Extra Storage Space Mod

[harper7]

I took all my back panels out to put sound deadening and found some extra storage places. Underneath those 2 tray looking things on top of the rear wheels,especially the one on the drivers side there is a some space to put stuff.

Not a whole lot,maybe a cubic foot but if you wanted to do some more modding there is alot more unused spaces along the sides.You can't see in the pics but it goes back under. Look at the first pic to see what I'm talking about. Under the one on the pass side is the inverter for the rear and my JBL amp/sub so not as much space.

The bad part is you have to take the rear panels out to get access to the 2 screws that hold them in. It's in the repair manual how to get them out. After I took the 2 screws out and took them out I cut all but 4 of the tabs that hold them in off with diagonal cutters. After I put it in and want to open it , I simply press outward a little and the last inboard tab releases.They snap right back in place. It shows in the pic what I cut.

after covering with e-dead,doubled it up on the right side where the muffler is,then I layered with close cell deadening foam

 

[J.A.]

Very nice idea for some extra storage! I can't believe that Toyota cannot come up with a better solution to make some better storage areas out of all that wasted space on the 4G and 5G 4R's.

 

[harper7]

I can't believe that Toyota cannot come up with a better solution to make some better storage areas out of all that wasted space on the 4G and 5G 4R's.

Tell me about it. If you look at that first pic .....all that wasted space on the outside . You could fit a hi lift jack in there.
If somebody does'nt have JBL Nav, there should be a huge hole to store stuff back there as the amp/sub is about 8-10" deep.Here's pics of that side.

 

[jreiter]

Ah, very good. You used vibration/resonance deadening material *and* foam. Have you noticed a good reduction in noise? How about muffler noise? I seem to recall you mentioning a while back that your muffler was a bit aggressive?

So many people only use vibration dampers/deadeners (like e-dead, Dynamat, etc) and expect it to kill road noise. Gotta use a good, dense foam for that! Glad to see you did both. That's gotta make a noticeable difference.

 

[fraggy]

Could you say more on the sound deadening materials that you used and where is the best place to get the most benefit out of the limited. I notice on acceleration the limited is noiser than my old 2004 v8 sport. Did you do anything under the hood with regard to sound deadening.

 

[ThirdToy]

Great Job! I only imagine how quieter it is inside now. With all those panels off, have you gotten the bug to replace that subwoofer? Can you simply replace it with a much better (almost any would probably be an upgrade) aftermarket sub (and still use the factory amp?)? :naughty:

 

[Quentin]

Harper - did you sound dead the doors as well? The only thing about the 4Runner that drives me crazy is the sound the handles make inside the door when you open the door with any force from the outside. When the handle hits all the way out, it makes a less-than-appealing noise inside the door behind the handle.

 

[kmiller8821]

You never cease to amaze me Gary. I think thru your pics I've now seen more of my truck than I'd normally ever see. lol. I recall you saying your doors were like "bank vaults" now with the materials in those, I can only imagine how quiet it is now. Excellent writeup as always. :bigok:

 

[kingpin748]

Do you have a job or do you just hang out in your garage and modify your truck all day?

 

[westwind77]

Wow, surprised you did not add armor since you had it taken apart so far!:biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2:

 

[jreiter]

With all those panels off, have you gotten the bug to replace that subwoofer? Can you simply replace it with a much better (almost any would probably be an upgrade) aftermarket sub (and still use the factory amp?)? :naughty:

You have to be a bit careful there. The factory JBL amplifier is actually a very weak, low power amplifier designed specifically for the JBL speakers that come with the car. If you throw a high quality sub in there, the factory JBL amp might not be able to power it well at all. That's the trouble with these highly integrated systems (JBL, Bose, etc). All of the components are typically very low power, inexpensive components carefully tuned to work together. It's difficult to replace certain parts and leave the rest without negatively affecting the sound.

In the case of the sub, they probably have a pretty high tweaked crossover system, and the low-pass being used on the factory sub might not work well with an aftermarket sub. Your best bet would be to replace all of it at once, including aftermarket amps. That's an expensive route, but it'll give you the best sound.

 

[iDRiVaT4R]

I'm still waiting to do mine, do you have any tips for taking off the side panels without breaking the clips, or are new clips pretty much a requirement? I broke a couple when I routed my CB Coax antenna to the rear.

Also, it looks like you used basic egg crate foam, is that what all that is or something more specific?

I'm sure you did the doors too, did you put any foam in there or just the sound deadener sheets since the foam would most likely interfere with the windows?

Thanks Gary for all the info

 

[ciaz]

Awesome work, Harper.

I'm very interested in seeing how you did the doors. Can you give us some pointers?

 

[harper7]

Could you say more on the sound deadening materials that you used and where is the best place to get the most benefit out of the limited. Did you do anything under the hood with regard to sound deadening.

I used eDead 45 and bought 8 rolls or 240 sq ft. So far I've done all 5 doors and from the front seats back and have used 5 rolls.I doubled up in alot of places that I thought would benefit.Elemental Designs: Car Stereo, Home Speakers, Electronics It's a little cheaper on Ebay!
I used neoprene closed cell foam over the eDead and open cell foam as a filler that I get from boxes that jet engine parts are shipped in and had saved up from the garbage. Bought a sheet of the 1/4" high quality neoprene here and need to order another.... Neoprene Sheets, Rubber, Poker Table Foam, Neoprene Pads.
Everyplace is the best place I guess is the answer. I 'm going to take my front seats,console and the dash out here in the near future to do them.

With all those panels off, have you gotten the bug to replace that subwoofer? Can you simply replace it with a much better (almost any would probably be an upgrade) aftermarket sub (and still use the factory amp?)? :naughty:

I had a JBL 8 inch sub on order and it was'nt in stock so I cancelled the order as I'm not sure what kind of sub to use now(8ohm or 4ohm),plus this one sounds alot better not that I deadened back there. These 8" factory subs have 2 connections (2 pos and 2 neg) and not sure how to hook up an aftermarket. I put 2 really good MB Quart 6 iinch subs in the front doors and they have plenty of good clean low thump for me. I'm not into the thump where people 3 cars back are looking around saying WTF . I put a pair of 12 inch kickers with a 1000w amp in another car that kept shaking my rearview mirror loose and a few fillings. Been there done that,not into that anymore !I replaced all the speakers except the 8"sub.

Factory 8 inch sub with 2 connections?2 pos and 2 neg WTF?Could use a little help explaining 2 connections and finding a efficient 8"replacement

Harper - did you sound dead the doors as well? The only thing about the 4Runner that drives me crazy is the sound the handles make inside the door when you open the door with any force from the outside. When the handle hits all the way out, it makes a less-than-appealing noise inside the door behind the handle.

The doors were the first thing as they sounded hollow and tinny. I'll post up some pics and a video of before and after on my Mod thread as I'm still sorting thru them.I just put eDead in them because did'nt foam want to interfere with the windows and the moisture.I may go back in?100% IMPROVEMENT THOUGH!

You have to be a bit careful there. The factory JBL amplifier is actually a very weak, low power amplifier designed specifically for the JBL speakers that come with the car. If you throw a high quality sub in there, the factory JBL amp might not be able to power it well at all. That's the trouble with these highly integrated systems (JBL, Bose, etc). All of the components are typically very low power, inexpensive components carefully tuned to work together. It's difficult to replace certain parts and leave the rest without negatively affecting the sound.

In the case of the sub, they probably have a pretty high tweaked crossover system, and the low-pass being used on the factory sub might not work well with an aftermarket sub. Your best bet would be to replace all of it at once, including aftermarket amps. That's an expensive route, but it'll give you the best sound.

The factory amp is not that low power. Who told you it was?It's a JBL 650 watt 5 channel amp with built in crossovers and relays and is actually pretty good for OEM.Your right though there are alot better aftermarket of course but it would take a whole car re-wire as the oem wiring is wierd because of the party mode relay . The factory amp is'nt the cleanest sounding but it definitely rocks with effecient aftermarket speakers. The key is quality speakers that are efficient to get the most out of the amp we have to work with. I went with JL Audio in the back,Infinity Kappa's up front(had JL Audio's in but didn't like them)and MB Quart subs in the front doors and of course the Pioneer Z120-BT.Sounds way better and I'm happy with the sound and volume and that's what matters to me. Not who's got the bigger one......amp that is.Been there done that but now resist the car stereo OCD.lol
I'm into heavy metal bands like Pantera ....plenty of punch and they sound great on this set-up ... met them as they are a local band that made it !

 

[alleyman84]

Excellent pics, thanks! I've always wanted to see how the inverter was mounted. I have opened up the cover on the drivers side similar to you to route some wires back to the area where the spare tire jack is stored but you can't really see the big picture with just the cover off.

 

[harper7]

Excellent pics, thanks! I've always wanted to see how the inverter was mounted. I have opened up the cover on the drivers side similar to you to route some wires back to the area where the spare tire jack is stored but you can't really see the big picture with just the cover off.

Here are some more to see what's under there...... Picasa Web Albums - 7 harper7 - Interior Soun...
I have some more of the door installs to go thru yet.

 

[hrt4me]

Ah, very good. You used vibration/resonance deadening material *and* foam. Have you noticed a good reduction in noise? How about muffler noise? I seem to recall you mentioning a while back that your muffler was a bit aggressive?

So many people only use vibration dampers/deadeners (like e-dead, Dynamat, etc) and expect it to kill road noise. Gotta use a good, dense foam for that! Glad to see you did both. That's gotta make a noticeable difference.

can you offer any good suggested recommendations for a quality dense foam to help reduce road noise?

 

[terra4r]

Factory 8 inch sub with 2 connections?2 pos and 2 neg WTF?Could use a little help explaining 2 connections and finding a efficient 8"replacement

Don't have the JBL, but have some experience with subs. Could be a dual voice coil (DVC) woofer, hence the two connection terminals. Can't help you with the impedance though, but should be on the woofer I'd think.

 

[platinumb]

The factory sub is a dual voice coil sub both at e4 ohm voice coils wired in parallel to give the amp a 2 ohm load if you replace is it is best to use a dual 4 ohm voice coil speaker or single voice coil 2ohm they will both work.

 

[harper7]

Factory 8 inch sub with 2 connections?2 pos and 2 neg WTF?Could use a little help explaining 2 connections and finding a efficient 8"replacement

Don't have the JBL, but have some experience with subs. Could be a dual voice coil (DVC) woofer, hence the two connection terminals. Can't help you with the impedance though, but should be on the woofer I'd think.

Thanks

The factory sub is a dual voice coil sub both at e4 ohm voice coils wired in parallel to give the amp a 2 ohm load if you replace is it is best to use a dual 4 ohm voice coil speaker or single voice coil 2ohm they will both work.

Where did you get the specs for the OEM sub?

Which of these 2 Alpine Type R 8 inch subs would make a good replacement. I take it the SWR-843D with dual 4 ohms and then wire it in parallel ,same as factory.Or would the SWR-823D be more efficient.Alpine Type R 8 inch DVC Subs. Maybe Santa will bring one!
I know other subs with a separate amp would be better but I'm trying to keep it in the same factory enclosure with the factory JBL amp.