New truck MODS...now showing..Sorry dealer service department

[droopie85gt]

As for my review. Well, my subject was Dave Grohl covering Rush Overture from 2112 that I have downloaded on Google Play. So it's bluetooth streamed to my truck.

The before and after were with the stock system cranked to volume 22. Bass was -1 from max, mid -4 from max, treble max.

Instantly I noticed much crisper bass and mid range. So much so, that I lowered bass 1 and increased mid 1. The highs are much cleaner. I can't wait to add the Rockville sub and I can probably drop bass another 2 and let the sub pick up the slack.

The other thing I noticed, the stock speakers were noticeably distorting above 24 on the volume, while the pioneers will go to at least 28 or 29. My phone's bt volume was maxed for both tests.

It's not literally a night and day difference, but for less than $90 and 1 hour of my time it is a great upgrade well worth the money!

 

[PowrRam]

As for my review. Well, my subject was Dave Grohl covering Rush Overture from 2112 that I have downloaded on Google Play. So it's bluetooth streamed to my truck.

The before and after were with the stock system cranked to volume 22. Bass was -1 from max, mid -4 from max, treble max.

Instantly I noticed much crisper bass and mid range. So much so, that I lowered bass 1 and increased mid 1. The highs are much cleaner. I can't wait to add the Rockville sub and I can probably drop bass another 2 and let the sub pick up the slack.

The other thing I noticed, the stock speakers were noticeably distorting above 24 on the volume, while the pioneers will go to at least 28 or 29. My phone's bt volume was maxed for both tests.

It's not literally a night and day difference, but for less than $90 and 1 hour of my time it is a great upgrade well worth the money!

Very nice write-up.

What are you using for a music player on your phone? Stock Google Play Music Player? Or something else? I ask because it might be that you have bass/treble settings tweaked on your phone and when you stream music via Bluetooth those settings are like a tone control pre-adjustment heading into your Ram's head unit.

I've got over 1,000 songs on a 32GB USB stick that I ripped from CDs, downloaded from Google Play, got from friends, and (ahem) acquired elsewhere. I usually play music in my truck via the USB stick. When I stream via my phone I use PowerAmp as my music player and the songs seem richer and more full-bodied (it that makes sense.) Well, I figured out the reason was because I was streaming songs with Poweramp's equalizer activated, which is adjusted to maximize the audio of my earbuds. So I'm pre-conditioning the tone controls before the music gets to the UConnect system.

Another point--I've never had a vehicle sound system that needed to be played at 50% (or more) volume just to hear the music decently. With windows up I'm typically running a volume of 18-20 just to listen to music. If a fave song comes on and I want to crank it, I go to 24-25 or so. With windows down I sometimes get to 30. It just seems wrong to be pushing the volume to 3/4 capacity just to hear the music with the windows down.

And like you said, pushing the stock speakers anywhere close to 24-25, anywhere over 20, really, and you'll get a headache from the grating distortion.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[droopie85gt]

Thanks @PowrRam. I watched the 1AAuto videos in your post to see how the door panel comes off. It's super easy.

The bang for the buck on this is high!

I just used Google Play and don't have any other preamp type thing running on my phone. I am a phone minimalist...I don't like installing any more than I have to.

I typically listen between 14-18 on the volume, but if a favorite song comes on, it's 20-22. I was just cranking it higher to see how high it would go. I am still impressed how much bass the 6x9's can pump out. It is a lot more than I would think they could. I thought the front's must be big 8" round speakers to act like mini subs to get that bass out. Not that that matters once I wire the Rockville 8" up!

 

[droopie85gt]

Ok, the Rockville RW8CA is in.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019Z3RFGY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I ran to Autozone and got a cheap amp install kit because I didn't have enough 8g or 10g power wire. And they only had 8ft or 50ft rolls of wire.

Sorry this writeup won't be quite as detailed because it was friggin hot. It's 97 outside and about 95 in the garage. I started with the hardest part, running the power wire. I drilled a hole thru what looks like the clutch block off plate. I put a grommet in it and passed the wire thru. Where the wire passes near the e-brake assy, with it's metal edges, I put some split loom on to protect it. I pulled the drivers front and rear threshold trim (well the back not all the way, it's trapped by the back seat). You have to move the driver's seat all the way forward to get the b pillar trim off.

I used vampire taps to get the rear drivers speaker wires. In the B pillar there is a connector that connects to the harness coming from the door. I disconnected it to get some room and tapped right down near the plug. I ran some speaker wire along the same path as the power wire. I also ran the amps remote volume control up to the front.

I took the paint off the seat frame near a hole that was already in it and used a nut, bolt and some washers to secure the ground with a really good bare metal connection. Then I put the amp in and hooked it all up. The sub is pretty much trapped by the seat back when it is upright, so I just got some velcro strips and velcro'd it to the back wall. Just to keep it from sliding around or falling over if the seat back is tipped down.

I zip tied all the wires near the amp up, and I probably could do a better job, but again I was hot. You can't see them unless you tip the seat forward, so I not worried right now. Maybe this WINTER I will clean that up!!! That's how I felt!


Now for the evidence:

Here's where I tapped into the speaker wires. They are gray with a dark green stripe and gray with a light green stripe. I forget which one is +. I made a note and hooked up to the amp correctly.

No wires hanging out.

OOPs, a little messy, but it's zip tied so it can't get hung up in the seat.
And there it is...velcro'd to the back wall.

And FYI, it will not fit UNDER the seat. The seat won't fold all the way down. I would guess it's maybe 3/8" too tall or maybe a little more.

As for sound...it's not a comp system with 2 12's that is for sure. But I have the remote volume below half way and at 20 on the head unit volume it will make the mirrors vibrate. I need to fine tune it, but the bass hitting pretty good just at normal listening levels, 12-20.

All in all, for $99 I would say it was WELL worth the sweat and money!

This was a good weekend for audio mods! I am very pleased with my results!

 

[Cory408]

Let me know if its worth it for the Rockville really interested in doing it also. I might hook up two of them

 

[droopie85gt]

Let me know if its worth it for the Rockville really interested in doing it also. I might hook up two of them

For the price/size I don't think you can go wrong. I had one in my 2007 Avalanche for almost 3 years and it was great. They made a 10" too. I'm not trying to knock the mirrors off, but it does hit harder than you think it would.

 

[atom13]

Thanks for sharing your results. I may have to do this after I retrofit the quad lights.

 

[Cory408]

How did you get the back to fold down

 

[WTM75]

How did you get the back to fold down

http://www.ramforum.com/threads/que...ne-folding-back-seat-mod.121085/#post-1741795

There are others, if you do a search. Great place fro storage.

 

[PowrRam]

Ok, the Rockville RW8CA is in.

Did you tap into both right and left speakers, or just the rear driver's door speaker only?

Where did you mount the bass control knob? Does it have the annoying power on light?

How did you mount it?

And FYI, it will not fit UNDER the seat. The seat won't fold all the way down. I would guess it's maybe 3/8" too tall or maybe a little more.

One of the ways to get the back seat to tilt forward and gain access to the back storage area is to put spacers on the bolts that hold down the seating part of the seat. Do you think if say, 1/2" spacers were put on the bolts under the rails for the seat bottom a guy could gain enough height to install the Rockville powered sub on the floor?

As for sound...it's not a comp system with 2 12's that is for sure. But I have the remote volume below half way and at 20 on the head unit volume it will make the mirrors vibrate. I need to fine tune it, but the bass hitting pretty good just at normal listening levels, 12-20.

All in all, for $99 I would say it was WELL worth the sweat and money!

Great news. I don't need to pressurize the interior of my truck until the window flex and curve outwards with bass sound waves, but I do want some punch on the low end of the frequency spectrum and to hear what I'm missing down there.

This was a good weekend for audio mods! I am very pleased with my results!

Thanks for the write up and the photos. Very helpful.

 

[droopie85gt]

How did you get the back to fold down

@Cory408 There are a few threads about it. The back of the seat has two 'prongs' that engage hooks on the back wall. If you notice when you cycle the bottom up and down, the back also moves up and down. There are two ways to do the mod. Loosen the four bolts holding the seat bottom in and put spacers-washers under them until those prongs will disengage when the seat bottom is about halfway up. Or I chose the cut of part of the prong method. There is a teflon guide on them...I guess so they don't rattle or squeak when going up or down. If you look at the last pic of my speaker post, you'll see there is a square, bracket so to say, of the teflon. You can just cut off the prong right there. You have to guide the back now when it goes up and down. If it leans forward at all, it may only engage one prong or none. But if you push the seat back back and lower the seat it works fine. I only did the driver's side but people have done both. There's quite a bit of storage back there. someone's thread they put an AR-15 back there. Perfectly hidden and no one except someone on these forums even would think the seats fold.

 

[droopie85gt]

Did you tap into both right and left speakers, or just the rear driver's door speaker only?

Where did you mount the bass control knob? Does it have the annoying power on light?
How did you mount it?
Great news. I don't need to pressurize the interior of my truck until the window flex and curve outwards with bass sound waves, but I do want some punch on the low end of the frequency spectrum and to hear what I'm missing down there.
Thanks for the write up and the photos. Very helpful.

I just tapped into the driver's rear speaker. It sounds fine so far. I guess if you played some techno or 60's pschodelia, you may have an issue. Plus it was hot and running the power and wires just on the driver's side was enough for me!

Yes, it has a B R I G H T blue light. I know from the Avalanche, it's very bright at night!!! I'll put some tape over it.

If you look under the knee bolster panel under the steering column, there is one screw betwee the hood release and e-brake release. I mounted the control there within easy reach to that screw. If I get froggy I will take a pic of the bass control and maybe a video, although I am not sure what the audio will be able to discern.

 

[PowrRam]

I hope you don't mind all my questions...

When you ran the speaker wire it looks like you used the typical 16 gauge paired wire. Judging by the photo of your tap into the factory speaker wires it looks like you crimped on some female connectors onto the bare ends of the speaker wire you had and then used T-tap (vampire taps) to connect these female connectors to the factory speaker wiring. Is this correct?

Then you ran the speaker wire from the taps back to the amp unit whereupon you twist connected the speaker wires onto one half of the wires on the Rockville supplied speaker connector that plugs into the back of the amp unit. (You only used one half of the wires on the Rockville speaker connector unit because you only tapped into the driver's rear speaker and not both right and left rear speakers.) Am I correct?

Here's a photo of that connector:

 

[droopie85gt]

You are correct. I used the speaker wire that came in the Autozone amp wiring kit to run from the vampire taps to the 2 wires on the Rockville. I only used one pair of high level inputs on the Rockville. There are 5 wires in that harness...1 is a ground, which I connected.

Also, the velcro was a big fail. The seat back DOES NOT trap the sub. So it slid around yesterday and quit working. I will get out there shortly and see if it came unplugged or shorted and blew the fuse.

AND figure out someway to strap it down. I am not drilling holes into the body of my truck, so I need to figure out how to mount it using the seat brackets.

Bad thing is we are having all the downstairs flooring redone and have been putting crap in the garage and doing a general purge. I think I tossed the little rubber mounts and screws the rockville comes with. Oh well. I'll figure something out.

 

[PowrRam]

You are correct. I used the speaker wire that came in the Autozone amp wiring kit to run from the vampire taps to the 2 wires on the Rockville. I only used one pair of high level inputs on the Rockville. There are 5 wires in that harness...1 is a ground, which I connected.

How long are those five wires on the speaker plug-in harness?

(I've got an email into Rockville with this question. Haven't heard anything for several days.)

 

[clay282]

As for my review. Well, my subject was Dave Grohl covering Rush Overture from 2112 that I have downloaded on Google Play. So it's bluetooth streamed to my truck.

The before and after were with the stock system cranked to volume 22. Bass was -1 from max, mid -4 from max, treble max.

I'm actually pretty surprised at your sound settings. I had those same Pioneer 6x9 speakers in my Amazon cart and was waiting to hear about them. I guess I already upgraded to what I want... I put some Memphis Audio PRX's in the dash, treble -2, mid +1 and bass all the way up with the balance 2 clicks to the back speakers and I was amazed! Once I turned down the treble, the factory speakers are basically bumping like subs. I mean, the factory speakers do wash out above 20, but 20 is pretty danged loud and usually my top end unless I'm listening to Highly Suspect, Greta Van Fleet or other rock that's more geared towards treble anyway. And since I turned the back door speakers up on the balance, they actually bump hard enough I now have to take the door panels off the find the rattles. The rattles in both back doors are bad enough I can't get above 18 if I'm listening to Aoki or any old rap like Wu Tang because it's just one non stop rattle.

My biggest remaining gripe is the sound difference in inputs. XM Radio seems bass heavy. Bluetooth seems lite on bass. USB thumb drive with my own stuff seems balanced the best and the FM radio is sorta flat in general.

Great post and I really appreciate the pics and details but I'd have to hear them in person before I'd even spend the 100 bucks.

 

[PowrRam]

I've got the Pioneer 6X9's in the front doors, Polk tweeters in the dash, and stock 6X9's in the rear doors. I've set my fader control on the 8.4 system the slightest amount possible to the rear speakers. Seems to bring the bass up a bit.

My settings are bass +6, mid 0, treble -3. I think if I hadn't had a sub in my previous truck I'd be OK with this set up. When I listen to fave songs I can hear the bass really well, just not as strong as I was accustomed to in my old ride.

I'm still going to get the Rockville sub/amp but right now the USS8 is out of stock.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[droopie85gt]

Well I found the problem. Sub slid over and hit the auto power on button. LOL. So it is really freaking hot and I have the garage packed with stuff to get ready for the flooring guys to come, so I took the easy way out for now and wrapped a towel around it to wedge it when the seat is upright. Once I get this flooring done, I'll see what I can do to permanently mount it.

@PowrRam As far as that 5 wire high level harness, I'd say the wires are about 6-9" long that come out of it.

I think I am going to go to Sonic and get a Rt 44 Cherry Limeade and ride around and adjust the settings. I haven't played with any of the sub settings other than the volume remote.

I've also found even before and after the sub, having the balance a bit to the rear really
helps with the overall fill of the sound.

I'll mess with the settings and see where the bass, mid and treble end up.

 

[droopie85gt]

So I went out and played with the gain and the low pass filter. I put the input gain at about 60% and the low pass as high as it will go. My head unit settings are now 2 steps to the back, bass 4, mid 2, treble max. I am pretty happy there. The remote gain knob is about in the center. So I have a bit of range to tweak for a specific song if need be.

 

[droopie85gt]

I think I will weld up a bracket that the sub slides into and attach that to the rear seat mount bolt. I'll probably use some light angle iron and make something resembling a sleeve. But beyond that, I think the sound is still great. I tweakeded the low pass down to about 70% and turned the gain down a little more. Now for 85% of the songs I have the remote know half way. Then I have max adjustment up or down to tune to my liking.

All in all great bang for the dollar!!!