01 Extra Cab Stock stereo/speaker upgrade for the cheap

So I wanted to do something on the cheap to get a little better sound out of my truck and be able to use my ipod (been using stupid tape adapter), etc.

Decided to go with the following....

Kenwood KMM-100U
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KMM100U/Kenwood-KMM-100U.html?tp=5684

Thought that was a neat little receiver... No CD (I never use). Much smaller.

Then speaker replacement:

4 of these

Pioneer TS-A874M
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSA874M/Pioneer-TS-A874M.html?tp=93

Then of course the dash pocket and wiring adapters, etc...

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_081TOYPOC/Toyota-In-dash-Receiver-Kit.html?tp=3121

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120701761/Metra-70-1761-Receiver-Wiring-Harness.html?tp=2977

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_12071040/Speaker-Wiring-Harnesses.html?tp=3097


Ordering all together from Crutchfield with their applied discounts and free shipping, it all came out to $189.97 to my door. Very happy with that!


Any thoughts on these? Hope it sounds decent. I'm sure it will be way better than stock... Should be perfect for what I want. I think with this, I could add a little amp and small sub down the road as well couldn't I? Also, do I leave the stock tweeters hooked up or not since these are 3-way speakers??

I will be installing this weekend and will update on the sound quality.

 

Should sound better than factory. Good call on the ditching the CD player, USB sticks are better anyway.

Be sure to update how it goes/sounds so others can use you for research.

 

Will do!

I do have one question for you.

I soldered up and used heat shrink on the wiring harness and the stereo wires... The wiring harness has a black wire for ground (which comes off the truck) and the stereo also has a black wire for ground but it is much longer than the rest and in the manual it says to mount to chassis ground.

Do I run that wire separate to a ground or just connect it to the trucks wiring harness ground? Same thing?

 

Well I went ahead and got just the speakers in... no deck or sub/amp yet.

Not so hot on the speakers. Yes they are definitely better than stock.

But, for one, they dont fit the front like Crutchfield says. I had to cut out quite a bit of the plastic to get them to sit in there. The basket on the speaker was too deep.

Sound wise, they are OK. My driver door rattles now which irritates the Fack out of me. Does not seem like its coming from the speaker. Seems like it is the door itself. Only on certain heavier bass notes. With rock music, these speakers actually sound really good.

Not sure why the driver door rattles but the passenger and rears have no rattle. Worried it will just get worse with the new head unit. Not sure if I should exchange just the fronts out or not... Have 60 days with Crutchfield.

How can I tell if its a blown speaker or just the door? Would not think its a bad speaker right out of the box....? Only certain longer deep bass notes. Stereo doesnt even have to be that loud. Other than that, they sound pretty crisp. Really need that sub though.

 

Listening more, It all rattles haha. Yay. Both doors and some in the back. New HU and sub will just make it worse. Bleh. I know I broke a couple clips on each panel pulling them out and putting back in...

 

Broken clips will cause rattles. Sadly the dealerships and onlie are all pricy on the clips (web prices are good, but they kill you on shipping). Let me know if you find a cheap place to get the clips.

On the question about grounding, you will want use a spot in/on the truck. For my amp, I connected it to a large bolt that attached under the center console. I pulled the bolt out, sanded the area that would touch the ground connector (to ensure a clear connection) and put the bolt back in. On the deck, you can use the ground from the OEM steroe or find a new one. Should not make a difference especially on a single din unit with no CD.

 

Thanks!

 

Small update. Been so busy and we had a nasty snow storm (like 19"!).

I got the stereo and the pocket all installed. Made the speakers sound quite a bit better, but they are still kinda "meh". Hoping the subwoofer will really fill the system in.

I REALLY like this head unit. Small, very light, no need for CD, Ipod (*small issue here), AUX, very understandable controls, easy to use, etc. Install was a breeze. Since the unit is much smaller, you have a lot more room to stuff the wires behind it. I pre-wired for my amp and have the remote power and RCA wires running to it already.

Now for the *. It does not work with my Ipod Shuffle! I swore I read in the compatibility it would, but now that I look back, says nothing about shuffle. My fault. SO... as you can see from my picture, I just use an 8 gb memory stick and it works perfect. My wifes Ipod Touch works awesome with it as well. So, just me not paying close enough attention. Why it does not work with shuffle is beyond me, but it does not.



But other than that, I think it is a great stereo for the price and features. I would definitely recommend it. Fit and finish is great. Really happy with how it all looks. I like having that extra pocket now too!

Still waiting for my sub box to hook up the amp and sub...