Premium Audio Upgrade for less than $250

Oh you mean the "amp"

 

yes sir..

 

Thanks bshammer0 and all you others that were really helpful with me upgrading my stereo in my 17 Tacoma Sport CB. This thread was very good in guiding me through the entire process. I forget where I read in the thread of someone saying that 25 sq ft (one pack) of the Noico sound deadener was not enough to do modification. I actually had enough Noico left over to install inside of the tailgate to muffle/deaden the noise from recently adding a Pop-n-lock.

 

Price alert: The front and rear speaker set is now $109.98 at Crutchfield.

 

It depends on how you install the matting. If you just cover the outside of the inside panel then 25 sq. ft. is plenty. But if you put sheets inside the outer door panel, it's not enough.

 

Now that make sense. I only put a small amount of Noico in each door behind the speakers.

 

Still haven't done mine. Been lazy lol. But when you refer to the "outer door panel" are you referring to the plastic panel that gets removed? And the "inside panel" is referring to the metal door panel that the speakers actually mount to?

 

When I refer to the outside panel, I'm referring to the panel on the outside of the vehicle that's exposed to the weather, you can also refer it to the panel behind the speaker mounting cavity. You're correct on my meaning of the inside panel.

 

Has Crutchfield figured out the issue with the incorrect door panel mounting plate for the 6x9 yet?

 

I just installed mine yesterday. The adapter plate lined up with the door just fine. It didn't even come close to lining up with the mounting holes in the 6x9 speaker. 3 did line up, I had to screw through the plastic for the 4th one.

 

As to the amount of sound deadening to use, just take the package and split it into 4 separate/equal amounts and add each pile to the door till it's gone. And if doing doors and back wall, do the back wall first and then spit the remainder into 4 piles. Pretty simple and it will ensure equal coverage.

 

I had this same problem.

 

Me too. wasn't a big deal though. I just drilled a small pilot hole and on I went. Still no vibes or anything. Still makes me smile every time I kick the tunes on!

 

Yup, same here. Drilled a hole for the fourth screw.

 

So...After upgrading my tweeters a few weeks ago, I FINALLY had a little time to start with the other speaker upgrades, this past weekend.

I have to admit though, with the sound deadener install, it took me A LOT longer than I had hoped. But, I had never done anything with that stuff before, and wanted to make sure I took my time with that part. Plus, I haven't upgraded speakers in a car since High School. Lol

A question for the masses: which screws did you use to attach the new speakers to the included mounting brackets. I used the silver colored ones, but there was only a single bag of (8), so I only had enough for the front speakers. I feel like there should have been another package of those screws. The speakers themselves came with some shorter black screws, but they didn't seem long enough.

While doing the front 6x9 speakers, I also found that the holes didn't completely line up. But, by using a drill bit to clear out the holes in the mounting brackets, and starting in (3) of the screws, I was able to 'coerce' the bracket to be able to get last screw in. From there, i just tightened all the screws until the speaker was flush to the mount. Had to do it on both front speakers.

In all, I only completed the front speakers. That being said, I am IN LOVE with the sound so far. The sound over all is so much more 'full'. And when i listened in the back, there is still the 'thin' sound. I can't wait until I have time to do the rear door speakers.

Thank you bshammer0 and everyone who has contributed to this thread.

 

Congrats on the install! It can be a bit frustrating with the mounts and all but kudos to you for sticking with it. Worth your time and minor expense for sure!

Well done, and good luck on the rears!

 

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but right now Crutchfield has both front and rear door pairs for 45 and 65 (or 65 and 45, forgot which pair was for which door). I paid a total of 110. Add the tweeters for 100 (or less if you go ebay) and you get a killer audio deal.

 

Spent about 45 mins on the phone with a tech from Crutchfield tonight who did not recommend installing speakers anywhere near as powerful as the 150w/450w peak Kickers. He said our head units don’t put out more than 30w total and the HU would struggle to power anything that large and sound quality would suffer (basically wasting money on speakers that large. Any expert feedback out there?

 

So what speakers did he recommended?

 

Given that I wanted 3-ways (maybe should have kept it to 2-ways for more options), didn’t want to mess with component speaker installation, and that he said 6x9s are really too big for the minimal power output, I’m going to try the Rockford Fosgate prime 3-ways in the front doors and 2-ways in back. A tad over $100 total. It isn’t going to make a high quality system, but should perform better than oversized speakers for an underpowered HU. If I don’t like them I’ve got 60 days to return them.