High praise for the Pioneer speaker replacement behind stock grille!

[keithf]

My question is: any tips or special tools needed to pull the door panels? I've pulled a few door panels in my day and usually had good results but sometimes getting those plastic door plug thingys out can be a pain.

Any advice welcomed....

Having a door trim tool will make it painless - search harborfreight.com, northerntool.com, sears.com etc.

I'm no expert - I think I did this: Open the window fully. Pop up the armrest and take out the screws. Pop up the switch panel and disconnect it. Pop out the door light and disconnect it. Undo the screw behind the door open lever and pop out the plastic. Remove the mirror bolt cover carefully with the trim tool. Work the plastic door plugs loose with the trim tool. Slide the cover up.

 

[keithf]

For some reason I thought I read in an older thread that the maximum depth was just shallower than 2".... now if I am reading correctly we are saying it's just a tick more than 1.5"? That makes a very large difference in speaker selection... so which is it?

I believe it varies depending on the model year, and where you are measuring from - :

For my '97 LC, since I wish to retain the stock speaker grill, I can only mount about a 1.5" or shallower 6.5" speaker directly onto the door metal.

Now if I were to remove the factory speaker grill, and fit the new 6.5" speaker on the outside of the vinyl/leather/pleather door panel, I'd likely have ~2" of depth - but then I'd need to use the new speaker's covers - which defeats my objective and the title of this thread....

I guess I'm the only 97 LC owner actively trying to fit these speakers - all others on this thread to date have older model LC's, which appear to have a little more breathing room in the speaker compartment...

 

[hatfieldcb]

Crap. So do they fit a '97 LC, or not? I bought some of these, too.

 

[Romer]

Anyone else with an LX450 try this? I am debating the change. Curious if others think the sound is improved

or

do we know that the Lexus speaker is an upgraded speaker and not worth the upgrade?

Thanks

 

[corsair23]

Romer,

What's wierd is that Nakman didn't seem to have any issues installing them in his '96 which would make one "think" that putting them into a '97 LC or LX would end up with the same results.

I can't say for 100% sure but I don't recall any differences between my '97 LC and my '97 LX as far as the door trim/speakers go - sound wise between the two they seem the same except for having the subwoofer up front on the LX of course.

I like you though don't want to buy new speakers that I can't use - I've got enough crap sitting in the garage as it is

 

[ssbob]

No door speakers on my 93

So for those of us without front door speakers, what are the options for those piece of crap under dash speakers ... I they are shot and just sound like well you get the idea. I am tempted to take it to Best Buy and ask them to install anything that will fit but I have a feeling if I did that I would get bent over once the bill shows up.

Any thoughts?

Sean

 

[scottm]

RATS! I was just checking this thread so I could pick some up on the way home. So they won't work on my '97. Could they have changed the window track? I can make most anything mechanical to adapt this, but I can't do much about upholstery. How ugly is the Pioneer speaker? Could I paint it to match the interior? Heck, I could machine a cover out of a block of aluminum if it would make this work. I don't know if they're still on sale, that half-price offer is tempting.

 

[Romer]

I think John Eckels installed it on a 97. The one with the problem may be a fluke. I may bite the bullet and give it a try. I have a 97 and a 96.

 

[keithf]

Romer, go for it - since you have a 96 and 97 it will be an ideal comparison. I'm keen to see the end result!

 

[LockedLX]

Anyone else with an LX450 try this? I am debating the change. Curious if others think the sound is improved

or

do we know that the Lexus speaker is an upgraded speaker and not worth the upgrade?

Thanks

Romer,

I had a pair of these laying around..: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IxIpXGc5mNs/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=52000&I=130TSA1672

..so I'm working on the installation into the front doors of my '97 LX now. I can tell you this much--they aren't going to fit without some spacers, and whether or not I can use the stock grilles over them is yet to be seen. I'll try to remember to take pics of the progress and report back with my findings.

 

[sjcruiser]

The stock speakers on mine ('97 LX) appear to have IMG cones (made by Pioneer) as opposed to plain paper cones in the older LCs - Not sure if the later LCs would have the same or not.

 

[Romer]

Romer, go for it - since you have a 96 and 97 it will be an ideal comparison. I'm keen to see the end result!

After visiting the stereo store I ended up buying a set of infinity speakers, they were more money but sounded better and had a lower depth. I only bought speakers for the 97

 

[john_eckels]

I think John Eckels installed it on a 97. The one with the problem may be a fluke. I may bite the bullet and give it a try. I have a 97 and a 96.

I put them in my LX450, it required shim about 5/32 inch thick. Even with that, the magnets were touching the window track. When I put the door panel back on, there was a small bulge where the speaker was. It fit OK, but not great.

 

[Romer]

I put them in my LX450, it required shim about 5/32 inch thick. Even with that, the magnets were touching the window track. When I put the door panel back on, there was a small bulge where the speaker was. It fit OK, but not great.

Now I am glad I bought the Ifinities.

 

[Mlachica]

After visiting the stereo store I ended up buying a set of infinity speakers, they were more money but sounded better and had a lower depth. I only bought speakers for the 97

which model did you get? The shallowest one's I found were 1 13/16 top mount...

the pioneers are 1 11/16

 

[LockedLX]

I put them in my LX450, it required shim about 5/32 inch thick. Even with that, the magnets were touching the window track. When I put the door panel back on, there was a small bulge where the speaker was. It fit OK, but not great.

This is exactly where I am with the install of the Pioneers I linked to above. Had to shim quite a bit.. and while the door panel goes back on just fine, there is probably a 1/4" bulge around the stock speaker grille. I've removed the stock grille from the door panel for now.

FWIW, these Pioneers have a mounting depth of 1 3/4".

 

[Romer]

I ended up installing Infiniti speakers 6022si in the front and 4022si in the rear. I started a new thread here to discuss it so post any comments over there.

I did take this picture of the speaker hole on the 97 and the window rail bar is right in the center of the hole and thats what the deeper Pioneers would have hit.

I did notice the speakers that came out of the Lexus sound system were Pioneers

 

[keithf]

I ended up installing Infiniti speakers 6022si in the front and 4022si in the rear. I started a new thread here to discuss it so post any comments over there.

I did take this picture of the speaker hole on the 97 and the window rail bar is right in the center of the hole and thats what the deeper Pioneers would have hit.

Good picture! Yep, that sums it up for the '97 LC - minimal mounting depth - glad to see mine was not the fluke .

According to Crutchfield, the Infiniti's are 1/8" deeper than the Pioneers, so they would have had an even worse time trying to squeeze behind the factory speaker cover.

Ah, what to do..... Do what you did and use aftermarket speaker covers, or hold out for another solution that retains the factory look...

 

[Cruisin'Carolina]

I put them in my LX450, it required shim about 5/32 inch thick. Even with that, the magnets were touching the window track. When I put the door panel back on, there was a small bulge where the speaker was. It fit OK, but not great.

Same story with my Eclipses in my 94, ever so slight of a bulge.

I remember one guy at a big box store telling me about the Infinities, which are just a higher line of Eclipses IIRC

I May go this route, although Pioneer has never let me down.

 

[Sc0-]

From the sounds of it the 97's seem to have more fitment issues than the earlier models... This and many past threads have made me start looking around for upgrades. Pioneer's website dictates 6.5"x 1.75" speakers for the front/rear doors and 4"x3" speakers for the dash, and of course we all know about the 6" sub and amp in the passenger side rear cargo area. (sub can be upgraded to an 8" according to past threads with a little work)

I have ordered an upgrade for my '94, will report back on the results... I was going to use some 4" Infinity Kappa's for the dash but according to past threads it's not worth upgrading. Besides with two pairs of 4 ways speakers and a possible sub it should be enough? Their's not too many options for 6.5"x1.75" speakers out their in terms of quality construction, most are 2"+ in depth...

This is my upgrade so far once it is dropped off by UPS from Ikesound.
Pioneer Premier DEH-P880PRS
Pioneer Premier TS-A642P