Complete Focal Component Speaker Install with Custom Sub Box Behind Seat

[Texan]

Finally completed a total overhaul of my non-amplified 7" U-Connect system and thought I'd share a bunch of pics and answer any questions about this process. Like many folks have done, I did the basic speaker swaps in the dash and sound bar (I went the Infinity route) and ran that for a few months. Better than factory, but still not what I was after. Did a lot of research, pricing, planning, etc and finally decided to open the wallet up and see what I could accomplish with the goal of being better than factory amped system for the same or less cost. Long process for me, but the outcome made it worth every penny and hour spent.
The only thing I retained from the factory system was the factory 7" touch screen. I didn't want to give up my under seat storage for a sub box since I found it more usable for carrying crap than the space behind the rear seat. Unfortunately there isn't much room behind the rear seat for a sub box of any decent size. I pulled the rear storage tray (easy) and then the rear trim panel (NOT easy - good luck not breaking a clip or 4 along the top!). I mocked up some cardboard templates (thanks Coors Light), pencil whipped some volume calcs, and decided with some custom pocketing in the back of the sub box I could make this sh!t work, so it was all go from there:

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[StingGrayJT24]

Wow! That’s awesome! Nice work on the sub enclosure. That looks bad ass!

 

[Texan]

Sound bar rebuild. I did some initial mdf panels for test fitting and then refined the design and cleaned them up before wrapping them in vinyl. Pulled all of my wiring down the drivers side B pillar, under the carpet behind the drivers seat over to the console, and then to the back from there. Seemed to be less wiring (i.e. more space to work with) in the drivers side B pillar vs the passenger side, and my amp power is routed along the passenger side and I wanted to keep it distanced as much as possible from other wiring to avoid picking up any noise. Not pictured here, but I did use poly-fil in the sound bar same as the sub box and knee pods. Removing the sound bar is not hard, just requires pulling all of the roll bar trim on both sides to access some of the sound bar mounting points. Having it out made it much easier to work on. Getting the dome light clips to pop loose was the hardest part, but they will let go without breaking if you take your time.

 

[Texan]

Dash pods rebuild. Decided to try customizing the factory ones and it worked out fine. Fugly looking because I went overboard on trying to seal them up and then shot a quick coat of black over it. Reality is they are hidden behind the dash so you can't see them anyways. For anyone thinking of pulling your knee pods, its NOT as bad as it seems to be from some of the old write ups on the forums. You don't have to pull your entire dash apart to get these out/in so don't be intimidated by the thought of changing these. I can get into more detail if someone wants.

Still working on a more permanent dash solution for the mids and tweets. Will update once I complete, but for now the system is up and running and sounds killer!

 

[CerOf]

That is one of the cleanest installs I’ve seen! Nicely done.

 

[kooltoys]

clean install, great work! You have obviously been in the business or similiar

 

[Texan]

clean install, great work! You have obviously been in the business or similiar

Thanks - and nope, never. I'm just a long time DIY car guy who enjoys working with my hands and who would rather build than buy just about everything. Even built our house about 16 years ago (and still finishing parts of it - never ends!).

 

[Sublime]

Is that a full size sub?

 

[Texan]

Is that a full size sub?

10" Sub - sealed enclosure

 

[Sublime]

What is the depth of the sub? Also could you share some measurements on the box?

 

[Texan]

What is the depth of the sub? Also could you share some measurements on the box?

This Focal 25A4 sub is 5" deep.
My sealed enclosure volume worked out to right around .9 cu. ft.
Hard to give specific measurements since there are a number of pockets and recesses to clear stuff along the back wall of the cab and to allow enough depth for the sub magnet. It is a fairly complicated box with it being pocketed to flush the amp, having the hidden storage compartment on the other side that is accessed from under the seat, having it fit around the seat mounts, fitting cleanly to the side and upper trim pieces, etc.
I spent a lot of time cutting templates and playing with the measurements in my CAD program before deciding on a final design. It came out a little tighter than I had hoped, but the seats still fold up and down with just a little rubbing on the front of the box. I think in part because I decided to carpet the bottom and back of the box and didn't account for that in my original dimensions. Also in part to changing from the original cloth seats that were in there when I did all of my measuring to the Katzkin's while I was building everything. They have a hard plastic trim piece along the lower back that seams everything together on the covers, but I think it's thicker than factory so it is where I get the rubbing when folding the seat backs up and down.

 

[Sublime]

That's perfect and great info. Thank you for sharing. Fantastic job. Hope to use this info when I finally get to work on this phase of my build. I have two 12" subs that I want to squeeze in. This still may not work but I at least of some guidance. Hell I may just run the back seats down with the subs on top lol.

 

[palironsat]

Dash pods rebuild. Decided to try customizing the factory ones and it worked out fine:

Still working on a more permanent dash solution for the mids and tweets. Will update once I complete, but for now the system is up and running and sounds killer!

Why did you decide to go with the Kilmat behind the speaker enclosures? I'd never thought to do that before - does it change the quality of the sound coming from the speakers?

 

[Texan]

Why did you decide to go with the Kilmat behind the speaker enclosures? I'd never thought to do that before - does it change the quality of the sound coming from the speakers?

The knee pods are fairly thin plastic, so changing from the puny low powered factory speakers in a ported configuration to these amplified 6.5" mid bass in a sealed set up has the potential to create a lot of excess vibration. The Kilmat helps to add mass to the sidewalls and mitigate some of that movement. Anything touching them (speaker wire, etc) are subject to vibrate which could turn in to annoying sounds. I also wrapped all of my speaker wire with tesa tape inside all of the enclosures for the same reason.
Also, any enclosure movement/vibration at a particular power level is essentially energy lost from the speaker which affects its efficiency and at higher power levels can create undesirable harmonics at certain frequencies.

 

[JeepRealtor]

Nice setup! How are the 3.5’s currently mounted. Looks like are just set in there right now.

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