I'm new to the board and was wondering if anyone has pictures of amp/subwoofer installs in the Mini Cooper and advice as to what/where works and what doesn't. I would like to retain as much trunk (I call it a trunk, I'm from the US) space as possible. Also, I have a Cooper, not a Cooper S so I don't have a battery in the trunk area. Any help would be appreciated.
Here's a pic of mine. 10" Blau, 800w Mono-block MA Audio amp, custom box, and the badging removed form the back of my MCS put on the box. And no, the woofer surround does not hit the paneling on the car at maximum output. Comes damn close though
I had exactly the same dilemma as you, the trick is to find a subwoofer that's optimised for a very small enclosure, sealed boxes tend to be smaller than ported and bandpass. Do some research on subwoofer manufacturer's websites, the recommended box sizes are normally found there. I wanted my sub to be easily removable when I need the space, but smallish anyway so I can fit luggage alongside it. Since I very rarely have rear seat passengers I put amps in the rear footwells, great sound, posh amps, no space problems!
As you can see, the amps are visible from outside the car, but when the rear mats are on top of them it looks totally standard and very stealthy.
Thanks for the input. Is your amp sitting under plexiglass? I couldn't tell from the picture but it kind of looked that way. If so, how are you handling the cooling of the amps? I never thought of putting the amps down there. Also, has anyone used any 8" subs, and if so, how do you like them? I found that Polk Audio has an 8 inch sub that fits in a .38 cubic foot box, which would be optimal for the small amount of space available in the Mini, but I'm not sure if it will be enough bass for me. I don't need a thumping system, just something that will give good tight punch to kick drums and bass lines.
small to maybe mid sized amps can be placed under the seats by cutting the carpeting and removing a foam block - that's where the factory sat/nav cd / dvd drive resides. I've got my amps installed that way.
McIntosh amp driving front speakers - placed under passenger's seat
JLAudio Stealthbox (10" subwoofer) in boot
JLAudio 250/1 monoblock subwoofer amplifier - placed under driver's seat
Yeah the amps are under perspex, but they run pretty cool because I got Genesis Dual Monos and they are never get pushed anywhere near their max. I could have got smaller amps and pushed them hard all the time but I like to have lots in reserve. Since the photos were taken I have put holes in the covers just in case but have never had any problems either way. As far as 8" subs go, I have never heard them but I have read that some people have been a bit disappointed with 6x9 subs, but I suspect that may be down to the enclosure (or lack of one). On the other hand when you look at good domestic speakers it proves that you can get good deep bass from quite small drivers as long as the cabinet is designed properly. I think really you'll have to listen to an 8 in action, after all, only you know what your ears like the sound of. One thing to bear in mind is a 10" will certainly perform and is only slightly bigger, I'm running a 12" sub in a small box and it doesn't take up all the boot.
For those of you that built a raised floor in the rear of the car to mount the amps under, what material did you use for the floor panel and what thickness? I would like to use a thin material but want to maintain rigidity. Also, what is "perspex" and how does it differ from plexiglass?
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