I am in the process of installing new drivers and components in the front and wanted to see if anyone took a little extra time building their audio system in a 2010 or 2011 model. I am looking for ideas and designs on tweeter pods, sub boxes and amp mounting locations. If anyone has a picture or video of an install I would appreciate it.

This is going to be my first build, so im not skimming on equipment or install. Later on I may upgrade to add another subwoofer and three way component set, but we'll see.

Sticking to focal for my setup I have:
165 CVX coaxial in front and rear deck powered by a Focal soild 4 (400x4) amp
165 KR2 components to replace the front 8' door sub, powered by a Focal FP 2.150
27KX 11' sub powered by a Focal FP 1.800

 

I'm just going to throw this out there. Do what you will with it. This is both serious and humorous. Kind of a mix of random things I've done while in the biz and from some professionals that work for people like JBL and what not.

Weld in steel sub boxes and mid bass enclosures into your door. Slightly pointing the drivers at the driver's head rest. Build a fiberglass and MDF enclosure into the passenger front floor board facing the sub toward the passenger. All RCA and Speaker wire the exact same length. Place the tweeters either as close to the mid range drivers as possible or as far away as the pillar location. Not in-between. Ensure power is consistent to every electrical (active) component i.e. all power and ground upgraded with no ground loop for any piece sourcing or carrying an audio signal. The rear's are just filler unless you are using a 5.1. Or you can do the same as the front and weld steel enclosures into your back deck.

Seem crazy? It's all been done on pro level SQ cars. Just throwing it out there. You have a great set up. I'd say too good for being put in a Mustang. **** near too good for use in any normal car. Have you dampened the car? Doors? Deck? Panels? Subs can be either very fickle or very easy to be tuned properly. Do you have any kind of equalizer? For most cases I'd recommend a small sealed sub enclosure, either side firing or rear. You can go crazy and make an enclosure into the back deck but you'd be better off doing the front passenger enclosure like I stated above. If you want to go nuts you can build an isobaric enclosure in your trunk but you have to vent the chamber to the outside of the car. But it sounds delish!

First things first, do the basics, make sure there is no unnecessary vibration, mount the speakers with soft rings be it foam, rubber, even modeling clay. Ensure all power and ground cable are maximized and the alternator wire is upgraded. NO Ground left undone. What I mean is all power, turn on and ground should all be sourced and sinked to the same places. If you frame ground the amps, you do it for the processors, the radio, etc. Same with the power source. Space out your RCA cables from each other, away from the power wires completely, if they cross, cross at 90 degrees. Zipties and duct tape are your friends.

Edit: I didn't look and saw you were using coaxials up front. I'd have sold the sub for a less expensive model and bought a proper set of separates. Matching subs are great but a $250 sub can trump a $700 sub any day when powered and installed properly.

 

I have about half of it installed; the four coaxials and amp. I deadened the entire trunk, trunk lid and rear deck. I also deadened the doors and didnt skim on any of it. I might add another foam layer to the doors or liquid layer once everything is setup, because I was surprised by how much the deadner in the doors made a difference. The coaxials made me want more, so that's why I wanted to match them with better components. Plus, I didnt want to buy a 8' sub and make it fit. There isnt enough depth in the door and the diameter would require me to replace/build the entire setup, like you were talking about.

Originally I wanted a stealth system, but after looking at the sub and components its hard not to make them show. They look amazing! The focal grills are polished black and thin almost like a screen, so I modified the Focal mesh grills to fit over the stock grills and the little yellow/kevlar speakers are now visible.

The mounts in the doors and little chambers for the stock 8 'sub' look like the perfect size for a 6.5 component. Of course I will be making a bracket for fitting them but, not sure if i'll use a supplied bracket or build one out of MDF and dont think it will be necessary for me to glass and weld something over the sock area. Maybe I just dont want to go that far, yet.

The FP amps look pretty awesome as well, so I dont know how I am going to mount them. Maybe in the spare tire area, with a window? You said to point the sub either to the rear or on the side? It would be in a sealed enclosure with MDF if its pointed to the rear and I'd glass it in if I were to put it on the side (save a lot of room).

In the past Ive skewed up the wiring on my 99gt, ended up smoking stuff and frying my alternator because of mismatched equipment. This time around I will have it installed professionally.

 

I was just throwing out some of the random ideas I've had. Just go with your gut. You'll be fine. But seriously, the sub thing, I'd have tried harder for components. The Kevlar line is very nice don't get me wrong, but to me it was over rated. To my ears I could make the Polyglass series really sing. Softer tweeters as well to take out that tinge you get with metallic tweeters, not to mention the Kevlar is a bit pitchy. I like a heavier cone material, give it a more natural sound in my mind. No, sometimes the wood instruments namely percussion high frequency get meshed in with a few things but it's only a fraction of a percent and I really don't care as much because of the balance I get.

One thing about car audio is, to each there own. What makes you comfortable, will win you over. 9 times out of 10.

Oh yeah, if you feel good about it, coat those door panel plastics with deadner, it will help with random door rattles and harmonic vibrations.

 

I was thinking that the overall sound of the Kevlar series would sound better because of the higher quality. Its not like I can go and listen to them before I go and buy them, because if they are lighter then the midbass would be a lot punchier/sharper. I guess I'll keep an open mind and think about sticking with the polyglass. They are definitely loud enough, so Im not sure what the other line would do for me, besides hurt my wallet.

I coated the door panels because it made the biggest difference in road noise, not necessarily the quality of the music, but thats a plus as well.

Will I need to get a processor for my head unit? I read up on them and Im not sure if its necessary with the type of amp Im using, or if it will help with noise. All frequencies are playing and it sounds full, so what would be the point?