PepiMartinez

I found out yesterday that I can keep my stock head unit (6CD changer), and put an amp in the car, making some better power come out of the system. Because, lets be honest, when you're in your Protege, and you have everything open, it's hard to get some good sound outta your system. I may replace the speakers, but I am getting away from my question.

Q: Has anyone mounted thier amp behind their stock head unit on a newer Protege?

If you have, great, please let me know if this is simple, hard, somewhere inbetween, if I should take it somewhere to get this done, etc. If nobody has done this, than...

Q: What is the easiest place to put an aftermarket amp in your Protege?

I assume under the front seat (driver or passenger) would be pretty easy, but I dunno...

Newbie,
Pepi Martinez

DaleK

There is not enough space behind and around the dek to mount an amp. Most amps are much too big for the space that is there.

In the P5, most people have either been mounting amplifiers under the seats (I have mine actually attached to the bottom of the driver's seat), or in the hatch area somewhere (such as attached to the seat backs). Also, if you intend to keep the factory deck, you need to use either Line Output Converters to match the impedances and levels of the deck speaker outputs to the amp inputs, or buy an amp that has speaker level inputs. The installation can be made easier with harness adapters (available from Scosche) so that wires don't need to be cut. You would want to get the regular harness (used to connect an aftermarket deck to the vehicle wiring) AND a reverse harness (plugs into the factory deck) to allow all connections to be made without any wire cutting.

Good Luck!
Dale.

hihoslva

Yeah - there is barely enough room in the back of the dash for the wiring from an aftermarket head unit. Putting an amp back there would be nearly impossible, and the amp would have to be hella-small.

For a larger amp, you may have to modify the HVAC ducts under the seats if that was your preferred mounting place. But there is a decent amount of room under there.

I was going to put my Lanzars there, but after seeing how large they are, I decided not to bother. The backs of the rear seats worked fine for my Rockford amps, so I just re-used the mounting board I had previously made and replaced the RF's with the Lanzars.

Dale is correct - under the seat(s), or in the hatch somwhere is the most popular and easiest to install. Frankly, I'm not sure what other places could be used.

~HH

PepiMartinez

My only gripe about mounting it behind the rear seats is if I fold the rear seats down, and need to store stuff, I wouldn't want things hitting the amp. The "under-the-seat" plan seems to work for me best, but I might actualy take it somewhere to get the amp installed. Figure I should let the pro's do it. Just wanted to go somewhere knowing the best way to do things.

Thanks for your help
Pepi

hihoslva

Well, if you are into custom-type installs, the fold-down seat issue *can* be avoided.

You could very easily cut the metal of the seatback, cut out some of the foam, and install the amp flush with the back of the seat. You could even put the factory carpet back down over it for a completely stealth install.

And you'd still have a flat surface for hauling stuff. You could even have a protective cover made for it, or take the piece of metal you cut out and re-install it somehow for protection.

Fact is, if you can imagine it (and can do it yourself or afford to pay for it to be done ) anything is possible.

~HH

PepiMartinez

That's a good point, about imagining things with the right funds, but I am still 18 yrs old, and my father pretty much has a BIG say over what happens to the MP5. I definitly know that cutting of any sort would never be an option in his mind, being that I want to keep the waranty in tact as much as possible. I will take a look around in the light tomarrow, to see what is back there though.

Pepi

Dave Cameron

If not cutting and insetting, take the mountain to the amp. Build a frame/ box for the amp and mount to the seat back. It you can drill it out and add slots, it will still protrude into the storage room a touch, but the amp will be protected from dents and dings, and even prying eyes. The box could be wood of MDF, and you could cover it in a matching color of fabric or carpet.
Cost could be minimumal- materials and sweat equity.
Just an option.

PepiMartinez

Thanks, Dave. That actualy isn't a bad idea. It would be pretty inexpensive, and I wouldn't have to worry about it getting banged up, but I really would like to see first if I can go with the "under seat" idea.

I've been talking with hihoslva a lot, so I wanna know if he (or anyone else that might know) if this amp would do the trick:
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...rk_1&oid=36526

I think it will, since it has the speaker level inputs, and has pre-amp level outputs.

One reviewer said:
"I purchased this amp brand new from CC for $139.00. It is pushing 2 Infinity 6x9 coaxials, 2 Infinity 4 inch coaxials, and a 12 inch xtant subwoofer all to an Alpine cd deck and it sound awesome. This amp is incredible for the money. My system sounds clean and clear with deep bass."

Thats good news to me, because I might go with some infinity speakers down the line, which I have herd are very good for the money. I even think that hiho has the prices posted somewhere on the board.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions,
Pepi Martinez

DaleK

That will be a nice amp for a basic install. I didn't see the model number of the amp on that page, but that may be the same amp that Sir Nuke is running, and he has the exact setup (factory deck, new speakers and sub running off one amp) you are tossing around. Why don't you PM him to get some opinions on it from him? He seems really happy. I am running an Alpine amp as well, but it is an older V12 model that doesn't have speaker level inputs (I used line output converters, and I had a heck of a time even fitting these in behind the deck ), and I have always been happy with it.

Happy hunting!!

Dale.

hihoslva

Wow - that DOES seem to be a pretty solid amp, and the price is nice, too.

Nice choice!

~HH

PepiMartinez

Yeah guys, I probably will PM Sir Nuke. Again, thanks for bein so helpful. I learned about my Stealth from a board much like this pretty quickly, so hopefuly by the end of the summer, I'll know a good amount about my MP5.

Pepi Martinez

SmAssher

DaleK,

Where would one get a reverse harness? I can find the regular ones, but not reverse ones.

Opus

This place has both:

MA03 - Wire harness
MA03R - Reverse harness

www.sfxaudio.com

DaleK

Thanks Opus!

Actually, I wouldn't be much help in finding them - I had a local shop who knew what they were talking about order them in about a year ago.

pro00

Thanks PepiMartinez
for posting this thread. i installed the 6 cd changer in my protege, and absolutely love it
I then added Boston Acuostics tweeter/sub/crossover
and the sound is even better

and for the final thing the amp, and I was about to post
a thead to see if i could add an amp....and voila, there it is

thanks for all the answers
I will tell you guys how the thing goes as far as installation goes