2023 7 speaker subwoofer upgrade

[mandark]

Final update first:
TLDR: Save some money and time by not worrying about the Key 200.4. Also I would leave the stock kick panel speakers alone as well. Don't get me wrong, now that everything is done its great but the key didn't boost the system much more then the stock unit. Really all the bass is still coming from the rear 8in kicker which sounds fantastic.

My biggest concerns were the speakers clipping with the new amp and the signal going to the back 500.1 amp. The speakers did clip and hit the limiter at around 20 before running the DSP set up. I also had to set the filter on the last 2 dip switches. My 200.4 settings from left to right are: Down up up up up up down up. The last 2 set the filter and really made the difference. I can turn the volume up to 30 with no issues. I also didn't adjust the gain at all and it wasn't really needed. Once you bump the gain a little bit it would hit the limiter. Lastly I ran the inputs to the 500.1 off the kick panel speaker wire. This caused no issues with the new 200.4 installed. In fact it actually cleaned up a few songs that had a weird freq, I listen to a lot of rap.

Another edit: I struck thru some text above. I got bored and messed with some stuff again. I pulled out the 4in focal dash speakers and replaced the 300hz filter with a 1200hz filter. I was then able to disable the filter on the kicker 200.4 amp. So my last 2 dip switches are now in the UP position. This put more bass back into the system. Reran the kicker key algorithm and now my dash speakers are essentially tweeters now. This might sound dumb, but I get so much bass from the sub I don't need whatever little mid bass those speakers put out.

If you're still reading, save your time and money and install 4 new 4in speakers and the kicker 8in full size sub.
Amp - $280
RF kick panel speakers - $80 * 2
Wiring harness - $175
Power wiring kit for 200.4 - $40
This was the money wasted, close to $700

Ok guys I'm going to try and keep this post kinda short because I know there's a lot of info out there for upgrading speakers and everything already. This is just to show that the new subwoofer, which I know is going to get removed in some of the new builds, is different then the B&O model from '22. I'm pretty sure its the same subwoofer as the '22 Badlands Raptor though.


This is the stock photo I took before I removed it. The box and amp have changed. You can see the 5 pin connector hanging on the left side.

The hole is probably 6in, here is a picture with a recessed can drill bit.

This is the 8in kicker sub cutout. I used a jigsaw to cut the hole wider. I wasn't very careful and that jigsaw broke some plastic off making the hole bigger then I wanted. Still worked out ok.

I wanted to mount the amp to the box because the Kicker 8 gauge wiring kit doesn't have enough slack to reach the rear pillar that other people mounted it to. I ordered a $20 piece of plastic off Amazon and put some sound deadening stuff on there. Screwed the amp to it and screwed it to the box in the next picture.

Here's a picture of it mounted in, but didn't replace the trim because it was like 1am by now. I did take it to an empty parking lot and run the Kicker key algorithm and got it tuned in. I stuffed the box with polyfill and ran the speaker wires through the little U shaped channel on the left side of the speaker. This one isn't drilled out the back like the old model.

Here's another shot in the morning light. I had to trim the plastic off because I was blocking the clips hole.

Alright so I got the trim back on and this is my biggest regret. I mounted the amp to high and there was no real reason to mount it at an angle. The amp is pressing into the trim and caused a nice little stress crack in the plastic. Truly I don't care, as long as it doesn't get worse. I'm not ripping everything apart just to move the amp down.

Bonus pic, not sure why as a grown ass man I don't have a good work light still. I used my daughters vanity mirror that's USB powered hooked up to a battery pack. Also I did lay the Kilmat down all over the back area.

Overall, this thing bumps hard. It's nothing like my old 15" but it surprised the hell out of me for its size. I barely touched the gain, only moving it up a hair during the Kicker algorithm. You can barely feel anything around the 9ish range, but it bumps at 14+. Top down fully down today and around 60mph it was awesome at around 22 volume.

Side notes about all the work: I ran my own wires for the line in from the 6in kick panel speakers. I plan on getting the Kicker Key 200w amp installed soon but supposedly this is going to cause issues going to the 500w amp. Not really sure why and I'm really curious to test it out. Everyone says its because the speaker signal is amplified coming from the new amp. But the speaker signal is currently amplified from the head unit so not sure how its any different. Its probably only a 20W difference. Also I changed out the kick panel speakers with a set of Rockford Fosgate PPS4-6. These currently sound like shit with the stock head unit. I bought them because the money wasn't an issue and I didn't want to cheap out on a set and have to redo all that work. Replacing those speakers suck. So as of now they're staying in but I hope the Kicker Key 200.4 really adds some more power to them. They are 4lbs heavier then the stock speakers, so I know they have to be able to hit. Replaced the other 4 speakers with the Focal set that everyone recommends. I did 300hz blockers in the dash but I really regret not using 600hz. I may fix it one day but definitely not now.

Looks like u managed to use the existing subwoofer wire to connect new sub amp. Is there a adapter you used to do that or did u splice wires?

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[BigTyme]

I have the perfect sound now. Fusion amp and kicker 6.75 in the factory enclosure. Two more kicker 6.75 subs under the floor. 6.5 kickers in the pods. And the only speakers that don’t need to be changed are in the kick panel. Dash and pods definitely need to be replaced.