i need everyones help on this so i dont mess my radio up. i want to take out my factory 10" sub and put in aftermarket subs and amp. i wanted to know if you can use the aftermarket subs with the factory radio with out breaking something and if i can use the wires already in the factory amp and plug them into my new amp? any help would be appreciated.
thanks

 

im gonna go ahead and say no but dont go by my word alone. i recently wanted to do the same thing, keep the factory head unit and install 2 12'' pioneer subs and a new amp. so i went to my local best buy and consulted a friend of mine who does custom installations. he said that id need a line converter of some sort, because its not the same as pluging into an aftermarket, theres no amp output on the back of the factory deck, its all involved in the harness. also, he said that putting in an amp and sub while leaving the factory headunit would be a waste, because you would have little to no real sub control. so i made the decision to purchase and install the alpine cda-9855 slider deck. someone else on this forum has it as well, i liked how it looked and i made an impulse buy. then i bought the harness from crutchfield.com and painted it silver to match the interior. it looks sweet and sounds amazing but heres a few things to keep in mind.

1 your gonna want to purchase new wires for the subs, for better quality, and i would assume that their not long enough to reach the trunk.

2 when i got the system installed, the guy decided to not take out the pioneer, so now im running the 2 12'' pioneer impp's off a koiler amp, and the stock pioneer of the original amp. the 3 sound amazing, except the subs were a gift and the left is faulty sometimes. so you can consider leaving it in

3 if you have xm radio, your going to have to purchase another like 70 in parts to get a converter and what not. then theyre gonna bang you for the install

4 consider installing a new headunit. for the most part i love it. except for the loss of steering wheel controls, its great. especially since i have a remote.

now i dont know what your budget is, or if there is a budget. but if your gonna do it, go all out. i had a similar dilemma and i couldnt decide so i came here and yea, the rest is history....so i hope this helps and if you have any questions, message me


Doug

 

thanks i might just buy an aftermarket head unit to make this all easier if i cant find a way to do this with my factory radio.

 

What was the Part number please. and is this for the mp3 stock deck or was it for non mp3 stock deck that you were replacing or does it matter?

~Rashnu
~06' SS M/T

 

i would say no to, but i havn't torn mine apart. a lot of times what they do is tap into one of the speaker lines to ge the signal that runs to your amp. your amp will most likely require a kit for the power line from the batery to the amp. the only thing i would suggest to add to your system is a capacitor aka digital cap. it will help with all of the additional power being run to the sub.

good luck man and let me know how the install goes. i'm curious to see if any of the factory parts are usable

 

You would have to purchase a PAC convertor that taps into your radio and converts the signal through RCA outputs to go to your amp. Definitely upgrade the factory HU to an aftermarket one.

 

I recommend the JL Audio CleanSweep:

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_c...=1&prod_id=369

 

so, whats the tally on doing this with the stock HU? the polls seem to sway both ways all over the forum. I too am looking at adding an aftermarket amp and subs but i really dont want to install my premier HU because i like the stock one.

 

+1....thats what I am gonna use when i get money to put a system in. I like the look of my factory head unit.

 

I put a 12" Treo in my trunk with my stock radio. Purchased an Inline Converter and tapped the rear speakers. Soldered it all for best connection possible. Once you receive the RCA output from the rear speaker deck, then its the simple task of running the +/- for the amp, and hook up the speaker wire to the sub.

It's very possible to hook up a system on the stock deck, but.... BUT if your looking for amazingly great SQ, your gunna wanna spend the extra money to upgrade it all. I have the 12" Treo in the trunk, but it's turned way down. It adds the extra punchy feeling I like, but by no means is it loud. Once it's turned up the SQ is terrible.

 

Instead of soldering, is there anyway they have the clips that clip into the speaker wires sold somewhere, so i can just make my own speaker wire on the speaker clips taht go to the amp and the speakers? i am not a fan of soldering and want strictly bolt on things i can do so if i ever have to go back to the dealership it'll be easy for me and them, and no voidings of warranty!

thanks guys!