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

[mpeugeot]

My Kicker Key 200.4 (200 watts per Kicker) and a 46HS10 (180 watts) when added to my 2023 Bronco with the base audio and stock speakers had more power at Volume 15 than my 2021 Bronco with the B&O at max volume (30). It was embarrassing. A total of 380 watts advertised vs 660 watts advertised... The sound was cleaner, less distorted, and way louder on the system claiming 380 watts at half the volume setting.

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[Steve76]

this all great information.
Coming from a person (me) that has never done an audio/speaker install on any car.
I went from
I’ll just hire someone to do it for me….
To now
I’m willing to try and do it myself.

99% of the threads I’ve read on upgrading the speakers,, include the fusion amp and the kicker sub woofer (either 6 3/4 or 8 “) .
Which I agree is a great upgrade compared to the stock..

But just out of curiosity, what would be the next level up in regards to amp and sub woofer? I’m considering spending a little extra money on the sound, but I have no idea what would be better choice.

Can you send the link to the $75 ford fusion amp you referenced?

 

[ILoveToDrive]

The next step up is going with the Kicker 500.1 subwoofer amp and the 8" 4ohm sub. The "kicker here"...pun intended...is the install is significantly more involved.
Along with that step, you'll want to replace the 4" rear pods with 6 3/4 speakers and replacement pods. I went with Mabett. I went with the 6 3/4 sub and fusion amp with the rear pod upgrade. I turned the EQ off, moved the chimes to dashboard only so I could take more advantage of the gain adjustment on the Kicker 200.4.
I'm very happy with the sound, and people are blown away by how good it sounds. I can't take the volume over 18 now, but the higher gain settings wake up the speakers at lower volumes, so all in all everything is better.
BTW, the latest tweak...the chimes change and more aggressive gain settings just happened last week. This has been a 1 year iterative process, with over 30 different adjustment combinations between Forscan and hardware. I've said this before, but at this point, chasing the last 5% of improvement just isn't worth it. Besides, I've run out of replacement clips!

 

[Docindahouze]

If any one wants to sell me their factory non B&O sub/sub box please let me know. Thanks.

 

[SkyKing]

I copied @RagnarKon with the upgrade, except I upgraded the rear pods to 6.5” Kickers with the SSV enclosures and I went with the Kicker 8” with Gear Shade enclosure. With the Key 200 for the speakers and Key 500 for the sub and the Forscan mods, I am extremely satisfied with the sound quality and can say it makes each trip better.

Sounds like I have nearly the same setup you have:
- 4" kicker CS on dash
- Stock kick panel speakers (is it worth upgrading these)
- 6.5" Kicker CS rear pods
- 200.4 amp
- Gearshade w/500.1 and 8" round Kicker sub

I am contemplating the advice that says better dash speakers would help over the the too-bright Kicker CS series.

And then I could upgrade the kick panel speakers although some posts suggest that those speakers are pretty good as is.

 

[NoloBronco]

Sounds like I have nearly the same setup you have:
- 4" kicker CS on dash
- Stock kick panel speakers (is it worth upgrading these)
- 6.5" Kicker CS rear pods
- 200.4 amp
- Gearshade w/500.1 and 8" round Kicker sub

I am contemplating the advice that says better dash speakers would help over the the too-bright Kicker CS series.

And then I could upgrade the kick panel speakers although some posts suggest that those speakers are pretty good as is.

I read on another thread to turn the amp 2 setting on the kicker key up about 20%. I did this the other day and it made an additional improvement. Might try adding this to upgrade. It increased the sound coming from the rear pods and even things out a bit.
I upgraded the kick panel just because I upgraded everything else. I can’t say if there is a noticeable difference.

 

[SkyKing]

I read on another thread to turn the amp 2 setting on the kicker key up about 20%. I did this the other day and it made an additional improvement. Might try adding this to upgrade. It increased the sound coming from the rear pods and even things out a bit.
I upgraded the kick panel just because I upgraded everything else. I can’t say if there is a noticeable difference.

That's funny because I'm pretty sure that post you read was mine!

 

[NoloBronco]

I read on another thread to turn the amp 2 setting on the kicker key up about 20%. I did this the other day and it made an additional improvement. Might try adding this to upgrade.
I upgraded the kick panel just because I upgraded everything else. I can’t say if there is a noticeable difference.

That's funny because I'm pretty sure that post you read was mine!

it works! Thank you for the post.

 

[CactusToby]

Definitely check out the link to the 2023MY subwoofer megathread at the bottom of my first post. (I would link it here but I'm on mobile at the moment.)

A lot of people are buying a Ford Fusion amplifier, pairing it with a Kicker 6.75" 4Ω subwoofer, and turning it on with Forscan. You'll still have to remove the rear panel in the cargo area to access everything, but that is as close to "plug-and-play" as you are going to get, and it removes a lot of the complexity. You won't get fantastic results as you are essentially installing a factory-like setup. But it is much simpler overall if aftermarket gear is a little too overwhelming.

If you DO want to dig into the aftermarket gear though... feel free to ask questions here and we can help you get going. Or if it's easier you can just send me a direct message.

I have a 2023MY 7 - working factory sub. Is there a plug and play amp and subwoofer without doing forscan? Is this what you are talking about in this reply?

 

[bbowisbald]

I need help. I installed a kicker hideaway amp. I have power / turn on lead good. I tapped into the signal leads to my factory ( non- b&o) sub amp. Violet/ green + , green/ white negative. I have no audio signal to the kicker hideaway. Factory amp is working. I’m set to low level input. When should the low level voltage from the ACM be and how do you mesure it? Speaker wire to chassis ground i have 5 volts. Speaker wire positive to speaker wire negative I have 16 mv.

 

[RagnarKon]

I need help. I installed a kicker hideaway amp. I have power / turn on lead good. I tapped into the signal leads to my factory ( non- b&o) sub amp. Violet/ green + , green/ white negative. I have no audio signal to the kicker hideaway. Factory amp is working. I’m set to low level input. When should the low level voltage from the ACM be and how do you mesure it? Speaker wire to chassis ground i have 5 volts. Speaker wire positive to speaker wire negative I have 16 mv.

It can be measured with a multimeter.

Did you have a working factory subwoofer or did you have the fake subwoofer?

 

[bbowisbald]

I added the Ford Focus amp and a 6-3/4 kicker sub then made all the forscan changes. It work. Just adding additional kicker hideaway. I took my voltage reading with a multimeter. My question is do I read my voltage from positive wire to negative wire or from positive wire to ground. I need a minimum of 250mv for the input on the hideaway.

 

[Sluggz]

Quick update—

Made some changes and setup the amplifier filters on the subwoofer. Sounds a LOT better now.

The B&O subwoofer enclosure is ported by default, but I may actually seal it up with some spray foam, haven't decided yet. These are really small enclosures, and I'm honestly surprised Ford/B&O made them ported from the factory.

I also measured the tuning frequency of the enclosure. @MKZoom's guess of 26 Hz was really close—measured 25 Hz on the B&O enclosure with the Kicker 8" sub. Much lower than I was expecting (I was guessing closer to 32 Hz).

If you want to see that process and a bunch of other misc stuff... new video below. I messed with the subwoofer during the second half of the video—I got the sections marked, so feel free to jump around using the section labels.

Has there ever been a list of subs that will fit in the oem sub enclosure for the non b and o? I have looked just about everywhere and have never seen anyone use anything other then the kickers

 

[RagnarKon]

Has there ever been a list of subs that will fit in the oem sub enclosure for the non b and o? I have looked just about everywhere and have never seen anyone use anything other then the kickers

The non-B&O subwoofer is a 170mm sub, and the vast majority of 170mm (6-3/4") subs will fit that enclosure.

The trick is to find 6-3/4" subwoofers. You go on Crutchfield, for example, and there are only two options. And... well...

 

[Sluggz]

I currently have the 6.75 kicker in there now. Was going to take a dremel to it and try and get an 8 inch in there. The kicker shallow 8 apparently works, but getting the right cutout diameter is getting difficult to find. That kicker 8 is one of the smallest I’ve seen. The focal p20 fse is very similar and very slightly more cut out diameter. How snug is that kicker 8 after modifying the enclosure for it to fit

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