2024 Big Bend Sub-Woofer Install - Read This First!

[VAtruck]

It's a little extra work, but if you take the subwoofer signal from the front speakers and run it through an LOC, you can dial in the gain and have control over the subwoofer volume. I had to do this when I Added a 7 Speaker Sub to a Base 6 speaker System. Much nicer than the fixed bass from the stock system.

You can get plenty of sound out of the stock rear pods if you turn off the factory equalization and change them from Tweeter to Speaker. With a Kicker 200.4 amp, the system sounded so good, the only non stock speaker I used was the subwoofer (4 Ohm Kicker48CWRT674) that came with the subwoofer when I got it. It's easy to change hardware; the magic is in the Gain and Equalization.

Sponsored

 

[BlarneyStoned]

Hammy: Did you replace the pods on your bar? The Maybett look more affordable than the SSB but they specify a 4 door, not a 2 door.

I did upgrade the pods on mine with the SSV ones, but honestly if I was doing it again I would not upgrade the pods, they just do not make enough of a difference in their contribution to mid-bass to justify the cost. A good pair of 4 1/2" speakers and the forscan speaker type change will sound better, do that upgrade save the $$ and skip the bigger pods.

 

[Skip2a]

I did upgrade the pods on mine with the SSV ones, but honestly if I was doing it again I would not upgrade the pods, they just do not make enough of a difference in their contribution to mid-bass to justify the cost. A good pair of 4 1/2" speakers and the forscan speaker type change will sound better, do that upgrade save the $$ and skip the bigger pods.

Forscan is holding me back; I'm not good with computers and I do not want to screw up by trying to use it. A few people have told me that it doesn't work on the '24's but I'm not sure.

I went to the website but I have no clue what I should or shouldn't download and I'm not sure how to purchase it. I have tried to find someone in my area (St College PA) that has it but I have not had any luck yet.

Thanks!

 

[Hammy]

Forscan is holding me back; I'm not good with computers and I do not want to screw up by trying to use it. A few people have told me that it doesn't work on the '24's but I'm not sure.

I went to the website but I have no clue what I should or shouldn't download and I'm not sure how to purchase it. I have tried to find someone in my area (St College PA) that has it but I have not had any luck yet.

Thanks!

You don’t need to use forscan just do the speaker replacement and you’ll be fine. There are many more complicated options like replacing the main amp but it’s not necessary. If you did want to try forscan it’s not too difficult just go to the website and pay the annual fee then get the proper cord and off you go. Again, not necessary just upgrade your speakers.

 

[VAtruck]

Did you replace the pods on your bar? The Maybett look more affordable than the SSB but they specify a 4 door, not a 2 door.

All of the factory speakers will come to life with an amp. The Kicker Key 200.4 is a great choice. It's pretty easy to Make Your Own Harness.

Forscan is holding me back...I have tried to find someone in my area (St College PA) that has it but I have not had any luck yet.

Turning off the factory equalization to take back control of the System makes a huge difference.

 

[Skip2a]

So Crutchfield isn't showing the CWRT67 but a 48CWRT672
( https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20648CT672/Kicker-48CWRT672.html ). I'm not sure if this is the right one or not?

I called Crutchfield and the sales guy rattled off a bunch of numbers and so forth. They don't have the specs on the Bronco with the standard system; only the B&O schematic shows the sub in the back of the 2 door for him?

Any way. It's rated as 150W with dual 2-ohm voice coils. Crutchfield said I need to check my amp to see what power it is and what ohms it is putting out. Does anyone know what the factory amp is outputting? I have tried searches and have come up blank.

I'm looking for just a plug and play sub that will fit in this cabinet and sound good. I have no clue how to wire the dual coils (the description says it runs 1 - 4 ohms depending on how you wire it).

From what I see 2 ohms will let more power through the speaker?

I'm down a technology rabbit hole that this old mind isn't understanding.

My take on plug and play: 1. Buy sub, 2. plug into wires from crappy Ford sub, 3. Listen to Heavy Metal.

Thanks,

Pat

 

[VAtruck]

So Crutchfield isn't showing the CWRT67 but a 48CWRT672
( https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20648CT672/Kicker-48CWRT672.html ). I'm not sure if this is the right one or not?

Most folk prefer the 4 ohm 48CWRT674. There is alot of info about this in the archives. I used that when I Added a 7 Speaker subwoofer to my 2022. Sounds great with a Kicker 200.4 boosting the signal to the other factory speakers.

 

[Hammy]

So Crutchfield isn't showing the CWRT67 but a 48CWRT672
( https://www.crutchfield.com/p_20648CT672/Kicker-48CWRT672.html ). I'm not sure if this is the right one or not?

I called Crutchfield and the sales guy rattled off a bunch of numbers and so forth. They don't have the specs on the Bronco with the standard system; only the B&O schematic shows the sub in the back of the 2 door for him?

Any way. It's rated as 150W with dual 2-ohm voice coils. Crutchfield said I need to check my amp to see what power it is and what ohms it is putting out. Does anyone know what the factory amp is outputting? I have tried searches and have come up blank.

I'm looking for just a plug and play sub that will fit in this cabinet and sound good. I have no clue how to wire the dual coils (the description says it runs 1 - 4 ohms depending on how you wire it).

From what I see 2 ohms will let more power through the speaker?

I'm down a technology rabbit hole that this old mind isn't understanding.

My take on plug and play: 1. Buy sub, 2. plug into wires from crappy Ford sub, 3. Listen to Heavy Metal.

Thanks,

Pat

Hi Pat, go with your 1, 2 3 plan and you'll be fine.

 

[Brian_B]

Any way. It's rated as 150W with dual 2-ohm voice coils. Crutchfield said I need to check my amp to see what power it is and what ohms it is putting out. Does anyone know what the factory amp is outputting? I have tried searches and have come up blank.

Dual voice coil - you have one speaker, but it has 2 inputs for DOUBLE PoWeR (being serious but it’s been a few beers night)

So the factory amp actually has a hookup for each coil. So two sets of wires total, each rated for 55W at 2 ohms

So if you just want the straight upgrade without fooling with a new amplifier, get the CWRT672 and just plug it in. That said, without an amp, it isn’t exactly gonna blow your hair back or rock your world. Subwoofers need power, and 110W isn’t much for a sub.

For most upgrades - you wire the two voice coils together so it looks like one speaker again. If you wire them in series, the ohms add together. If you wire them in parallel, the ohms are divided by 2.

Fewer ohms = more power. IF AND ONLY IF your amp is rated for it. Amps usually will tell you how many watts they can push at whatever ohms. If you go too low you will overheat and burn out your amp. Too high and you won’t get much power and it will be weak.

Thats why people usually get the CWRT674 - two 4 ohm channels wired in parallel will be 2 ohms, which is the lowest most amps will go safely, yielding the most power while using just a single channel. Can’t get to that magic number with the 2 ohm version without wiring up the channels independently (like the factory amp does)

 

[Brian_B]

My 2 cents - don’t bother fooling with the sub unless you have an upgraded amp to go with it. That rear cargo panel is kind of a pain to deal with.

There are plug and play kits that exist - I recommend looking for a Kicker 500.1 PnP kit and going with an 8” sub (CWRT84) and sealing the enclosure (you do have to modify the enclosure just a bit but fairly minor). If you don’t want to modify the enclosure go for the Stinger tailgate enclosure.

There are a lot of options other than that, but PnP kits exist for those and probably thousands of Broncos running that exact config with lots how guides and videos available. And it’s a nice Bang for the Buck setup.

 

[Ford Donkey]

So if you just want the straight upgrade without fooling with a new amplifier, get the CWRT672 and just plug it in. That said, without an amp, it isn’t exactly gonna blow your hair back or rock your world. Subwoofers need power, and 110W isn’t much for a sub.

Thats why people usually get the CWRT674 - two 4 ohm channels wired in parallel will be 2 ohms, which is the lowest most amps will go safely, yielding the most power while using just a single channel. Can’t get to that magic number with the 2 ohm version without wiring up the channels independently (like the factory amp does)

My 2 cents - don’t bother fooling with the sub unless you have an upgraded amp to go with it. That rear cargo panel is kind of a pain to deal with.

There are plug and play kits that exist - I recommend looking for a Kicker 500.1 PnP kit and going with an 8” sub (CWRT84) and sealing the enclosure (you do have to modify the enclosure just a bit but fairly minor). If you don’t want to modify the enclosure go for the Stinger tailgate enclosure.

I'm thinking about upgrading my sub, but I want to make sure I understand my options better for the simple plug & play route that you and others here have talked about. I don't need or want a ton of bass, I just want a fuller and more accurate/complete sound system where music sounds at least semi-decent.

I have the 2025 Bronco with the standard 7-speaker setup and a working factory sub & amp. If I want to replace my amp with the Kicker 500.1, my understanding is that I can just use the factory wiring without the need to run a new/thicker gauge power wire as long as I install the Kicker 6.75" CWRT672 (or should I use CWRT674?) and run it at 4 ohms since it will only draw 150 watts. However, if I want to run it at 2 ohms, it will draw 300 watts and that will be too much for the factory wiring, resulting in me having to run a new power wire. And if I need to run a new power wire, I might as well upgrade the sub to the 8" Kicker instead.

Does that sound right to you? Can I only run the 6.75" Kicker at 150 watts on the factory wiring with the Kicker 500.1 amp? And if that is the best I can do while still using the factory wiring, is it even really worth upgrading the amp/sub at all? I feel like I'd like to try whatever setup I can first that doesn't require running new wires. If I still want more bass after that, then I'll probably try upgrading to the 8" sub with new wiring.

Note - I'm also upgrading my other 6 speakers and installing the Kicker 200.4 amp and SSV 6.5" pods in the back.

 

[Brian_B]

I'm thinking about upgrading my sub, but I want to make sure I understand my options better for the simple plug & play route that you and others here have talked about. I don't need or want a ton of bass, I just want a fuller and more accurate/complete sound system where music sounds at least semi-decent.

Two things:

Your thinking about not upgrading the wire is dangerous. The 500.1 can easily pull more power than the factory wiring can provide: best case you just pop a fuse; worst case it melts your subwoofer and catches the wiring on fire. I would not rely on the fact that you are installing a smaller speaker to protect you - the amp can and will overpower the speaker if you turn the volume up.

Second - I have heard MY25 changed the sub amp to an A2B model, so plug and play upgrades made for 21-24 may not work for
MY25

 

[Ford Donkey]

Two things:

Your thinking about not upgrading the wire is dangerous. The 500.1 can easily pull more power than the factory wiring can provide: best case you just pop a fuse; worst case it melts your subwoofer and catches the wiring on fire. I would not rely on the fact that you are installing a smaller speaker to protect you - the amp can and will overpower the speaker if you turn the volume up.

Second - I have heard MY25 changed the sub amp to an A2B model, so plug and play upgrades made for 21-24 may not work for
MY25

Thanks. That sounds like the wiser approach. I think I'll run the wires then.

 

[steni]

Hi Pat I'll help you avoid my mistakes, yes there should be a working amp and sub back there and you do not need forscan. Just test it out by turning up the bass and cranking the radio, you should be able to hear a very terrible sub woofer. All I did was upgrade the sub-woofer speaker along with the other speakers and now it sounds great. No forscan or amp needed.

That's great!! Did you put insulation when you did the swap?

 

[Skip2a]

I didn't. I was unprepared, but I do hear a noticeable difference with just the new sub.

Sponsored