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BennyTheBeaver

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Well making lemons out of lemonade and taking advantage of some really good prices on Crutchfield for Black Friday I decided to upgrade my audio. I went with a kicker KS build, wasn’t going for audio file status, just a nice balanced upgrade with more clarity, separation, and bass than stock base system.



IMG_2931.jpeg
You seem to enjoy the full DIY route, however, to save others the time and hassle...you didn't have to run all new wires. The cheap speaker adapters allow you to use the factory wiring and save a ton of time and hassle. The only wires I had to run were to the tweeters as I also installed components up front.
 
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tannerk89

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You seem to enjoy the full DIY route, however, to save others the time and hassle...you didn't have to run all new wires. The cheap speaker adapters allow you to use the factory wiring and save a ton of time and hassle. The only wires I had to run were to the tweeters as I also installed components up front.
I do enjoy it haha, building what I want is my hobby. I may halve also made it more difficult than needed, but also was part of the specific speaker kit that I bought.
 

bordner42

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Well making lemons out of lemonade and taking advantage of some really good prices on Crutchfield for Black Friday I decided to upgrade my audio. I went with a kicker KS build, wasn’t going for audio file status, just a nice balanced upgrade with more clarity, separation, and bass than stock base system.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures except for the front component replacement, because everything else has been well documented. Because the Kicker 51KSS67 was a 6.75 with a crossover I thought I would show how I did it in case anyone else wanted to go this route.

My initial impression is that it is significantly better than stock 6 speaker system. The 10” sub is more powerful than I expected based on the reviews.. it shakes my rear view with no bass boost and the gain set fairly low. It sounds great, and is very clear. The rear stock speakers were terrible and I immediately can tell they are way better. The fronts are way more clear and vibrant also, and the smaller size actually makes it work better as a system than replacing with a 6x9 in my opinion because the sub handles the low frequencies the 6x9 would be better at. So far live the sound and



Parts List:
Kicker 51HS10 sub woofer
Kicker 51KSC6504 coaxial speakers for rear
Kicker 51KSS670 components for front mid woofers and tweeters

Taking off the door jamb was difficult, there is a clip on top, bottom, and front side that need to be pressed in with a flat head while pulling. I started at the top, popped that out a little then went to the side, once the side was out I could get the bottom out fairly easily.

next take the rubber boot off the white clip, there are some rubber straps on the side that hold it in place, they just slide up and out. Once all 4 straps are off slide the top and bottom out by stretching the rubber boot.

Once that is out I pushed a metal wire through the wire passage for fishing wires later. Some water with a few drops of dawn help get wires thru much more easily.

I pulled the crossover wires thru from the passenger side after removing all of the kick panels. There was enough wire length to not need any extra speaker wire. Both the input and woofer wires from the crossover need to go into the door. I fished them thru the rubber wire passage next. Don’t forget to go through the white plastic piece or you’ll have to fish them thru again…
IMG_2932.jpeg

I opted to just use wago connectors to attach the input wires from crossover to the stock 6x9 speaker wires via a metra plug ib
IMG_2947.jpeg


I used an adaptor and boom mag based on crutchfield reccomendation, not sure if it will do much but was cheap enough.. I cut a small notch in the adaptor plate to allow the stock speaker wired to pass thru to the back side where the wires attach on the new speakers.
IMG_2949.jpeg
IMG_2953.jpeg


the tweeters fit directly in the stock mounts, I did have to trim some of the plastic lip on the guard side of the tweeter to make it fit correctly, after that it pushed right in.
IMG_2940.jpeg


final placement of the crossover, it fit in there nicely and allowed enough slack for everything to wire up in the door and a-pillar without needing extra wire. Driver side is the same.
IMG_2943.jpeg


I pushed my fishing wire down from the top, and fished the tweeter wires up through the back side of the dash. Plugged the speaker and snapped all the kick panels back in place.
IMG_2938.jpeg


Now I just need this truck drivers insurance to get back to me so I can get my front end fixed…

IMG_2931.jpeg
No issues with installing the Kicker 51HS10 Hideaway? On Crutchfield they note: "We don't recommend installing a high-powered audio system in this vehicle. Don't exceed a total 30-amp current draw for powered subs added to the vehicle."

Also, where did you end up installing it? I was thinking about putting it behind the rear seat against the back of the cab.
 
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tannerk89

tannerk89

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No issues with installing the Kicker 51HS10 Hideaway? On Crutchfield they note: "We don't recommend installing a high-powered audio system in this vehicle. Don't exceed a total 30-amp current draw for powered subs added to the vehicle."

Also, where did you end up installing it? I was thinking about putting it behind the rear seat against the back of the cab.
The HS10 draws less than 15 amps, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll keep an eye on it, but so far no issues.

I put it behind the rear seat and it easily fit. I will post a pic of the location, but there’s a few YouTube videos of ICE F-150 installs that are identical to our trucks. The included wiring was long enough to reach the battery and necessary connection points, so that made it pretty simple.
 

hipchecker

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It looks like the perfect set up! I have the same vehicle. I’m really happy with it but what would be a nice addition is the adaptive cruise control? How did you get that installed?
This is awesome, well done! How did you get the folding center console? That's something I really want on my Pro.
 

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watts/up

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I do enjoy it haha, building what I want is my hobby. I may halve also made it more difficult than needed, but also was part of the specific speaker kit that I bought.
Just to add to this, I believe Kicker has confirmed that the crossover only works on the tweeter so if it fits in the a-pillar you can just mount it there (connecting only to the tweeter) and use all existing wiring.
 

watts/up

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Well making lemons out of lemonade and taking advantage of some really good prices on Crutchfield for Black Friday I decided to upgrade my audio. I went with a kicker KS build, wasn’t going for audio file status, just a nice balanced upgrade with more clarity, separation, and bass than stock base system.

I didn’t take a lot of pictures except for the front component replacement, because everything else has been well documented. Because the Kicker 51KSS67 was a 6.75 with a crossover I thought I would show how I did it in case anyone else wanted to go this route.

My initial impression is that it is significantly better than stock 6 speaker system. The 10” sub is more powerful than I expected based on the reviews.. it shakes my rear view with no bass boost and the gain set fairly low. It sounds great, and is very clear. The rear stock speakers were terrible and I immediately can tell they are way better. The fronts are way more clear and vibrant also, and the smaller size actually makes it work better as a system than replacing with a 6x9 in my opinion because the sub handles the low frequencies the 6x9 would be better at. So far live the sound and



Parts List:
Kicker 51HS10 sub woofer
Kicker 51KSC6504 coaxial speakers for rear
Kicker 51KSS670 components for front mid woofers and tweeters

Taking off the door jamb was difficult, there is a clip on top, bottom, and front side that need to be pressed in with a flat head while pulling. I started at the top, popped that out a little then went to the side, once the side was out I could get the bottom out fairly easily.

next take the rubber boot off the white clip, there are some rubber straps on the side that hold it in place, they just slide up and out. Once all 4 straps are off slide the top and bottom out by stretching the rubber boot.

Once that is out I pushed a metal wire through the wire passage for fishing wires later. Some water with a few drops of dawn help get wires thru much more easily.

I pulled the crossover wires thru from the passenger side after removing all of the kick panels. There was enough wire length to not need any extra speaker wire. Both the input and woofer wires from the crossover need to go into the door. I fished them thru the rubber wire passage next. Don’t forget to go through the white plastic piece or you’ll have to fish them thru again…
IMG_2932.jpeg

I opted to just use wago connectors to attach the input wires from crossover to the stock 6x9 speaker wires via a metra plug ib
IMG_2947.jpeg


I used an adaptor and boom mag based on crutchfield reccomendation, not sure if it will do much but was cheap enough.. I cut a small notch in the adaptor plate to allow the stock speaker wired to pass thru to the back side where the wires attach on the new speakers.
IMG_2949.jpeg
IMG_2953.jpeg


the tweeters fit directly in the stock mounts, I did have to trim some of the plastic lip on the guard side of the tweeter to make it fit correctly, after that it pushed right in.
IMG_2940.jpeg


final placement of the crossover, it fit in there nicely and allowed enough slack for everything to wire up in the door and a-pillar without needing extra wire. Driver side is the same.
IMG_2943.jpeg


I pushed my fishing wire down from the top, and fished the tweeter wires up through the back side of the dash. Plugged the speaker and snapped all the kick panels back in place.
IMG_2938.jpeg


Now I just need this truck drivers insurance to get back to me so I can get my front end fixed…

IMG_2931.jpeg
@tannerk89 Sorry to hear about your truck. Hopefully the repair is quick and uneventful.

I have been planning on upgrading my speakers to pretty much the exact same ones you chose (minus the sub for now). You're powering them off the factory amp, right? If so, any issues with that? I was concerned that there wouldn't be enough power to get good results but it sounds like you're happy with them. Eventually I plan to purchase the SGS loopback harness and install an amp but was hoping to do my upgrade in stages. To be honest, I actually am pretty happy with the six-speaker setup but I too enjoy a good project.
 
 





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