2011 Mustang GT stereo upgrade?
 

What's the easiest way to get better sound into my 11 GT?
How many speakers do I have in my car? Any speakers/subs combination that I should look into? Do I have to change the whole audio dashboard? I was thinking of a NAV as well... I know Pioneer makes some great products...

You didn't mention which electronics pkg you have. As far as the speakers go, there are three possibilities:

Standard pkg: 4 total speakers; 1 6x8 in each door plus 2 6x8 in the rear deck

Shaker 500 pkg: 6 total speakers; 1 6x8 and one 8 in each door plus 2 6x8 in the rear deck

Shaker 1000 pkg: 8 total speakers: 1 6x8 and one 8 in each door, 2 6x8 in the rear deck, and 2 subs in the trunk, one on each side.

To do a clean head unit install, you have to either customize your own dash or use an after-market replacement for the center dash panel. Metra has one option for the center dash panel, and it has been posted that Scosche is working on one as well.

Mine has the Shaker 500, so this is pretty much all I know about the Standard pkg.

Greg

anyone know where I can find a pic of a 2010+ mustang with the door card off?

The 2011 center console looks like it could be pretty tricky to change head units in. It looks to me like you would want to use a OEM center console panel and file out a double-DIN hole in it, and then use a dash kit to clean up the edges.

That is assuming that the console has the space for a double-DIN, which it looks it does, but it is just partially covered with the paneling. It would have to be a custom job by the looks of it.

That said, I'm no expert. I'll let the guys here who know what they are talking about in this field lead you in the right direction.

Unless you can go to ford and buy this console panel:

http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/e...T/8_241337.jpg

That would be a much cleaner way to mount it, but it might still take a little work.

Here is what i did. I added 2 Alpine 6x9's to ther rear deck. I connected the rear speaker wires to the low level speaker inputs on a Polk audio 2 channel amp for the 6x9's. Now i have a better balance of both rear and front speakers. Plus the 6x9's have way more range than the 6x8's did. I also connected a Low Level RCA adapter to the rear speaker wires and connected that to a 600 watt Hifonics amp on 2 Kicker 10 CVR's in a customer built ported box. I built the box to fit facing the truck hatch and cut so it fit on the small hump in the truck where the seats fold down. It has awesome sound. The box will also accomodate 2 CVX 10's or ever Solobaric 10's if you want more boom out of the truck.

Frankly the aftermarket Dash kits for this car are horrible. They look cheap and to me are way too expensive. I saw one place that was charging 250.00 for the dash kit, and another 200.00 for the wire harness that will retain the Sync capability. Not worth it IMO. You can add a wire harness behind the radio that gives you 4 RCA outputs. Then you can run those wires to a decent Active Crossover like the Kicker KX3 and you will have Front, Rear, and Subwoofer outputs with a Bass knob. Motorz TV has a great how to video on all this. But they also replace the radio. Basically there is a way to get a great sounding system without replacing the Radio. Unless you want a DVD/Navigation unit. I will be replacing my front door speakers this week more than likely. If you want to see pictures of my install just let me know and ill send them to you once im done with everything. I still have a few finishing touches to put on it. I can also guide you to some of the items i listed where they are the cheapest.

The reason the metra kit is so expensive is because it comes with that screen in it. I think it looks pretty good. Is it worth it? I don't know...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CLOCL3Lz2M

This shows that dash kit installed. Looks pretty professional to me.

It does look professional. I just dont like the rubber buttons and the LCD screen. I would much rather have the buttons and control for the AC look like the factory setup. Thats just my preference. I have a aftermarket radio in my truck running through a 4 channel amp for all the interior speakers and i havent noticed a big difference between the sound from my truck and the sound from the car. Which means that the factory radio coupled with a good crossover is comparable to the aftermarket setup. Thats the reason i think its not necessary to spend the money on all the harnesses and kits. Unless you want the Screen with Nav and DVD. Then unless you really want to spend a fortune with Ford, you pretty much have to buy the Metra setup. Metra makes good stuff.

Scosche should have their kit out soon... They told me by the end of January... Theirs is very pricey but sooo much nicer looking.

I wouldnt wait for it.........i talked to Scoshe at CES and they said the same thing.So then i asked "didnt you say that last year???? He sorta got nervous.The part is VERY nice looking but retail is about 300 bucks.Im not sure what my cost is or the mark up on it yet.