2019 2.0L Base KIA stinger speaker/amp/sub/door card install completed. 15 speaker Harmon Kardon

[DStings]

I just completed a 2.0 base 6 speaker system to the Harmon Kardon 15 speaker system and 8" display. It took me 3 months to complete. I did not take pictures of the process. But what I had to buy: Head unit, display, all 4 door cards, 4 HK door speakers, 2 HK subs, and the HK amplifier w/pigtails, 25ft wire x 28 some 22ga(comms) some 18ga(speakers), head unit sub adapter (for the wires to cut), center dash speaker HK, center dash cover with speaker hole, fuse block for 4 fuses for power to amp, and 8" display surround panel above dash pad.

This was not an easy or cheap task. I only did the task because I am stubborn and was not going to let the car win. I also did not want the Sun and Sound package. I don't like sunroofs.
Tasks that had to be completed:
Remove both seats, throttle pedal, console, dash pad, all lower interior trim, bottom of rear seat and RH rear portion of rear seat for wiring. Cut holes in carpet for OEM subs, remove foam that was original taking up the subs space, and cut holes in the interior rocker arms for the porting of the subs into the frame. Then rewire 4 of the door card speakers from the amp in the trunk/hatch to the back of the head unit where the original harness ran the 4 original outputs. I had to splice the CAN high and low wires, nav voice, Ignition and Accessory wires to the amp in rear. Run wires from the head unit for digital audio + and -. Ran center dash speaker and the original 4 channels to the doors up to the head unit. I then ran one set of wires for each new door panel channels, and both sets of sub wires to the amp in rear.

Although it is a 15 speaker system there are only 11 channels. Each of the doors use the same channel for the mid's and tweeters.

Below is a link to the add 2ch sub connector that I used for much of my splicing. I removed the amp addon portion of device and only used the connectors and wires.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1433272901...ke:Kia&hash=item215ef8e30b:g:RB8AAOSw2bRd~a2l

All of the other Items were OEM and bought mostly though ebay.
Here is where I had trouble:
1.My door panels had acoustic lighting. The HK panels did not and could not change them without removing the ultrasonic welds on the door panels. I opted to abandon the acoustic lighting on the doors.
2.The driver door and front passenger doors have the exact same number of buttons on them as the HK door switch panel and look identical. But they would not function proper when plugged in and I moved the original equipped switch panels to the HK door cards. All functions worked after that. The part numbers were different on each switch panel.
3.Running wires into the doors. Front doors I ran the wires though a small circle port in the door disconnect and did not make the wires disconnect. On the rear doors I drilled a very small hole in the rubber boot for the wiring and a small hole in a plug on the chassis and did not make the wires disconnect.
4.Cutting the holes in the rocker panels. VERY VERY difficult. The metal is hardened and did not cut easily. There is not one picture online of the hole placement. I had to guess a little. I used a Dremmel to cut the holes but It is very tight in the floor.
5.The amp has 4 battery (+) cables and 4 (-) cables. I added a fuse block at the battery and added four 5amp fuses for the power to the amp, not necessary but I chose this way. I also used 8 ga. power wire to the fuse panel I added.
6.some of the pin outs from the amp are not correct. Where it lists surround - those are the mid and tweeters in the rear. and Center door speaker is the Dash speaker.

I also upgraded my dash to the supervision 180mph speedometer from a 3.3L. I had it programmed to remove the unnecessary features. I found that the torque, boost and oil temp gauges work with the supervision as did the g meter and compass.

It took three months because of weather and waiting for all parts. I was not in a hurry.

 

[spider55]

Welcome, Great job, that's not an easy task..

 

[DStings]

Yes, I started the project because I did not like the 7" touchscreen. Thought it was very ugly. Bought the components and started a snowball effect. I looked at the Pinout from the Nav unit and shows the 4 channels for the internal amp. I tried everything I could think of to see if I could activate the internal amp (if it has one). I then looked for an amp, but could not find one with pigtails on ebay. One finally showed up and it was the HK with pigtials. I initially bought all of the 9 speaker setup because I didn't want to change the door cards. I found a seller on ebay who listed each door panel separately and were the color I needed. I called and made a deal for all 4. Then realized that the 9 speaker and the 15 speaker had different door/sub/dash speakers. So after I bought all of the 9 speaker system, I then bought all of the HK speakers. I now have two extra head units 6spk. and 15spk. 2 extra subs, and 4 door speakers. Sheesh. I probably wouldn't do it again just to change the display. Big learning curve and I learned how to dismantle nearly the entire interior.

 

[silgar]

damn that's insane that you did all that work

i recently bought all the stuff for the 8" upgrade but found myself with no audio

after reading this and a few other threads it makes sense considering it's looking for that HK amp but the 2.0 literally has no amp


very sad about this and definitely want it to work but doesn't sound like a good idea for me to go through the same hassle of upgrading all the speakers and wiring to the HK system


do you think perhaps a custom audio shop may be able to wire in a custom amp somehow perhaps? or it definitely would require the HK amp?
looking for a much quicker and cost effective option versus dismantling even more of the car haha

 

[spider55]

damn that's insane that you did all that work

i recently bought all the stuff for the 8" upgrade but found myself with no audio

after reading this and a few other threads it makes sense considering it's looking for that HK amp but the 2.0 literally has no amp


very sad about this and definitely want it to work but doesn't sound like a good idea for me to go through the same hassle of upgrading all the speakers and wiring to the HK system


do you think perhaps a custom audio shop may be able to wire in a custom amp somehow perhaps? or it definitely would require the HK amp?
looking for a much quicker and cost effective option versus dismantling even more of the car haha

If you get a shop that knows what they're doing you can put what ever you want in it. Here's my setup

 

[DStings]

To: salgar, you asked about an amp upgrade. With the original head unit and 7" display you can use the adapter for an amp with the link I posted above. With the 8" display and the amp required head unit it will be difficult. The audio output is digital to either the 9 spk or 15 spk setup. If there is a way to decode the digital signal to analog you could easily run an aftermarket system. I was in the same boat as you. I bought the equipment for the 8" display and had no audio. I then went all out to make it work. I searched and went into the engineering mode to see if I could activate an internal amp to the 8" head unit but I could not. The wiring diagram does show that the speaker outputs are there but there is no signal.
My next upgrade will be the heads up display.

 

[Willis18c]

I just completed a 2.0 base 6 speaker system to the Harmon Kardon 15 speaker system and 8" display. It took me 3 months to complete. I did not take pictures of the process. But what I had to buy: Head unit, display, all 4 door cards, 4 HK door speakers, 2 HK subs, and the HK amplifier w/pigtails, 25ft wire x 28 some 22ga(comms) some 18ga(speakers), head unit sub adapter (for the wires to cut), center dash speaker HK, center dash cover with speaker hole, fuse block for 4 fuses for power to amp, and 8" display surround panel above dash pad.

This was not an easy or cheap task. I only did the task because I am stubborn and was not going to let the car win. I also did not want the Sun and Sound package. I don't like sunroofs.
Tasks that had to be completed:
Remove both seats, throttle pedal, console, dash pad, all lower interior trim, bottom of rear seat and RH rear portion of rear seat for wiring. Cut holes in carpet for OEM subs, remove foam that was original taking up the subs space, and cut holes in the interior rocker arms for the porting of the subs into the frame. Then rewire 4 of the door card speakers from the amp in the trunk/hatch to the back of the head unit where the original harness ran the 4 original outputs. I had to splice the CAN high and low wires, nav voice, Ignition and Accessory wires to the amp in rear. Run wires from the head unit for digital audio + and -. Ran center dash speaker and the original 4 channels to the doors up to the head unit. I then ran one set of wires for each new door panel channels, and both sets of sub wires to the amp in rear.

Although it is a 15 speaker system there are only 11 channels. Each of the doors use the same channel for the mid's and tweeters.

Below is a link to the add 2ch sub connector that I used for much of my splicing. I removed the amp addon portion of device and only used the connectors and wires.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/143327290123?fits=Model:Stinger|Make:Kia&hash=item215ef8e30b:g:RB8AAOSw2bRd~a2l

All of the other Items were OEM and bought mostly though ebay.
Here is where I had trouble:
1.My door panels had acoustic lighting. The HK panels did not and could not change them without removing the ultrasonic welds on the door panels. I opted to abandon the acoustic lighting on the doors.
2.The driver door and front passenger doors have the exact same number of buttons on them as the HK door switch panel and look identical. But they would not function proper when plugged in and I moved the original equipped switch panels to the HK door cards. All functions worked after that. The part numbers were different on each switch panel.
3.Running wires into the doors. Front doors I ran the wires though a small circle port in the door disconnect and did not make the wires disconnect. On the rear doors I drilled a very small hole in the rubber boot for the wiring and a small hole in a plug on the chassis and did not make the wires disconnect.
4.Cutting the holes in the rocker panels. VERY VERY difficult. The metal is hardened and did not cut easily. There is not one picture online of the hole placement. I had to guess a little. I used a Dremmel to cut the holes but It is very tight in the floor.
5.The amp has 4 battery (+) cables and 4 (-) cables. I added a fuse block at the battery and added four 5amp fuses for the power to the amp, not necessary but I chose this way. I also used 8 ga. power wire to the fuse panel I added.
6.some of the pin outs from the amp are not correct. Where it lists surround - those are the mid and tweeters in the rear. and Center door speaker is the Dash speaker.

I also upgraded my dash to the supervision 180mph speedometer from a 3.3L. I had it programmed to remove the unnecessary features. I found that the torque, boost and oil temp gauges work with the supervision as did the g meter and compass.

It took three months because of weather and waiting for all parts. I was not in a hurry.

So question for you I have just the base model 2.0t. and im running an amp to all the door speakers. any idea on how i can run the speaker wire to the two front door speakers?

 

[Willis18c]

So question for you I have just the base model 2.0t. and im running an amp to all the door speakers. any idea on how i can run the speaker wire to the two front door speakers?

 

[DStings]

Yes, It is a little difficult to reach from the inside. I had most of the dash apart and panels removed, even so very hard to reach the wires from under the dash. The drivers side is the hardest. I used a file in the front door connections to make the hole bigger and did not use a disconnect (see picture). I figured if I was removing the door, I had bigger problems. On the rear it was not simple either. You have to remove the B pillar trim inside, I had the front and rear seats and seatbelts removed so it made it a little easier. Between the rear door next to the wiring rubber is a small grommet. This grommet is nearly lined up with a grommet on the B pillar. I poked a small hole in each grommet and left a little slack between the two and covered the wires in elec tape so they had some protection.

 

[silgar]

i'm doubtful you're still active DStings but I saw in a video someone playing around in the engineering mode settings and saw this screen which prompted me to give this another go

now finding you can't actually change this setting on either screen lol but this is definitely the culprit



i'm tempted to take it to the dealer to see if they can try and force change it through their KDS tool


i noticed you mentioned use of the engineering menu's, is this what you tried already before just getting the whole speaker setup redone?