Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio 2000 SVT audio install help

The HU on my 2000 Contour SVT has died after 26K miles. Time for an overhaul, but I need some help with installation tips (Premium Sound NOT stamped on grills - this seems to mean something according to Crutchfield):
1) Is there somewhere I can get info on how to remove the door panels to explore speaker options?
2) Would sound damping products make a difference if put on the doors only? (Road noise is my biggest complaint on the vehicle so far.)
3) Is there an obvious and easy spot for small amplifier(s) and pass-through wiring?

Any help or tips for starting on this project are greatly appreciated. I've installed many units, but all on cars that could handle a mistake or two. I'm not going for high-end sound, just want better than facory install.

I don't have an SVT, so I can't speak from first hand knowledge, but the audio diffeneces are negligable. So here goes my answers;

1) There is an how-to on removing door covers here.

2) Sound dampenind material in the doors will have a very mild effect on dampening road noise. They will help your speakers to perform better, and therefore make it easier to drown out the road noise.

3) There doors already have speaker wires, so all is needed is to run speaker wire up to the door.
The firewall already has wires running through it, and an amp power cable can be piggy-backed through one of those existing holes.
Depending on the size of the amp, there is room behind the glove box. Other populaur spots
include under the passnger seat, on the rear
seats in the trunk, and mounted to a subwoofer enclosure (if you have one).

Hope that helps some.

Here are some tips for ya:

(1) All SVT's have the "premium" sound which includes a factory amp (mounted behind the glovebox). You'll definately want to bypass it if you plan on using the HU to power any of your speakers. Call Crutchfield (888)955-6000 for the amp bypass kit.

(2) Use the factory speaker wiring (unless you get cRaZy and want to put >100w to your door speakers). The system Ford uses to route wiring through the doors makes it very difficult to run new speaker wiring without drilling. A good place to splice into the factory wiring is right after the factory amp using the amp bypass kit.

(3) An 8" sub mounted free-air underneath the bottom of the rear deck powered by a small amp helps fill out the (lacking) bottom end of the system. Check out BMR's Rear Deck How-To Guide.

(4) Soundproofing is a must in these cars both to reduce rattles and block some road noise. I'd do all 4 doors and the trunk with some "high temp mastic" from www.mcmaster.com. It's virtually the same stuff as dynamat at about 1/5 the cost.

(5) Do a search on "firewall" to read all about routing power wire to your amp in the cabin.

Thank you both for the tips.

The link in the first post does not work, but a message says it will be up and running tomorrow...

I have a couple more questions.

I want to keep this inexpensive, so I'll probably use the existing factory amp (behind glovebox) to power 4 NEW speakers in each of the doors.

1) Is there any reason to bypass the existing 4 channel amp, as suggested above? After-market amps would be better, but could HU power be better? It doesn't seem to make sense. Is the existing amp just crap that I should eliminate as part of the project? (I don't know any of the specs on the factory amp.)

2) If I get a new HU and use the existing factory amp to power 4 new door speakers, what is the best way to wire a free air sub (and amp) on the back deck? Will I be tapping into speaker wire and dealing with bypass/crossovers, or is RCA an option? If I pick a HU with 2 sets of RCA outs, can I use one RCA for the 4 channel amp and the other for the subwoofer amp in the back? The ultimate question is whether I need to buy a HU with 2 sets of RCA outs, or if one will do.

- Thanks

To your second set of questions...

1)Your aftermarket HU can probably put out better sound than the factory amp, which is why you want to bypass it; if you don't bypass it, you ultimately get the amp feed in your speakers.

2)I don't know about the other stuff, but you could get an HU with only one set of RCAs and split that up using y-cables as many times as you want. Channels/2 = set of RCAs. Again, you can use Y-cables to get as many sets as you need.

I replaced my factory cassette HU with a fairly low-end, but quiet, Pioneer CD unit. I also replaced the factory speakers (very important) with Pioneer 3-way, 5x7 speakers which require more power. I ran the HU through the factory booster amp (which, by the way, is speaker-level input) and the system sounds great (no noise). But if there is amp noise on your HU it will be amplified by the factory booster amp. All you need is an adapter to connect to the factory wiring harness at the HU.
The best way to eliminate road noise is to buy four foam speaker enclosures (Crutchfield). They really work wonders. But they are too deep for the front doors and interfere with the window operation if you don't modify they with tape or something. the rear doors are not a problem. I also put some Dynomat on the front doors because that seems to be where most of the road noise comes from. Enjoy.

How much are you looking to spend?
You an design a relatively good sytem for around $500.

(1) The factory amp is a POS. It's output is terrible along with high levels of distortion even at moderate volume levels. Bypassing it will improve sound quite a bit. You'll have much, much less distortion and more power for your speakers (better sound, bass response, and dynamic range). It's a great improvement for $20.

(2) Most aftermarket HU's have at least one set of pre-amp outputs. You can always "Y" them. I'd probably go with a deck with 2 sets of pre-outs. Many will offer sub controls for the rear set, which let you adjust the volume, phase, and x-over.

2 more options for a budget mindet person like me and you. I bought a Sony amp and an 8" self powered bazooka. The amp is under the rear deck, and the bazooka is in the corner of the trunk. This set up means that you cannot see the amp, and the bazooka comes out with a plug and two straps (important for me anyway). To wire run a power lead from battery under left inside rocker cover. Run ground from making a ground with a bolt through the rear deck. Run audio by by taking RCAs to Amp under right inner sill cover. then take the regular rear speaker wire to your bazooka. Finally run speaker wire from your amp back up to the the plug that comes out of the amp that attaches to your speakers. This is a pretty simple installation and everything was removable.

I am working on a write up but I need to look at pic hosting first.

Check out www.smilephotovideo.com for components - save ~ 30% and I have had no hassles. If they do not have a bran online call them and ask about it. Sometimes companies will not let them sell because they are so much cheaper than the other vendors out there.

Hope this helps