New Amp And Speaker Install

dlewis1111 · June 14, 2009

I just got done installing 4 Pioneer 4 way 6x9's and an Alpine amp to drive them while retaining my factory head unit and I thought that I would share some of my experiences to possibly help / inform others who may be interested.

First off, I originally replaced all four speakers (I have an 08 extended cab w/o Bose) with Pioneer 4 way 6.5s from Crutchfield with the wiring harnesses and correct adapter plates. When I pulled the door panels to change them out, I was amazed at how much unused space there was in the speaker mounting area. The holes were actually much larger than necessary. In fact, it looked like GM decided to put either 4x6's or 6x9's at first, and then got cheap and used the 6.5's with these massive adapter plates. After the installation, I had to go back in and put some 3M soft tape around the adapters in the front doors to stop the rattling. I gave the speakers a good week to break in, but was never happy with the sound from them. I am not a bid booming bass fan, but these had almost none. I decided to remove them and get the 6x9's. I know some will disagree, but I think that a 6x9 is one of the best all around speakers.

Installation of the 6x9's was fairly easy. The rear doors required a slight trim of the upper sheet metal on the inside to fit the curve of the top of the speaker. The door panel fits right over them. On the extended cab, the speaker sits in a different cavity than the window, so there is a built in enclosure to enhance performance. The front required trimming of the inner sheet metal on two sides, upper and toward the rear respectively. The front door panel also fits over these perfectly. I used self tapping sheet metal screws to anchor all four down securely. No rattles at all. * Drove for the first time this morning, the rear speakers rattle against the door frame. Going to put in a weatherstripping to deaden the sound*

The sound even without the amp was already amazingly better.

I purchased an add-an-amp kit from PAC audio that integrates into the radio harness without any cutting of wires. It draws a feed from the factory speaker outputs and allows hook up of four channels. You can install this if the speakers are still hooked up to the factory connections, it will play like normal. I ran new speaker lines from the amp, so the factory connections are taped up in the door panels.

Where to put the amp? I thought about under the rear seat, but in an extended cab, I would lose all storage on the side that I used. I thought about in the storage area of the center jump seat, but heat would possibly become an issue. I decided to go under the passenger seat. It actually fits pretty well under there and I built a hold down that does not screw into the floor of the truck.

I won't go into the details of how to wire an amp, but suffice it to say, it took a while to run the lines and keep everything hidden from view.

The sound with the amp is completely fantastic, and I could not be happier.

Hope this helps someone, thanks for being bored enough to read my story!!

Irv · June 14, 2009

Thanks, that is a good read. It is something I think I will do in the future once I get this Sirius/XM situation straightened out?

Hoping to go strictly with Sirius but it may be a challenge living up here in Canada? Sirius only bought XM in the states, not Canada, so the XM salesman says?

gee70355 · June 14, 2009

Pics???

asilverblazer · June 15, 2009

I'd like to see how you mounted the amp.

ocean4200 · June 15, 2009

don't you have more than 4 speakers in the truck? I believe there are a total of 6 speakers including tweaters near the windows (little speakers). I also would like to see some pics of the install.

Did you change the radio itself for a new one? I would like to get more info on the wiring scheme/pins connectors, etc...

Thank you for your help. When I get my truck, I'll change my audio setup but I need help from you guys to do it.

crepitus · June 15, 2009

I would like to see some pics as well. You said you ran new speakers wires but could you use the factory wires?

dlewis1111 · June 16, 2009

don't you have more than 4 speakers in the truck? I believe there are a total of 6 speakers including tweaters near the windows (little speakers). I also would like to see some pics of the install.

Did you change the radio itself for a new one? I would like to get more info on the wiring scheme/pins connectors, etc...

Thank you for your help. When I get my truck, I'll change my audio setup but I need help from you guys to do it.

The original tweeters on the pillar are no longer working because I disconnected them. I am using the factory 6 disc changer and like I said, the wiring goes between the original harness and radio, no cutting, no splicing. Plug and play.

dlewis1111 · June 16, 2009

I would like to see some pics as well. You said you ran new speakers wires but could you use the factory wires?

Yes, i could have used the factory ones. I would have needed to run wiring from the amp to the dash and then splice into the factory harness "downstream" of the amp adapter kit that I installed. This means cutting factory wires and I did not want to do that. I just ran new ones from under the seat to the new speakers.

asilverblazer · June 16, 2009

I would like to see some pics as well. You said you ran new speakers wires but could you use the factory wires?

Yes, i could have used the factory ones. I would have needed to run wiring from the amp to the dash and then splice into the factory harness "downstream" of the amp adapter kit that I installed. This means cutting factory wires and I did not want to do that. I just ran new ones from under the seat to the new speakers.

Thats what I did too.