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-   -   Under-the-seat vents (https://www.mazda3club.com/exterior-interior-audio-4/under-seat-vents-22798/)

hihoslva March-23rd-2003 08:36 AM

Under-the-seat vents
 
Anyone know if the HVAC vents under the front seats are removeable?

I'm thinking about amps under the seats, and would like to know if these vents can be removed without cutting them out.

Thanx.

~HH

TheMAN March-23rd-2003 10:32 AM

you have to take off the seats, peel off the carpet to remove them... they run as 1 piece from the front center console

Esquire March-23rd-2003 11:13 AM

I have a good friend that owns a P5 who's a photographer and he likes to keep his camera equipment under his seats. What he did is he took the seats out and peeled the carpet up and rerouted the vents to go inbetween the the side of the front seats and the center console. The plastic is pretty flexible so it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult once you get the seats out.

hihoslva March-23rd-2003 01:49 PM

Cool fellas - thanks.

At least I know I can give it a shot without having to permanently cut or modify them.

~HH

aceraj March-23rd-2003 05:21 PM

Why do you need to move the vents? I have an amp under both front seats and the vent isnt in the way of either of them. Unless you have some huge ass amp it should fit.
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VAPORIZERS

hihoslva March-23rd-2003 06:02 PM


Originally posted by aceraj
Why do you need to move the vents? I have an amp under both front seats and the vent isnt in the way of either of them. Unless you have some huge ass amp it should fit.
I was originally looking at a rather large amp - about 24" long :eek: and figured the vents would be in the way.

But - I'm now seriously considering a couple of Lanzar Vibe amps, and they are reasonably sized, and slim too (and a helluva bargain for a well-rated amp (I've done some research, and they are considered rather solid) - 125 watts x 4 @ 4 ohms for $179, and a 300 x 2 @ 2 ohms for $100 from ikesound.com - yeeeha!).

I've never really looked hard under there - where do the vents come up from the floor? I was under the impression that they came up about midway in the underseat "cavity" and went back from there - but I really don't know.

Any idea what the approximate dimensions are (with the vents still in place)? What size amp do you have under there (just length x width, if you've got it)? Even if you just tell me the amp model, I'm sure I could find the specs myself.

Thanks!

~HH

Dermen March-24th-2003 01:05 AM

I mounted my amp over the vent. I took 2 peices of 2x2 and mounted them to the amp. However, I did cut them at an angle so the back of the amp would have more space between it and the seat. The seat bottom is sloped and the rear portion is a bit lower than the front so I cut the 2x2s to match it. The vent ended about halfway under the amp and I didnt want heat coming out of it to go directly on the bottom of the amp so I extended the vent with cardboard and tin foil. I put the tin foil on the inside of the cardboard to help stop the heat from getting to the amp through the cardboard. The below pic doesn't look like there is much room under the amp but that is because of the floor mat. There is actually about 1/2" of space under the amp.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...e/fc86cfb8.jpg

It also allowed for me to have the amp farther forward since the section that sticks out for the power cables is high enough that it cleared the little bump that goes across the front of the seats. And it worked out that all the power cables were right where the vent came through the carpet so I could hide all the power cables easily.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...9/fc86cfba.jpg

I don't know if you could do this with a larger amp or not.

hihoslva March-24th-2003 04:21 AM

Thanks for the pics man.

The amps I am considering now are quite slim, so going over the vent should be an option, too. Cool idea.

Guess I'll just have to see what's what when I get down to business.

BTW - which Alpine is that? Any idea of the dimensions, just for my own reference?

~HH

celticbass March-24th-2003 10:34 AM

hiloslva- i had a lanzar amp ( thpought the same thing you did, and it sounded horrible, distorted very easily, had poor sound quality, etc. just thoguht id give you some exp. w/ these amps b4 you bought

hihoslva March-24th-2003 01:41 PM


Originally posted by celticbass
hiloslva- i had a lanzar amp ( thpought the same thing you did, and it sounded horrible, distorted very easily, had poor sound quality, etc. just thoguht id give you some exp. w/ these amps b4 you bought
Which Lanzar did you have - and how long ago was it?

I dunno - I've been doing a LOT of reading, and the Vibe line seems to be generally well respected as far as budget amps go.

The other question is - how hard were you pushing the amp?

Both amps I am looking at will be "too much" power for their applications - so I can back off the gains a bit and hopefully have clean power.

I would love to hear some more details about your Lanzar, tho.

~HH

DaleK March-24th-2003 02:13 PM

For under the seat mounting, also look into mounting to the seat. This is what I did (although I mounted the amp upside down to avoid having to build any brackets and what not. The advantage of this is that you maintain toe room under the seats, and the install is less visible (if the amp is a reasonable size - that 24" monster probably would be a tough go). The only real disadvantage I can see with this method is that you have to be careful routing the wires so that you don't bind or catch on anything. have done installs like this in three vehicles so far without any issues (91 suzuki sidekick with a nice secure aluminum box, 70 chev 1/2 ton - lots of room up in the seat, and in my P5).

Good luck whichever way you choose to go!

Dale.

aceraj March-24th-2003 09:15 PM

I checked mine out and the one under the passenger side seat is about 9x10x3 inches. The vent just goes right over it. The floor mat in the back goes up over the edge of it just a little and hides it from view. I didnt check the driver's side. But it works for me so far.

(BTW I have a Kenwood KAC 749s in the passenger side powering the four door speakers. I like it so far, good quality, good volume, no complaints. I think they are around $250. Just thought id let you know.)
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TOYOTA PORTE

Dermen March-24th-2003 10:15 PM


Originally posted by hihoslva
Thanks for the pics man.

BTW - which Alpine is that? Any idea of the dimensions, just for my own reference?

~HH

Its the MRP-F200, I don't know the exact deminsions but you could look them up on crutchfield. I think its maybe 13"x13".


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