Ottos Stereo Overhaul

14608 Views 45 Replies 13 Participants Last post by xtremevol, Apr 28, 2020

xOttox

Discussion Starter · Aug 17, 2017 (Edited)

2

I just got my Frontier little over a month ago and 2 things where abundantly apparent after driving it for a week 1) the 4.3” screen is entirely too small for the back-up camera and 2) the factory speakers are o.k. at best but lack the detail I am looking for. So, a quick trip my local stereo shop (Inphase Car Audio for those of you in NE) and picked a few goodies. The attached diagram outlines what the final plan for the install is, for now I am going to do to the front stage + subs only and will address the rear fill later.

As always disclaimer; I am not a professional and this is merely documentation of my experience. Please follow any steps or guidance at your own risk. I accept no responsibility for damages to your vehicle, equipment or yourself based on this thread documenting my installation.

So, onto the gear and the pretty diagram of it:

And for the visual folks here is the diagram. The plan is to install the components in the factory locations (woofers in the doors, tweeters in the dash), the amplifier under the drivers’ seat, the coax’s in the rear doors and the subs under the rear seats.

Next up the install.

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xOttox

Discussion Starter · #2 · Aug 17, 2017 (Edited)

10

Headunit Install

All the install gear that was needed for the head unit I found here on the forum, but there was one slight modification to the listed harnesses (see notes below).

Axxess ASWC-1 (Steering wheel control)
Axxess AX-NIS24SWC-6V (Backup camera retention different from the one in the post by rlowery78 )
Axxess AX-NISUSB-2 (retain the USB in the console)
Vehicle Harness (replaces the recommended Metra 70-7552 that lacks the steering will control wires)
Metra 40-N12 (Antenna adapter)
Metra 95-7619 (Dash Kit)

Photo documentation may not be up to snuff but I will try to provide as much detail as I can and links to any of the helpful videos or posts I used as I installed. Sorry if you were hoping for guide with pictures to go with every step.

I began by tackling the wiring harness for the head unit. This was probably the most confusing part for me, but here is a diagram based on what I wired up. My harness was tot the neatest, but there looks like a decent amount of space in the dash. For anyone as confused as I was, here is a diagram. Please note I only included wires responsible for powering the unit, getting the backup camera working and keeping the steering wheel controls. I didn’t need the speakers wired since I will be installing the amp. Good luck and God speed on this one.

And here is the mess I managed to put together.

With the wiring all put together, it was time to take things apart the dash apart. For this I turned to Youtube and found this to be the most useful "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07cKDsQcx70". There are steps in this video that you do not need to follow so use your common sense and follow the steps as guide to removing the dash pieces and getting the stock radio out.
After getting the dash opened up I moved onto opening up the center console. It’s pretty straight forward; pull up on the cup holders and remove that section first. Then pull up and a bit back on the area around the shifter. At this point I fished the ends of my RCA’s, remote, extra USB through the dash where the radio used to be and down the center console.

I then mounted the radio to the dash piece, and then hooked the factory harnesses up to my spider web of harness and all the other connections. Then I fought to keep everything organized and fit back down in the dash.

Next it was onto getting the amplifier installed.

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xOttox

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 17, 2017 (Edited)

10

Wiring through the firewall

So begining the amplifier install I first pulled the negative lead on the battery and then dove in.

I purchased the following to get this part done:

roughly 20ft of 4ga wire
some ring terminals
100 amp circuit breaker

The circuit breaker is my preferred method of installation it allows for the amplifier to be disconnected from the battery without disconnecting the batter from the rest of the truck. I mounted the breaker on top of the fuse box on the passenger side under the hood. Stay to the outside of the truck when mounting this to avoid the mounting hardware coming close to the fuses themselves (open the box up and you'll see why I say that).

With the breaker mounted I measured up my length of 4ga to run from the battery positive terminal to the IN side of the breaker. I soldered a ring terminal on this section of wire and the ground wire as well. Then loomed the power wire up to protect it. Using a 13mm socket I removed the nut on the factory positive terminal (140amp side).

To keep a factory look I cut the back side of the factory cover enough to allow the wire to exit out.

Next up I began looming up the remainder of my 4ga and run it across the top of the firewall with the factory wiring over to the drivers side. On the drivers side on the firewall, somewhat behind what I believe is the the brake booster there is an existing grommet that is the perfect size to fit 4ga. Popped this factory grommet out and replaced with my own and started feeding the wire through and into the cabin.

The wire started coming out a bit to the left side of the brake medal.

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Undercover Brother

· #4 · Aug 17, 2017

Nice write up. Bookmarked this one.

xOttox

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 1, 2018

10

Power & Amp

With the toe kick removed I ran the wiring down along the factory wiring and up under the driver's seat. While I was running the wire I bolted my ground wire down as well. And pulled the ground, power, & remote wire out along the back and hooked the amplifiers plug up. I also managed to fish the RCA's out from the center console and was able to get the amplifier wired up.

At this same time I fished my speaker wire up to the toe kick on both sides. As stated earlier, my photos wont be up to snuff and I have zero pictures of this act as it was a bit of challenge. For now I will only be running fronts so there are only 2 sets of speakers wires/plugs in the last picture. The amplifier fit nicely under the drivers seat and was fairly secure so I don't have any plans to make a mount or anything for it.

And the real fun begins; doors, dynamat and speakers!

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xOttox

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 1, 2018 (Edited)

10

Front Doors & Tweeters

Sorry its taken so long get this posted but life got really really busy. As I said previously I apologize for the lack of photo's I start with the best intentions and end up getting focused on the work and forget to document.

So to begin with I followed this how to on removing the doors. It was simple enough and is the same on both sides. Just make sure to lay the skins in a safe place while you work. Next I remove the bracket that the door skins attaches to. This is pretty straight forward; use a 10mm and remove the 3 bolts. Set aside and you are ready to remove the factory white plastic barrier. This is held on with some sticky rope sealant. I simply pulled it off and used it as a template for cutting Dynamat. It took a full sheet for each door along a few odd cut sections to cover the inside of the door (aka the exterior skin).

Previously I had ran some speaker wire to each side of the truck and wrapped it up/zip tied it under the dash. I started with the hardest part; running the 16ga wire through the loom to the door. Getting access to the fish the wire through is fairly simple. Grab the loom at the door pillar and squeeze/pull, thats it! Do that on both ends and prepare for the real fun. To get the wire fed through I used a coat hanger that I bent one end over on and taped the speaker wire to it. I found it helped to actually stretch (not scruntch) the loom out. Once through the wire is pretty easy to feed the rest of the way through and into the door. To put the grommets back I found it easiest to fit the piece towards the front of the truck in first and then squeeze/push the rest back in.

After that I installed the 6x9 in the factory plastic bracket. Don't forget to hook up the speaker wire like I did

And the entire door skinned up with Dynamat.

Just repeat on the passenger side. Next up tweeters up in the dash.

First remove the factory speakers by prying up on the grille. From there use a 7mm socket to remove the first 2, then for the one in the front use an open ended wrench. Next I used some aluminum flat stock I had laying around to quick fab up a bracket to hold the massive 1" tweeter in place. The toughest part of this was due to the way the housing is manufactured by Alpine. There is no surface mount option so I had to make the bracket to cradle the tweeter. Its not my prettiest bracket but it works and is not visible.

I dropped the tweeter wiring straight down through the dash and attached it to the crossover I mounted down in the kick panel.

And with the tweeter installed, these things are massive. I can't describe how excited I was to have these things installed.

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9balllrook

· #7 · Jan 2, 2018

Nicely done and great write-up!! Just finished doing mine as well. What year is your truck, I couldn’t fit my amp under the drivers side, but went right under the passengers! Looking forward to how you do the sub, we built mine with MDF and fiberglass so it would take the perfect shape under the back seat. I’m only using a single 10. If you need, I have a box(fits second gen up to 15 & I have a 16). Has crappy kicker speakers in it, but the box looks good. PM me if interested.

raine

· #8 · Jan 2, 2018

Nice job so far. You're gonna love the PDX-V9, but I'd recommend mounting it securely... with that much amperage the V9 can put out, you don't want anything to go wrong. I made a full platform for mine, but at minimum you could use the included screws and sandwich the carpet with the amp and a 1/8" MDF board underneath.

rpcraft

· #9 · Jan 4, 2018

raine said:
Nice job so far. You're gonna love the PDX-V9, but I'd recommend mounting it securely... with that much amperage the V9 can put out, you don't want anything to go wrong. I made a full platform for mine, but at minimum you could use the included screws and sandwich the carpet with the amp and a 1/8" MDF board underneath.

I really like how Alpine has stepped up their game on the amplifiers with the connector blocks on the power and speaker lines. It's funny to think though I have not looked at their head units in ages.

raine

· #10 · Jan 4, 2018

rpcraft said:
I really like how Alpine has stepped up their game on the amplifiers with the connector blocks on the power and speaker lines. It's funny to think though I have not looked at their head units in ages.

Yeah the connector blocks are really nice and convenient, especially when setting up the system... plug/unplug, don't have to worry about plug direction, etc.

nops

· #11 · Jan 5, 2018

Thanks for this thread. I want to install a 4200NEX in my 2012 with RF system and stumbled across this! My main question is if you had to run a new microphone for the bluetooth hands-free calling or if you were able to utilize the OEM microphone? Thanks.

xOttox

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 6, 2018 (Edited)

raine said:
Nice job so far. You're gonna love the PDX-V9, but I'd recommend mounting it securely... with that much amperage the V9 can put out, you don't want anything to go wrong. I made a full platform for mine, but at minimum you could use the included screws and sandwich the carpet with the amp and a 1/8" MDF board underneath.

Yeah I need it to warm up around here before I dive back into taking the seat out and fabbing up a rack. Want to make it with a few attachments so the stuff I also keep under there is organized.

rpcraft said:
I really like how Alpine has stepped up their game on the amplifiers with the connector blocks on the power and speaker lines. It's funny to think though I have not looked at their head units in ages.

Loved it when they introduced the first PDX line with these and they are far superior to the JL ones on the HD line.

nops said:
Thanks for this thread. I want to install a 4200NEX in my 2012 with RF system and stumbled across this! My main question is if you had to run a new microphone for the bluetooth hands-free calling or if you were able to utilize the OEM microphone? Thanks.

No I was not able to. I ended up putting the mic on the steering column. Wasn't to bad to fish the wire up through there.

Burt

· #13 · Jan 19, 2018

I have the older pdx 5 which has 75w x 4 and the sub, do you think the additional 25w the newer amp has is a big differance...I have focal krx2 components running this way for the last 10 years...They were very pricey when I purchased them and I feel maybe the 75w they are getting is not letting me hear the full benefit of the focals..

raine

· #14 · Jan 19, 2018 (Edited)

Burt said:
I have the older pdx 5 which has 75w x 4 and the sub, do you think the additional 25w the newer amp has is a big differance...I have focal krx2 components running this way for the last 10 years...They were very pricey when I purchased them and I feel maybe the 75w they are getting is not letting me hear the full benefit of the focals..

Well for starters, you're not even pushing enough power to meet the KRX2's RMS rating (Google says 100w RMS/200w max). The PDX-5 is rated at 75w per channel. Without explaining every detail (I'll save it for a different thread), the short version is that you risk killing your amp and/or damaging your expensive KRX2's when you try to push out power that your PDX-5 can't.

xOttox

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jan 19, 2018 (Edited)

Burt said:
I have the older pdx 5 which has 75w x 4 and the sub, do you think the additional 25w the newer amp has is a big differance...I have focal krx2 components running this way for the last 10 years...They were very pricey when I purchased them and I feel maybe the 75w they are getting is not letting me hear the full benefit of the focals..

Like Raine said that's not enough power out of either amplifier.

If I remember correctly those can be run passive bi-amp so it might be worth looking at say a 6 channel amplifier and bridge 2 channels to run the mids, use the remaining 2 for the tweets.

IF I had those bad boys I would pick up an Arc Audio 1200.6 since they run 150x6 rms and run them straight passive, bridging channels 5/6 to get the 600 rms for a sub channel. My $0.02.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Forgot to add I picked up a box (wrong colored carpet) but I'll use it until it warms up and I have time to glass something up. Stay tuned!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

raine

· #16 · Jan 19, 2018

xOttox said:
Like Raine said that's not enough power out of either amplifier.

If I remember correctly those can be run passive bi-amp so it might be worth looking at say a 6 channel amplifier and bridge 2 channels to run the mids, use the remaining 2 for the tweets.

IF I had those bad boys I would pick up an Arc Audio 1200.6 since they run 150x6 rms and run them straight passive, bridging channels 5/6 to get the 600 rms for a sub channel. My $0.02.

PDX-5 can do passive by-amp, I'd rather go full active.

phatB

· #17 · Jan 19, 2018

raine said:
PDX-5 can do passive by-amp, I'd rather go full active.

I'd love to see how/where you guys have your subs mounted. Raine i saw on your build you went with the 2 shallow JLs, i will probably go with one JL 10tw3 but i'm not keen on spending $150 on a box for it. what boxes are you guys using and how does it fit? i know we have very limited space under the seat and i don't want anything that 'sticks out' and impedes leg room... not sure if one of those smaller generic boxes would fit there or not.

raine

· #18 · Jan 19, 2018

phatB said:
I'd love to see how/where you guys have your subs mounted. Raine i saw on your build you went with the 2 shallow JLs, i will probably go with one JL 10tw3 but i'm not keen on spending $150 on a box for it. what boxes are you guys using and how does it fit? i know we have very limited space under the seat and i don't want anything that 'sticks out' and impedes leg room... not sure if one of those smaller generic boxes would fit there or not.

I'm still using a prefab dual 10" box that goes under the rear seats. I've been meaning to make a new box myself but I haven't gotten to it yet.

phatB

· #19 · Jan 19, 2018

raine said:
I'm still using a prefab dual 10" box that goes under the rear seats. I've been meaning to make a new box myself but I haven't gotten to it yet.

ah, how well does it fit? if it doesn't stick out past the bottom of the seat and the seat can still go all the day down that's probably all I would care about. I would imagine you'd either need grills or "feet" depending on firing up or down.
I'm seeing the generic boxes with feet are around $100. Wonder if this thing would fit. i haven't done any measuring in the truck yet. i'm guessing it might fit OK if you remove the feet on one side...
Custom Sub Enclosure | Affordable Sub Box

I also see some frontier-specific boxes as cheap as $90 on ebay but those are for two subs and replace both trays, i'm looking for a single sub and replacing only the big tray, and strangely those are almost double the price.

very curious to see how otto is gonna install his subs...

raine

· #20 · Jan 19, 2018

phatB said:
ah, how well does it fit? if it doesn't stick out past the bottom of the seat and the seat can still go all the day down that's probably all I would care about. I would imagine you'd either need grills or "feet" depending on firing up or down.
I'm seeing the generic boxes with feet are around $100. Wonder if this thing would fit. i haven't done any measuring in the truck yet. i'm guessing it might fit OK if you remove the feet on one side...
Custom Sub Enclosure | Affordable Sub Box

I also see some frontier-specific boxes as cheap as $90 on ebay but those are for two subs and replace both trays, i'm looking for a single sub and replacing only the big tray, and strangely those are almost double the price.

very curious to see how otto is gonna install his subs...

It doesn't stick forward past the seat cushion, it's about as good as it gets for the subs I chose until I make a custom box.

Audio Enhancers makes a nice single 8/10" box for our trucks, takes only the right side space (leaving the left side cargo bin in place). I've seen this box in person in another crew cab, good quality:
NFC55 - Nissan Frontier Speaker and Subwoofer Boxes and Enclosures

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