57HotrodVW
New member
After seeing a few posts about speaker upgrades, I decided to do one to the dash speakers in my '18 TRD Pro, and thought I'd share. In short, this lower cost, relatively easy upgrade is well worth it, and makes a huge difference in sound quality!
Rather than just going with a popular tweeter upgrade (aka, the Subaru/Kicker plug and play tweeters), I decided to go with 3.5" coaxial speakers from JL Audio - the C2-350x models. These full range speakers cost ~$80, and I bought mine at Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UDNXOQ
I also purchased a pair of tweeter wiring harness adapters, so I didn't have to cut the factory wiring (others have taken apart the stock speakers to make an adapter plug of sorts, or kind of "jumpered" the male portion of the 4 wire factory plug). I got the adapters from Taco Tunes - https://tacotunes.com/shop/toyota-4...eter-speaker-wiring-harness-adapter-connector
To limit lower frequency sounds from being played by these speakers, and prevent "clipping" at higher volumes, I also bought a pair of 133 microfarad capacitors (aka "bass blockers"), to cut sounds below 300 Hz - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017AJ5ECW
The construction differences between the OEM and JL Audio speakers are notable:
Removal of the stock speakers is easy. I started by using a plastic trim tool (part of a set like the ones at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZRJCYQ2), and gently prying from the center/rear-most portion of the speaker grills to "pop" the two clips that hold them in.
From there, a small ratchet, extension, and 10mm socket was used to remove the two hex head screws (with Phillips patterns in the top, as highlighted in red in the image below). After these screws have been removed, the speaker mount and speaker can be lifted out as an assembly. Push the tab on one side of speaker plug/harness to release it from the blue "cap" of the stock speaker, and disconnect the speaker assembly (the second image below is one where the factory mount is still in place, but I suggest removing the speaker and bracket as an assemblly, via the Phillips head screws)
The Taco Tunes adapter harnesses make wiring a pretty simple affair. Because of the way that the door speakers are wired with the dash speakers, there are four wires in the factory dash speaker harness/plug. To mimic the same using the Taco Tunes adapter harnesses, make four wires into two -- red and white wires go together for the positive side, and black and white/black go together for the negative side. I cut the long wires of the Taco Tunes adapter harnesses down to about six inches, to reduce bulk when installed under the dash.
The capacitor is connected inline, on the positive side wire. Joints were soldered and finished with heat shrink tubing.
Next, I fabricated some mounting tabs out of 1" wide x 1/8" thick aluminum bar stock, which can be purchased at most hardware or home improvement stores. These didn't have to have as complex of a shape as I made them, and a simple rectangle would have worked, but mine are shaped like they are due to earlier plans changing a bit, and not wanting to re-make the brackets.
Rectangular tabs would be 1.75" long and .75" wide. Two holes are drilled in the tab, 1 5/16" apart. The smaller one at the top (which the Phillips head screw will go into) was drilled using a 5/32" bit, and the larger one was drilled with a 3/16" bit.
The hardware used to attach the tabs to the speakers is 8-32 button head machine screws that are 3/4" long, with matching nuts and washers. I put one washer under the screw head, two washers between the aluminum tab and speaker (for spacing), and one washer under the aluminum tab.
The Phillips head screw can be used to make threads in the smaller/top hole. It takes a little force to start the screw in the hole, but do this, tighten until snug, and then remove the screw. It is much easier to do this outside of the vehicle, than inside when mounting the tab/speakers in the dash.
This photo depicts what the tab looks like when mounted on the speaker. The Phillips screw was removed prior to putting the speaker in the dash. I put blue thread locker (aka Loctite) on the button head hardware, and tightened it fairly well, but just loose enough so that I could move/align the tab with the speaker in the dash hole.
When installing the speakers in the dash, the side of the speaker without the "tab" attached will be fastened using the Phillips head screw and existing "spring nut" that is already installed on the dash plastic. On the opposite side, you'll need to remove the "spring nut" by simply sliding it off the dash plastic (don't drop it into the dash hole, or it may be hard to retrieve. The photo below shows one of the spring nuts after it has been removed.
After plugging the factory speaker wiring harness to the speaker, and tucking in the wires, the speaker can be carefully dropped into the dash hole. On the driver's side, put the speaker "ear" on top of the spring nut that is on the left, and loosely fasten it with one of the Phillips head screws. The fabricated "tab" on the other side of the speaker goes under the dash plastic where the spring nut previously was. Insert the Phillips screw through the top of the dash, and tighten it into the tab below, as depicted in the images below. Don't overtighten the Phillips screws on either side of the speaker, and it is a good idea to put some thread locker on them.
The installation of the passenger side speaker is similar, but it is a tighter fit due to the ductwork for the defroster vent below the speaker hole. It took some wiggling and pushing down to get the speaker into position, and clearing the sheet metal closest to the windshield.
The OEM speaker grills have a ring on the bottom side that meets up with foam that is on top of the factory dash speakers. I used an angle grinder and sanding disc to carefully sand away/remove both rings, so that the back of the grills was essentially flat, and no speaker interference would occur.
Snap the speaker grills back into place, and the installation is done.
Now crank up some tunes, and enjoy the much improved sounds, as well as the satisfaction that you did it yourself!!
Rather than just going with a popular tweeter upgrade (aka, the Subaru/Kicker plug and play tweeters), I decided to go with 3.5" coaxial speakers from JL Audio - the C2-350x models. These full range speakers cost ~$80, and I bought mine at Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001UDNXOQ
I also purchased a pair of tweeter wiring harness adapters, so I didn't have to cut the factory wiring (others have taken apart the stock speakers to make an adapter plug of sorts, or kind of "jumpered" the male portion of the 4 wire factory plug). I got the adapters from Taco Tunes - https://tacotunes.com/shop/toyota-4...eter-speaker-wiring-harness-adapter-connector
To limit lower frequency sounds from being played by these speakers, and prevent "clipping" at higher volumes, I also bought a pair of 133 microfarad capacitors (aka "bass blockers"), to cut sounds below 300 Hz - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017AJ5ECW
The construction differences between the OEM and JL Audio speakers are notable:
Removal of the stock speakers is easy. I started by using a plastic trim tool (part of a set like the ones at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZRJCYQ2), and gently prying from the center/rear-most portion of the speaker grills to "pop" the two clips that hold them in.
From there, a small ratchet, extension, and 10mm socket was used to remove the two hex head screws (with Phillips patterns in the top, as highlighted in red in the image below). After these screws have been removed, the speaker mount and speaker can be lifted out as an assembly. Push the tab on one side of speaker plug/harness to release it from the blue "cap" of the stock speaker, and disconnect the speaker assembly (the second image below is one where the factory mount is still in place, but I suggest removing the speaker and bracket as an assemblly, via the Phillips head screws)
The Taco Tunes adapter harnesses make wiring a pretty simple affair. Because of the way that the door speakers are wired with the dash speakers, there are four wires in the factory dash speaker harness/plug. To mimic the same using the Taco Tunes adapter harnesses, make four wires into two -- red and white wires go together for the positive side, and black and white/black go together for the negative side. I cut the long wires of the Taco Tunes adapter harnesses down to about six inches, to reduce bulk when installed under the dash.
The capacitor is connected inline, on the positive side wire. Joints were soldered and finished with heat shrink tubing.
Next, I fabricated some mounting tabs out of 1" wide x 1/8" thick aluminum bar stock, which can be purchased at most hardware or home improvement stores. These didn't have to have as complex of a shape as I made them, and a simple rectangle would have worked, but mine are shaped like they are due to earlier plans changing a bit, and not wanting to re-make the brackets.
Rectangular tabs would be 1.75" long and .75" wide. Two holes are drilled in the tab, 1 5/16" apart. The smaller one at the top (which the Phillips head screw will go into) was drilled using a 5/32" bit, and the larger one was drilled with a 3/16" bit.
The hardware used to attach the tabs to the speakers is 8-32 button head machine screws that are 3/4" long, with matching nuts and washers. I put one washer under the screw head, two washers between the aluminum tab and speaker (for spacing), and one washer under the aluminum tab.
The Phillips head screw can be used to make threads in the smaller/top hole. It takes a little force to start the screw in the hole, but do this, tighten until snug, and then remove the screw. It is much easier to do this outside of the vehicle, than inside when mounting the tab/speakers in the dash.
This photo depicts what the tab looks like when mounted on the speaker. The Phillips screw was removed prior to putting the speaker in the dash. I put blue thread locker (aka Loctite) on the button head hardware, and tightened it fairly well, but just loose enough so that I could move/align the tab with the speaker in the dash hole.
When installing the speakers in the dash, the side of the speaker without the "tab" attached will be fastened using the Phillips head screw and existing "spring nut" that is already installed on the dash plastic. On the opposite side, you'll need to remove the "spring nut" by simply sliding it off the dash plastic (don't drop it into the dash hole, or it may be hard to retrieve. The photo below shows one of the spring nuts after it has been removed.
After plugging the factory speaker wiring harness to the speaker, and tucking in the wires, the speaker can be carefully dropped into the dash hole. On the driver's side, put the speaker "ear" on top of the spring nut that is on the left, and loosely fasten it with one of the Phillips head screws. The fabricated "tab" on the other side of the speaker goes under the dash plastic where the spring nut previously was. Insert the Phillips screw through the top of the dash, and tighten it into the tab below, as depicted in the images below. Don't overtighten the Phillips screws on either side of the speaker, and it is a good idea to put some thread locker on them.
The installation of the passenger side speaker is similar, but it is a tighter fit due to the ductwork for the defroster vent below the speaker hole. It took some wiggling and pushing down to get the speaker into position, and clearing the sheet metal closest to the windshield.
The OEM speaker grills have a ring on the bottom side that meets up with foam that is on top of the factory dash speakers. I used an angle grinder and sanding disc to carefully sand away/remove both rings, so that the back of the grills was essentially flat, and no speaker interference would occur.
Snap the speaker grills back into place, and the installation is done.
Now crank up some tunes, and enjoy the much improved sounds, as well as the satisfaction that you did it yourself!!
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