# 2011 F250 King Ranch Install



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

This is my first full on system install in about 15 years. When I was in my 20's I would go whole hog and change things up constantly. It helped that I wasn't married, had no kids and my roommate owned a car stereo shop LOL. My last 3 vehicles I've kept it pretty basic with just a HU, amp or 2, single sub and replacing the factory speakers in the stock locations. I really plan on running this one for at least 6-8 years and 200K miles so I'm going to do a full system.

Truck is a 2011 Ford F-250 Crew Cab diesel. It's got the Black King Ranch interior which I like so much better than the tan in most trucks. It's amazingly quiet for a diesel truck and for that matter ANY truck. Fairly extensive sound proofing & dampening are still in the plans though.

Components:
Factory Navigation Head-unit
JBL MS-8
3 Amplifiers. PPI P900.4 X2 & PPI P1000.1
3-way Front Stage- MB Quart QSD 6.5"mid-bass, 4" midrange and 1" tweeters.
Center- MB Quart QSD 5.25" midrange and 1" Tweeter
Rears- MB Quart QSD 5.25" midrange and 1" Tweeter
Sub- JL Audio 13TW5-3

System Plan:

The front right and left 4"/1" QSD210 component set will be run with the Q passive crossovers and be fed 2 channels of the first P900.4 with the 4" mid in the kick-panels and the tweeter more than likely off-axis on the pillars. It would be much easier to use the factory sail tweeter location but I don't think I will like them there based on a friends recent install and the current factory tweeter performance there. They will be fed from channels 1&2 of the MS-8 and will be high-passed at~250-350Hz. The 6.5" mid-bass will be mounted in the factory door location. It will be run active to the remaining 2 channels of the first P900.4 from channels 3&4 on the MS-8 band-passed at ~70Hz-250/350Hz.

Rear 5.25" & tweeter will be run with the Q passive crossover on 2 channels of the second P900.4 and be MS-8 channels 5&6 high passed at 100Hz.

Center channel 5.25" & tweeter will be run again with the Q passive crossover and use either the last 2 channels bridged or just one of the remaining pair on the 2nd p900.4. MS-8 will use channel 7 to send it ~100Hz and up.

JL 13TW5-3 sub goes under the rear seats in a pseudo Factory Tray/Fiberglass/Plywood enclosure I made and be powered by the P1000.1 off MS-8 channel 8 at ~70Hz. 

I plan to use all 24db/octave filters and am quite optimistic it will produce a pretty damn good soundstage, excellent SQ with more volume than I would ever really use or need. :laugh:

I welcome your input and constructive criticisms in my system design plan, fabrication efforts and my current equipment list. Well hopefully not too much on the equipment list because I already have horded about 3 systems worth of drivers!

I strive to make this an install that ends up fairly stealth for its complexity, shows fabrication skills that I'll be proud of and a system that really reproduces and accurate sound reproduction listening experience. I have a couple idea's I'm playing with for the center and MS-8 screen that will be really cool if I can pull off the fabrication.

Fabrication wise I've made the sub enclosure and the kick panels. They need some final TLC and finishing yet. The front doors are deadened with Dynamat. The rest of the install and fabrication is going to get going this weekend. I hope at least... 

Progress will more than likely be slow due to the lack of available time between house, yard, work, kids etc. 

Eric


----------



## rideit (Nov 20, 2011)

Can't wait to see pics!


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Subwoofer enclosure started as a nice under seat compartment from Ford. I liked the JL unit that goes under the rear seat instead of a box behind it. It was a hell of a lot of work but I am really happy with it. My buddy and I kept making the joke that "Hey you know JL Audio make this, you can just buy it." I like the fact that it appears factory, retains the locking system and 12V power point.

Factory Issue









Cut to add 2" and baffle for sub.









Reconstructed using pieces removed from the baffle area. Some Crazy glue and screws to hold it together firmly until the fiberglass was applied.









Top view with end panels installed.









Lil' Bigsub test fitted and ready to sand the crap out of the plastic and get all the release agent off the plastic for the glass to bond.









Front view. Can you tell I really like Ford trucks?


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Base layers of mat laid inside.









Added some rails to strengthen the long sides, keep them true/flat and also give me something to attach the fleece to. In hindsight the small dadoo was unnecessary but I love an excuse to use the router! 









Fleeced up and resin soaked. Oh did I mention JL makes this?









I used this beautifully round and perfect cut out and spacer dealio to assure that I had at least 3/8" clearance on the pole vent and entire back of the sub. Again I love the router and the circle jig is just plain fun!









A few layers applied, 3 or 4 at this point I think. You can see the slight raise created for sub clearance. There is some room to spare under the seat as its just carpet and foam in that area of the seat bottom. I ended up laying ~1/4" of fiberglass to the top total.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

I tried to take a lot of picture during fabrication because I see that a lot of people enjoy and request them. Being many would like to tackle different fabrication jobs they never have before. I feel it helps us all learn, for better or for worse, how to accomplish some technics and strengthen our skills and knowledge base. I hope it's not too much.

I used fiberglass supplies I purchased locally from a marine supply. The West Systems epoxy resin is quit nice in my opinion. The metering pumps (a steal for $15 for 2 sets) for the resin and hardener make it very simple. One pump resin to one pump hardener for a quick consistence mix every time. If I recall correctly they are metered at a 5:1 ratio but still 1 pump. The cure time is a bit long even with their "fast" hardener but it gives you enough time to lay up without rushing.

The best tip and tool ever is the roller. I never used one before and boy does it ever make it 100% easier to get air out, soak in and get the mat to lay down. You waste very little resin and end up with nearly no trapped air at all. I'm hooked!


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

rideit said:


> Can't wait to see pics!


I got plenty!


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

At this point I felt a test of the box was in order to see how it sounded. I feared that even with ~1/4" of glass on the lid it wasn't strong enough and would resonate. I hooked it up to my trusty old Crown HT sub amp that puts just about 300 watts RMS and crossed it over at 70Hz. I was thrilled with the sound at low volumes and let it play for about 10 hrs. overnight with varied music content for a half assed break-in period. 

Then I put some power to it and it did exactly what I feared. The top of the enclosure resonated terribly! To the point it was violent  I suspected it needed interior bracing but unfortunately it didn't dawn on my until I already jumped and closed it up. 

This was my solution. I used a hole-saw and cut 3 holes in the top, cut/shaped some 1.25" oak dowels to connect the top and bottom, screwed and epoxied them in and then epoxied the pieces back in.









Laid another couple layers of mat then some mass. Copperheads, 1,000's of them. Then finally 2 more layers of mat. The BB's really looked cool and if planned out to be the final finish could be a cool look.









After another listening test it was rock solid and there was no resonance. Bass output was very nice especially considering the large room size and only ~300 watts. So I smoothed it out and primed it up.



























Final finish will likely be bedliner so when installed it cant be told from the factory tray. I'd have to guess that even paying myself minimum wage and no OT it would have been cheaper to buy the JL Stealthbox 

Did I mention JL makes these? :laugh:

Eric


----------



## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Looking great so far. I'm about to totally redo my Tundra Crewmax with 2 of the PPI 900.4 and 3 way front plus sub. I'm not doing the center channel, so plan on using a Bit Ten for processing the factory HU.


----------



## jcollin76 (Oct 26, 2010)

Great job on the enclosure.... hey,did you know JL makes those? 

But its so much more satisfying to make/modify your own. If for nothing else than learning... But your Fab skills appear to be solid already!

Tuning in for the rest of th build, good luck!


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

No doubt it is very satisfying!

Loaded it into my buddies F450 last night, driven off a JL500/1 and it rocked out nicely. More bass than I need 99% of the time. It takes a lot more power than his 2- JL10W1's that's for sure, I'm guessing that they are quite a bit more efficient.

Hopefully I will run the wiring and start the amp rack this weekend.

Eric


----------



## JP Fabrication (Feb 20, 2008)

Great work.

I always prefer "I made this" vs "I bought this"


----------



## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

dowheelies said:


> At this point I felt a test of the box was in order to see how it sounded. I feared that even with *~1/4" of glass on the lid it wasn't strong enough and would resonate.* I hooked it up to my trusty old Crown HT sub amp that puts just about 300 watts RMS and crossed it over at 70Hz. I was thrilled with the sound at low volumes and let it play for about 10 hrs. overnight with varied music content for a half assed break-in period.
> 
> Then I put some power to it and it did exactly what I feared. The *top of the enclosure resonated terribly!* To the point it was violent  I suspected it needed interior bracing but unfortunately it didn't dawn on my until I already jumped and closed it up.
> 
> ...


Nice job. If the entire top of the enclosure is fiberglass, that's why it resonated: fiberglass is weak as a flat structure. Its strength is in curved and wavy surfaces. Personally, I would have used at least 1/2" MDF for the flat areas [maybe 1/4" on the flat areas on the bottom of the plastic bin], and fiberglass for the angular and curved areas. It might weigh less than all those BBs, as well


----------



## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Was that a Lightning I spotted in the background?



Great work! I like to see a built versus bought enclosure as well.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

chithead said:


> Was that a Lightning I spotted in the background?
> 
> 
> 
> Great work! I like to see a built versus bought enclosure as well.


Thanks!

Good eye but you only caught half the picture. If you look harder it's 2  Ones fast (the silver one you can see) the other is just retarded!

World's Fastest Lightnings (TOP 15) - The National Lightning Owners Club Inc

I've been a Lightning junkie since 1999 when I saw a red one on the cover of Road & Track doing a big smokie burnout in the airport newsstand . I knew as soon as I read the article I had to own one.

Eric


----------



## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

That's outstanding right there! Definitely impressive. I have always loved the Lightnings. Even though I wanted an SRT-10, and ended up with a Ram R/T, I still have great respect for Lightnings.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Thanks chithead, the race Lightning is amazing fun when everything goes right.

Finally had a chance to work on the amp rack. Got it all fabbed up and fitted. Now I have to decide if I'm going to finish it with carpet to match or match the Burlwood trim in the truck. It will be hidden nearly completely when the seats are reinstalled so I'm not sure if I'm going to go through all the time and effort to finish it like the Burlwood.

I hope I like the sound with the passives with the tweeters crossed at 2,800Hz as they were a lot more work to mount than it appears.... Actually the whole damn thing was a lot of work for the simple look of the finished product.

Started with 1/2" Birch veneer plywood.









The rear power slider and center seatbelt makes the back wall much more complex than any pick up I've worked on. The seats also are really close to the back wall. Thats why I chose to put the sub under the seat. There still isn't much room back there for amps.









The whole unit bolts in very solid from the inside using some factory bolts from the sub and jack. I made some 1/8" aluminum "Z' mounts for the crossovers. I can wire everything but the final speaker outputs and the speaker input to the MS-8 on the bench so it should be nice and tidy.









Just realized how bad the cell phone pictures suck  The black and gold of the Q crossovers and PPI Phantoms looks awesome but doesn't really show in the pics. I also wish the MS-8 was black with gold trim and I need a gold distribution block....

Eric


----------



## fatboyracing (Oct 8, 2008)

why 5 passive crossovers or are those something else

box looks great


----------



## adamand (Apr 19, 2009)

Lovin' the work so far! Count me sub'd.

You know that JL makes a box for your truck, right? 

I listened to the JL Mustang a while back that used (I believe) two of those 13's, very impressive sub!

How did you decide on using the new PPI amps?


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Thanks Fatboy, they are for mid/tweet on the left, center and right fronts and the 2 rear channels. I considered doing them active but they don't make an MS-13 yet LOL.

Adamand, I chose the PPI amps for the efficient class D design, watts/$, looks and the Pasmag review. I also had a few sets of Art Series back in the day and really loved them so it was a little nostalgic also. Damn I wish I knew JL made them sub-boxes LOL

The one HUGE downside of these amps is the terminal arrangement. Not sure how in the hell they let the design hit the streets with the end cap slots that you have to put a screwdriver through. I mean a novice or someone not paying good attention could dead short the thing tightening up the power terminal if the upstream fuse was in and they aren't even close to center so I can see alot of set screws bing striped due to the angle. Also the recessed mounting holes are milled oddly and take a very small headed screw. I'm going to use 6-32 cap screws on mine but the bottom of the hole isn't mille flat, they kinda just wedge in there. I know they are inexpensive for the power but these aren't things that cost money to improve, just a little forsight in the design. I'm half tempted to mill the endplate completely off over the terminals....

I'm confident I'll be happy with their performance, I shouldn't need to push them to hard with my configuration on my set-up either. 

Eric


----------



## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Looking great. I have a 13TW5 in my truck running off of a JL 500/1v2 and it sounds amazing. Great sub.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Finally put some finish on the sub enclosure and amp rack and had some wiring fun yesterday. Got the power, ground and remote wires run and also wired the amp to crossovers. Waiting for RCA cables and should be ready to actually get close to installing it all in the truck this weekend. Can't wait to actually hear some good tunes!

Still wet and a bit blotchy looking. Looks really nice after it dried.









Techflex- First time using this stuff. Can be a bit of a PITA to get right.









Power and Ground all buttoned up.









4ga. to MS-8 a bit overkill but I didn't have any 8ga and wanted to get done!









Wired to the crossovers.









Last big push is to mount the drivers and run the speaker wire in the truck to the amp rack. Then the tuning and actually LISTENING!

Getting close and a bit antsy...

Eric


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Slow progress but progress... 

Speaker wires (all freaking 13 of them), MS-8 harness to factory amp, remote bass gain, 0ga. power and remote turn on finally run throughout the truck to the amp rack. Have to get past the damn Molex on front doors and to my dismay today found they are on the back doors also! Funkin Molex connectors!

Made and finished all my speaker baffles, complete with t-nut inserts. 

Going to try to get the amp rack in and wired along with the rear speakers. Not sure how bad the Molex plug will be but if I can get around it I could fire tomorrow!! 





































For all the MB Quart QSD lovers and haters :laugh:


----------



## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

What bedliner did you use? I grabbed some Duplicolor "Bed Armor" to waterproof some wood boxes we had to mount on the outside of an RV...and it came out really uneven and messy. The cheaper Duplicolor bed liner works like a charm and looks almost as good as SEM Texture coat, but doesn't need a topcoat over it.

Jay


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

I used the Rustoleum as I couldn't find the Duplicolor when I went to the store initially. It really sprays crappy and is really hard to get even coats. Many of the cans I had to hold upside down to get the material to spray.

Many have recomended the Duplicolor and had good results as you mentioned. I'm going to grab a few cans to possably put a few more coats on the sub-enclosure. 

Down to the front stage speakers now. Sorry again for the **** quality of the photo's, the pics really don't do it justice if I may say so myself....




























I sure hope these PPI Phantoms perform as at the moment I hate them... Really poorly though out layout and not installer friendly at all.

Stupid things like front RCA input on "top" and rear on "bottom". Then the speaker outputs are reversed on the other side. The whole end cap/mounting/clearance thing too is just aweful.


Hopefully I don't need to pull them out any time soon.


Eric


----------



## RMF419 (Feb 13, 2008)

Looking good...


----------



## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

great looking install, i know what you mean about PPI, i have their 3way comps. the screws on the X-overs are not tapers so i have a difficult time getting the wires to hold, and the hex heads are an oddball size that none of my allen wrenches seem to fit, standard or metric... can't wait to see this finished!

CC


----------



## joebooch (Feb 9, 2012)

Waiting to see how you tackle the kicks and your impression on how the 4"s end up sounding there. I have a 2011 F150 SCREW and have yet to pull the trigger on installing some HAT L4s that I have sitting around. Was thinking kicks but have heard differing opinions.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Thanks for the support guys. 

Version 1 of the kicks are done and ready to put in. 










Will be up and running minus center channel soon as I get the speaker wire run into the doors. Not sure if the tweets are going in the sails or pillars yet.

I think the sails will sound better since running the mid/tweet passive and not having TA separate on the tweeters. Thoughts?

Eric


----------



## joebooch (Feb 9, 2012)

Wow - I havent seen the F250 kicks but they are way deeper than the F150s. My fuse panel is behind the passenger kick right where you have your driver mounted and I dont have room to install them off-axis like that without building them out.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Joe the passenger kick has the same damn fusebox location. It was a VERY tight squeeze. Picked up about a 1/4" more depth using the Q series 4" over the premium that is pictured. I hope they aren't "suffocated" for airspace.

For such big trucks there isn't a very wide footwell on either the F150 or 250 and I dont want people stepping on my speakers! I only built them in about 1/2". 

Eric


----------



## joebooch (Feb 9, 2012)

Yeah agree on the footwells and its making for tough decisions on where to put things without pods (which may be inevitable). 

I currently have HAT L6s in doors and Vifa XT25 tweets off-axis in sails running active with processing and so far I like the tweets in the sails - not optimal given they are rr's but getting decent sound/stage. Was thinking about putting L6s in kicks off axis/L4s in doors in factory location and leaving tweets where they are. Need to play around with placement options. I am just getting into all this SQ stuff and learning as I go thanks to DIYMA  still so much to learn....


----------



## MrObvious (Jan 7, 2012)

I'm really interested to hear what you think of those 4"s in the kicks. I have a set of L4s to go into mine. That fuse panel on the right side might mess things up a bit. I also curious about how the console will affect imaging? 

If the kicks don't turn out, what about putting them in the doors? Sort of as close to the midbass as possible, but mounted to a baffle in the door panel, not in the door frame. Thoughts?


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

I have my concerns about the kick but time will tell.

I originally planned to put the midbass in the kicks and 4"/tweet in the doors, which I feel would be better and in MS-8 post I've seen Andy mention to be pretty ideal. The passenger side would have been into the footwell more than I liked. Also cutting door panels, steel and/or relocating that fuse box was beyond the scope for my comfort on a $60K+ 1 month old truck.... Although the more I stare at the dash that ***** might have a big old hole in it soon ;-) for a 6.5" center.

I need to finish and evaluate V1 before I start fretting over V2 

Eric


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Its alive! The final run to get it running was a B%^ch from the first moment.

First hurdle was I found out the "output" from the factory amp was actually the input. Good news at least I figured it out before I hooked it up under the dash, the bad is the very nice soldered, heatshrunk, Techflexed harness I already made on the bench was run from the back through the dash. I got the pleasure of laying on my back for an hour and a half to remake all the splices and connections.

Second fun of the day was the wiring to the doors.... Couldn't get any access to drill for new speaker wires and the Molex is insane in this truck so I went with the factory wire for the midbass. Not my preference as it's 18 or 20ga but I have the 14 ga run up as far as I could.

Third hurdle of the day the adapters I thought I measured carefully placed the 6.5" midbass smack dab against the door panel..... 3/4" plates had to be "milled" down to fit into the door 1/4". 

Then after about 12 hours of going at it the moment of glory. I plugged the fuses in and everything turned on and fired up! I ran the MS-8 set-up and I'll be damned if calibration one didn't almost bring a tear to my eye! WOW.

Then bummer 4 for the day, but not the last. The right 4" MB Q mid was starting to buzz and is shot :-( I was hoping it was something dumb I miswired or was coming in contact with but its a dead soldier. Bought them "new" from a member here and finding another will be tough if not impossible...

Threw in a 4" MB Premium driver I had and all was well again. Went to do another calibration and the MS-8 remote is dead. Changed battery and after one press it's dead again....

I love this hobby :laugh:

Overall it sounds very good. Pretty focused center, a tad low, about at the head unit. I'm sure the center channel will raise it and move it more to the dash. The detail is really amazing. Hearing subtle breaths singers take, sticks hit the skins etc is something I really missed. The only thing I'd like to improve is the mid-bass just a bit. I think part of it is the MS-8 "perfect" tune is just a tad bit tame for my taste. It does however do a better job than I have ever been able to making every song sound right due to its remarkably accurate tune. Just need to add a little to it.

Eric


----------



## joebooch (Feb 9, 2012)

> Third hurdle of the day the adapters I thought I measured carefully placed the 6.5" midbass smack dab against the door panel..... 3/4" plates had to be "milled" down to fit into the door 1/4".


I used 5/8 and then trimmed the panel under the speaker grill to give it a little more room.



> Pretty focused center, a tad low, about at the head unit.


After lots of tuning with BitOne its pretty much where mine is sitting. Would need to change some things around to get to move at this point.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Sounds like we have gone down different road to reach the same destination Joe. I'm pretty impressed with the MS-8 tune that took a matter of a minute. I'm not sure I have the skills, or time, to reach the level of tune that it did immediately.

Your not running a center channel correct? 

Eric


----------



## joebooch (Feb 9, 2012)

Correct - no center channel. Speaker placement is my limiting factor - not really into cutting and podding in a newer leased truck. Anything I do only has a three year life span..well 2.5 at this point


----------



## MrObvious (Jan 7, 2012)

Do you have any more pictures of how you did the kick panels? How you mounted them, etc. I am planning to start mine this week, but with L4s. I see what you mean about the damn molex connectors! on the drivers side I ended up drilling the door pillar, and going in through a grommet near the mirror mount. Ugly, but I got 12 and 16 gauge wire in and it sealed up well. I was going to start a thread about my build, but it's not all that different from yours and you have it pretty well covered. Nice work!


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

I hear ya Joe, it's hard to cut up a new vehicle more so when you know it's a limited time until it goes back. 

MrO there are some more pics in my gallery at 2011 Superduty pictures by dowheelies - Photobucket
I didn't really recreate the wheel here, just made 1/2" MDF baffles that followed the factory kick panels. The passenger side was easy and I wouldn't need to buy a replacement to ditch them. The drivers side has a hole in it and would need to be completely replaced. The vinyl match in person it damn near perfect, camera/lighting makes it seem fairly off. What I don't have pics of is the 2 layers of Dynamat I put over the backs and then I used duct seal and quite a bit of Hollofil to "seal" them off on the tops and around all the various harnesses.

I think I know the route you took as I eyeballed something similar I think. A pic would be great though.

Eric


----------



## SLICKDSG (Jan 6, 2010)

dowheelies said:


> Thanks!
> 
> Good eye but you only caught half the picture. If you look harder it's 2  Ones fast (the silver one you can see) the other is just retarded!
> 
> ...



Nice to see another Lightning Nut into car audio ...


----------



## dales (Dec 16, 2010)

awesome job


----------



## MrObvious (Jan 7, 2012)

Sorry to drag your thread back up but...

Is your park brake unusable now? I make some kick panels today and was very disappointed. The passenger side turned out okay, just need to make another one withthe hole a bit lower. The driver's side on the other hand... Not a lot of options there. I have your pics from your other thread, they were all I could find for ideas. I would hate to trade my park brake for a speaker setup I may not even be happy with!

How is the clearance on yours?


----------



## robolop (Mar 10, 2008)

looks very good, dude.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

MrObvious said:


> Sorry to drag your thread back up but...
> 
> Is your park brake unusable now? I make some kick panels today and was very disappointed. The passenger side turned out okay, just need to make another one withthe hole a bit lower. The driver's side on the other hand... Not a lot of options there. I have your pics from your other thread, they were all I could find for ideas. I would hate to trade my park brake for a speaker setup I may not even be happy with!
> 
> How is the clearance on yours?


No problem, it's nice to see my thread bumped back from the dead 

Clearance on the drivers side is minimal. I used some 1/2 spacers behind the mounting plate over the studs to gain some room. I also slightly trimmed the brake lever arm metal about 1/4". It is fully functional although if someone just jumped into the passenger seat and jambs the PB on it may rub the speaker grill, I'm careful when engaging it.




























I'd like to see your install as I'm considering going with the L4's myself but was concerned I won't have the depth. Waiting on JBL to get my MS-8 fixed/replaced first then I'm going to upgrade my mids. My screen and or unit died on me just after a channel went nuts and I think it blew the speaker in the kick? 

Thanks for the props Dales and Robolop!

Eric


----------



## Misanthropic (Apr 8, 2010)

Very clean work. And mmmmm QSD 3 way. I regret selling my QSD216 set to this day. Sweet truck. Nice job.


----------



## MrObvious (Jan 7, 2012)

Ok so lets talk about MS-8 setup. Is yours still operable while your screen gets repaired? I know we have different drivers, but a very similar setup. Where are your crossover points? Oh and what did you do for door treatment? Are you happy with your midbass response?


----------



## Gpgtp (Jul 8, 2011)

Looks good.. But I see tan seats? Thought you had black? The king ranchs are comfy.. Till the seats wear out in 4 years


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Mr. O sorry for the hiatus...

No i have been completely without tunes since the screen blank out..

My crossover points since going full active were 80/350/5000 all at 24DB/octave.

Door treatment was Dynamat Extreme inner and outer only. Need to do some CCF and give some love to the door panels themselves. The newer 07-12 are made of many pieces and the joints need sealed/adhered to quiet them. My 2005 panels didn't make a sound.

I was quite happy with the sound overall. Mid-bass was good, quite accurate but I'd like to dial in a bit more. The MS-8 tune is "correct" I feel but conservative for my taste in the mid-bass region.

When I get my new/fixed MS-8 back I'll get after it and report back. I need to decide if 4"Q's ,if I can find them, are going back in or if I'm going to try some HAT's in the kicks.

Gpgtp- I couldn't wait to see the new "black" King Ranch interior when I decided to get a 2011. To my disappointment the carpet, door panels and trim are black but the seats are still same KR leather, although they are more red/brown than the 2010 and older. I still love it compared to the tan interior.

By far the nicest, quietest, most powerful (stock) diesel truck I've had the pleasure of driving, let alone owning. I've been in a ton of the too.

Eric


----------



## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

Very nice looking work. Bummer about the defective parts, but I suppose that's why it's called a pastime after all...


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

MS-8 is back and working great thus far. QSD 4" mid was toast :-(. Threw in a 4" premium I had and it sounds OK but they just cant handle the power to play very loud down in the kicks.

I don't want to remake the kicks but think I'm going to try some Hybrid L3V2's or SE's by modifying the Quart mount/grill set up.

To be continued...

Eric


----------



## chevyrider96 (Mar 5, 2010)

Super clean!


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Thanks. I did a retune or 3 and I can't believe how good it sounds even with the different 4" Quarts (Q on DS and Premium on PS). Won't get real loud but it sound great.

Picked up a set of Hybrid L3SE's but haven't had the time to tinker. 

Eric


----------



## chevyrider96 (Mar 5, 2010)

As long as it sounds good it doesn't need to be too loud. Good stuff


----------



## chevyrider96 (Mar 5, 2010)

Where are you located?


----------



## st34lth (Oct 17, 2012)

subbed.


----------



## DevilSun (Oct 25, 2012)

VERY nice job on the kick panels! Hope I can get away with much less required modifications due to using very shallow mids, but I haven't gotten that far. Worst case, your experience makes the process much easier.


----------



## abusiveDAD (Jan 7, 2009)

agreed!!!
i will be stealing that idea, THANKS


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

I'm glad it helps some guys out with ideas. I had a tough time finding any nice 3 way front stages that weren't completely over the top.

I'm in Florida.

Maybe I'll quit messing with the racecar enough to actually get the Hybrids in the kicks this winter.

Eric


----------



## DevilSun (Oct 25, 2012)

I was able to get away with only cutting holes in my kicks because I used a very shallow mount soft dome mid-range (Morel CDM880); so far quite pleased with how they came out and fit considering I didn't have the availability or skills to do what you did. Hope to make some more progress soon and post pics, but for now I'm on hold until my hand heals from surgery a few weeks back.


----------



## socapots (Mar 29, 2014)

Great Build and pics, thanks for sharing.


----------



## AndrewDicharia (May 5, 2012)

I'm in florida as well Jacksonville to be exact. Touch base again back on the ppi amps once u get some play time in on them plz. That 900.4 has been out of stock for awhile but i have been looking into the bk series if i get in a pinch and want to order.


----------



## vwdave (Jun 12, 2013)

AndrewDicharia said:


> I'm in florida as well Jacksonville to be exact. Touch base again back on the ppi amps once u get some play time in on them plz. That 900.4 has been out of stock for awhile but i have been looking into the bk series if i get in a pinch and want to order.


I think the OP has had some listening time, this thread is 2 years old.


----------



## dowheelies (Jan 7, 2012)

Indeed I have been enjoying it! I have been very happy with overall. 

I had the passenger side 4" MB mid go again. I hope it's not a amp or MS8 issue, I haven't had a chance to investigate it yet. My guess is the speaker was just overpowered and eventually it gave up the ghost. VC just has a slight buzz but is making me crazy!

The PPI amps have been fine, in hindsight though I would spend a little more for the HD JL's...

Eric


----------



## AndrewDicharia (May 5, 2012)

dowheelies said:


> Indeed I have been enjoying it! I have been very happy with overall.
> 
> I had the passenger side 4" MB mid go again. I hope it's not a amp or MS8 issue, I haven't had a chance to investigate it yet. My guess is the speaker was just overpowered and eventually it gave up the ghost. VC just has a slight buzz but is making me crazy!
> 
> ...


Good to know, it would of been a **** more lol.


----------



## socapots (Mar 29, 2014)

Did you ever end up doing anything with a center Channel?


----------



## 555nova (Apr 12, 2014)

Is this the same Dowheelies from THE yellow bullet?


----------

