18 w/JBL upgrade

So I wasn't happy with the JBL "premium" audio and decided to upgrade front door and dash to Kicker 6x9 CS component and rear to Kicker 6.75 CS coax with a Rockford Fosgate Prime 400.4D amplifier. For factory headunit integration I'm using a PacProTY12 unit. It's the most expensive piece but best plug and play option to retain factory headunit controls. Crutchfield 4ga amp kit and Stinger RCA. The door speakers have Stinger Roadkill Fastrings. I spliced into the factory speaker wires at the factory JBL amp harness and extended the 6 pairs of speaker wire over to the driver side rear cubby and built a wedge style amp rack. Everything soldered and tesa taped. I'm still driving the factory JBL sub with the factory JBL amp. System sounds great!

Definitely more work than I anticipated! Took 10 hours by myself!

Big shout out to @destin_meeks!!!!! He has been assisting me for 2 months on this project and I can't say enough about his responsiveness and knowledge!

 

Everything looks great! 10 hours is a good time for all the work you did! Especially when you soldered/shrunk everything! And Tessa tape to top it all off. I know audio shops that would take longer than that and do a worse job!

I’m glad you were willing to listen to my advice, and buy the parts to make the job clean and factory! People try to cheap out and go without the PAC, or the brackets, and the quality suffers.

 

Good stuff man. I have a 2019 with the JBL audio package in it. What exactly can I replace, I almost bought the kicker tweeters but some here are saying they won't work. Do I have to go out and buy a new amp if I want to change door speakers? What if I get a new headunit, will the stock amp be of any value at that point or nah?

 

Unless you buy a new amp, there is no point in replacing the factory speakers. To use an aftermarket amp with the factory head unit you need the Pac AmpPro TY12.

 

Ok so that pretty much answers my question. The entire stock system has to go (headunit, amp, speakers).

 

No, the Pac allows you to keep the factory headunit.

 

Good thread.

Does anyone know the difference between the AmpPro TY12 versus the TY11? Obviously the 12 works in your setup on the 2018 which is what I am looking for but just curious why they have the TY11 as well.

 

Hit up @destin_meeks

 

Can you provide a parts list? I have an aftermarket HU but would like to run the amp and tap the wires so I can upgrade the speakers. Really not happy with the JBL. Thx!

 

Sorry, I'm using the PAC unit with my factory head unit. I don't want to give you bad information.

 

I get it (kind of), however, I am using the Maestro in order to use the factory wiring. It would be a big win for me to be able to use the factory wiring at least to the amp location.
I assume you are tapping the wires before the amp so you get a clean signal.

Where did you get the tweeter mounts?
Where did you get the amp cabinet?

Thx! Also, the install looks great.

 

They use different wiring harnesses. The ty11 is for certain Toyota/Lexus vehicles, and the ty12 is for different Toyota/Lexus vehicles.

If you have an aftermarket radio, you don’t need this.

 

I cut and extended the factory speaker wires at the JBL factory amp over to my aftermarket amp. Tweeter mounts from Amazon (had to file them out 1/16 or so to make the tweeters fit. The amp rack I made myself.

 

You won’t be able to use the factory wiring for that unfortunately. You’ll need to run RCA cables from your aftermarket head unit back to your aftermarket amp.

He isn’t “tapping” the signal so I’ll try to clarify. The AmpPro he is using is creating new RCA outputs that are using the data signal the factory radio is creating. This allows high quality pre-outs that retain factory EQ, fade, balance, etc.
the factory audio signal from the factory radio to the factory amp is only Left and Right. Then there is a data signal telling the amp to control fade, balance, and EQ. So there is no real way to tap into the signal “before” the amp. Hopefully that makes sense

Fortunately for you, you have an aftermarket head unit so you don’t need to worry about that.
Run RCA’s to your new amp, and extend the amp’s speaker outputs over to the factory wiring at the jbl amp.

 

Thanks for that! Tweeter mounts are the only thing I couldn't them. I like what you did with the amp mount. I will have to come up with something. Maybe in the under seat cubbies.

So I can at least use the wiring to the speakers which is most of the headache. I can run RCA's from the HU no problem. Thanks for the info, very useful!!

 

Thanks for sharing! I have everything except my amp and speaker adapters. I’ll be doing my install in the Spring.

I opted for JBL Club components and coaxials, already ditched my sub, relocated the JBL amp, and will be doing the Kicker Key 180.4. And I agree, @destin_meeks is super helpful. I threw some odd thoughts at him and he politely steered my right.

 

Is there a reason you didn't go with a 5 channel amp to drive both the sub and speakers?

Also curious about the OP and why not a 5 channel and ditch the jbl stock amp?

 

If you want to retain the factory HU you must keep the stock amp. It is integral to the HU. The PAC AmpPro allows you to essentially bypass the JBL amp’s interfering with your new audio setup and provides pre-amp outputs.
IF I add a sub, it’ll be self contained unit like the kicker hideaway that I mount under the drivers seat.

To clarify @lardawge , the stock JBL amp powers your speakers and has cross overs built in. The factory HU has no amp and therefore can’t power speakers directly like a normal HU could. If you tapped into the speakers to use speaker level inputs to your new amp, the amp would still be limited by the JBL amp’s crossover, so no speaker would get full range. Also the JBL sub is bi-amped, using 2 channels on the factory amp.

 

Great info here. If I wanted to address the stock jbl sub, I’d just replace the 4 channel amp with a 5 channel and replace the factory sub with something better? In that setup, the factory sub stays in place but is bypassed by the PAC?

 

It all depends on whether you want to keep the factory HU. If the answer is "Yes, I want to keep the fcatory HU", then you can never get rid of the factory amp. You'll need the PAC AMP Pro, or Maestro, in addition to everything else you would want to install. Also since the factory sub is bi-amped, you'll have to make sure to match impedances as to not under power or overpower the stock sub, tougher to do with a 5ch unless the factory sub can be wired to 2ohm.
If the answer is "No, IDC about the factory HU" then your options are wide open.