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2007 XLT 4x4 SCrew - Finally got my system installed and tuned a few weeks ago, and am very pleased. Started to place this in the Head Unit forum since interfacing to my factory HU was key. But it's the amps and speakers that make it great, so here goes:

 

Factory HU - Option #586. 6-Disc In-Dash CD/MP3 Changer, AM/FM with RDS, Speed Control Volume, Line-In on top of dash.




Wiring Harness - Home built harness from Metra and Scosche connectors. Designed to plug in between factory harness and factory head unit without cutting any factory wires. Passes all wires through except speaker wires. Speaker outputs from HU are routed to after-market amp under rear seat. Amp outputs are routed back up to dash and into factory harness to the door speakers.

Got the Metra 71-5520-1 (to HU) from Installer.com, and the Scosche FDK11B (to vehicle) from local BestBuy. Could not find both connectors from one source. As far as I can tell, Scosche doesn't make a unit that plugs into HU, and Metra doesn't make a unit that plugs into vehicle that carries the mute and volume wires. This took some research, trial and error guys...




Power 1 - Tsunami 100 Amp fuse (despite 200 Amp in picture) and 4 Gauge cable from truck battery to rear of cab. Capable of driving amplifiers rated to total of 850 Watts.




Power 2 - Tsunami fused power distribution block with 20 and 30 Amp fuses (despite the 40 Amp in picture). One supplies the main amp for door speakers, the other supplies the sub amp. This is under right-rear seat next to amp.

 

Amp 1 - Pioneer GM-4000F 4-channel amp for door speakers. Rated at 35W per channel continuous, 75W per channel peak. Using speaker-level inputs, but also has line-level inputs. Also has a full-range front-rear mixed stereo line-out, but not in use. Has internal fixed crossovers for speaker outputs to front and rear channels: HPF, LPF, and Full. Running at full range – this puts a little more mid-bass into the door speakers, which sounds great. The additional SPL provided by separate sub amp keeps the main amp from being over taxed, even at full range.




Amp 2 - Amp is mounted under right-rear passenger seat (where the jack normally goes). Jack has been placed in tool box. Jack mounting bolts through floorboard provided perfect place for connecting ground wires - paint was already removed beneath bolt heads.



Amp 3 - 3/4 plywood amp shelf is double thickness in front and resting on a third block of 3/4 plywood, which is recessed out of view. This raises shelf above lip of Husky floor trays. The size of the amp required the shelf extend out over the tray just a bit, but it’s still fully beneath the seat. This also keeps shelf level. It’s single thickness in rear and rests on floorboard, which is sloped up towards rear of seat. There is space underneath for ground connections and other wires. Velcro strips are stapled to bottom in front and rear to grip carpet. Everything fits perfectly with no sliding around or rattling, and no holes drilled. Sideboard protects system from blowing rain when door is open.



Speaker Wire - InstallBay "9-Conn" 18GA Quick Cable. Each contains 4 pairs of speaker wire and an extra wire for remote amp turn-on. Runs down driver's side of truck. One goes into amp, the other back out and up to wiring harness in dash.

 

Speaker - Pioneer Rev Series TS-D680R's in all 4 doors. Two-way 6x8 with Kevlar woofer and 250W power handling. These things sound great on the factory HU alone, and absolutely kick with the Pioneer amp. They’re really good even without a sub (but the sub adds depth that’s otherwise impossible).




Sub 1 - Bottom view of MTX Amplified/Loaded Thunderform. Contains 12" Thunder4500 woofer and 200 Amp Class-D amp. It’s all tuned to work together. The woofer operates at .73 ohms, so this thing really kicks.




Sub 2 - Rear of sub enclosure with recessed panel for wiring and controls. Crossover is variable. Inputs operate at line or speaker level. I got best sound quality using speaker level, by tapping off of rear-channel outputs on main amp. This does not change the impedance load presented to the amp. Crossover is set at around 75-80 Hz.




Sub 3 - View from driver's side of truck with rear seat up. No drilling was required to secure enclosure. It fits perfectly and snugly with no sliding around. I did place a piece of Velcro tape on bottom between sub and Husky floor tray, just in case. Note how extension on side of enclosure fits into seat bracket.

 

Sub 4 - View from right side of truck. Sub enclosure fits nicely under left seat.




Sub 5 - View from driver's side. Looks like part of the truck.




Sub Level 1 - Remote "EBC" (Electronic Bass Control). Basically, a remote level control that came with sub. Mounted on side of console next to driver's seat. Out of view and real handy. Main amp gain is only set to about 90%. Still, turn this control all the way up and you can hear it thump from inside the house 3 doors down. It sounds good inside the truck when turned all the way down, really. I crank it to only about 40% when I’m rocking out and want to really feel it. OK, sometimes more, but I know it’s not right…




Sub Level 2 - Wire runs from sub under rear Husky floor liner to console. Excess wire is stuffed under console. These two small holes to mount control to console are the only ones drilled in entire installation.

 

I have the speakers faded a bit to the front. This keeps stereo imaging up front and still provides a nice rear fill. It also keeps the bass manageable, since the sub is driven from the rear channels. Still, I have the HU bass control turned slightly down. Sound quality is great! This system will crank all the way without distortion, but that's way too loud for comfort. At mid-volume it pushes about 100 decibels. Three-quarters keeps the needle on my SPL meter pegged at 110 decibels, and it will still go lots louder. I can recommend this setup to anyone.

Sorry, no pictures of the actual truck yet, but it looks very much like my last one.

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Very nice. It looks awesome. I am a big fan of MTX.

 

very nice clean install

 

cool stealth install.. bet it sounds damn good too.

 

Nice job. Looks great. Clean and stealthy.

 

Very clean install TFORD. Nice job. It sounds like you've created a well-balanced system.

I'm curious why you went with a fused distro block? Your amps are fused and so is your main power wire.

Also, neither of those amps should be able to pull more than 20A right? So 40A fuses in the block seem like too much tolerance. A 200A fuse for the main is definitley too much. I would think that a 60A fuse there would be more appropriate. You always want to go with the lowest amperage rating that you can get by with, for the maximum amount of protection. There's no need to allow the possibility of 200A of current to be sucked through that wire if you don't need it. And if it ever does, you'll melt that 4 AWG before the fuse blows.

 

Thanks for the comments, guys. I appreciate all the tips I picked up on this site. It took a while to figure everything out and make the final decisions. There was some troubleshooting along the way, too. I did the installation myself except for having the power kit and speaker wire run by a local stereo shop.

051fdrof, I went with the distro block because I added the sub amp a few weeks after the main, and the power guys said not to "daisy chain" it. I think you're right about the fuse sizes, though. That's what the power guys put in, saying they were the right size for the kit and my intended setup. I later noticed the amps both have 20 amp fuses, but since getting the other bugs worked out of the system I sort of forgot about this. Thanks for the reminder! I'll probably go with 25's in the block and the maybe a 50A or 60A as you recommend in the main.

You know, what gets me is I had a 60A fuse and holder from my last truck (that was totally installed professionally) that I gave to the power installer. He said it was way too small. I'm beginning to wonder about those guys. I think they sold me wire designed to support thousands more watts than I needed. In their defense, though, they were recommending I go with 1000 watts for the sub. I should have done the math myself. What wire size would you guys have used?

BTW, my problem with a separate sub amp was where to put it. I just didn't like any of my options, and I didn't want to move my main amp up under the front passenger seat like it was before. That's what got me looking at powered units. I was amazed that the "little" 200W MTX unit hit so hard. I read many comments on the net that said it would, and they were right. This thing is tight and clean, too.

 

I'm glad you're going to change your fuses. It was irresposible for your local car stereo shop to install a 200A fuse on your main. If that cable shorts to ground, that fuse won't pop until it's too late. By too late I mean "car-fire" too late!





A 4 AWG main is plenty for what your pulling. You can probably get away with about a 100A load (about 700W RMS) before moving up to a larger power cable. So, once again your local shop miscalculated if they really thought that you were going to run a 1000W sub amp. That would have been a 165A load on 4 AWG cable, which brings us right back to the car fire scenario.

Don't let them ever touch your truck again!

As far as amp locations are concerned, behind the rear seat back is very popular. You'll find tons of threads with a search.

 

Looks great TFord!

Very nicely done

 

Ouch! Looks like someone has first hand knowledge! That's very unfortunate. I'm scared now, and will have this fixed ASAP. Should have done the math myself!

Thanks again for the tip.