# F250 Super Duty Sound System [Install Help Please]



## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

I've got some system parts and need some guidance and direction making it sound its best.

My ride is a 2009 F250 Super Duty crew cab. Here's what I have to play with at this point.


Pioneer AVH-P4400BH
JL Audio HD900/5 Amplifier
Knu 4ga Kolussus Fleks Wire
JL Audio C2-570 (5x7) Coaxial in the rear
JL Audio C5-570 (5x7) Component in the front
Custom Ported Enclosure for [2] 12" Subs by SPL2K
[2] Pioneer TS-SW3001S4 Shallow 12" (single 4 ohm voice coil)

I'm wanting to have a fun system in my truck. 

The headunit, amp, and rear coaxials are mounted. 

The front speakers have not yet been mounted because I have never installed a set of components before. I'm thinking of mounting the crossover in the door and putting the tweeters on the sail panels. While my truck did not originally come with the OEM tweeters, the trucks that do have tweets from the factory have them mounted in the front sail panels. Does this sound ok?

The sub box and subs have not been installed as I'm waiting on delivery. How should I wire them up? I'm thinking I would wired them into a 2ohm load, right?

Finally, I have some Stinger Roadkill sound deadening, one bulk pack of about 36sq feet. Where would be the best place to lay this stuff down? Around the speakers in the front doors? Inside the doors? On the rear cab wall?



I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out with making my install as clean and nice as possible. If you have any tips or advice about mounting those tweeters on the C5s or where you think the sound deadener would be best served, let me know. Thanks for any help you can give.


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## gsxr1300 (May 23, 2012)

I am also installing a system in my F250 and waiting for my box from SPL2K, I have the power rear window so I will be using 1 12" sub. I also am using a HD900/5 amp. So Ill be interested in following this thread.


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

Thanks. I have had subs in the past, but that was when I was much younger and things were sort of "thrown" together. I want this to look nice. That's why I'd appreciate tips for making this look decent.

I got my box from SPL2K today. It is beautiful. Michael does excellent work and seems to be well regarded in the Super Duty world. My box is ported and holds two 12" Pioneer shallow mount subs. 

I have a few reservations about whether or not the sub channel of my HD900/5 can push two of the woofers which claim to have a 400w RMS rating. With only 500w on the sub channel, the subs will only be getting roughly 1/2 of what they are rated to handle. But Michael seemed to be confident that they would sound great, especially since I went with the ported enclosure. We will see what happens in a few days when I get the box installed.

My other big concern is where I'm going to mount the tweeters from my C5-570s. I want to put them in the sail panels for ease of installation, but those panels look difficult for a NOOB to deal with.


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## ashjm (Mar 4, 2011)

I have almost no experience with installing in superduty trucks (though I do drive one at work. Can't possibly imagine why you'd want to upgrade that awesome stock stereo...lol...), but I'll answer what I can.

First, regarding sending 500w rms to a pair of subs rated to handle 400w each: trust me, it'll get plenty loud! I once followed a thread from a very wise speaker engineer whose signature read something to the effect of "Remember, power handling is not a power requirement!" Just cause they can handle 800 watts doesn't need you have to feed them that much. You may be leaving a few db on the table by "underpowering" them, if you can even call it that, but the tradeoff is that you won't have to worry about exceeding the thermal power handling of your subs; they'll probably last longer. Second, using two subs increases the efficiency of the wattage you do have. Two subs getting 250w each will yield a higher spl than a single identical sub at 500w. Third, bandpass enclosures are typically quite efficient, so unless you're a hardcore bass-head, your 500w will net you plenty of bass.

Regarding the Stinger roadkill: first off, I am right in the middle of re-doing a system in my miata (I believe you F250 guys refer to them more commonly as "speed bumps"). I used Stinger Roadkill allllll over that car. Really wish I hadn't done that. This stuff is very, very messy if you ever want to remove it or have to come in contact with those areas ever again. The asphalt backing is gooey, sticky, and ruins everything it touches. Some of that stuff didn't really stay put, either; the stuff I put on the door panels had sagged and melted off. I've used eDead, RAAMat, and Alphadamp products as well, and have never had anything like that happen before. I'm not saying don't use it; it is very effective, after all. Just know what you're getting into and don't put it anywhere you don't want tar to stick to. Or even close.

Best place for the deadening according to traditional wisdom is 1. doors (outer door skin and inner door panel, around where the woofer will be mounted) and 2. any other large panels that resonate.

Sail panels are usually not too tough to remove; maybe ask around on an f-250 forum for advice there? While the sail panel may not be the acoustically "best" place for a tweeter, it is usually pretty decent. No many "normal" people will notice any difference between that location and the next, and fewer still will care about that difference. If you're abnormal like many of us on this forum, you might want to experiment with tweeter placement. Otherwise, the sail panel is easy, stealthy, and almost certainly won't sound bad, so go for it.

As for sub wiring, your JL's sub channel is rated to 1.5 ohms, so you are correct; wiring them in parallel for a 2-ohm load is most likely going to work best.

Hope some of this has helped!


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

Thank you so much. This was a seriously helpful post. 

I'm obviously new to this forum, and have read some truly impressive builds on this site. I'm not capable of that kind of work. But I'm better than just running wires on top of the carpet and and making my ride look like it was thrown together by a gorilla. 

Thanks for helping me get a great start!


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## gsxr1300 (May 23, 2012)

post some pictures 
I should be getting my box tomorrow!


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

Cool deal. 
Here are a few pics of my install attempt.



Partially gutted interior




















Dash ripped up to install the Pioneer AVH-4400











A few night shots of the head unit



















Sub box by SPL2K for 2 shallow mount 12" subs, ported.





























Amp under right, rear seat.













It's getting there.


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## gsxr1300 (May 23, 2012)

looking good!


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## Gary S (Dec 11, 2007)

Important: Do not install the passive xovers in the doors - they should be treated as amplifiers are and mounted in the interior. Many doors can and do leak water/rain. Hide them behind a pannel in the interior.

I recomend installing tweets next to the midbass drivers. Just because OEM puts them one place does not mean it's the best place. Equal or near equal path lengths for drivers are best. 

The rest sounds like you are off to a good start.


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

A few more progress pics.

Stinger Roadkill on the back wall.










A shot of the Pioneer shallow subs in the box.










Here's the remote level control I installed in the dash


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

I have a question now.

I seem to be having some issues with my subwoofer control on my headunit (Pioneer AVH-4400). The headunit has the ability to turn the subwoofer on or off. When you turn it on, it allows you to adjust the crossover frequency, adjust the sub level, and shift the phase 180deg. My problem is that the subs play regardless of whether or not the sub control is on or off!

Furthermore, the subs don't respond to adjustments to the Low Pass filter or the level control options on the headunit.

They do respond accordingly if I make my adjustments on the amplifier (JL HD900/5).

The subs seem to react to adjustments I make to the headunits High Pass filter. They get louder if I shift the crossover lower (like 50Hz) and softer if I move the frequency to, say 125Hz. 

Is it possible I have an RCA mixed up on the back of the headunit? How can I tell?
The proper speakers play when I fade to each corner of the vehicle. Would that be an indicator that everything is hooked up correctly? Also, the rear speakers in the headunit are set as "FULL." If I set them to subwoofer, they stop playing. Would this also be an indicator that things are wired properly?

Aslo, my remote level control works normally for the subs.

As it sits now, all the High Pass and Low Pass filtering is off on the headunit and done by the amplifier. I have the front and rear door speakers set at ~75Hz at 12dB and the subs crossed at ~80Hz at 12dB.

Everything sounds decent at this point, but someting has to be off with my wiring or with my RCA hookups because the subwoofer control on the headunit isn't responding properly. I feel like I might be leaving a lot on the table if I just leave everything as it is and just run it. Thanks for any pointers.


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## excelerater (May 23, 2005)

I own a F350.......Why Ford uses Oval Speakerholes makes me scratch my head,very frustrating....


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## cruzinbill (Jul 15, 2011)

seminaryanger said:


> I have a question now.
> 
> I seem to be having some issues with my subwoofer control on my headunit (Pioneer AVH-4400). The headunit has the ability to turn the subwoofer on or off. When you turn it on, it allows you to adjust the crossover frequency, adjust the sub level, and shift the phase 180deg. My problem is that the subs play regardless of whether or not the sub control is on or off!
> 
> ...


You more than likely hooked them up to the rear out and not the sub out on the back of the deck. Just pull it back out and double check where you plugged in the RCAs

They should be plugged into the bottom set.


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

I figured out my problem. 
Oops!

I had my amplifier set incorrectly. It needed to be switched to [6 Channel] mode and I had it set to [4 Channel]. My bad!

The stereo install is going pretty good, overall. I will say that I've never had so many little issues with my system as I have with this one. But other "systems" have consisted of a sub and amp and nothing else, just factory speakers in the doors. 

I'm getting a lot of vibrations in the truck at this point. Again, this isn't something I've experienced in the past. It's like my door panels are vibrating or buzzing, particularly with higher bass notes. It even sounds as if some of my A-Pilar trim pieces are making noise. Looks like I need to lay some of that Roadkill down...

One final question. I've been reading up on how some folks are making a speaker ring out of MDF for the door speakers. What benefit does this give versus mounding the speaker directly to the sheetmetal door? It even looks like some folks are putting a non-hardening clay around the MDF. If this something I should do when I install my 5x7" components in the front doors?


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## gsxr1300 (May 23, 2012)

how did you connect the 4g wire to your battery?


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

gsxr1300 said:


> how did you connect the 4g wire to your battery?


I terminated the wire with a ring terminal. The Ford batter has a connector with several bolts on it for the OEM connections. I unscrewed one of the nuts and installed the ring terminal. I the connection looks pretty solid.

Here are a few more progress pics for this thread.




This is the underhood wiring. 










This shows the inner door skin getting a layer of sound deadening.










Here's a comparison photo of the OEM Ford speaker and the JL C2 570x I used in the rear cab pilars. The factory speaker has a paper cone. Wow.










This shows the vapor barrier reinstalled on the front door. I also installed about 50% sound deadening coverage to the outer door skin that is not visible in this pic. You can see, however, the JL C5 570 woofer in the stock location.










The door panel reinstalled and the tweeter mounted. I wanted to flush mount that tweeter so bad, but I don't think there's enough clearance behind the sail panel.










I've never seen speaker wire pants before, lol. But I used them. The Kicker wire is nice. It's 12ga that goes to the subs.










Not bad.










Here's a final shot of the amp mounted to the floor of the truck and the rear seats about to be reinstalled.










Finally, here's a finished view of the rear seats. No leg room was lost, and everything looks factory in the back. 



















I am satisfied with the way everything sounds and I am mostly satisfied with the way the install looks. I truly with I had the skill some of you guys have. There are a lot of top-notch, clean installs on this site.

Things I would change if I had moar skillz would be to run aftermarket speaker wire into the front doors. My truck has big, plastic molex connectors. I've read about drilling them out and am ok with that; however, I have no idea how I would reach the wire where it goes inside of the cab. It looks to be burried behind the dash. OEM speaker wire will have to do for now. 

The other thing I would like to change is to make those tweeters fit nicer by flush mounting them. The sail panels are curved which makes a rookie like me afraid to get crazy. I'd like to find a set of OEM sail panels that have tweeters factory installed and see if I could put my JL tweets in the stock location.

That's really about it. My dad has a similar Super Duty with stock stereo and I just can't believe how terrible the factory stereo sounds compared to what I have now. Granted, I payed more for this system than I wanted, but in the end it sounds pretty good. I don't have to hear those Nittos mud tiires roaring down the road.


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## gsxr1300 (May 23, 2012)

nice job!
did you have to cut factory wires to connect to the front speakers? 
I am keeping my stock nav head unit and still have to decide on what line out converter/processor to get


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

gsxr1300 said:


> did you have to cut factory wires to connect to the front speakers?


Yeah, I had to cut the factory speaker wires because I ran component speakers. When I just had coaxial speakers up front, I used an adapter harness. I suppose I could have plugged the adapter in and cut the ends off the adapter, but I thought about that after the fact. Oh well. Like I said I am not pro installer. I just cut off the OEM connector a few inches back so that I could reconnect it if I ever needed to. 

I spliced into the factory speaker wire behind the deck. It was not ideal as I have always run larger gauge speaker wire to the doors in other setups I've done. But that plastic connector in the door was making life really difficult. That and the way the Super Duty dash sits makes getting to the other side of that connector a chore. Not that it can't be done, but I couldn't afford to rip my dash out and have an undriveable vehicle for a day or two. If you figure out how to get new wire into the doors, please, pretty please, take pics and let me know because I'll do it if it doesn't take my truck off the road for two or three days! lol 

This is my only transportation. As it was, I was up till 2am several nights trying to get stuff put back in for the next day.


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## NRA4ever (Jul 19, 2010)

You can run wire into your door. I use a cable tie for a fishtape. Mount your crossovers inside behind your door panel. I put some 1&1/2 inch thick close cell foam behind my door panels. Its just around the outside edge between the brackets that hold the panels on. It stopped my rattles.I have a 04 F250 4 door. I will be installing my sub where the console sets. I will use 1 Incriminator Audio or a ssa 12 in a ported box. I have all old school amps for power. I have a 4x90 USAmp A 2x100 USAmp & a 300x1 Earthquake amp. I'm building pods for Exodus Audio Anarchy 6.5s plus a set of their 6.5 neo in the factory holes. I have I have Morel tweeters. The Anarchys go real low & get real loud. I have a set in my ranger. I had them on 250 watts rms a side for a short time. They were do loud I could not hear my sub & tweets. I have a old Phonex Gold MS 275 on them now. It works great


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## joebooch (Feb 9, 2012)

I have 3 Pioneer 4 ohm 12" ibFlats in a sealed box under the rear seat in my 2011 F150 SCREW powered by a Fosgate BD1000. They are great sounding shallow drivers for the $. You'll be happy with them.


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## seminaryanger (Jun 11, 2012)

NRA4ever said:


> You can run wire into your door. I use a cable tie for a fishtape. Mount your crossovers inside behind your door panel. I put some 1&1/2 inch thick close cell foam behind my door panels. Its just around the outside edge between the brackets that hold the panels on. It stopped my rattles.I have a 04 F250 4 door.


Does your truck door have the plastic molex connector? 
My issue is that I have this plastic connector in my 2009 F250, it's like a plug the size of a lime. The only way to get speaker wire into the door without drilling sheet metal is to drill a hole inside a blank area in this plug. 

I have no problems drilling the male end of the plug (the door side) but getting to the female end (the cab side) will be about impossible without removing the door. Additionally, the back side of the female end of this plug is buried behind the dash. I just don't know if it would be worth the extra work.

Thanks for the idea about the foam behind the door panels. I definitely need to do that.


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