My upgrade plan for the base 6 speaker system

Unfortunately I didn't snap pictures of the tweeter install or the rear deck. Tweeters basically fit right in the stock location and I used hot glue to keep them in place. The tweeters have a designated wire ran to the component set crossover. The OEM wire was reused for the door midbass as I didn't want to mess with getting wire through the door umbilical. The rear deck is basically the same install as the front; cut up the OEM speaker and use it as a mounting base. They were throw away items anyway and this allowed me to use factory wiring connectors and didn't have to purchase adapters.

Sub...carpet could have been a better match but it was what I could find.




Speaker showing how I used the OEM as a mounting adapter and soldered the new speaker to the OEM plug.



Amp setup....High level on the right running up to the stereo. Power on the left running to the passenger kick panel gromet. Used the upper left seat mounting point as the ground. Sub wire ran under the carpet up the tunnel, under the rear seat and to the box.

If you're on a budget skip the rear speakers, skip the factory location mids. (Rear speakers skew image and staging information to your ears) Get a good DSP, use JL's middle of the road amps (or better yet find some Slash series on eBay) and then find used Hybrid Audio speakers.
And before someone tries to say "Yeah, but I'm not trying to compete" that's not what I would suggest to anyone that wants to compete. Competition car audio is more about proper speaker placement, PLDs and attention to every single little detail then what you're running and I doubt anyone here wants to spend $2K on front stage installation alone.

Does anyone know if the 6 speaker Shaker in the 2017 GT350 has a sub or sub out? I'm a bit confused as my panel says Shaker on it, but it does not really sound all that good. I think there's an option for a Shaker premium with 9 or 12 speakers, but that's not what's in mine.

mspenc45 said:

Does anyone know if the 6 speaker Shaker in the 2017 GT350 has a sub or sub out? I'm a bit confused as my panel says Shaker on it, but it does not really sound all that good. I think there's an option for a Shaker premium with 9 or 12 speakers, but that's not what's in mine.

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No.

Chef jpd said:

How much of a difference do you think that huge cap makes?

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Like 1% :lol:

I had it laying around brand new in packaging. Been sitting in storage for about 2 years, so I busted it out for this install. Pretty sure you can get away without one. I had it to stop the taillights from dimming with every beat on a Corolla. Ended up not installing it and now its in the Mustang lol.

Ugly John said:

I bought the harness and programmer from OEM radio, so I'll have low level out with the factory programming gone. It has RCA's for outputs, and will not require cutting any factory wires.

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I have been trying to reach OEMRadio for the same items (wire harness and programmer) with no luck. What trick did you use to get him to ship you the items? I have PM'd, emailed, called and left VM's and sent texts. While I have gotten a response, I never get him on the phone long enough or am I able to get him to send me a paypal invoice to pay. It's been a lot of, I will call you back, or I will send you the Paypal invoice. Frustrating!

David.K said:

I have been trying to reach OEMRadio for the same items (wire harness and programmer) with no luck. What trick did you use to get him to ship you the items? I have PM'd, emailed, called and left VM's and sent texts. While I have gotten a response, I never get him on the phone long enough or am I able to get him to send me a paypal invoice to pay. It's been a lot of, I will call you back, or I will send you the Paypal invoice. Frustrating!

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Honestly, do it yourself. All you need is FORScan, a flash device (or if you're in Dallas I'm sure a member here will let you borrow one) a few pins from Tyco, the diagram to change the pins, a tiny flat blade screwdriver and some patience.
From what I've been told he's not doing this stuff because of a new job. Whether or not it's true or not... I'm not sure, but he's managed to piss off enough people that my inbox and email are full of requests for harnesses.

HextallS550,

I was thinking I could use the FORScan and searched looking to see if anyone had successfully made the changes to the ACM to remove the factory processing and speaker outputs. No luck.

I also saw some pin diagrams, but they were for the premium system, not the base. If someone has the FORScan ACM codes, it would greatly be appreciated.

I can do all of this myself and happy to share my install experience.

We should also request to have FORScan codes along with with a full pin-out diagram added to the STICKY thread about stereo upgrades and wiring.

I sent an email, and he would reply fairly quickly. There were a few times when I had to send another email to jog him.

I sent an email asking him to send me an invoice for the programmer and harness, and that came quickly.

I also talked to him a few times, and I know the company he is working with is giving him absolute fits. After a week, they still hadn't shipped anything, so he prodded them, and they sent just the programmer without the harness. He sent the harness very quickly after that though.

It wasn't the smoothest transaction, but it wasn't something I was in a huge rush for. I work on aircraft, and I know how frustrating it can be when things don't go according to plan and when something gets held up for piece parts.

[MENTION=20554]David.K[/MENTION]

Sorry, are you using the base system or are you upgrading to Premium?

HextallS550 said:

[MENTION=20554]David.K[/MENTION]

Sorry, are you using the base system or are you upgrading to Premium?

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It's a Base system. Adding eq, amp, speakers and sub. Thanks for your reply in the other thread BTW. I'm wanting to turn off the ACM's processing and change the speaker outputs to low-level.

I've upgraded my base 6 speaker system as follows

AudioControl LC6i
Hertz Audio EP 5 amplifier (60wx4 & 250x1)
Zenclosures 10" sealed enclosure
Morel Maximo 6.5 coax (front doors)
Morel Maximo 6.5 comps. (rear deck)
Memphis 10" subwoofer.

Using the coaxes in the door with the stock tweeters in the A-pillars because the Morel tweets are massive. Mounted the comps in the rear for more of a surround sound. Listening to Alice N Chains unplugged is absolutely amazing.

I have been into high end audio for decades, and been at it semi-professionally for 20 years. I have a home system worth as much as my Mustang, and I design and build speakers from scratch by computer methods. You can check out my latest designs at my website.

And yet, in a car, my expectations and standards for audio quality are very low.

So here is my opinion.

The first thing I do to improve the sound is turn the fader all the way to the front speakers. That is how bad the rears are. Next, I would disconnect the center speaker. So those two things are free.

After that, I would replace the two shelf speakers with 6" or 8" subwoofers. This will preserve your trunk space. Then get the [MENTION=20927]OEMRadio[/MENTION] programmer to allow full-range signal to the rear. Finally, implement a 1st order low-pass filter set very low - say 80-100Hz - to gradually fade out the signal from the new woofers.

It makes no sense to me to have a powerful subwoofer in the trunk, AND have shelf speakers. The speakers get bounced around by the bass from the sub.

I do not recommend replacing factory wires. It is too much hassle, and large gauge wire actually degrades the sound for all but low bass frequencies.

As for spending more money, there is no need for a better amp until after you put in better speakers. And even though I am a high-end speakerbuilder, I don't believe there is that strong a reason to upgrade the car system considering all the background noise that comes with driving down the road.

2¢

latemade5.8 said:

I've upgraded my base 6 speaker system as follows

AudioControl LC6i
Hertz Audio EP 5 amplifier (60wx4 & 250x1)
Zenclosures 10" sealed enclosure
Morel Maximo 6.5 coax (front doors)
Morel Maximo 6.5 comps. (rear deck)
Memphis 10" subwoofer.

Using the coaxes in the door with the stock tweeters in the A-pillars because the Morel tweets are massive. Mounted the comps in the rear for more of a surround sound. Listening to Alice N Chains unplugged is absolutely amazing.

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I love the Maximos, one of the best budget minded speakers available IMO

Why did you put the comps in the rear and the coax in the front?

GTP said:

I have been into high end audio for decades, and been at it semi-professionally for 20 years. I have a home system worth as much as my Mustang, and I design and build speakers from scratch by computer methods. You can check out my latest designs at my website.

And yet, in a car, my expectations and standards for audio quality are very low.

So here is my opinion.

The first thing I do to improve the sound is turn the fader all the way to the front speakers. That is how bad the rears are. Next, I would disconnect the center speaker. So those two things are free.

After that, I would replace the two shelf speakers with 6" or 8" subwoofers. This will preserve your trunk space. Then get the @OEMRadio programmer to allow full-range signal to the rear. Finally, implement a 1st order low-pass filter set very low - say 80-100Hz - to gradually fade out the signal from the new woofers.

It makes no sense to me to have a powerful subwoofer in the trunk, AND have shelf speakers. The speakers get bounced around by the bass from the sub.

I do not recommend replacing factory wires. It is too much hassle, and large gauge wire actually degrades the sound for all but low bass frequencies.

As for spending more money, there is no need for a better amp until after you put in better speakers. And even though I am a high-end speakerbuilder, I don't believe there is that strong a reason to upgrade the car system considering all the background noise that comes with driving down the road.

2¢

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IMO a really good speaker to replace the rear deck with would be a Peerless SLS 6.5" or an 8" throw 50 wats on them and you will get pretty good low end.

Most people go overboard with sub, as most people hear sub and think they want to shake the house apart. Funny thing is, Listen to a properly tuned home or car stereo, the sub (if utilized in a home) is barely audible. It is there for reinforcement. One of the best cars I have heard in my life was a Mercedes CLS. His speakers consisted of 2 10" drivers in the kick panels and 2 4" drivers in the dash/ a pillar location. I believe he was the IASCA Por world champion at the championships in Louisville last October.