Pics/description of audio upgrade in 2011 F250 CC
 

I have finally gotten almost everything done. All I have left to do is the Polk tweeters up front. I'm still toying with the placement which is why I don't have any installed pics on those. They will be coming though. Please excuse all the pics but I know we all love to look at what others have done and I'm only trying to oblige. :)

I'd like to preface the rest of this post by saying this is a budget install in the grand scheme of things. My total cost including all components, cables and hardware was just under $1100. That might seem like a lot to some of you, but there are guys here who have spent twice that on one set of component speakers. There were no custom amp rack builds, speaker box fabrications or truck modifications done other than trimming the fabric against the rear wall for the sub box. You can buy everything I did and get the same results with a few days (total) labor and basic stereo installation knowledge. I did a bit here and a bit there over a period of several months due to time constraints.

There are a couple things I neglected to photograph along the way such as the panel removal procedures, the PAC AOEM FRD24 unit installation (which enabled me to keep the factory head unit) and rear seat removal for the sub/amp install. If anyone has any questions on how to go about those, let me know. I'll tell you what I know (about the 2011's anyway).

My first order of business was mounting the main fuse holder. After that I ran the cable across the engine compartment cowl and down the firewall on the drivers side.

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Now I had to and get the 4ga power cable into the cabin. I poked around and found an unused grommet in the firewall behind the pedals on the drivers side. Just so happens it was the perfect size for the cable.

Here's the grommet. Pay close attention to the 2 studs sticking out of the firewall on the right side of the pic. Those came in extremely handy later on.

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All I had to do was cut a hole in the grommet, put it back in and thread the cable through.

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Through some research I found another gentleman who had mounted a small amp on the firewall behind the pedals on the drivers' side. Awesome idea I thought, so that's where it was decided my 4 channel for the door and rear speakers was going to go. Here was a quick mock-up of the positioning...

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Before we continue, here is a shot of the main components being installed, minus the sub box, PAC unit, amp kits, cables and such.

2 10" Alpine SWS-1023D dual 2 ohm voice coil subs.
2 sets of JL Audio TR570-CXi 5x7 2 way speakers
1 set of Polk Audio db 1001 1" silk dome tweeters
1 Boss Audio CX350 4 channel amp rated at 50w x 4 RMS
1 MTX RFL600D class D monoblock subwoofer amp rated at 600 RMS @2 ohms
1 Clarion EQS746 7 band graphic equalizer

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Here are the door and rear speakers installed. I used 6x8 baffles behind each one.

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Next up Is the EQ. I had to fab some brackets to get it where I wanted it, under the steering wheel and a little to the right. The reason I wanted this piece was to ease the integration of the factory head unit. The PAC unit gives you the necessary set of main inputs, and then the EQ gives you front, rear and sub line level outputs. No brainer.

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Brackets installed...

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EQ installed...

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Ok. Remember those studs I mentioned earlier? Here they are being put to use as mounts for the distribution block and remote turn-on relay.

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Here's the 4 channel installed. Don't mind the wire mess as it has since been neatened up. Had to make sure it all worked!

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Next are the sub box and MTX install. First pic is the box in place (the seat is unbolted and moved forward, which it has to be to put the box into place, and it also made the amp install much easier).

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Here's the amp mocked up.

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Here is the amp installed.

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And here is a pic with the seat back in.

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That's all I have for now. I will say I wasn't expecting this system to sound as good as the 2 12's and Infinity set up in my Windstar, but I was wrong. Those $63 subs and $150 box (properly assembled) are very impressive. Nice tight, clean, deep bass. Far better than I was expecting!

The JL's are also more than expected. And as soon as the Polk's are in, I'm sure I'll be an even happier camper. The Clarion doesn't hurt either and made utilizing the factory head unit a breeze.

Hope somebody got some useful info out of all this or at least enjoyed the pics!

:-drink

Looks great...Don't blow your son out the rear windows!! :-X04

Although I know very little about audio systems, I always enjoy looking at these guides because it is something I plan on doing in the future. Looks great and I appreciate the time you took to do this.

Nice write up, reps sent!

I can't WAIT to get new door speakers, I have my heart set on 2 sets of JL C5-570's.

Thanks! I'll try not to. http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...th_whistle.gif

Thanks. It did take some time to put the post together. Glad to do it though! :)

Thanks! New door speakers do wonders. The rest doesn't hurt either. http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...es/th_wink.gif

Pretty sweet. Kinda different putting your amps in 2 different locations.. And can you reach that EQ without leaning down? Not knockin' just asking.

Well I put the 4 channel up front because that's where everything else was, aside from the 2 rear speakers. I didn't see the sense in mounting it in the back and running multiple sets of cables all the way back to the front. All I had to run to the rear for the sub amp were the power cable, RCA's and remote turn-on. Much less hassle.

No. I have to lean down, but I've found a pretty happy medium with the settings and don't fiddle with it much. The only two knobs I might adjust are volume and sub level. I was going to try and incorporate it into the dash with the stock head unit, but I haven't figured out how to do it and still have it look good. I'd like to remove the knobs, mount the EQ to the face plate then re-install the knobs on the outside. You know, keep it as factory as possible. The problem is there ain't much room in there. I'd have to move some of the other controls, cut braces etc. Not something I want to tackle just yet. But it would be nice!

where did you get the sub box? Did you build it yourself?

Nice post BTW. I love a clean system install. I should have taken pics during mine..

Heck no I didn't build it. That's way over my head and quite frankly, I don't have the patience or tools to do it. http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...s/th_laugh.gif

I got the box from SuperCrewSound. I was originally going to go with a box from BoxWorx but the SCS box was $130 less (which incidentally was the total I paid for the 2 subs). I'm not sure if the BW box is worth the extra money or not. I do know the SCS box needed a little attention before I installed it and it does have 3 imperfections in the carpeting. Most likely from shipping but still. If it wasn't hidden behind the seat, SCS and I would have had an issue to resolve.

Thanks. It's funny you mention that because I could have taken a hundred or more photos, but once you get going, it's tough to keep stopping to grab the camera.

To reassure your purchase, I would say no to the BW worth. Mine showed up with carpet imperfections right on the front and one on the top corner, where the material didn't even cover a small portion of it (so I know it's not from shipping). I tried to frey the carpet over the exposed areas, and it helped some, but it's one of those "I know it's there" things. It's behind the seat that has a car seat in it so it's not getting folded down anytime soon. It does sound great though, I'll give him that much.

Yeah I'm happy with the way this one sounds too, after finishing the incomplete seal job and adding some poly-fill. More than I expected out of 2 budget 10's that's for sure.

Great install!

I am getting ready to do my 2011, the stock sound just sucks so bad. I have a few questions if you don't mind.

What wire kit did you use?

How did the PAC install go? I have the factory NAV hopefully it will work with the PAC.

For the 4 channel up front I used a Raptor ISPKBL8-BG. It's just a cheap kit for a cheap amp, but it works just fine.

For the sub amp I used a Rockford Fosgate RFK4I. Since I used the 4 gauge from this kit to get the power to my distribution block, I also had to order another 20 ft. of 4 gauge to run to the amp behind the rear seat. That was Kicker 09PWB4-20FT. My primary reason for using these two was that Kicker and Fosgate are true-to-gauge. When they say 4 gauge, that's what you're getting. With the cheapo kits, the 4 gauge is closer to 8 gauge. I wasn't going to skimp when it came to the subs, and it paid off. I also bought 18 ft. of Monster Cable XLN 12S-18 speaker wire for the subs, though it has been discontinued at SonicElectronix.

The install was a piece of cake, though I'm not sure it will work with the Nav unit. I know for sure it won't work with the factory amplified THX sound system, at least that's what the literature says. If I were you I'd call PAC directly or e-mail them and verify.

Thank you.

I sent an email to PAC and they said it would work with the nav so I will give it a try.

Looks great looking atdoing a budget system in my 06 also. Thanks for some ideas to look at.