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My LGT wagon install: Part 5 (amp rack in hatch well)


msmith

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http://img49.echo.cx/img49/4471/01amprack11en.th.jpg

 

In the first picture, we see Gary Martin laying out the amp rack outside the car. He used a 1/4 inch thick aluminum plate to mount the amplifiers and fabricated steel brackets and a hinge to allow access to the spare.

 

http://img16.echo.cx/img16/7927/02garywiring9en.th.jpg

 

Here's a shot of Gary wiring the amp rack in the hatch of the LGT wagon.

 

http://img16.echo.cx/img16/8325/03hatchamps7bt.th.jpg

 

In this shot, we see the finished product with the CleanSweep, 500/1 subwoofer amplifier and 450/4 satellite amplifier installed. Two thumbscrews secure the amp rack so that it doesn't bounce around. By releasing them, you can hinge the rack up to get to the spare tire or to mess with the wiring.

 

http://img16.echo.cx/img16/3277/04hatch14te.th.jpg

 

Here's the hatch with the hatch well cover closed. I'm using one of our ProWedge enclosures with twin 10W6v2's until we get around to doing a custom subwoofer system. Note the mesh vents in the hatch well cover to allow heat to escape.

 

http://img16.echo.cx/img16/3568/05ventdetail6km.th.jpg

 

Here's a detail shot of the vents in the hatch well cover. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that all of the hatch floor panels in the LGT wagon are made of a pretty high-tech composite material. Essentially it is a foam core with aluminum skins on both sides... incredibly strong and light. We cut the ovals into the factory cover, recovered it in black carpet and then attached black steel mesh from the underside.

 

I decided to change the hatch floor color to black from the stock beige, because I wanted to use a very resilient carpet and one that would be more stain-resistant. I can't really use the rubber hatch protector on a daily basis because my amps couldn't vent. I can still throw it in there if I need to haul something messy, though.

 

That's all for now.

 

Manville Smith

JL Audio, Inc.

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Beautiful. I'm surprised by how large the 450/4 is (I believe the 500/5 I'm considering is the same size) and how small the sub enclosure is. I was envisioning the sub taking up much more of the back.

 

I like the venting, as well. If that's enough ventilation for your 950W system, I'm sure I can work something out for my 500W pipedream. I'm sure I can figure out how to protect the amp and CS from possible drips or dirt by integrating a vent into the plastic bed mat.

 

How is the vibration in the car? Did you need to Dynamat anything other than the doors?

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Thanks, ChE...

 

The 450/4 is exactly the same size as the 500/5. The sub-box is pretty shallow and fits perfectly against the seat back angle, so it allows the hatch cover to open... worked out well. FYI, the single 10-inch version is exactly the same depth and about half the width, so you can get a pretty good idea of how it would fit.

 

The ventilation is ample, but I'm not a knucklescraper who plays the system at "11" all the time. Someone who cranks the system constantly might heat the amps up to the point of thermal protection after a couple of hours, maybe. Note that I aligned the vents with the black heat sinks of the amps so that the heat could rise directly. The CleanSweep doesn't generate any heat at all so it really doesn't need any special cooling considerations.

 

I have not applied any Dynamat to the rear of the wagon... yet. I will probably do so when we do the custom sub box... It doesn't really have any major issues right now. The roll-up privacy cover rattles like crazy with heavy bass when it's open, but when you pull it out to cover the hatch it shuts up, fortunately.

 

Best regards,

 

Manville Smith

JL Audio, Inc.

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Very nice. I've been waiting for you to post this so I can grill you!

 

Can you give us some close up shots of the hinge setup for the rack? How is it attached to the tire well in the front and how does it secure in the back?

 

Thanks for the info.

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I hope this question fits the thread... it was my best guess.

 

I'm planning a system with a CleanSweep, and 4 JL XR-650CX's for the doors. I was planning on the 500/5 with a single 10" sub, but after hearing a few impressive systems, I'm wondering about going the 300/4 plus 500/1 route. If I want a relatively compact sub, is it worth going to 500 over the 250W coming from the 500/5? I like my bass, but I don't need to impress anyone a block away. Thoughts?

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A couple of 12v computer fans in those vents would keep everything in there real cool and those are pretty quiet too

 

If you do that, remember for whatever air you put in, you need to pull air out. So one fan in and one fan out, but if you must have 3 fans for whatever reason, positive pressure is better for cooling so 2 in and 1 out. The vantec stealth fans have a pretty good dB/CFM ratio.

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