mounting an amp sideways-yes or no?

[Frostedflakejake 148]

I've seen on SSA before that you shouldn't mount an amp sideways because it will mess up how the heat dissipates.

by sideways i mean one end of the amp facing the bottom of the vehicle, and the other facing the top.

If it is true that this is a bad idea for overheating issues, why?

and i need somewhat of a detailed answer; i'm arguing with an engineer and they don't accept "because the car audio professionals said so!!!"

thanks

and im asking because it would save a hell of a lot of space if i could mount it sideways

Edited February 13, 2010 by Frostedflakejake

[shizzzon 461]

guessing here, but the case may not be able to absorb as much heat as it could lying down.

Even if thats true, unless u runnin the amp for hours and hours, i still dont see a problem.

[Mac N Cheese 90]

i don't see why it would overheat if the amp is sideways, as long as it has sufficient air flow then it should be fine

[Kanaworm$ 292]

As long as the amp has adequate air flow area above, below and around it, it should be fine. I would leave at least 2-3" minimum of clearance above the amp heatsink.

[The enD 467]

Well why don't you try and see for yourself. Some amps tend to get hot, some don't. Crank it up placed sideways and see if there is a big difference in temperature at the heatsink at the top and bottom. If you have a digital termometre you can show the engineer the difference.

And you can always place some small fan to blow at the amp.

Hot air travels up.. so in the closed case in the amp a lil more hot air will gather in the upper part inside. But the difference in temperature can be very small.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

ya mounting an amp on the side isn't a huge issue but i have heard mounting them upside down is where you run into issues so avoid upside mounting!!

and from my experience with my last 4 channel amp, which was mounted upside down, well it has passed on since then. currently my sax100.4 has been mounted sideways for about 2-3 years now with NO issues at all (knock on wood).

[jcarter1885 995]

ya mounting an amp on the side isn't a huge issue but i have heard mounting them upside down is where you run into issues so avoid upside mounting!!

and from my experience with my last 4 channel amp, which was mounted upside down, well it has passed on since then. currently my sax100.4 has been mounted sideways for about 2-3 years now with NO issues at all (knock on wood).

x2, the only bad mounting positions for amps that I know of is upside down.

[Dammed 12]

heat travels straight up, so from a technical point of view you should get better cooling if you mount it with the top facing upwards and bottom down. From a practical point of view, it doesn't really matter that much. I have had a Hifonics amp mounted sideways and it never over heated.

[Duran 387]

It depends on where the heatsink is thickest, and where the manufacturer designed the ehatsink to be. Take JL Slash amps for example, they have cooling fins along the top of the amplifier. Whichever part of the heatsink has more surface area needs the most airflow.

[Dammed 12]

of course, but when the heat leaves the heat sink it will travel straight up. If you have the amp sideways then the heat will travel alongside the heat sink and block off the cold air that's around the amplifier. Now like I said this is a more technical POV, becuase air moves and when air moves around in a car then the heat will follow the air and it wouldn't go straight up. But even so, I would say the best way to mount a amplifier would be flat. But I and many others here have had no problem with mounting amplifiers sideways. so it shouldn't be a problem. But if you get heat problems, try mounting it flat or adding a computer fan or two.

[Duran 387]

We're not necessarily talking about heat travel IN the amplifier, the board is mounted on the bottom of the heat sink in most cases so there isn't a problem in the amplifier. If you have heat problems,you want the part of the amplifier with the most surface area to be facing up, most of the time that's how they get more airflow as well.

[KU40 173]

Mounting vertically (with one end up) is actually the second best method of mounting the amp, next to laying flat. Obviously laying flat allows the heat to rise directly off of the amp. But mounting vertically allows the hot air to move smoothly up between the cooling fins. When mounted upright but horizontally (ends to left and right), the heat can get trapped a bit in the cooling fins since it has to move laterally out in one way or another when it's down at the base of the cooling fins. Air doesn't move laterally as well as vertically if heat is the only thing causing the air movement since it just wants to rise.