GrayGhost01GT

hey guys, I got a 2010 Mustang GT deluxe coupe, and I wanted to swap out my speakers for something that sounds much better. With the Headunit being one piece I wanted to know if the stock headunit would give proper wattage for the new speakers? I was thinking about just doing a shaker 1000, but so many people say why would you do a stock speaker setup when theres better aftermarket speakers. I did not want to have to do a new head unit due to the fact I dont know if there are any out right now or if it would even look right. Im looking to replace the 4 speakers do you think I should get the 2 at the bottom of the doors made by ford put in and replace the other 4. I want to do a 12 Subwoofer as well. Any thoughts if the stock head unit is powerful enough to run speakers or could I avoid this by using an amp for the speakers?

d_ames117

Based on your post I take it you have the standard system installed and not the shaker 500 (i.e. you don't have the woofers in the lower door). IMO, it would not be worth upgrading the system to another stock Ford system or getting the Ford woofers and new door panels - especially if you're going to go with a sub in the trunk anyway. You can upgrade the speakers and not the HU, as I just did, and IMO it sounds much better. I went with Polk Audio components in the front and am going to upgrade the rears with Polk Audio 5x7's. Take a look at this post: http://mshanecrowe.wordpress.com/mustang-audio/, it has a lot of info on a system installation for a 2005-2009, which I imagine is similar to the 2010. I put the tweeters in the same location as he did and I think they sound amazing.

The stock system is powerful enough to run the speakers (albeit they will be underpowered) but it would be worthwhile for you to get an amp to power the fronts, rears, and a separate amp to power the sub. The Shaker won't have RCA outs (05-09 didn't, 10 may have them) so you'll have to get a converter (to convert speaker level inputs to RCA, pretty cheap) or an amp that accepts speaker level inputs. In the interest of saving money, you could just get one 4 channel amp that powers the fronts (1 channel each) and the sub (2 channels bridged) as well, and leave the rears powered by the HU.

As far as HU's go, there are a lot out there, in the 05-09 section a lot of people have gone with the Pioneer AVIC systems (I'm looking at the AVIC X910), which are very nice and fit well. They will also give you better sound quality over the stock HU. Overall though, if you're going to upgrade the HU, get an aftermarket one.

**I just realized that to replace the radio in the 2010 you'll need a different center console piece from Ford, which you can probably buy ($$$) to fit in an aftermarket double din receiver.**

There is a lot of info in the 05-09 pages that may give you some ideas as well.

Good luck,

Ames

FreshPuck

Doesn't the 2010 Mustang head unit control the AC as well as the audio? I feel like replacing the HU with an aftermarket one would prove to be pretty costly in the long run since the stock one has climate controls integrated

d_ames117

Looks like the climate controls are down near the bottom of the console (unless you got the electronic package or the NAV, in which case it looks like they are integrated with the HU - giving you the current temp setting of the climate control). Of course if you have the sync system you may not be able to incorporate that into a new head unit. However, some of the AVIC units do have voice activation features similar to sync.

*Does look like it will take quite a bit of effort (much more so than in the 05-09) to replace the HU.*

Ames

GrayGhost01GT

Thanks guys for your input, I think Im going to do Polk Audio I have had good luck with them in the past and have had them in everyone one of my cars. Should I get a component system or just the regular speakers I want bass in my speakers aswell I want all around speakers. And I think i am going to leave the Stock HU and just power the speakers with an 4 channel amp as you described.

d_ames117

I like the Polk components in the front (but it does take quite a bit of extra work), and you could upgrade the rear speakers or use the front speakers in the rear location as they are supposedly a better speaker, especially if you're not going to drive the rears with an amp (looks like the speaker system is the same on the '10, the door liners look almost identical, but I don't know for sure). As a warning, it will take some time and effort to wire everything up, especially if you have to pull speaker level inputs from the rear of the HU. I have pics of which wires are which for the front speakers in the 07 and where I picked them off, but I don't know if they'll be the same in the '10.

If you want bass you may want to look into the 6 1/2 components instead of the 5 1/4. I think the woofer will still fit in the stock speaker locations, but don't quote me on that.

Ames