604Junkie
Junior Member
Hello everyone, and here is what I have done in my truck;
I finally installed the 77kick42 for front, 77kick41 in rear door and 77kick44 (Sub) under the rear seat.
What I found was the 77kick42 package with 6x9" doors and 3.5" dash does work pretty well with my truck without the Alpine audio package.
What I learned during this whole upgrade process is that if we are doing the full kicker upgrade with the sub we would need the 3.5" in the dash that comes with 77kick42 because the sub over powers everything. there is way too much bass with the sub, so the 5.5" in dash brings out the voices and the trebles and balances out with the heavy bass. As opposed to 77kick28ab, which comes with smaller tweeters which comes with low frequency bypass circuit attached to them. I mean it comes to preference in how you like your music to sound... I am not sure if I would say 77kick28ab is better for the ram 1500 or not, but what i found was both the 77kick42 and 77kick28ab works in these trucks. However if there is no sub installed, the 3.5" in the dash is just way too loud and out of balance with the rest of the speakers. I feel like as if it needs some sort of a resistor+capacitor or a pre-made cross-over and frequency limiter to actually balance it out. So without the sub I think I wouldn't use the 77kick42 and Maybe 77kick28ab would be more suitable in that case.
There was a 3rd dash speaker that came with the 77kick42 package that was intended for the vehicles with Alpine audio. I just didn't use that.
I also noticed some of the instructions were wrong in the mopar sheet that came with the 77kick44 package. For example, the polarity on the sub connections was wrong. if you follow the manual then the sub barely kicks... it feels out of phase and makes weird noises. This is resolved by reversing polarity in my case.
I found that there are slightly different packages. Some comes with extra adapter for the sound, some dont. I beleive the extra adapter is for those who have an amp installed already such as the vehicles with alpine setup. For mine with non amplified 6 speakers setup it just ties into the left front door speaker wire.
Manual states that we have to cut make a slight cut into the wiring grommet; However, my truck had a hidden nipple underneath the grommet, which looked like it was meant for this purpose. I just snipped the head of the nipple and fished the power wire for the amp through it. It is the exact size for the wire to fish through. I think its better than slicing grommet in my opinion.
For sound deadening I used hushmat vibration dampening. There was already bit of these stuff applied tot he doors by manufacturer, but I have applied some more to places that make noise while testing with different frequencies that makes your doors rattle; such as 50hz, 60hz sine waves. Now the door panel parts feel more snug. With certain frequencies though there is still rattles and noises.
At the end, I am pretty happy with the install, but the installation experience and the listening experience is totally differentt han what I had expected. This is not ina good or a bad way..it is just different. when it comes to its price, I belive we can build much more customizable and maybe more powerful systems if we go with after market equipment. I think this mopar kicker package is over priced, but at the same time it is made for easy installation, forexample the speakers come with proper harnesses, and wire plugs etc, that just click right into the factory wires. Sub is a premade enclosure and sits right into where it suppose to sit. wires are made to perfect lenghts, etc. Is it worth the money? I dont know, but I made the decision to go with this option for my install and atleast it sounds like a premium audio setup for now.
Useful tools: Plastic trim removal tools, Socket set, Philips screw driver, flat head screw driver, multimeter, zip-ties, electrical tape, patience.
Hope my experience helps others when they are looking to upgrade their speakers with the mopar kicker Package.
I finally installed the 77kick42 for front, 77kick41 in rear door and 77kick44 (Sub) under the rear seat.
What I found was the 77kick42 package with 6x9" doors and 3.5" dash does work pretty well with my truck without the Alpine audio package.
What I learned during this whole upgrade process is that if we are doing the full kicker upgrade with the sub we would need the 3.5" in the dash that comes with 77kick42 because the sub over powers everything. there is way too much bass with the sub, so the 5.5" in dash brings out the voices and the trebles and balances out with the heavy bass. As opposed to 77kick28ab, which comes with smaller tweeters which comes with low frequency bypass circuit attached to them. I mean it comes to preference in how you like your music to sound... I am not sure if I would say 77kick28ab is better for the ram 1500 or not, but what i found was both the 77kick42 and 77kick28ab works in these trucks. However if there is no sub installed, the 3.5" in the dash is just way too loud and out of balance with the rest of the speakers. I feel like as if it needs some sort of a resistor+capacitor or a pre-made cross-over and frequency limiter to actually balance it out. So without the sub I think I wouldn't use the 77kick42 and Maybe 77kick28ab would be more suitable in that case.
There was a 3rd dash speaker that came with the 77kick42 package that was intended for the vehicles with Alpine audio. I just didn't use that.
I also noticed some of the instructions were wrong in the mopar sheet that came with the 77kick44 package. For example, the polarity on the sub connections was wrong. if you follow the manual then the sub barely kicks... it feels out of phase and makes weird noises. This is resolved by reversing polarity in my case.
I found that there are slightly different packages. Some comes with extra adapter for the sound, some dont. I beleive the extra adapter is for those who have an amp installed already such as the vehicles with alpine setup. For mine with non amplified 6 speakers setup it just ties into the left front door speaker wire.
Manual states that we have to cut make a slight cut into the wiring grommet; However, my truck had a hidden nipple underneath the grommet, which looked like it was meant for this purpose. I just snipped the head of the nipple and fished the power wire for the amp through it. It is the exact size for the wire to fish through. I think its better than slicing grommet in my opinion.
For sound deadening I used hushmat vibration dampening. There was already bit of these stuff applied tot he doors by manufacturer, but I have applied some more to places that make noise while testing with different frequencies that makes your doors rattle; such as 50hz, 60hz sine waves. Now the door panel parts feel more snug. With certain frequencies though there is still rattles and noises.
At the end, I am pretty happy with the install, but the installation experience and the listening experience is totally differentt han what I had expected. This is not ina good or a bad way..it is just different. when it comes to its price, I belive we can build much more customizable and maybe more powerful systems if we go with after market equipment. I think this mopar kicker package is over priced, but at the same time it is made for easy installation, forexample the speakers come with proper harnesses, and wire plugs etc, that just click right into the factory wires. Sub is a premade enclosure and sits right into where it suppose to sit. wires are made to perfect lenghts, etc. Is it worth the money? I dont know, but I made the decision to go with this option for my install and atleast it sounds like a premium audio setup for now.
Useful tools: Plastic trim removal tools, Socket set, Philips screw driver, flat head screw driver, multimeter, zip-ties, electrical tape, patience.
Hope my experience helps others when they are looking to upgrade their speakers with the mopar kicker Package.
