.e., not behind seats or on the shelf) amplifier rack. Pics, anyone? Anyone? Thanks.

 

Old pic, but you get the idea:



EDIT: Found more recent pic:

 

Mine are mounted in an enclosure on the shelf in front. If you want picts, let me know.

 

i have two phoinex gold amps, one behind each seat.

 

That was my original plan, but they hit the seats and I couldn't sacrifice the leg room to avoid it. Woulda been cleaner though.

 

t56gen3- How are your racks attached to the car? In other words, are the screwed directly to the car or is there MDF or some other material in there? I have used liquid nails to bond MDF to cars before, then screwed the rack, etc. into the MDF- is this the solution here? I am all fired up trying to plan a weekend's worth of install work- without the car here!!!! Thanks for the pics.

 

The amps are screwed to a carpeted MDF piece that I made to fit the rear of the car. The MDF panel is screwed through the body. Unfortunately there is not another way that I could think of to securely attach it. There are 6 screws holding the panel to the car.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

 

Huge mistake . . . . other questions . . . can't stop. How did you route the power, remote and RCA's to the amp? Did the seats have to come out? Do you have dynamat or some other sound dampner in the car? Are you using stock headunit? If no, what kit did you wind up using? Thanks.

 

if you mount them at the bottom you hardley lose any leg room at all. i will take some pics tonight. a little off the subject, i also have an 04 and was wondering if you have done anything to your fuel system to support your HP levels on the bottle? the reason i ask is that we have the ****ty fuel systems that do not support high hp levels.

 

I'm not sure what you're referring to with the "huge mistake" comment, but I'm assuming you mean screwing through the body. Keep in mind that in ALMOST ALL big car audio installations at some point you have to run screws through the body (amps in trunk, under seats, etc.) The vette is no different, only it's cheaper and easier to repair later if need be (no welding holes in metal, only fiberglassing.)

I haven't bothered yet with dynamat, too much weight. I would do one of the pre-cut kits on this forum before I bothered with dynamat.

I'm running only aftermarket equpment. Focal components in the front doors, Premier head unit, and single 12" sub. I have 4 full days labor in the install (including box build.) I took the entire interior out to run wires. I just have a standard Metra dash kit. It was a LOT of work, but I'm too **** about audio to live without it. This is not plug-and-play by any means, but it can be done.

 

Mine wouldn't clear the seats, believe me I tried. (Set them on the floor and set the seat where I needed it to be and it pushed into the seat backs.)

Fuel system doesn't need to be upgraded at all. I'm making 389 RWHP on motor and my injectors are at 85% duty cycle (actually drop to 80% on the nitrous, wet kit.) The stock fuel pumps will support over 500 RWHP without an issue. I make 510 hp to the tire on the stock fuel system, and my buddy makes 568, both on nitrous, no fuel issues at all.

 

NO!!!!!!! Huge mistake opening yourself up to my questions!!!! It was a weak attept at humor

 

Heh, gotcha. Ain't skuuuuuurd.

 

Tell me about this process. I have done some older 911's, Mustangs and some old z-28 Btch'n Camaros, but never a newer GM product. Is this a total PITA? And, where did you run the bulk of the wiring? Along the doors, the tunnel or?????? Thanks again.

 

Guess it depends on what you consider a PITA. I used to be a 12v installer for a living, so to me it was a pain (compared to other cars), but more time consuming than anything.

I ran the wires down each outer side of the car (you should keep your RCA's and power runs as far apart as possible) in the factory wire guides. Power cable went down the passenger side (battery side) and RCA's down the drivers.

There are only 2 pins on the factory harness you can use, one is constant +12v and the other is ground. If you have a 97-03 the accessory wire is in the "auxillary harness" in the passenger footwell by the fusebox. If you have an 04 you have to access the ignition switch harness and tap into the accessory power wire. All remaining wires are best to run yourself. Getting speaker wire into the doors was cake (I ran 12 ga.) Be aware that the factory radio harness is the standard GM plug, however PIN CONFIG IS NOT THE SAME. I customized my aftermarket harness by removing all the pins and putting the ground and constant power pins in the correct place.

I had to make the amp rack, speaker plates, and sub box (all MDF.) All in all it's a snap-tite car, and comes apart pretty easily. Door panels are a little tricky but it's just a car. Take your time and you'll be fine. It's much easier to just remove the seats and panels to run the wiring IMO. I have 4 ga power and ground, with a 1.0 farad cap behind the amp rack (not visable.) Building all the MDF panels took the most time (trial and error.) The electrical stuff is easy IMO.

 

I was contemplating having a head unit installed along with an ipod controller (Alpine) and staying away from the dash completely. I would run the power to the rear, along with some RCAs and a remote wire. I intend to build on this system, so I am going to set it up for two amps- just going to have the sub amp for the time being. BUT I have to build a rack for it, which, as you noted, takes time. Where did you mount your + fuse in the engine compartment? I was thinking about a fabricated bracket . . .

 

I have a circuit breaker screwed into the side of the fuse/relay box by the battery, towards the bottom. (If you pull the top of the box off you can see where you can run screws and not touch the wiring.)

I'd pull at least a 4 ga power and ground to the rear for future use, and 2-pair RCA's and you be in good shape for the future upgrades. Also note that if you try and mount the amps across the rear cargo area close to the seats (or behind the seats) beware of the fuel tanks!! Too long a screw in the wrong area could be an expensive uh-oh!!)

For me wiring is easy. It's cutting all the panels to fit and the sub box that are a pain. Nothing is "standard" in this car.

 

Yeah- should be fun. My car is now delayed until Saturday- boo hoo. Isn't there a C5 audio FAQ here somewhere? I know I have read it- and now can't seem to find it.

 

Clicky

 

I looked in every other forum but that one- running one search after another. Never was the brightest bulb . . .