The title says it all really but here goes my long novel of questions…..

I am by no means an stereo guru but I can seem to wrap my head around some things pretty quickly so I am reaching out for a little technical know-how from some of you experts before I make any more decisions on what I do to my truck next. Previously I had a 2005 King Ranch SCREW with the factory sub and sound system that I didn’t do a thing to, and I thought that sounded fine. My new 2010 Lariat has the CRAPPY stock sound and it seems like there are a lot of others out there that feel the same way, and I would like to upgrade but don’t have the $1500 - $2000 to spend to have someone else do this for me. I would like a fairly low budget build I can do myself, that will not cost an arm and leg to get done. There are so many different opinions out there and I have read A LOT of them to date, but I need help understanding some of the basics first. I have no need to blow out any windows or even shake that cool rearview mirror equipped with the back-up camera off the front window, just a little added bass that I can “get down” to if I feel so in the mood!!!

So my first questions (I am sure in a long series of questions to follow) deal with getting into the basics of what I am about to embark upon and what to look for when shopping ebay for parts.

I currently have the stock HU with the 6 disc CD/MP3 changer and the SYNC and do not plan to upgrade that. In reading all the other posts, seems like a lot of you out there are doing the same, which brings me to one of my questions. What is this Metra harness I keep reading about, and what does it do/advantages to using this (or is this just something that you MUST have in order to make it all work with the stock head unit?!?!) Is there another way around that CLUSTER of wires that makes my head spin looking at? Then I am reading about a LC6i converter of some sort and wondering what its purpose is?!?!

This past weekend I did replace the door speakers with 4 Kenwood KFC-C6893PS 6”x8” 3-way speakers that I got for $81.50 off ebay. They sound better than the paper stockers but how much better can they get with an amp? Should I get separate amps for sub/door speakers? A multi-channel to power sub/subs and amp? If I do it little by little what’s best in the long run as far as upgradable?

I have asked many questions here and please forgive my ignorance but if you have read this far and even know of a great thread I should read that I have not come across yet, please feel free to post a reply!

 

I just found a package deal on ebay and maybe y'all can weigh in on it and let me know your thoughts and if there are any major problems in the deal that I don't have the foresight to see ....?!?!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

I am a little skeptical about kits like this. First off that amp he listed does not put out 350 watts. It puts out 300 watts and unless I am missing it I do not see how much air space the enclosure has, so who knows if it will be a good match for that subwoofer. Based on what I read above if you were happy with the factory subwoofer in your old truck it won't take much to please you. With that said I would say get one 10 inch subwoofer and a 5 channel amp to power the sub and your door speakers. I have a Polk Audio 1100.5 in my truck. I am pushing 80 watts at 4 ohms to my door speakers and 600 watts at 1 ohm to a 12 inch Alpine Type R and in my opinion it sounds great.

 

Thanks for the input! I am definately leaning towards building my own box.... but with record high tempuratures every day and climbing, a pre-packaged deal sounds kinda nice too! Any input on the harness or converter?

 

No problem. I do not have experience with the harness or converter as I have an aftermarket deck in my truck. I'm sure someone else will chime in to shed some light.

 

The metra harness allows you to not have to cut into any factory wires, and it allows you to retain your sync and bluetooth. The harness plugs into the back of your stock head unit and then you plug the other side into your stock harness, and it came with two little black bluetooth connectors and i just plugged them into each other. Also i ran some 9 conductor speedwire to the metra harness and spliced it into that (the colors do not match up to the factory harness but the way they are labeled on the harness tells you which wire goes to what speaker if that makes any sense, everything wires correctly) and ran the speedwire all the way back to my lc6i which is basically a line out converter that allows you to add amps to a factory radio, you should check out their website and read up on it. It will explain all of its features better than i can.

As for advantages of the metra harness, the only one i can think of is not having to cut into any factory wires and you can keep your sync and bluetooth and steering wheel controls.
Im no professional by any means, im sure one of the more experienced guys will chime in and explain things better than i can.

 

I forgot to mention that you could get a good 5 channel amp and power all of your doors and then you have one left over for the sub that way you can save a little and not buy two amps but a good 5 channel may be a little more price wise.

You could check out sonicelectronix.com, but they arent really an authorized dealer of certain things or so ive heard but i think alot of people on here have bought from them with no problms including me.

I dont know how much you really are wanting to do, but if you are going to put an amp to all of your door speakers, id just run new speaker wire, but only if you dont have those molex connectors up front. If you dont know what those are just search it and youll find out. Also if you dont have the molex connectors and you run new wire to each door use halfpricecaraudio.com for your speaker wire you can get a 50ft roll of nice wire for like 12 bucks.

 

Ok, thank you! A metra Harness it is seeing as how I want to keep the Bluetooth, the SYNC and the steering wheel controls. I also think the converter sounds necessary so I will do some more homework, but will also add it to the list.

I have already been to sonic electronix after reading about them on multiple threads so I am starting there …. But now don’t know where to start my search?!?!? I am going to custom make a box to the required dimensions of _____ brand sub, being powered by ____ amp. I will then run ____AWG wire to … etc. etc. etc.

I need help filling in the blanks here guys and I am thinking that I need to start with the sub first. Here’s what I’m thinking at this time ….. looking at getting a single 12” to go into my custom sealed enclosure box under the seat, down firing. I would prefer to keep it under the passenger folding bench so I can save more useable space behind me for larger items when needed. This is not a must, just a preference at this point. I am thinking that $120 would be a starting price point but that could go up +/- $50 for a FAR SUPERIOR sub. I mentioned before that the factory sub in my 05 KR was good enough, but then let’s face it … If I am spending a lot of time and money on this I want it to sound good. I also want someone to get into my truck and say “Damn, that’s just one 12 in here”. So with those parameters in mind, any suggestions?

Is the Rockford Fosgate Punch P3SD412 a decent sub? Keep in mind I am not spending the money for the 13.5 inch JL which appears to be the way to go, and have heard good things about the Alpine SWR T12 but then we are climbing up the price ladder QUICKLY and not to mention that the BM MKIII is nowhere to be found and the BM MKIV is a year away from being available.

 

Space is your enemy with a 12 inch subwoofer, that is unless you go with a shallow mount sub or install a seat lift. If you could up your budget to at least 175-200 for the subwoofer I think that would open up quite a few options for you in terms of something that would have your friends saying "Damn that's just one 12" One option as far as the box goes maybe would be something like this https://www.soundoffaudio.com/item.cfm/id/2472 then the mounting depth of the sub would no longer be an issue.

 

I think the first thing you should do is determine which sub will fit your application.

Putting a 12 inch sub under the passenger seat, without a lift, is going to dictate going with a shallow 12. The two best choices are the MKIII and Alpine. The JL just isn't worth the money IMO. The problem with the two best choices is they blow your budget out of the water.

There is one shallow, if it can still be found, that might work. It is a discontinued model.
http://www.woofersetc.com/p-7061-15-...subwoofer.aspx

It isn't really a SQ sub but should be plenty loud. The recommended box size is .6 which is a little bigger that what will fit under just the passenger. You would end up with a little less than half the back used.


Once you have a sub picked out then move to the amp to get the power you want. From there the wiring kit that works.

 

Good read on shallows.

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/subwo...available.html

 

I am definitely looking at shallow/thin subs only. And at this point, just about everything is in the air (maybe budget included???)

I am going to build my own box so today, I took a little time to try and figure out my design and the attached drawing (hopefully?!?!) shows what I thought might work. [IMG][/IMG]

I ended up doing some rough calcs and came up with just under 0.60 CF and that did not take into account the subs displacement and in fact I had the sub sitting directly on the ground (I know it would not/cannot do that, but this is only just a draft to see where I am at). Is there not a measurement given in the spec sheets for subs on the depth that they protrude from the face of the box? (called _____?)

So with that said, it looks like I will have to be into the other side just to get what looks like the bare minimum air space for just about ANY of the subs out there. It also looks like the R.F. P3S recommends 1 CF for optimal sound and I am far short of that. Do Ten’s typically require less air space (in general) and should I be looking into those?

 

Ok, so now I am liking more and more the Alpine SWR-T10 for many reasons (all but price really, but if I do go with it (1.) is it really designed for an "optimum" sealed box at 0.5 CF and (b.) is the kicker ZX750.5 going to be enough to power this whole system? I really like the idea of just one amp but is there one powerful enough for this sub with out breaking the rest of my bank (if I do this sub)?!?!

 

From having made a box that looks very close to your design you might want to change the front. The double angle back is not neccessary. You can come almost straight down and no one will notice that is sitting in the back. This will give you a little more space to work with, and be a lot easier to build.

If you want to go tens then you do not have to go shallows.

For a single 10 that won't break the bank and has a voice coil configuration that allows for enough power from a nice smaller amp look at the Image Dynamics ID10. It is more than enough sub to feel it. I had one and it was well suited and sounded really good. I ended up replacing it for the simple reason that I wanted even louder.

http://www.woofersetc.com/p-4993-id1...subwoofer.aspx

You would have to extend the box a few more inches but it would still only be about half the back.

For an ID10 you would want at around 1 1/2 inches clearance from the bottom of the box.

For amps, Kicker makes decent mono amps but their full range isn't all that hot IMO.

There are better choices for multi channel amps.
Two that come to mind are:
Cadence ZRS-C8
Image Dynamics i5800

 

Langlowe- You think that the Cadence ZRS-C8 would be a good amp for the combo Alpine SWR-T10 (or T-12 if I can fit it; as someone suggested I try in my other thread) along with my Kenwood KFC-C6893PS 6”x8”. I think that the price of that amp looks pretty good; however I did find one that was a factory refurbished for about $100 less than the NEW price. Any thoughts on a FACTORY refurbished amp? My gut feeling is to stay away from a refurb ANYTHING, but don't know squat when it comes to amps and what they can do from the factory?!?!

What about the non-authorized dealers and the warranties they offer; Keeping in mind I am looking on ebay at the same stores that you and a few other of the experts on this site have suggested in multiple threads.