Replaced all speakers + Sub Install + Custom Trunk Speakers

Hey All,

I'm new here, but have used the forum for quite some time when I had questions I needed answers to. So thank you all! Not sure if anyone cares but figured I'd post in case someone was looking for a similar setup.

For those of you who know, the Four Touring has the JBL Premium sound system with 6 channel amp. Unfortunately, the front door speakers are set with a filter for bass only and the dash speakers for tweeters only. So overall the sound isn't great. It's okay, not great. I commute 5 hours total a day (Not since Covid) so I wanted a better sounding system. I live in SoCal so you can imagine the traffic and the noise.

I started by replacing all the stock speakers including the 4 in door speakers and the 2 in dash speakers. I went with the Infinity Reference Series 6.5" for the doors and 3.5 inch for the dash.

That was the easiest upgrade possible. The sound was definitely better sounding but I knew I could get better. If you want to stop there, you'll notice an improvement. I used instructions for the dash speakers I found here on here. If connecting to the stock amp, this works perfectly, but if going aftermarket amp, you need to use all 4 wires to get full spectrum sound and not just the "tweeters." I went with an aftermarket amp so I used all 4 wires.

I decided to go with the Kicker Key 200.4 4 channel amp. It can do 2 and 4 ohms, is compact, low power consumption (20A, so less than the 30A recommendation), and has some pretty cool auto calibration features. Installed it under the front drivers seat next to the stock amp. Had everything connected for a month now and it sounds ten times better than the stock amp, especially since I get full range sound from all the speakers! No more front door bass only! The only issue is, the phone call audio does not come through the speakers.... So if that is important to you, keep in mind you need them connected to the stock amp. What I ended up doing is then connecting just the dash speakers to the stock amp and the rest to the Kicker Key. Still sounds great.

Now I felt like I was missing the bass a bit. The system sounds amazing, but I shoot music videos and commercials for a living so I like bass. I ended up installing a JBL Basspro SL powered subwoofer (Same exact thing as the Infinity) under the passenger seat. As you can see it fits perfectly. It's not a shake your car kind of bass, but it fills in the low end nicely and is plenty for the cab. I may in the future add one in the trunk under the floor, but I'm happy with it for now. I actually have it turned down to about 1/2 power because at full it is a bit much for my setup.



I was bored (I blame Covid) so I ended up sound deadening my entire car with Noico 80Mil sound mat (2 x 36sqft) and supplementing specific areas with the Noico RED 315Mil foam. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures, but I did the entire floor, trunk and hatchback door, wheel wells, doors, under-hood, and in dash. The only thing I didn't do was the headliner. Which I may do since I have some leftover materials, just don't know yet how to take it apart.

When I finished that, the sound was not only better in the car, but there is hardly any outside noise. So for me it was well worth the effort. No more rattling sounds in the car and the bass can be turned all the way up! I also tinted my windows (5% rears, 15% Fronts) and that helped with noise a bit as well. It adds "another" layer to the glass.


While I was doing the trunk area sound deadening, I was like, it's missing some sound for the far rear since the door speakers are towards the front of the back seat. I decided to add 2 speakers in the trunk area to add more sound and fill in the rear. I purchased RetroPods surface mount modules and picked up 2 more Infinity 6.5 inch Reference Speakers. In the indent on both sides of the trunk behind the rear wheel wells I screwed into the metal surrounding the vents to mount the RetroPods. I then screwed in my speakers and wired them up to the Kicker Amp. I had to cut out the "walls" for the speakers to pop through. Now I have full range sound and no dead zones! If you have the music cranked and outside the car, it sounds great. If you want music playing outside, pop the trunk! I'm really happy with the setup. I still need to add some rubber trim around the cuts, but it looks okay as is (I mean, who really see's the trunk anyways).


The great thing is this doesn't take up any additional space in the trunk!

I mentioned my commute, don't yell at me but I like having a large display for navigation (used safely), facetime, youtube, netflix, etc... So I installed the ProClip USA 12.9" Ipad vent mount along with their 12.9" Ipad Holder (It's a 2 part system, you need the mount and the device holder). Since I have a larger Ipad Pro, I mounted my vent mount just to the right of the emergency flasher button on the passenger side.

It supports the weight no problem, is a solid mount that can be positioned easily. The only downside is you lose some air output from those vents, but I'll survive. I ended up running a aux cable to get real time sound instead of the horrible bluetooth delayed audio for any video viewing I do.


Overall, I'm really happy with my setup and glad I went for it. Thanks to everyone before me who posted hacks, tips, and step by steps to help me get to this point! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Apologies in advance, I had clickable links to all these items throughout but I'm new and had to remove them. Feel free to PM me for links if you need them.

 

The wheel wells and trunk are really good places to do. I never realized how much noise came from the back.

thanks!

I saw that too, does it fit under the foam inserts or do those have to be removed?

I will do something to add bass under the floor in the trunk. That’s for the input, they’re still working well? Only negatives of Rockville I’ve seen is they tend to die after a year.