James G. of Bentonville, AR, is the proud owner of a sporty 2012 Ford Mustang. The car is lean and mean, but despite the Detroit titan's best efforts the factory stereo doesn't exactly live up to the performance expectations of the rest of the vehicle. "I've always loved loud music and the stock system did not hold up to my standards," James tells us.

So he went for a full-bore upgrade, starting with a new Optima Yellow Top battery under the hood to power his replacement system, which was going to require some juice.

Items installed:

 

• Pioneer AVH-P2400BT DVD receiver
• Metra Ford Mustang factory integration dash adapter
• PAC C2R-FRD1 Ford radio replace interface
• 2 JL Audio 10W3v3-4 10" subwoofers
• Sound Ordnance™ Bass Bunker ported dual 10" subwoofer enclosure
• 2 JL Audio SGRU-10 10" subwoofer grilles
• JL Audio JX1000/1 1,000-watt mono subwoofer amplifier
• JL Audio C2-570X Evolution Series 5" x 7" 2-way car speakers

 

Look at all this stuff!

James placed an order with Crutchfield for some excellent gear, including a new amp and speakers, plus a pair of subs and a rugged Sound Ordnance enclosure to hold them. "JL Audio is a proven name with speakers and amplifiers and Pioneer is an industry leader in the head unit arena," he says, and we couldn't agree more.

Improvements up front

The Ford Mustang factory integration dash kit from Metra allowed James to add his new Pioneer stereo while keeping his factory climate controls, which can be a bit tricky in the new 'stangs because the entire control panel has to be removed to replace the stock radio. The adapter offers soft-touch buttons for the climate controls, plus a built-in LED display like the Mustang's original equipment. James tells us the Pioneer DVD receiver is the first thing he shows people in his car now.

Break on through to the other side

After James put in his new battery, he ran the power wire through a grommet located behind the fender wall on the passenger side, and then all the way to the trunk. Then he wired up everything to attach to the head unit, and ran the RCA and remote turn-on leads down the driver side of the Mustang. James explains that routing the wire through the firewall was the most difficult aspect of this particular installation.

Party in the rear

In the trunk of the car, James mounted his amp under the rear deck, connected the cables, and wired the subs in the box in preparation for the big moment...

And now for the boom

After all that, James connected the head unit and turned it on for testing. Success! He can now boast about the revved-up audio system which goes with his stylish road monster.

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Vehicles in the Custom Car Showroom are submitted by customers and fans, and edited by Crutchfield writing staff. You can find more of these articles on the Showroom main page.