# 2010 Ford F-150 Platinum - System Upgrade



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

I figured I would share this just in case someone else might have a similar truck and want some ideas... although it won't be near as fancy as most of the other builds here. 

You would think at 50 years old I would grow out of the DIY car audio installs and either be happy with the factory system or at least let a car audio shop do it for me. But no... I just can't leave it alone. I guess is makes me feel younger piddlin' around with it.

I have a 2010 F-150 Platinum Supercrew with the Sony system, Nav and SYNC. I will keep the factory head unit and replace the front speakers... as well as take the factory sub out and install dual 10's.

Final install will include:


Factory Nav System with Sync
JBL MS-8 OEM Integration Processor
JL Audio HD900/5 Amp (Active on Fronts)
Hertz HSK-163 (3-Way Comps)
Factory Rear Door Speakers
Dual Sundown Audio SD-2 10" D4 Subwoofers (Custom Box)

I haven't long installed a system in my 07 Explorer Sport Trac, which I will be selling before too much longer. From that system I have a JL Audio HD900/5 amp and one Sundown SD-2 10 D4 subwoofer, of which I have ordered another to have dual 10's. I left Massive CK6 components in the ST because of the modification I had to do to install them ... and I want to try something different in the Platinum.

I will try to remember to take pics as I go.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Here are some preliminary pics of what I have to deal with...

I think I can tap into the current battery terminal with no issues... but will add another ground wire.











Ford conveniently placed a grommet pass-thru in the firewall behind the glove box where the power wire will be easy enough to fish thru. I already have a short wire passed thru for testing.




















Factory subwoofer to be removed.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

More preliminary pics of what I have to deal with in the door speakers. Ford aligned them with the opening pretty well. Here is a shot of the 5 x 7 with the grill off.




















There is not as much depth as I thought, although I do have about 1" between the door metal and the door panel to help out. The problem will be the diameter of the speaker magnet if it gets over about 2.5" deep. I can gain about a half inch by adding a plate between the metal door and the speaker. I believe the HSK163's should be fine with the plate I build to mount them added.











Taking the SONY emblem off is not a big issue, but it does leave three tiny holes in the the speaker grill to deal with.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

I will use the factory location for the tweeters, which is one reason I selected the HSK163 system... the HT25 tweeters should fit perfectly. I hope the angle will be okay. 











The mids will go in the sails...


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Sub box is built.

The box volume is currently .637ft³ gross... 477ft³ net (subtracting .08ft³ each for driver displacement).

If my calculations are right with polyfill:

.5lbs = 10% increase in 1ft³
.5lbs = 20% increase in .5ft³
.75lbs = 30% increase in .5ft³
1lb = 40% increase in .5ft³
I will add .75lbs (12oz) to get the box from .477 to .620 (estimating about a 30% increase in volume)... or about .31ft³ net volume per sub. There might be a slightly higher increase since the box is a tad smaller than .5ft³.

The dual sub setup is going to be very limited in box volume, yet the single sub I had in the 07 ST sounded pretty good in a .31ft³ box gross volume (.23ft³ net) and stuffed with polyfill... although I am not sure how much polyfill I had in it. My thinking is I will have a little more volume per sub in this box, so it should extend a little lower in the frequency range. It probably won't be all that noticeable... and I am not sure a 3db increase in SPL by doubling the sub drivers will make that much difference either, but I will see what it does and go from there.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

I have ordered some cashmere carpet and trunk liner to see which will look best with the interior. It won't take much to cover this box.

I will probably end up building some sort of rack or shelving and place the MS-8 and HD900/5 on the same side where the factory sub is located.


----------



## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

I see you are using the MS-8 for integration, but just FYI, there is also this to consider:

iDatalink Maestro


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

I see absolutely no use for it in my install.


----------



## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

Fair enough, but as your first post stated that one purpose of the thread was to share ideas for a build in one of these trucks, I thought I would throw it out there.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

No problem... and thanks!


----------



## slaterbj (Dec 7, 2005)

I really appreciate your detail! I have a 2010 F-150 w/ Sync and Nav that I am looking to upgrade and this will help immensely.

I am planning on (2) 8" RE subs to start, but then adding a DSP of some sort with an amp and new front door speakers.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

You are certainly welcome and I plan to add a lot more as I go. I am waiting on the MS-8 now, which will probably be first of next week before it gets here. 

I hope to work on the door speakers some today... possibly mounting the midranges in the sails.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

I got the mids and tweets installed today... and the speaker wire ran to the mid, which was no easy task.

Ford has the neat little plug for the door wiring that snaps into the door jam.










So... I drilled a small hole on the back side of the connectors and fished the speaker wire through. I used a nylon rod I have for fishing. There is a large rubber grommet/cover on the inside that already has a bundle of wires passing through it, so I fished the rod through the drill hole and finessed my way through the grommet, then pulled my speaker wire through... and then fished it through the door harness cover and on up to the mid.





























Cutting the hole out for the midrange required cutting part of the window vent. Not a real big deal and it doesn't look super nice and neat, but it will work. I covered the cutout part of the vent with Gorilla tape and a small piece of Dynamat. This gave me plenty of room to mount the mid.





























Attention Hertz... what is the deal with only giving me 4 screws for the midrange drivers? I need 8... and preferably 8 of the same size/type. You gave me 4 that were right... and 4 that would work, but they don't match. I don't think anyone will notice them and start comparing, but com'on... where is QC in packing? Always toss in more than we need, don't short change us.











And the mid/tweets are mounted. I ain't crazy about the black grills, but I can live with it, provided they end up sounding good.











The MS-8 should be here by first of next week and hopefully I will be able to get some noise in this ride by the next weekend or so. Bama plays Michigan on 9/1 ... so I probably won't get to work on it and finish it up until after that game.


----------



## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

First of all, ROLL TIDE. 

Second, I really like the install. I have a 2011 F150 that I did a small install on here a while back. Kinda a pain in the ass to work on these things! Yours looks good so far. Keep this updated! 
Where in Alabama are you?


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

I live in Luverne... about 50 miles south of Montgomery.

Where you at?

Roll Tide!


----------



## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

Sonnie said:


> I live in Luverne... about 50 miles south of Montgomery.
> 
> Where you at?
> 
> Roll Tide!


Tuscaloosa! Just barely outside of town. But close enough that I can see the lights from the stadium from my house. I'm so ready for football season, I can almost taste it.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Awesome... right in the heart of it all.


----------



## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

I'm very interested to hear how this turns out. I'm about ready for an equipment overhaul in my truck. Speakers are starting to have issues and now I think I am having amp problems. I want to keep the factory headunit because I like the bluetooth, SYNC and steering wheel controls. But, I want more control over tuning. Like with using a MS8. 

Keep this thread updated when you can!


----------



## LS1 Sounds (Dec 12, 2009)

Nice progress Sonnie, I have been watching your thread at HTS and will subscribe here too.


----------



## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

Sonnie I meant to tell you, I have an extra pair of billet aluminum 5x7" to 6.5" adapters I made when I did my install. They are in my build thread. If your interested in them by chance, let me know.

My install
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...3-beginning-my-2011-f150-audio-adventure.html


----------



## cnut334 (Oct 17, 2009)

Nice work! I'm in Tuscaloosa and I AM NOT a Bama fan. Lol!


----------



## focused313 (Apr 19, 2012)

definitely nice work


----------



## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

Sonnie said:


> You would think at 50 years old I would grow out of the DIY car audio installs and either be happy with the factory system or at least let a car audio shop do it for me. But no... I just can't leave it alone. I guess is makes me feel younger piddlin' around with it.
> 
> I will try to remember to take pics as I go.


I don't know where people outside of the hobby think car audio is a young man's game. Good music and good sound are timeless and ageless IMO. 

Oh yeah...and pics of the truck!


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Thanks guys and I will definitely be keeping both threads updated. I did a little more today and will post up some more pics tomorrow evening.

Kellyo77... I would loved to have had a set of those today, although I need them with 5¾" cut-outs, not 5⅛". I made some today from ⅜" black ABS, but I really did not do a great job of it, yet they will work and won't be seen since they are behind the factory door grill down low.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Notloudenuf said:


> I don't know where people outside of the hobby think car audio is a young man's game. Good music and good sound are timeless and ageless IMO.
> 
> Oh yeah...and pics of the truck!


Ironic that my wife asked me just today if I was ever going to grow out of this. Maybe if I make it to eighty and end up with dementia or some other mind crippling decease. 

I have been meaning to take some pics of the truck, but I need to clean it up first. I am embarrassed at how dirty it is, but we have had sooooo much rain in this area over the last 2 months that I just haven't bothered. Plus, believe it not, this is actually a work truck... three days a week it pulls a 16' trailer with two Ferris IS2500Z mowers. It gets coated several times a day with grass and dust. So I clean it on Saturday and come Tuesday it is dirty again. Another month or so things will slow down and I will driving to the office 4 days a week and will keep it clean regularly. That is when I will be listening to more music as well. Right now we mainly listen to Finebaum... College Sports Radio on SiriusXM 91. Roll Tide!


----------



## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Was the sail panel separate from the door panel or did you have to yank the whole door panel to cut the mid hole? My Uplander has a sail that I'll be using for a small full range but it's integrated with the panel. I'd cut it clean to allow me to pull it without pulling the entire panel but it wouldn't look factory, bummer...


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Yeah... I have to pull the entire door, but it is pretty easy with the F150... to small trim covers, 4 screws and lift up, disconnect cables and it's off.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Got the midbass installed...





















Sub enclosure is covered, subs installed and ready to hook up...


----------



## JJDu4 (Jun 8, 2011)

I just love the Hertz stuff......I like the MS8 as well. Nice install!

I'm not far from Alabama, actually only about 18 miles but I'm not a Alabama fan either.......they do have a great football program but my roots take me back to Louisiana so naturally I am a LSU fan. Anyway one of my best friends is a HUGE BAMA FAN and we get along great so no bashing me......haha 
Anyway you guys are fairly close enough to head up to Florence this weekend for AudioX's MECA show. Should be some nice vehicles there for everyone to check out.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Florence is at the other end (top) of the state from me. Probably a 5-6 hour drive. I haven't too much done the competition meets in probably 20+ years, but it might be nice to check one out if there happens to be one in Montgomery some time. I got several buddies up in that neck of the woods that I have known since the 80's. Walter Barno, Nic Bruno, Rodny Alvarez and a few more.

LSU has a really good chance of winning it all this year. I would not be terribly upset if they did either, cause other than Bama (which I still ain't sure we got what it takes), I think they may be the only hope for the SEC to win #7.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

I finally got this finished up yesterday... although I want to tinker with the settings on the MS-8 some more. I am very very impressed by the overall sound, however it might be missing just a little bit of low-end extension. 

Being able to listen to processed and unprocessed sound with the MS-8 and a press of a button is pretty neat... and the difference is startling good. The Hertz speakers are remarkable. The guy that helps me during the week thought it had sparkling clarity... extremely clean sounding.

Final pics... 

The factory Sony amp in underneath the console, which is reasonably easy to remove. Fishing the wires from the amp to the rear was a bit of a challenge.





























I found these 1 foot RCA cables at Have, Inc. I searched forever trying to find some quality cables at a reasonable price. These are well built and fairly inexpensive.











I still have to tidy up the wiring.




























I will also probably end up enlarging the sub box a bit to get a little better extension. My first design was to place the MS-8 on one side and the JL Audio amp on the other, so I could only make the sub box a certain width. After building the sub box I realized I could build an amp rack and stack the amps... so I have some extra space for more sub box volume... which I believe will help. I also think I can get those subs up off the floor another half inch or so.


I will lodge a design complaint about the MS-8. I know they must have been cramped for room, but having all these wires on the front and back basically make it undesirable for public mounting. I would rather have had connections like the JL Audio, where you can input your own wire into the connector, screw it down and then plug it in, instead of pre-mounted wires on the connectors. There just isn't much you can do with them... and you have the Input wires on one side and the Output wires on the other, so you have to deal with them regardless of which way you turn the unit. I don't know exactly what the design answer is and I understand you can't please everyone, but it seems like there just wasn't much thought put into it. None the less, I will obviously live with it, because it does an incredible job with the sound, thereby making the pros outweigh the cons. I suppose sound trumps looks in this case.


----------



## jboen (Jun 6, 2011)

Great build thread and also nice work! I worked for the Hertz distributor in Canada for several years so I also am a big fan of the brand.

I have a 2012 F150 as well with the factory A-Pillar tweeters. I am having a hard time finding info on where they are crossed over as I would like to swap them out for my Hertz HSK165.4. I do not have the Sony system (thank god from what I hear) 

I have done the Alpine Power Pack "upgrade" to give the factory locations more juice so I would like to have them powered off the factory head if possible. Would you happen have any insight, suggestions or help with the tweeter crossover wiring question? My only worry is that I run wire to the mid in the door and to the crossover in the cab and then run the tweeter to it only to find out it is crossed over elsewhere.

Thanks!


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Thanks!

I have no idea on the factor tweeter crossover... and I am not sure how it would be possible to find out.


----------



## sanderson052 (Dec 21, 2012)

What an impressive install. I've gotten some great ideas from Sonnie. Thanks for sharing your project!


----------



## Socal rich (May 26, 2013)

I've gotten some good ideas thx for my 2011 ford.


----------



## mtxpert (Sep 29, 2016)

Pulling this up from the LONG DEAD but love the install and will be using quite a bit of the design on my '14 F150 regular cab truck. Doing Audiofrog 1/2.5/6 3 way setup and will probably replicate exactly what you did for placement unless you have a different opinion.
Just need to figure out whether I'm going to build a quad 8" downfire setup or do a port through setup. I picked up a used MS-8 as it has such great reviews.
Thanks for doing the writeup, I appreciate it.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

Wow... this has been a few minutes ago hasn't it.

This was a great sounding system, so if I had the same truck, I'd absolutely have no issues duplicating the install. The imaging and sound stage was superb with this speaker placement. Of course the Audiofrog speakers will likely be superior to the Hertz, although Hertz is still good stuff.

The MS-8 is the bomb... still have two of these in my shop. Wish I had something to put one of them in right now. 

The sub bass might be a challenge in the regular cab... haven't dealt with that before.


----------



## mtxpert (Sep 29, 2016)

Sonnie said:


> Wow... this has been a few minutes ago hasn't it.
> 
> This was a great sounding system, so if I had the same truck, I'd absolutely have no issues duplicating the install. The imaging and sound stage was superb with this speaker placement. Of course the Audiofrog speakers will likely be superior to the Hertz, although Hertz is still good stuff.
> 
> ...


I'm OLD SCHOOL audio from AZ so I was lucky to meet and walk with the gods of car audio in the late 80's/early 90's here. Including working at Streamline Audio when they built the Gates Bronco, Alma was such an awesome woman. Moved to IT in 1997 after having 3 kids in 36 months, working in car audio was not conducive to good benefits... 
I'm heavily leaning towards a tonnau cover and like 4 10's in a 7th order port through setup. I don't want to hack the bed massively but a couple of holes won't hurt nothin'  Just need to find the right driver that will work in that capacity and do well.


----------



## Sonnie (Oct 21, 2008)

You are talking cassette tape... almost 8-track. I had an 8-track in my 72 Gran Torino... connected under the dash with wires hangin' everywhere.

Was in my first crank off with a cassette in the mid 80's... then won Best of Show in 88 with CD. 

Just love this stuff and can't seem to grow out of it.


----------



## mtxpert (Sep 29, 2016)

Sold my first Sony CD player way back in the day, they TONS of refurbished ones after that, skipping monsters they were.  
I was also lucky enough to have a Clarion ADCS-1 in my MTX sponsored car back in 1995. (MTX EXPERT - MTXPERT)


----------



## mtxpert (Sep 29, 2016)

Thought I'd share the 3D printed speaker mount being made for the sail panel for GB25/GB10 combo.


----------



## GMCtrk (Apr 14, 2018)

That looks tremendous. Can't wait to see the final installed product.


----------



## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

More give me more pics sir!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## mtxpert (Sep 29, 2016)

optimaprime said:


> More give me more pics sir!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


My build thread:
https://www.diymobileaudio.com/foru...tremor-regular-cab-short-bed-truck-build.html


----------

