[How-To] Subwoofer Upgrade - Replacing/Upgrading the Factory Sub

[Nolequad]

Thanks much for sharing this. I'm taking a similar approach (everything opened up at the moment). The Large Yellow/Red line is power from ACM, right (12 gauge?)? Did you also solder a power cord to the appropriate pin, or did you route power separately from the battery? I'm using the kicker 500.1 amp, as you did. Looks like 8 gauge wire is recommended, so likely separate power from battery?

I ran a seperate 8ga power wire from the battery. Figured it was the “right” way to do it, plus I put in the kicker remote as well so figured if I was already pulling trim pieces for that cable run it wouldn’t be that much harder to run the power wire as well.

There is a 12ga power wire in that brown subwoofer harness as well though, and a ground. (5 cables total… 2 for signal, low voltage remote signal, 12v from battery and ground)

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[Navyicman]

@RagnarKon thanks for the tutorials. I just did the Fusion amp, Kicker 674 upgrade to my 23 with SDARS. Took all of 40 minutes. Longest part was taking a break to go to Truevalue down the road to grab some different sheetmetal screws for the woofer.

 

[LCW]

My audio sounds like shit. New 2023 2dr Badlands. High pkg.

Here’s what my window sticker shows.

Guessing I have same as base 21/22? 6 speaker… no wiring for sub???

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

My audio sounds like shit. New 2023 2dr Badlands. High pkg.

Here’s what my window sticker shows.

Guessing I have same as base 21/22? 6 speaker… no wiring for sub???

No, that is incorrect.

 

[LCW]

No, that is incorrect.

So what do I have? Can I add a sub easily?

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

So what do I have? Can I add a sub easily?

"Easily" is a relative term that varies depending upon each person's comfort level. IMO, yes, it's easy to add a sub to a '23 MY non-B&O Bronco with SDARS. There are a LOT of threads on this board detailing just that with some extensive accompanying video - I suggest reading those threads and posting any followup questions there.

In short, the 23MY Bronco's with SDARS (sub delete) have both power and speaker wiring in place to the passenger side rear fender well. Removing the interior trim exposes a factory installed dummy amp & subwoofer combo. One can obtain a literal plug & play replacement for the amp and connect it to the subwoofer of the installer's choice that fits within the enclosure (~6.75" speaker size).

Again, discussed and *documented* extensively here, search is your friend.

 

[Area51BS]

a few things to note:
#1 impedance of the coil has little effect on how a speaker "sounds", it is the result of design decisions made during development of the speaker. the impedance of the speaker should be selected with thought of the amplifier that will power it.
#2 the B&o speaker is a neodymium speaker which has a much more powerful and thus smaller magnet. this is why is it lighter and smaller on the back side.
#3 you would be correct that in the vented enclosure you only want an air path through the vent. any time you are using a vented enclosure you need to be mindful of the speaker that is being used in it, a subsonic filter is typically recommended.

overall great work on showing all the steps and each hurdle you ran into.

#1
Not so true. Damping factor tanks when an amp sees very low impedance. Basically the amp looses control of cone movement.

 

[Area51BS]

#3 actually reminds me of something I should ask to see if anyone knows the answer.

Does anyone know what the B&O enclosure is tuned for??

The Kicker Key 500.1 has a subsonic filter built into the amplifier, but without knowing what frequencies the B&O enclosure is tuned for there is a lot of guessing on my end, and I'm looking for a shortcut.

Turn on the subsonic. Doubt the sub can reproduce those frequencies so turning it in runs the amp and sub easier.

 

[MKZoom]

#1
Not so true. Damping factor tanks when an amp sees very low impedance. Basically the amp looses control of cone movement.

Yes the output impedance of the amp and the impedance of the load will effect the damping ratio, but it's effect is very small in modern amplification circuits. They are designed with this knowledge in mind. This is why I said small. If you have a proper amp this difference will be insanely small.

I regards to #3 someone elsewhere noted the enclosure was tuned to ~26Hz

 

[Area51BS]

Yes the output impedance of the amp and the impedance of the load will effect the damping ratio, but it's effect is very small in modern amplification circuits. They are designed with this knowledge in mind. This is why I said small. If you have a proper amp this difference will be insanely small.

I regards to #3 someone elsewhere noted the enclosure was tuned to ~26Hz

You have a point. I’m from way back when car amps were becoming big in the 80’3 and 90’s. Bridging and amp in mono and 4 ohms was considered low impedance with 8 being normal. Seems todays market is 2ohm.

 

[MKZoom]

You have a point. I’m from way back when car amps were becoming big in the 80’3 and 90’s. Bridging and amp in mono and 4 ohms was considered low impedance with 8 being normal. Seems todays market is 2ohm.

Oh yeah back then it was a big concern. We've managed to design very low output impedance amplifiers now. Still need to be mindful of damping ratio if you are designing things but the average consumer doesn't.

 

[RagnarKon]

Turn on the subsonic. Doubt the sub can reproduce those frequencies so turning it in runs the amp and sub easier.

Yeah I figured it out. Can't remember if I've posted the video before or not, but in case I haven't, second half of the video I dig into it (probably more than I needed to).



TL;DW— The enclosure is tuned for ~25 Hz, give or take. I set my subsonic filter right at 25hz because... well... not like the 8" sub is going to produce much below that anyway with such a small enclosure. I also am not someone who has a desire to turn my vehicle into a rolling vibrator.

 

[Danny's Bronco]

Yeah I figured it out. Can't remember if I've posted the video before or not, but in case I haven't, second half of the video I dig into it (probably more than I needed to).



TL;DW— The enclosure is tuned for ~25 Hz, give or take. I set my subsonic filter right at 25hz because... well... not like the 8" sub is going to produce much below that anyway with such a small enclosure. I also am not someone who has a desire to turn my vehicle into a rolling vibrator.

This was a great video! All of them of course. Is there going to be a follow up with the final decisions? Sealed vs ported? I think I am going to follow your lead with the kicker keys and sub. Might look into the upgraded 4"ers that you mentioned at the beginning. GOing to buy some panel removal tools and hopefully start next week. They're fixing my paint and adding the tune now. Really excited. That series parallel front speaker thing makes me nervous!

 

[RagnarKon]

This was a great video! All of them of course. Is there going to be a follow up with the final decisions? Sealed vs ported? I think I am going to follow your lead with the kicker keys and sub. Might look into the upgraded 4"ers that you mentioned at the beginning. GOing to buy some panel removal tools and hopefully start next week. They're fixing my paint and adding the tune now. Really excited. That series parallel front speaker thing makes me nervous!

Yup! I have an update video coming.

It probably won't be out until early September to be perfectly honest. 2024 Broncos launch very soon, and then shortly after that there is Woodward Dream Cruise, and the right after that is back-to-school season. On top of that I don't have my Bronco, it's sitting at the dealer getting its transmission replaced. So August is basically maxed out at this point.

BUT yes, it's coming.

 

[graham5david]

Yup! I have an update video coming.

It probably won't be out until early September to be perfectly honest. 2024 Broncos launch very soon, and then shortly after that there is Woodward Dream Cruise, and the right after that is back-to-school season. On top of that I don't have my Bronco, it's sitting at the dealer getting its transmission replaced. So August is basically maxed out at this point.

BUT yes, it's coming.

I used your video to guide me with installing the fusion amp and 6.75 kicker 4 ohm in my 2023. It made the job very easy. I used your forscan tips to turn on the amp and turn the factory eq off. I still feel as though the front speakers have too much treble. I wound up using my phone eq settings to getter a better sounding eq to cool the highs. I have all kicker speakers throughout. I'm considering turning the factory eq back on. The sub helps but to be honest it's pretty weak with the fusion amp driving it. I wonder if plugging the port would be worth the hassle. I'm leaning towards adding a powered 10 inch enclosure to get enough bass. I just don't know of the little 6.75 can really provide enough bass. I am also considering turning on the full range to the rear pods and upgrading to 6.5 pods. I may even go to a higher end 6.5 and 4 inch speakers because the kickers just seem to heavy on the treble. But it may all just be the crappy ford head unit. Maybe I need to upgrade to the kicker key 200. Curious what your thoughts are and what everyone thinks of the sound of the kickers. It's definitely improved but still not great in my opinion. Either way your videos are a life saver.

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