HarleyF150

hey y'all. new to the forum and looking for a lil advice. i got an 06 F150 harley edition and would like to but a decent audio system together. i already got a new head unit (Pioneer DEH-P4200UB) ready to go in. however i'd like to install components up front and in the rear, and install a subwoofer or two under the rear seats. My questions are this:

1) is putting 6.5" components with 1" tweeters front and rear (about 80 watt rms a peice x4) a good idea? (overkill, to difficult to install, anything i need to know???)

2) will one 10" sub do the job? if so how many watts to match up with the component setup?

3) what kind of amp setup? one 5-channel amp? one 4-channel and a mono block? any other way?

4) running this many watts how much sound dampening should i invest in?

I know this is alot to ask but i really wanna do this right. i hate riding with my boys running two 12" subs on stock door speakers and all that dumb ****. also, i will probably be buying all this on ebay, refurbished most likely.

AND... if anyone feels like recomending certain brands for any of the audion components (speakers,wiring, amp, sub) please feel free.

Thanks alot guys. looking forward to some good advice

GATORB8

I'd forget components for the rear doors, waste of money and having a high powered rear stage just pulls your soundstage towards the back of the truck. The most I would do in the rear doors is coaxials on head unit power, and that's just because you have a supercrew (rears are disconnected in my Scab). I've got 100W RMS running to a pair of Pioneer Premieer TS-D720C (rated at 60W RMS) in my front doors. This setup doesn't distort at the loudest I can stand to play it. Front doors are easy install, especially if the comps you get come with an adapter plate. My 1-1/8" tweets are about as big as you can squeeze into the factory tweeter recess when you count the frames. Rear doors are just about as easy.

I've got a high sensitivity 10 at 93 dBs with 300W, and it matches up well to the components. It get's plenty loud for my at 27, but if you want it to slam, I'd step up to two 10s.

I'm running a 100Wx4 RMS Class D, front channels to the front doors, rears bridge (300W RMS) to the sub. If you go to two subs, I'd do a two channel for the fronts and a mono for the subs (can you tell I hate rear fill)

I haven't gotten around to dampening yet, but I'm surprised how little vibration I've got in the cab for a stock truck. Definitely check out sounddeadenershowdown.com . There are better alternatives than dropping $500 on Dynamat. Look into mass loaded vinyl and closed cell foams. Some alternative brands include Damplifier, RAAMmat and Second Skin Audio.

Besides ebay, also check out the discount audio sites like sonicelectronix and woofersetc. Google shopping is your friend, find a model you want and look for it there. Check out the classifieds and hot deals forum at diyma.com as well.

knukonceptz.com for wiring, I couldn't find a better deal for quality stuff, spring for the kolossus line instead of the KLM (copper coated aluminum).

What's your price range?

HarleyF150

well id like to be at around $500, and when using the head unit power can u bridge the four outputs to two or how would u wire it?

GATORB8

You can't bridge a head unit. I'd run the rears off of the rear two head unit channels (I'd fade it forward when you don't have passengers to eliminate the rear fill).

You could get close to my setup with $500:

Front Stage: Pioneer Premier TS-D720C 6.75" Comps - $120 Amazon
Rear Stage: None
Sub Stage: Peerless 830876 10" XXLS Subwoofer 4 Ohm - $125 parts-express
Sub Box: Qlogic Qcustom Sealed .65cf - $50 Local Used
Amp: Kenwood eXcelon KAC-X4R - 100Wx2 at 4 ohms to front stage - 300Wx1 at 4 ohms to sub stage - $200 Ebay refurb
Wiring: Knukonceptz Kolossus 4 Gauge 4 Channel Amplifier Installation Kit, Klear Kable Blue Speaker wire: 10 AWG - 3 ft and 12 AWG extra 20ft - $70 knukonceptz.com

HarleyF150

ya i figured you couldn't bridge the head unit outputs, thats just my wishful thinking. also, you wouldnt recommend getting aftermarket coaxials for the rear? i mean idk how the stock ones sound with an aftermarket unit but i would imagine a 2-way would sound much better.
also, if i decided to do a 4-channel setup, front outputs to the component speakers rear to the sub(s) could i use the subwoofer output on the deck i have? the headunit has three seperate rca's (front,rear,subwoofer) and i would prolly try to use the subwoofer output considering the deck allows you to turn up the bass on that output alone with out messing with the front.

GATORB8

Your call on the rears, you can always try it out and switch them out later if you want too. Replacing the rear speakers is a separate process than installing anything else, so it won't be like you're doing any work twice that way.

Yeah, you can just leave the rear RCAs unconnected and use the Sub RCAs for the amp's rear input.

HarleyF150

cool. thanks for the help. i'd like to get started with this setup soon and i know where to come if i need help lol. one more question, is there any advice on how or where to mount the amp? i got one of those shallow mount Xplod subs (got for free) i might try running for a bit but u cant attach an amp to that. can u attach it to the body of the truck or what should i do with that?

GATORB8

You can fit amps on the wall behind the rear seat. There's a walk through in the how-to section on how to do it. It's a little tough the first time, but I can pull it in well under 5 minutes now that I know what I'm doing.

HarleyF150

cool. appreciate the help.

Rob J

I second Knukonceptz for wiring. I just received a dual amp wiring kit, and I can't believe how flexible and high quality that 0/1 gauge wire is. I used to be big into car audio way back, and I've never seen such high quality power cable.

Also, look at going the raw driver route. I just purchased some Dayton RS225's 8" midbass drivers, that I'm installing in the front doors (with a bit of surgery) I'm getting all my sound deadner/acoustics from Don over at Sound Deadner Showdown. He is very helpful, and won't over sell you.