keeping the amps cool

in my del sol, if i end up driving around all day with the stereo up, my amps start to overheat by the end of the day. if i have the roof back there and listen to it loud for a much shorter time they overheat as well. i know this is bad, and it is only a matter of time until it does permanent damage, so my question is how do i keep them cool back there? is it as simple as just putting a fan in there somewhere to get the air moving, or do i need to do something more drastic? thanks for any suggestions.

What amps do you have, how are they mounted, need more details. But yes, the solution would be some little fans... theres not much more then that you will be able to do.

You might also want to turn down the gain on your amp. I know you really don't want to that, but it'll defenitely run cooler.

Gains can be a factor as mentioned..depending on where and how your amps are installed you should be able to put fans where they are to help cool them..

Put 1 fan pulling air into where the amps are and one blowing air out so it will circulate it and keep the amps cool..

Not sure if this will help but I thought I would mention it....:frog:

i made a box that stretches across the back of my trunk in my del sol. it is shaped like a right triangle when looking at it from the side. the sub is in the middle, and the two amps are on the either of the sub, with the heat sinks facing up as they should be. one amp is a 4 channel pioneer for the inside, the other is a bridged jbl to the sub. i understand that the amps cant make heat if they dont have electricity running through them which is done by turning down the gains which are at about 2/3 right now. the only problem with turning the gain down is that the deck has to go up which still creates distortion, defeating the purpose of paying a lot of money for an amp. any ideas on where the fans should be mounted, or how to wire them? thanks for the help.

Originally posted by b16a3sol
i made a box that stretches across the back of my trunk in my del sol. it is shaped like a right triangle when looking at it from the side. the sub is in the middle, and the two amps are on the either of the sub, with the heat sinks facing up as they should be. one amp is a 4 channel pioneer for the inside, the other is a bridged jbl to the sub. i understand that the amps cant make heat if they dont have electricity running through them which is done by turning down the gains which are at about 2/3 right now. the only problem with turning the gain down is that the deck has to go up which still creates distortion, defeating the purpose of paying a lot of money for an amp. any ideas on where the fans should be mounted, or how to wire them? thanks for the help. Something you have failed to mention... which head unit do you have? And a solution to "needing to turn the headunit up" would be an RCA line driver before the amps, this increases the RCA's voltage, cleaner more powerfull signal, thus less of a need to crank the gains...

Your headunit should throw out at least 4 volts to your amps. Otherwise a good line driver is will work wonders in your setup.