Affordable speaker upgrade (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Spike555
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- Thread starter
- #22
Yes the sub was plug n play too.
Yes I still love the way the new speakers sound.
It'll make your ears bleed. I love it. The bass thumps in your chest but does not rattle your fillings.
Everything was Crutchfield was plug-N-play, it came with all the connectors that you needed and nothing that you didn't.
To get to the sub in the back you need to remove the seat belts, which requires a 1/2" ratchet and 1/2" metric sockets.
Which you can get from Harbor Freight for $20 or so, or loan a tool from Autozone.
I already had the ratchet but not metric sockets.
And it is a single 6.5" sub in a plastic speaker box that is held in via 4 10mm bolts.
Yes I still love the way the new speakers sound.
It'll make your ears bleed. I love it. The bass thumps in your chest but does not rattle your fillings.
Everything was Crutchfield was plug-N-play, it came with all the connectors that you needed and nothing that you didn't.
To get to the sub in the back you need to remove the seat belts, which requires a 1/2" ratchet and 1/2" metric sockets.
Which you can get from Harbor Freight for $20 or so, or loan a tool from Autozone.
I already had the ratchet but not metric sockets.
And it is a single 6.5" sub in a plastic speaker box that is held in via 4 10mm bolts.
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Did you need a wiring harness for the sub replacement? Looking at Crutchfield and they don't list any harnesses for the sub like they do for the fronts....
- Thread starter
- #24
No. No wire harness. Plug-N-play.
Crutchfield automatically includes everything you need for a direct OEM fit and look, which is what I wanted.
Crutchfield automatically includes everything you need for a direct OEM fit and look, which is what I wanted.
So did you have to buy two of the speakers that you used in the sub box? And just to be clear, to do that repair you simply needed to get in to the sub box, pull out the old speaker, screw in the new one, plug the existing wires into the new speaker, reinstall and it was all good? If it's really that's easy I'm going to call Crutchfield today. It seems like everyone else who's done this repair had to work a whole lot harder. Looking forward to an affirmative reply so I can quite listing to that farting subwoofer sound!
I'm confused, crutchfield is only telling me I need 2 speakers for the front and 2 speakers for the rear, nothing about the rear cargo area...is it because my 2000 is potentially different then your 2004?? Sorry for the ignorance, I'm still very much a noob and not at all mechanically or electronically inclined. That's why I'm putting so much stock into your first hand account and reccomendations. I've had the cruiser for two weeks and absolutely love it, but the first 'mod' I really want to address is upgrading the speakers as soon as possible (after the running board removal, but that was pretty straightforward).
Thanks again for all your help and advice!
Thanks again for all your help and advice!
Nevermind, the guys at crutchfield just answered the question for me. I guess the 2000 is different than the 2004, so my rear cargo speaker (woofer) is a 5", which they don't carry at crutchfield.
Maybe. I just did a live chat with a crutchfield employee from their website, took less than 5 minutes and he answered every one of my questions.
- Thread starter
- #30
No, I only needed one speaker for the sub box.
Yes it is that simple and easy.
You can buy just the sub.
I'm of the mindset to work smarter not harder.
The hardest part of the whole thing is getting to the speakers.
You are not going to get crystal clear studio quality sound from any car because of the audio source, i.e. FM radio, MP3 etc. so there is no need to spend a million dollars and a weeks work for great sound in a car.
live chatting with crutchfield now.....
good info and I'm ordering up! they recommend this one as a direct factory replacement, but if the other ones sound good enough at 1/3 the price for the pair I'm going that route.
Some of these look like they're 6.5" and others 6.75" wide. Do both fit? If not which one is it?
Live chat dude also says a splice is required as the factory sub is soldered. No big deal....
good info and I'm ordering up! they recommend this one as a direct factory replacement, but if the other ones sound good enough at 1/3 the price for the pair I'm going that route.
Some of these look like they're 6.5" and others 6.75" wide. Do both fit? If not which one is it?
Live chat dude also says a splice is required as the factory sub is soldered. No big deal....
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- Thread starter
- #32
The OEM speakers are 6.75" but 6.5" fits perfect as well.
I wanted everything to be the same, so I ordered a matching set that fit my budget and I am very very pleased.
I wanted everything to be the same, so I ordered a matching set that fit my budget and I am very very pleased.
Sooooo......
Nothing is ever as easy as is hoped, or perhaps I'm more inept than I thought. I'm hoping the OP can shed some more light on this as I'd love to not have to send everything back.
After a live chat with Crutchfield I ordered a pair of Rockford Fosgate R1675X2 which they said would fit. I asked a lot of questions and was very specific about sizes and the fact that my 100 is a 2003 and what I'd read about here was in a 2004. Amazon had them $10 cheaper with free same day Prime delivery so I went that route to get it done. I'm fine splicing a wire connector or soldering and have the parts and equipment to do so, so didn't bother with the pigtail accessory.
I took the trim apart and pulled the sub box. The factory sub was completely separated from the foam ring around the outside. No wonder it sounded Farty!
New speakers have arrived and do not appear to fit correctly. It does not fit inside the molded indentation in which the factory sub sits. It looks like I could get it attached by sitting it on top of the indentation and screwing it down then putting the foam back on. There are enough holes on the mounting ring that it looks like I could make that work, but it seems like that might defeat the purpose of having a sub box in the first place since vibration wouldn't be sealed in the box the same way.
Additionally, there are two sets of wires in the sub box that were connected to the factory sub. There is a black/green pair and a yellow/red pair. Both of these were connected to the factory sub - one on each side to dedicated connection points, and the new speaker has but one set of connection points. Is one pair of the OEM wires to be abandoned or are they supposed to be spliced together into a single pair? Which goes where or is abandoned?
I take full credit for being a little dim sometimes, but either the OP and I have very different equipment or I'm much dimmer than I thought. Or maybe the way it looks like it needs to be reassembled is just fine (which I'm hoping but not holding my breath) and Crutchfield's definition of correct ferment is a little looser than mine.
Anyone care to chime in?
Nothing is ever as easy as is hoped, or perhaps I'm more inept than I thought. I'm hoping the OP can shed some more light on this as I'd love to not have to send everything back.
After a live chat with Crutchfield I ordered a pair of Rockford Fosgate R1675X2 which they said would fit. I asked a lot of questions and was very specific about sizes and the fact that my 100 is a 2003 and what I'd read about here was in a 2004. Amazon had them $10 cheaper with free same day Prime delivery so I went that route to get it done. I'm fine splicing a wire connector or soldering and have the parts and equipment to do so, so didn't bother with the pigtail accessory.
I took the trim apart and pulled the sub box. The factory sub was completely separated from the foam ring around the outside. No wonder it sounded Farty!
New speakers have arrived and do not appear to fit correctly. It does not fit inside the molded indentation in which the factory sub sits. It looks like I could get it attached by sitting it on top of the indentation and screwing it down then putting the foam back on. There are enough holes on the mounting ring that it looks like I could make that work, but it seems like that might defeat the purpose of having a sub box in the first place since vibration wouldn't be sealed in the box the same way.
Additionally, there are two sets of wires in the sub box that were connected to the factory sub. There is a black/green pair and a yellow/red pair. Both of these were connected to the factory sub - one on each side to dedicated connection points, and the new speaker has but one set of connection points. Is one pair of the OEM wires to be abandoned or are they supposed to be spliced together into a single pair? Which goes where or is abandoned?
I take full credit for being a little dim sometimes, but either the OP and I have very different equipment or I'm much dimmer than I thought. Or maybe the way it looks like it needs to be reassembled is just fine (which I'm hoping but not holding my breath) and Crutchfield's definition of correct ferment is a little looser than mine.
Anyone care to chime in?
- Thread starter
- #36
Here is what I used to help me when I got stuck.
How to: Replacing OEM Subwoofer in 3rd Row
Don't over think it.
How to: Replacing OEM Subwoofer in 3rd Row
Don't over think it.
Thanks. I had read that thread but not dug in considering all the Dremeling etc. required. Your thread here inspired me to tackle the project because of the plug and play aspect. It seemed you had found a solution that didn't require the modification to the box or other existing components.
Please don't take this as criticism because it's not intended to be and I appreciate your help. I just think it might be important to be a little more clear that the sub box needs to be modded, the multiple wire scenario etc. I knew getting the trim off would be a PITA!
For folks like me (1 banana mechanical capacity) the rest of the process is way beyond plug and play! You said either 6.75 or 6.5 'fit perfectly'. I, of course, thought that meant it would slip right in to the existing opening, that the wires would be readily spliced and connected and so was surprised when it didn't. I will get out the Dremel and figure out the wiring, but I don't honestly think I would have tackled it yesterday had I not thought it would be a cleaner process than it turned out to be. If I didn't have a Dremel I'd have had to buy tools!
Again, no criticism intended as I did learn something from your process and at the end of the day it's probably a good thing I did dig in FINALLY to solve the nagging problem that has been bugging me for way too long. For this I thank you!
I just want to clarify the process for those like me on the lower end of the banana scale that this is not exactly as simple as it might sound, that modification to the sub box is required if you're using virtually any of the components recommended and you will need to figure out how to reconfigure the wiring to the new speaker. Crutchfield also made no mention of any component modification being required. Just a heads up!
Now to the basement to find the Dremel and do some grinding!
Please don't take this as criticism because it's not intended to be and I appreciate your help. I just think it might be important to be a little more clear that the sub box needs to be modded, the multiple wire scenario etc. I knew getting the trim off would be a PITA!
For folks like me (1 banana mechanical capacity) the rest of the process is way beyond plug and play! You said either 6.75 or 6.5 'fit perfectly'. I, of course, thought that meant it would slip right in to the existing opening, that the wires would be readily spliced and connected and so was surprised when it didn't. I will get out the Dremel and figure out the wiring, but I don't honestly think I would have tackled it yesterday had I not thought it would be a cleaner process than it turned out to be. If I didn't have a Dremel I'd have had to buy tools!
Again, no criticism intended as I did learn something from your process and at the end of the day it's probably a good thing I did dig in FINALLY to solve the nagging problem that has been bugging me for way too long. For this I thank you!
I just want to clarify the process for those like me on the lower end of the banana scale that this is not exactly as simple as it might sound, that modification to the sub box is required if you're using virtually any of the components recommended and you will need to figure out how to reconfigure the wiring to the new speaker. Crutchfield also made no mention of any component modification being required. Just a heads up!
Now to the basement to find the Dremel and do some grinding!
- Thread starter
- #38
I did ZERO grinding on my sub box, all I did was use spade connectors on the factory wires that I used and wire nuts on the ones I did NOT use with electrical tape to keep the nuts on and then taped them together.
So, it is plug-N-play if you have the spade connectors, I used the ones from the included speaker wire that came with my speakers.
Again, the speakers I bought fit just fine in the sub box as well as the door panels, the only modification I needed was on the doors, and it was to file off the tabs that where in the way.
So, it is plug-N-play if you have the spade connectors, I used the ones from the included speaker wire that came with my speakers.
Again, the speakers I bought fit just fine in the sub box as well as the door panels, the only modification I needed was on the doors, and it was to file off the tabs that where in the way.
Thanks. Weird. Did your speaker fit into the indentation that the factory speaker sat in or did you set it on top of the indentation and screw it down in that position? I think you must have unless our sub boxes are different. I ordered exactly the same speakers as you for the sub.
Which pair of factory wires did you connect to the speaker? Black/green or yellow/red? The thread you linked also has a great deal of discussion about the impedance differential. OEM speaker being 7.5 ohm, the replacement ones we have being 4 ohm. Did it seem like the output was different or has there been any other ill effect like distortion because of the additional demand the lower impedance speaker places on the power amp?
Any chance you have a photo of the how the replacement speaker sat in the box?
At the moment I'm letting silicone dry on the broken foam of the factory speaker. If that works I may just send everything else back. The OEM speaker has the correct impedance for the system as well as a considerably larger magnet which makes me think it might have been a decent quality component worth repairing.
Which pair of factory wires did you connect to the speaker? Black/green or yellow/red? The thread you linked also has a great deal of discussion about the impedance differential. OEM speaker being 7.5 ohm, the replacement ones we have being 4 ohm. Did it seem like the output was different or has there been any other ill effect like distortion because of the additional demand the lower impedance speaker places on the power amp?
Any chance you have a photo of the how the replacement speaker sat in the box?
At the moment I'm letting silicone dry on the broken foam of the factory speaker. If that works I may just send everything else back. The OEM speaker has the correct impedance for the system as well as a considerably larger magnet which makes me think it might have been a decent quality component worth repairing.
- Thread starter
- #40
I didn't worry about ohms.
I sat my new speaker on top of the box and screwed it down. At first I tried putting it over the foam but I couldn't find the screw holes and the foam was twisting/ripping with the threads on the screws.
It sounds great. No rattles.
I used the red/yellow wires, wire nutted the others like I said.
I sat my new speaker on top of the box and screwed it down. At first I tried putting it over the foam but I couldn't find the screw holes and the foam was twisting/ripping with the threads on the screws.
It sounds great. No rattles.
I used the red/yellow wires, wire nutted the others like I said.
