I am trying to hook up my amp in my 97 ss and can't seem to find anywhere to ground it out at. Its always reccomended to ground within 18 inches of the amp... is that possible or do I have to run it back to the battery post?
The withing 18 inches of the applies only to cars. It should be grounded to the battery (a couple folks here prefer the engine block but I have had better luck with direct connection to the battery).
why does that only apply in cars, thats weird!!! Owell, I guess I'll run it back to the battery then. Does it matter if the power and ground are run on the same side of the boat, or should I run them on opposite sides?
You can run the power and ground on the same side with no problems. You would want to keep signal wires away if possible. Also you should consider running both the positive and negative with at least 8 ga wire if only running one amp. If you are running more that that I would go to 4ga and then a distribution block near the amps. I just finished wiring two amps into my 97 supersport. I mounted them on the wall behind the passanger seat. I used some 3 inch by 1/8 inch thick aluminum flat stock and bent it at a angle to bolt the amps to. Then I screwed the aluminum into the floor. It turned out pretty good. I don't have any pics currently but when I am back home this weekend I could take some if you want. Let me know