Pioneer FTW. I have the exact same one installed in my truck(the one in my sig) and it is the best one i have had so far. Its rated for 350 RMS but i believe im pushing at least 500 or so wats to it daily for the past 6 months with no problems. It might no be the loudest 12" sub, but for it only being 3.25" deep and 6mm of movement, it does a nice job. Im probably goin to get a second one in a couple of days if i can get the money saved up.
Here is a video of it in action:
YouTube - 86 f150 stereo

 

Decided the crossovers will get mounted behind the door panel adjacent to the speaker. Although they don't exactly "fit", they didn't really fit anywhere. The door panel reinstalls securely but flexes out slightly at the location of the crossover. I don't find it objectionable and it actually adds some clearance for the speaker.

Trying to fit the monster crossover:


Where it ended up...held to door panel with screws:


Covered:


Driver's side:


Working on some wiring, adapter to tie in to factory speaker connection (I used the factory wiring to get in to the doors):


Should have speakers installed and wiring complete tomorrow.

 

Decided the crossovers will get mounted behind the door panel adjacent to the speaker. Although they don't exactly "fit", they didn't really fit anywhere. The door panel reinstalls securely but flexes out slightly at the location of the crossover. I don't find it objectionable and it actually adds some clearance for the speaker.

Trying to fit the monster crossover:


Where it ended up...held to door panel with screws:


Covered:


Driver's side:


Working on some wiring, adapter to tie in to factory speaker connection (I used the factory wiring to get in to the doors):


Should have speakers installed and wiring complete tomorrow.

 

What's the updated software for the Kenwood about?

 

Not sure. There are a few "versions" that are newer than the version I saw on mine. The most I've been able to find is that the latest one corrects some significant issues with iPod control for certain generation iPods. I haven't found a list of release notes for the Kenwood software like you'd find for computer software.

 

Gave a shot to installing front components using coaxial bridge supplied by Alpine. Figured it was worth a shot before I started cutting or modifying anything, especially since my most practical option was in the panel adjacent to the speaker anyway. I did lengthen the tweeter wires to allow me to test various placements of the tweeters and to give me the option for future modification.

Four-conductor pigtais for the crossover-to-speaker connections:


Crossover installed, wired up:


Speakers installed, driver's side; molex connector used for quick disconnect of the tweeter:


Passenger's side:


The bridge that comes with the components is designed to angle the tweeter to one of four positions depending on which corner of the speaker it's attached. Due to door panel clearance issues, only one corner was ideal for attachment, but the tweeter positioning was towards the underside of the dash. Some careful twisting of the bridge allowed me to bring the tweeter more on-axis, back towards the driver and passenger seating positions.

 

Looks good, nice and clean

 

I haven't updated for a while, but wanted to post my progress.

I spent a little bit of time trying to figure the best way to mount the tweeters from the Alpine SPX-17REF set. I had bridge mounted them right over the woofer, but my leg was always in the way and imaging was not what I expected. The Alpine components have a very mellow tweeter and it was not pronounced enough for me in that location.

Due to the fact that I used stock wiring to get in to the door (and drilled holes for the crossovers), I confined myself to putting the tweets in the door.

The stock sail panel/mirror cover would accommodate the tweeter, but only at a point that was obstructed by the dash.

I'd seen another thread on here where someone grabbed the tweeter pods/sail panels/mirror covers off a 2008 Superduty with the high-end stereo and used them on a 2007-earlier truck.

Priced them out at Ford Parts and Ford Diesel Parts at Powerstroke Shop: part numbers 7C3Z-17K709-DA and 7C3Z-17K709-CA. They're $40 each because they include the 2008 tweeter, not available any other way.

Had some buzzing noises with the Alpine passive crossovers that I traced down to some play between the circuit board and the case and the tweeter protection bulb in the crossover vibrating against the circuit board. Fixed it with some vinyl weatherstripping tape.

On to the pictures...

 

The 2008 Superduty tweeter pods:



With Apline SPX-17REF tweeter installed:


Tweeter pod test fit:


Deadening the doors. I chose to place the deadener stategically and not seal the doors. Superduty pickups have a characteristic problem with scratched glass due to the window seals and since it's only a year old and I've started to notice some scratches, Ford will be in there to replace the glass before the warranty is out.






Here you can see there were some cuts required to install the 2008 Superduty tweeter pods. The slots for the 2007 pods needed to be lengthened by about 1/2" which basically extended them in to the mirror bolt access holes (tough taking a Dremel to a truck with 2500 miles!):


Reinstalling moisture barrier:

 

Same for the driver's side:




Speakers were way too visible through the door panel:




A little gray grille cloth from Parts Express, hot glued to the inside of the door panel, did the trick. Bought the black too, but with the aluminum cone on the speaker and the transparency of the cloth, it still showed through. It's barely visible with the gray and it blends with the panel very well:




Can't see through any more!


There was also a hole in the carpet underneath the back seat because I removed the fold-out package shelf to install my amps. Covered the hole neatly with a couple of washers epoxied together and painted flat black. This gets capped by a piece of trim:

 

Remaining to do is re-install the door panels and find a creative way to fill a gap in the door panel where the new tweeter pod meets the gray panel. It's a small gap , but it's bothering me to know it's there.

Please let me know if you have any creative ideas for filling it in (besides a bead of caulk or duct tape). Not my truck, but it shows the gap well, look for the red circle:


I will post some finished pictures once done.

Thanks for the support and suggestions along the way!
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Looks damn good. I like the new pillars idea. I might have to look into it a little more. I did mine in the stock sills and even with the dash I still got a nice linear movement across the dash.

Is there enough material around the hole to heat it up and stretch it?

 

I don't know, not something I've ever done before. I'd hate to ruin the panel.

I was considering gluing something underneath to act as support, filling it with plastic filler, and then sanding and painting it, but it seems like too much work for the panel.

I am also considering finding something to cover it... a small piece of rubber gasket or a thin piece of ABS, but then I figured it may look like just that--a cover.

 

Is the panel flexible enought that you could use some of the automotive double sided tape, like for molding, etc., and apply enough pressure to close the gap when it sticks?

BTW, Great job and writeup!

 

nice job so far, were did you order the sub box from????? im having a hard time choosing a box for my 06 cc.