Some tips I learned for doing stereo work on the Raptor

[goblues38]

Everyone is a noob at everything, at some point. You shouldn't act so jaded, this isn't a audiophile website.

But nice post.

The problem with the Gen2 is that info is all garbled up, with not much distinction noted between the '17 Sony and '18+ B&O. The fact that someone is laying out a good plan on having "decent" sound on a B&O, is a good thing.

Not everyone wants to drop 5-10k to be king ding-a-ling.

you are not paying attention

@Oldfart is one of the most sarcastic people here. I was actually paying him a compliment....he did a nice post....for a noob...........

been saying all along.....it is a simple $2,000 fix if you can do it your self....$3,000 if you have to pay. Not crazy money at all. I agree, $5-10k was another time.

I cringe at the LC2i in the build. But to each his own.

 

[Oldfart]

you are not paying attention

@Oldfart is one of the most sarcastic people here. I was actually paying him a compliment....he did a nice post....for a noob...........

been saying all along.....it is a simple $2,000 fix if you can do it your self....$3,000 if you have to pay. Not crazy money at all. I agree, $5-10k was another time.

I cringe at the LC2i in the build. But to each his own.

I took it like that. After all, I wear the crown of "King of the Ball Busters".

 

[Oldfart]

A little addition, I finished up my rear doors tonight with the second skin mat and the Hush Audio panels. Something I forgot to mention when applying the mat is when you are making the little cut outs for bolt holes, electrical wire holders, etc., after you cut them, push them out with a small screwdriver, end of your box cutter, or anything other than your fingers. That's how I got all those annoying little cuts that you don't really feel when you get them, but by the time you're done it looks like you washed your hands with drywall screws!

Also, keep a trash can handy to toss the little cut off pieces as soon as they hit the floor. You really don't want to step on it and get the black butyl that's inside mushed into your shoes. Don't ask me how i know this!

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

well dont throw them away. stuck them on the panels somewhere. you paid for it, should use it. doesnt matter what it looks like, as long as you are using it

 

[Oldfart]

I wanted to update my thread. I was having issues with my first Skar amp getting hot enough to go into thermal shutdown. It at times got frying pan hot. I had it replaced under warranty and Bruce @Hush Car Audio was a great help, as usual. The new one was OK when I was moving, but I had sat at the range with someone for about 1/2 hour with the truck running and when I left and turned up the stereo it went into thermal shutdown after about 10 minutes. The replacement amp runs much cooler than my first hot potato did, but still gets fairly hot easily. I'm guessing maybe that's the cost of a small sized amp? I found a nice 12" piece of T6 1/8" aluminum on Amazon for $20 and made a new mounting plate so it could act as a big heat sink.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HRHAZ9U/?tag=fordraptorforum-20




I figured since obviously these amps run on the hot side, I would come up with a fix. I spaced out the amp about 1/2" from the plate. I also wired in a USB port by the amp and plugged in a pair of 4.5" dual ball bearing 3 speed Infinity fans ($20) to put at the amp, one vertical and one horizontal. They are small, caged, and silent, even on high speed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JLV4BWC/?tag=fordraptorforum-20


The plastic plate/storage partition that runs the whole width of the truck under the rear seat keeps any air flow from going through, so I drilled a series of 3/4" holes evenly spaced across it so it looks somewhat factory. I know one of the holes got a little high, before you ****'s bust my balls! I need to get a drill press, the drill walked a little on me. It also seems like this reduced the muffling from the seat. I know I probably went overboard on the cooling, but it sure did work. The amp now is nearly cool to the touch, even after it's on for a long time. Cost was minimal and not too much work.



I also wanted to give people a heads up that I found that I can no longer fold the rear seat up with the Skar sub in place. It's not something I ever do, so I didn't realize it until last week. I did remove all the carpet and insulation behind the sub, and that did give me more room, but not enough. The seat will fold up to within a few inches of where it would latch, but it's not going all the way unless I can figure out a way to move the seat a little bit forward. It might latch if I really forced it, but I'm not doing that on a new truck! I didn't realize that when you fold up the back seat, the whole assembly moves towards the rear as if it's on a cam, it's not just a straight pivot mechanism. There is a heavy bar that runs along the rear of the seat that moves back when you lift up the seat. That thick bar is what hits the sub. I put 2 pieces of 3/4 plywood on the sub to protect the speaker cone from that bar for now.

Any ideas on how to slightly move the seat forward? It doesn't need much. Thanks.

 

[smurfslayer]

there’s a company that makes rear seat spacer brackets that move the seats either upward or forward. I closed out the tab but I’m pretty sure it’s these guys

http://www.lmiwelding.com/kits_supercab.htm

 

[goblues38]

I wanted to update my thread. I was having issues with my first Skar amp getting hot enough to go into thermal shutdown. It at times got frying pan hot. I had it replaced under warranty and Bruce @Hush Car Audio was a great help, as usual. The new one was OK when I was moving, but I had sat at the range with someone for about 1/2 hour with the truck running and when I left and turned up the stereo it went into thermal shutdown after about 10 minutes. The replacement amp runs much cooler than my first hot potato did, but still gets fairly hot easily. I'm guessing maybe that's the cost of a small sized amp?

Couple things....

#1...size of the amp has zero to do with it. How well the amp is made / engineered has a lot to do with it. Many amps, especially less expensive amps, only dissipate heat when mounted in a specific way. The way your amp is mounted may not be directing the heat to the heat sinks in the map.

#2.... incorrect power and ground wire gauge can impact efficiency of the amp. The ground is actually more important than the power wire in many ways. Think of a restricted muffler and an engine. The power wants to complete the circuit, and if your ground is providing more resistance than your power, heat builds up where the work is being done.

#3.... load...some amps claim to be 2ohm stable, less expensive amps will only run 2ohms for so long before they get too hot.

For what its worth, my JL Audio RD900/5 is 75x4 @ 4 ohm and 500x1 @ 2 ohm. It will run all day long at 11 on the volume dial and never get close to thermal shut down.

Proper system design goes a long way.

 

[Oldfart]

Couple things....

#1...size of the amp has zero to do with it. How well the amp is made / engineered has a lot to do with it. Many amps, especially less expensive amps, only dissipate heat when mounted in a specific way. The way your amp is mounted may not be directing the heat to the heat sinks in the map.

#2.... incorrect power and ground wire gauge can impact efficiency of the amp. The ground is actually more important than the power wire in many ways. Think of a restricted muffler and an engine. The power wants to complete the circuit, and if your ground is providing more resistance than your power, heat builds up where the work is being done.

#3.... load...some amps claim to be 2ohm stable, less expensive amps will only run 2ohms for so long before they get too hot.

For what its worth, my JL Audio RD900/5 is 75x4 @ 4 ohm and 500x1 @ 2 ohm. It will run all day long at 11 on the volume dial and never get close to thermal shut down.

Proper system design goes a long way.

I used a 3' 1/0 grounding wire mounted to the factory ground lug that is just above the factory amp. The first amp sometimes didn't run real hot, other times it would get crazy hot and go into thermal shut down.

 

[goblues38]

I used a 3' 1/0 grounding wire mounted to the factory ground lug that is just above the factory amp. The first amp sometimes didn't run real hot, other times it would get crazy hot and go into thermal shut down.

If you can....run a wire to the battery (just temporary) and see if it makes a difference. There is a lot of aluminum and welds in the path.

I run my gear at 11.....for long periods of time....and never had a heat issue.

From experience way back in the day.....the ground "could" be an issue. The other issue could be the amp you are using just is not designed to be ran that hard for long. Based on the price, that is quite a possibility.

 

[Hush Car Audio]

The Skar amp is a very budget amp. It's not a fair comparison to a JL.