For an alarm, Viper is the brand we install: the 3108V and 3308V add an impact sensor, six-tone siren and starter interrupt, and the 5308V and 5908V add remote start. To know where the car is, the Viper VSM550 SmartStart Pro adds GPS location on demand, SmartFence, speed and tow alerts and alarm notifications on your phone, with a service plan. To have video of what happens while you are away, pick a dash cam with parking mode, like the Thinkware U1000 or Q1000, hard-wired by the shop.
A 10 fits smaller boxes than a 12. For a first sub on a modest amp, look at the Kicker 50CWCD104 or 52CVR104,. For more output, step up to the Kicker 50CVX104 or 44L7S104,.
From $100 to $250, you get a Bluetooth receiver for a single-DIN dash, like the JVC KD-X280BT and the BOSS Audio BE7ACP with wired CarPlay. From $250 to $500, you get a double-DIN touchscreen with wired CarPlay, like the Kenwood DMX4710S or Pioneer DMH-1800NEX, or wireless CarPlay, like the JVC KW-M785BW. From $500 to $1,000 come HD screens, more camera inputs and features like built-in GPS. At $1,000 and up are the 9- to 11-inch floating screens. Every price in this guide is the listed price on the product page.
A 2-channel amp powers one pair of speakers, or bridges to one channel for a small sub. The Pioneer GM-A3702 makes 60 W x 2 at 4 ohms and takes RCA or speaker-level input with auto turn-on, so it can work with a factory radio.
Check your year in Shop by vehicle first: in our table, 6x9 front doors are verified for trucks like the Toyota Tacoma, Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado and Ram 1500.
A new stereo usually needs three things besides the radio: a dash kit so it fits the opening, a wiring harness, and often an interface that keeps the steering wheel controls and factory features. Metra dash kits like the 95-3305 (GM) and 95-5812 (Ford) fit a 4-inch-tall receiver. An iDatalink Maestro RR or RR2 keeps steering wheel controls and can show vehicle info on compatible screens. PAC RadioPRO interfaces keep the factory amp and steering wheel controls on select GM, Volkswagen and Audi vehicles. Which parts your car needs depends on the year and trim, so we confirm them before the install.
A vehicle-specific kit is built for one dash, so a big screen sits flush where the factory radio was instead of floating in front of it. On our listings, Stinger HORIZON10 kits put a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into Jeep, Toyota, GM, Ram, Ford and Dodge trucks and cars, plugging into the factory wiring without splicing. PAC kits keep the climate and camera controls in trucks that put them in the factory screen. Fit depends on year, trim and factory audio, so we confirm your car before anything is ordered.
Trucks and Jeeps have little room for a regular sub box, and their factory speaker spots are odd shapes. Vehicle-specific parts are built for those spots. On our listings, Kicker L7T boxes fit behind or under the seat in select Silverado, Sierra, F-150, Super Duty, Ram and Tacoma trucks, with one for the Wrangler tailgate. Cab, year and factory audio decide the fit, so we confirm your vehicle first.
A tweeter plays the highs: cymbals, voices and detail. Adding a pair, or replacing worn factory dash or pillar tweeters, is one of the simplest ways to make a system sound clearer. On our listings the domes are silk, aluminum, titanium, cloth or ceramic-coated aluminum, and sizes are 3/4 inch or 1 inch. Most are sold in pairs. Some come with in-line crossovers, which keep bass out of the tweeter, and some do not list one. The mounting depth decides whether a tweeter fits a shallow factory spot.
A 6- or 8-channel amp powers a whole system from one chassis: front components, rear speakers and, on some models, a sub. Pick by how many speakers you are powering and whether you want the tuning built in.
Many Fords use oval 6x8 speakers, and many GM trucks and older Jeeps use 4x6. Mounting depth matters in thin doors, so it is in the table. Our fit table has verified 6x8 in Ford F-150, Ranger, Mustang, Explorer, Escape, Focus and more, and 4x6 in GM truck rears and older Wrangler dashes.
Small speakers fill the dash, pillars and smaller doors, and factory ones in those spots often sound thin. Mounting depth matters most in a dash, so it is in the table where the listing gives it. Several listings note they run well on receiver power, such as the JBL Club 44F and 54F and the Pioneer TS-G1020S.
A component set splits the tweeter from the woofer so the highs can sit higher in the dash or pillar, which is why it usually sounds clearer than a coaxial. The table gives the specs each listing states, and the sections below explain the differences.
A 6.5-inch coaxial is the simplest door upgrade: the tweeter rides on the woofer, so it drops into the factory spot. Mounting depth matters in thin doors, so the table shows it where the listing gives it.
The right sub setup depends on three things: how much space you can give up, how hard you want it to hit, and what radio you are keeping. Small space and a factory radio usually means a powered sub. A trunk or truck cab you can give up means a loaded box and a mono amp. Here is how we point people at the counter, with the parts that come along for the ride.
The right amp depends on three things: what radio you have, what you want to power, and how much room you can give up. Tell us those and we can usually narrow it to two or three amps in a few minutes. Here is how we walk people through it at the counter.
Pick the radio around your car and how you use your phone, not around the biggest screen on the wall. Decide wired or wireless, figure out what shape your dash allows, and plan to keep your steering wheel buttons and factory features. Then we confirm the exact parts for your vehicle before anything comes apart.
Pick a wired CarPlay receiver like the Pioneer DMH-1800NEX or Kenwood DMX4710S if you are fine plugging the phone in and want the lowest price for the feature. Pick a wireless one like the Pioneer DMH-W3000NEX, Kenwood DMX5710S or JVC KW-M695BW if you want the phone to stay in your pocket. Step up to the Kenwood Excelon DMX809S or DMX958XR, or JVC KW-M875BW for a sharper screen, higher preamp voltage and more camera inputs when you plan to add amps.
Pick a coaxial pair like the Pioneer TS-G1620F, Kicker DS 43DSC6504 for a simple drop-in upgrade on a factory radio. Pick a high-sensitivity pair like the Focal ICU 165 or ISU 165 if you are keeping the factory radio and want more volume from it. Pick a component set like the Kicker KS 51KSS6504 when you can mount the tweeters up high and plan to add an amplifier.
Pick the Kenwood DRV-A310W for simple 1080p front recording with Wi-Fi and GPS. Pick a 4K front camera like the Kenwood DRV-A610WDP or the Thinkware U1000 or U1000 Plus for the sharpest footage, and any system with parking mode if you want it watching while the car is parked, which needs a hard-wired install.
Pick a 9-inch floating screen like the Pioneer DMH-WT5000NEX, JVC KW-Z900W when you want a bigger screen than a double-DIN and your dash has room for it. Pick a 10.1-inch screen like the Kenwood DMX1037S, JVC KW-Z1001W or Pioneer DMH-WT6000NEX for the biggest view in most trucks and cars, and the Kenwood Excelon Reference DMX1057XR or DMX1058XR when tuning control matters as much as the screen. Fit depends on your dash, so the shop checks the car first.
Pick a line output converter like the AudioControl LC2i to add a sub amp to a factory radio in the simplest way. Pick the AudioControl LC7i when the factory system splits its signal to tweeters, doors and a sub. Add an Epicenter when the factory radio rolls off the bass. Pick an OEM integration processor or a sound processor when a newer car's factory signal needs to be corrected before it reaches the amps.
Pick an under-seat sub like the Kicker Hideaway 51HS8 if you want bass without giving up any space, or the JBL BassPro Hub if your SUV or hatch has a spare tire it can hide in. Every one has the amp built in, so the install is simpler than a separate sub, box and amp.
A 4-channel amp powers four speakers, usually the front and rear doors, or a front component set plus a sub when you bridge the rear pair. More clean power lets speakers play louder without the distortion a radio's built-in amp runs into.
For multi-sub builds, the Kicker LX 51LX3000.1 and Warhorse 49WXA3600.1 go up to 3,000 and 3,600 watts at 1 ohm. Match the amp to your sub's impedance and power.
For most cars, the simple setup is a receiver with a camera input plus the Kenwood CMOS-230LP1, which Kenwood lists as working with most aftermarket receivers that have a camera input. For a sharper picture, the Kenwood CMOS-740HDLP shoots 1280 x 720 HD, but it connects through HD-TVI and works only with select Kenwood receivers that support HD cameras. If you also want a front or side camera, pick a receiver with more than one camera input, like the JVC KW-M875BW, Kenwood DMX958XR
For a first sub on a modest amp, look at the Rockford Fosgate R2D4-12 or the Kicker 50CWCD124. At the top are the Focal SUB 30 KXE and the Kicker L7X and L7XS, which need a big mono amp.
For remote locks only, the Viper 2103V adds keyless entry with an impact sensor. For theft protection, the 3108V is a 1-way security system and the 3308V adds a 2-way LCD remote that confirms commands. For remote start plus security, pick the 5308V with a 2-way LCD remote and about a quarter mile of range, or the 5908V with a 2-way color LCD remote and up to a mile. To start and track the car from your phone, add the VSM550 SmartStart Pro module, which needs a service plan.
Pick the Stinger SK4281 8-gauge kit for a compact or lower-power amp. For most single amps up to the mid-power range, pick a 4-gauge kit: the Stinger SK4641 or SK4241, the Kicker 46CK4 with an RCA cable, or the Rockford Fosgate RFK4X with oxygen-free copper wire, a 100 A fuse and a 16-foot RCA cable. For big mono amps and multi-amp builds, step up to the Stinger SK4201 1/0-gauge kit. We match the gauge and fuse to your amp before the install.
Viper is the one alarm and remote start brand we install. The big choice is how the remote talks to your car. And before we quote remote start, we need to know about your key.
Amps come in different channel counts because they do different jobs. Pick the wrong one and you either waste money or end up adding a second amp later. Here is how to choose.
The box matters as much as the sub. The same woofer can sound tight and punchy in one enclosure and loud and boomy in another. Here is what each type does, and how we help people pick a size.
Most people come in with a budget and one question: what do I buy first? The honest answer depends on what bugs you about your system right now. Here is how we walk people through it.
Your car runs great, but the radio is stuck in the past. A new head unit with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is one of the most useful upgrades we do, and here is exactly what goes into it.
