I just bought this car and am thinking about putting in an after market head unit. Does anyone know how many watts the factory unit puts out? If I buy a new head unit will it sound better with the Mach 460 system? Also, are head units fairly easy to install?

 

most all head units put out the same amount of power. Everyone (OEM and aftermarket) chooses from the same library of 4-channel BTL power amplifier chips made by ST, Toshiba, NXP, etc. They're all approximately 16 watts RMS per channel, clean, into 4 ohms. The "peak" ratings some aftermarket head units advertise are unmitigated BS.

Now, if you have the Mach 460 system, your job is a lot harder. In that system, the head unit only powers the mid-tweeters; the woofers are driven by external amplifiers and you'll need some kind of integration kit to make them work with an aftermarket deck. Ford's line output to external amplifiers is/was some funky 250 mVrms balanced output, where most aftermarket line outputs are 500 mVrms/1Vrms/2Vrms/4Vrms single-ended.

 

Oh that sounds pretty complicated haha. Thanks for replying! If I do keep the factory unit would you recommend installing the pie ipod adapter?