Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you plan your amp installation.

Finding the right spot

An amp can be securely installed with just a few screws. But since amps can be sensitive to electrical and motor noise and because interference from the amp may affect your radio reception, try to mount it at least 3 feet away from the receiver. Good locations include:

• In the trunk or hatch area

  Pros: Lots of room for large amps. Near the rear speakers or sub enclosure.

  Cons: You sacrifice some cargo space. Longer wires and patch cords required.
  Note: When working inside the trunk, tape over the latch, so you won't become trapped inside accidentally.

• Under a seat

  Pros: Closer to the receiver, so you can use shorter patch cords and signal cables. Closer to the front speakers, so running wire to them will be easier. No cargo space sacrificed.

  Cons: You may have to remove the seat to do the installation (Warning: removing your seat could deactivate your vehicle's SRS system). Larger amps won't fit.

Keeping your amp cool

Something else to consider when choosing a mounting spot: Amplifiers produce heat, and the heat must be dissipated efficiently. The amp's cooling fins absorb heat and radiate it into the surrounding air. For the cooling fins to operate efficiently, they need a few inches of air space around them. When mounting the amp on a side wall, try to position it so that the slots in the cooling fins are vertical.

Amps should not be mounted on the bottom of a rear deck with the fins facing down because the heat will radiate back up into the amp. Leave yourself enough room on either side of the amp to make all the wire connections and adjust the controls. If you have a subwoofer box in your vehicle, you can mount the amp on the outside of the box.

If you are mounting the amp to the vehicle's floor, check beneath the car to be sure your screws won't puncture a brake or gas line.

Amplifier Wiring Kits

Amplifier wiring kits contain power and ground cable, a thin piece of wire for the turn-on lead, a fuse or circuit breaker, and all the connectors you need. The main power lead should be thick, since it draws power directly from the positive battery terminal. An in-line fuse or circuit breaker installed near the battery is a must. Without one, an accidental short circuit could pose a fire hazard and damage your amp.

Select the wire (10-, 8-, 4-, 2-, or 1/0-gauge) that's appropriate for your installation, depending on the length of wire you want to use, the power of your amplifiers, and how you plan to use them. For more information, check our cable gauge selection chart. Make sure that the fuse rating of your amplifier does not exceed the rating of the fuse that's included with your wiring kit — if so, you'll need to buy a larger fuse.

No preamp outputs on your receiver?

Most aftermarket receivers provide preamp output from RCA jacks. In this case, an RCA patch cable carries the signal from the receiver to the amp. If your receiver does not have preamp outputs, many amplifiers feature speaker-level inputs, which have built-in converters which step the speaker-level signal down to a preamp-level signal acceptable to the amp.

You can access the speaker-level signal by stripping a small section of your vehicle's right and left speaker wires, and splicing in wires that lead to your amp (similar to splicing into your receiver's turn on wire — see the Amplifier Installation Guide). Note: Tapping into speaker wires in this manner does not affect the performance of your speakers.

If your amp doesn't have speaker-level inputs, an effective and inexpensive line output converter will help you step the speaker-level signal down to preamp level. Then run an RCA patch cord from the converter to the amplifier. Make sure the patch cords supplying the musical signal to the amplifier are kept well away from potential sources of noise, such as brake light wires or rear window defroster wires.

Installing an amplifier calls for a little more skill and creativity than installing a receiver or a pair of speakers in the factory locations. But when the installation is done, you'll notice that the extra power will give you more volume and much cleaner, more dynamic sound, even at low listening levels. If you love music, you'll be knocked out by the difference!