Kicker Key Amp 200.4 Install DIY Video - Do this first!

[Billnchristy]

The dash speakers say 4 ohm on them. I will look at the kick Wednesday, all my components are coming today and we shut down around lunch on Wednesday so I am hoping I can get it all done.

While I'm in there I will check continuity on the wires and see if they're parallel or series. As shit as the stock headunit is, I am seriously doubting it's running at 2 ohm.

If they did willy-nilly it down to 2 ohm it might be why it clips so easily too.

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[Billnchristy]

I’m going to be installing the plugnplay kit 19 with the kicker 200.4 and 500.1 amps. I bought the mountains2metal bracket for the 200.4. I’ve not started to tear everything apart yet. Is there also room behind the dash to mount the 500.1 so I’m only running speaker wires back to my sub going into the factory location?

The steering column support bar will fit the 200 so there should be room there, it looks like the 500 is the same size?

Be careful of the dash supports on either side of that bar, they are razor sharp and I left a ton of meat hanging on it. My hand looks like a cat attack victim from it.

 

[Jazer]

I was under the impression the stock speakers were all 4 ohm, so thats what I replaced them with, with my kicker speakers.

I re-did my DSP with the EQ settings set at default & pink noise on USB and it no longer clips. That seemed to make a pretty significant difference in my case. It sounds better now too.

 

[Jazer]

The steering column support bar will fit the 200 so there should be room there, it looks like the 500 is the same size?

Be careful of the dash supports on either side of that bar, they are razor sharp and I left a ton of meat hanging on it. My hand looks like a cat attack victim from it.

I actually didnt cut myself on that one - but was very concerned about the Key wiring harness. Idk how some people managed to set it up with the settings accessible towards the door side. I had to flip it around so that the wires wouldn't get cut. It does fit nicely that way at least.

 

[Billnchristy]

Yeah mine is set the same as yours and I actually had to extend the harness for the speaker outputs.

 

[Chirico]

I finally received a new microphone from Kicker the other day.
(Muddy mid with auto DSP. One of possible causes was the mic. Thank you again @Billnchristy)

I will try DSP setup again over the weekend along with some other changes.

Here are a few questions to make sure no dumb newbie mistakes.

Q1. I found the space below the dash speaker is quite crazy.
Should I try to seal it as much as possible? Some Dynamat or even with some Poly-fil? And somewhat separate it from the space below?

Q2. Planning to apply some Dynamat (or similar sound deadening) to the kick panels : Contacting surface, behind the speakers, and some patches here and there to seal off some holes.
Some Poly-fill could be good here?

Q3. Poly-fill is safe material? Especially under the dash speakers during hot summer?

Regards,

 

[Billnchristy]

Q1- Yes, it is super holey up there. I plan on making abs baffles but I'm also shoe-horning a 3/4" tweeter and 3.5" mid up there (might need some dremeling action).

Q2- Here's what I did with my kicks. Noico sound deadening and noico red foam and I used some chunks of memory foam from a mattress topper to seal off the enclosure.

Q3- I've never seen or heard polyfill having any issues like that. It's in almost every sub. You'd pretty much have to expose it to open flame to have a problem, which at that point you'd have a huge problem.

 

[Ft. Worth Rob]

Q1- Yes, it is super holey up there. I plan on making abs baffles but I'm also shoe-horning a 3/4" tweeter and 3.5" mid up there (might need some dremeling action).

Q2- Here's what I did with my kicks. Noico sound deadening and noico red foam and I used some chunks of memory foam from a mattress topper to seal off the enclosure.

Q3- I've never seen or heard polyfill having any issues like that. It's in almost every sub. You'd pretty much have to expose it to open flame to have a problem, which at that point you'd have a huge problem.

You guys ever used these? For door/kick applications I’ve used them with good results.
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-AH09MReOTvN/p_237XT65/XTC-6-1-2-Speaker-Baffles-3-1-4-depth.html

 

[Ft. Worth Rob]

The steering column support bar will fit the 200 so there should be room there, it looks like the 500 is the same size?

Be careful of the dash supports on either side of that bar, they are razor sharp and I left a ton of meat hanging on it. My hand looks like a cat attack victim from it.

The 500 is 0.75” longer and 1 3/8” wider than the 200. I’ll figure it out next weekend one way or another.

 

[Billnchristy]

Maybe swap the two

 

[Billnchristy]

You guys ever used these? For door/kick applications I’ve used them with good results.
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-AH09MReOTvN/p_237XT65/XTC-6-1-2-Speaker-Baffles-3-1-4-depth.html

I don't like them because they make a very small enclosure. They'd be fine in the dash because you're not making bass up there. Polyfill actually kinda cheats the system by slowing air down (torturous path and all) and makes the speaker think it's in a little bit bigger box. It also kills a lot of reflection issues you get (sound waves hitting the back wall and then bouncing back into your speaker, basically negating the tone that was just sent.)

I imagine those baffles working against you two-fold
1) making the enclosure tiny
2) making reflections super bad

Again, if the speaker isn't seeing a lot of bass, it's fine.

 

[Billnchristy]

I'm really starting to "like" the kick speakers stock. I'm still changing them as I don't have a sub at the moment, but if you're putting a sub in, put speakers in the dash and run those kicks as mid-bass, they have a really decent amount of output in the 100hz range.

If there's interest, when I am done with my audio journey I will make a "tiered" list thread with multiple options and price levels so people can clearly see what the options are from simple to extreme.

 

[dangerfoot]

I'm really starting to "like" the kick speakers stock. I'm still changing them as I don't have a sub at the moment, but if you're putting a sub in, put speakers in the dash and run those kicks as mid-bass, they have a really decent amount of output in the 100hz range.

If there's interest, when I am done with my audio journey I will make a "tiered" list thread with multiple options and price levels so people can clearly see what the options are from simple to extreme.

I agree - stock kicks don't sound massively different than Kicker CS series replacements, although I think that the impedance matching between dash and kicks does play a roll in loudness, best to have them all match.

 

[Billnchristy]

I'm hoping my woofers provide a little more low end. We're going to try to put them in today and finalize the passenger dash wednesday. Trying to get everything done.

 

[Jazer]

I agree - stock kicks don't sound massively different than Kicker CS series replacements, although I think that the impedance matching between dash and kicks does play a roll in loudness, best to have them all match.

When I put one in and faded between Left/Right.. I noticed more clarity from the CS and that was about it. Possibly slightly less bass. Pre-amp install at least. I'm guessing the amp is improving the Kicker CS kicks more than it would be the stock ones though. It sounded fantastic even before I wired in the Kicker Hideaway sub.

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