Best easy rear hatch speaker replacement?

[ColoradoFrosty]

I have had the whole system redone except the rear hatch. Local CarToys that has done a great job seems to be 2nd guessing the rear hatch replacements as there is not a lot of room.

Figure I can swap in something back there myself if it's straight forward.

Searched and spent some time on options but still scratching my head a little.

Don't necessarily need real high end back there but need to get away fro stock.

Recommendations? Is Dynamating the whole lift gate worth it back there?

 

[Go JayBee]

I used Infinity Kappa 6.5" drivers. They fit perfectly.
And, I did line as much of the Tailgate with sound deadening as possible.
Be aware, however, of the additional weight you will be gaining...even with just the speakers.
You'll end up having to replace the struts for some heavy-duty ones.
Check out "Mr. Lou's Stuff"...they know there "stuff" when t comes to struts.

Good luck,
JayBee

 

[ColoradoFrosty]

I used Infinity Kappa 6.5" drivers. They fit perfectly.
And, I did line as much of the Tailgate with sound deadening as possible.
Be aware, however, of the additional weight you will be gaining...even with just the speakers.
You'll end up having to replace the struts for some heavy-duty ones.
Check out "Mr. Lou's Stuff"...they know there "stuff" when t comes to struts.

Good luck,
JayBee

Thanks JayBee. Yeah, additional sound deadening always pays off it seems. Oh and I do have heavy-duty struts already on for the rear ladder. (The ladder that may go away before long when I get the rear swingout bumper.)

Anyhow... so it appears that there are different Kappas... these?
Amazon.com: Infinity Kappa 62.11i 6.75" 2 way CAR Audio Speakers (Pair) Kappa 62.11i: Electronics

 

[Hawaiian4runner]

I have had the whole system redone except the rear hatch. Local CarToys that has done a great job seems to be 2nd guessing the rear hatch replacements as there is not a lot of room.

Figure I can swap in something back there myself if it's straight forward.

Searched and spent some time on options but still scratching my head a little.

Don't necessarily need real high end back there but need to get away fro stock.

Recommendations? Is Dynamating the whole lift gate worth it back there?

Also went with Kappa 6.5" coaxials. Good enough and really cheap on Amazon. Not great sound but pretty damn good and really who cares way back there. Made quick and easy mounts from 5/8" MDF.

Matting was the hardest part cause it's cramped and access is not that easy. Matted where I could reach through the speaker hole and access panel. In the end, I'm not driving a lot of bass through them so the matting probably has minimal benefit anyway except for quieting some road noise.

 

[ColoradoFrosty]

Thanks!

Anyone have a specific Kappa that will be the best fit?

Looking at Infinity website there are numerous Kappa series speaker options.

 

[sandcrawler]

i did Polk MM651s and a few sheets of RAAMmat in the liftgate. just cut out the JBL speakers and used the original mounts as brackets for the Polks. i keep my rear seats flat 99.9% of the time—sounds way, way better. now i just need to get ambitious enough to put some dampening behind the JBL sub...

 

[Hawaiian4runner]

Thanks!

Anyone have a specific Kappa that will be the best fit?

Looking at Infinity website there are numerous Kappa series speaker options.

Pretty much any 6.5" speaker will fit. For the price, have heard a lot of good reviews for the Polks, Infinitys and some JBLs. Anything more than $30 a pair is better than the cheapo stock speakers. Main thing is to check depth. Coaxials are good cause you get a full range speaker in one. In any event, you have to fabricate some mounting plates. A lot of guys cut out the stock speakers from the mounts but in the end you get a flimsy hard plastic mount and way to much work. MDF does absorb moisture over time so not the best material but easy to get. I've seen some nice mounts made from a plastic cutting board or if you really don't want to fabricate anything,Tacotunes.com sells some nice mounts but I think they're a little pricey. I used MDF cause I had some at home. Sprayed it with clear coat to help prevent water absorbtion. 3 years now in a wet and humid environment and still no swelling or deterioration of the MDF.

You want the mounts to be as thick as possible without the speakers touching the grill. 5/8" or 3/4" thick works well. Plus this gives you more depth for clearance in the back of the speaker.

 

[ColoradoFrosty]

Pretty much any 6.5" speaker will fit. For the price, have heard a lot of good reviews for the Polks, Infinitys and some JBLs. Anything more than $30 a pair is better than the cheapo stock speakers. Main thing is to check depth.

Depth is the main issue I think. What's the max depth we can go on the rear lift gate speakers?

Thanks!

 

[Perfection]

I had no problems with speaker depths in any doors using 1/2" MDF speaker adaptors and Focal IS/IC 165s. Matter of fact, there seems to be at least an inch of room behind the speakers. Make sure to waterproof them. As others have noted, if you want to add sound deadening (as I did also) be aware of the extra weight added to the lift gate. My springs will barely open and I didn't even add the "full treatment" (sound deadener showdown products). I'd suggest Focal, JL Audio, or MB Quart speakers, and stay away from Infiniti and Polk.

 

[ColoradoFrosty]

Thanks Perfection. I am a JL Audio and Focal person myself. I'll checkout those Focals, may stay with JL as I have with everything else in the 4runner.

 

[ColoradoFrosty]

This weekend I got the Focal ISC 165 installed. Last years model sounded much better than the current model so went with that. Sounds fantastic and I am surprised at how those back hatch speakers ended up filling the sound in. Makes a huge difference for those in 2nd row seats.

Also Dynamated, came out great. I was skeptical on investing in good speakers back there but pleasantly surprised!

Thanks for everyone's input. The final upgrade on the sound system is complete! :beer:

 

[4Funnr]

Yeah but does anybody know whether the TacoTunes speaker mounts fit any of the 5th gens?

Their website stops at 2009 4runners.

 

[jasonv]

check out the videos, they do an install on a 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGCGholXwLk&list=PLFuSO7p8sCy10Vk2DvJcxCy7xCidVhEXf