What have you done to your 5th Gen 4Runner today?

Wasn't a personal attack. It's a $40 tweeter but you're paying more than twice that for the convenience of plug and play. Do a little homework into the 3.5" speaker swap. Easy to make plug and play, no dash mods are needed besides shaving down the cone on the back side of the tweeter grill, and the result is far superior to just a tweeter upgrade. The open system is not terrible as far as OEM systems go however they are extremely lacking in the midrange area. The 3.5" 2 way speaker in the dash makes up for a lot of what is lacking. Reused the OEM plugs from the stock tweeters, bypassed the OEM capacitor on the plug, soldered the capacitor that came with the JBL speakers between a piece of wire I already had, a little shrink tube, plug and play.

 

Glad you said it wasn't a personal attack Dude....LOL

I think you are right as far as tweeter only or 2 way.....but swapping out the stock tweeter is still a lot better than stock ..... I was also thinking of doing the Focal 6x9 component set to replace both the door/tweet at the same time. Obviously pushing it from stock deck with expensive speakers is not the proper route. I would also add an Amp to maximize the sound. More to come as I decide.......THX

 

Try and find just the woofers and pair them with a 3.5 in the dash. The Focal kit gets pretty good reviews but a lot of people say that midrange is still lacking. Also if you buy them and decide to use them as is, paint the silver tweeter bracket black before installing them. You would be amazed how badly they glare off the windshield on a sunny day, even through the grill.

 

I've run several sets on my Tacoma's in the past. Imo they're the best hiway tire there is. They're unmatched in wet/snow traction unless you go to a dedicated winter tire. And they last FOREVER. They'll typically start to crack long before tread life is done. They're also almost silent.

I see the extra cost as being money well spent. You get it back on the far end. You can pay $600 for tires that'll run 30-50k or you can spend $900 for tires that will run 90k miles.

 

Xprite white rock light mount under rear bumper corner pieces and wired to rear hatch dome lights.



Trimmed rear splash guards.

 

Pretty bright at night all LED’s

 

First bath since I got my list of “to do’s” done. BFG 285’s, FN Fx Pros 17x8’s, Bilstein 5100’s up front and rear, Toytec Springs, and Pro front grille....well worth the wait to do it all at once.

 

I appreciate both sides of this discussion. For me plug and play truly means plug and play no mods at all. I also agree swapping out tweeters may not be the best option ,but from what I’ve read it’s a decent option. My days of having a banging system are long over but I do like decent quality sound. So I did go for the tweeter swap as it was the easiest thing to do. Hopefully I’ll see the improvement others have or I’ve wasted 100.00.

 

I understand both sides of the coin. I've been in the car audio industry for 20 years and I just hate to see people throw money away. With that said, if anyone wants to set up a plug and play system, let me know. We can work something out where I do the wiring work and ship you the completed package ready to install.

 

WOW.....I like your offer my friend. Do you work in the audio industry or own a shop? I like to upgrade all the speakers minus the sub.....What are your recommendations? I also like to install it myself if possible. THX

 

I ran a shop for 10 years, entered the industry in 1999 and left it professionally in 2011 to move on to bigger things. I still do it for fun though since I do still enjoy it. If you have the JBL system, you really should bypass the OEM amp when replacing speakers and add an aftermarket amp that can properly power your new speakers.

 

Cool.....I do not have the JBL system. I have added a sub with LC6....sounds great
Now I want more sound out of the stock speakers.......Recommendations?

 

Depends on how deep you want to get into it. Personally I had done a system where all I did was install the JBL GTO series 3.5" speakers in the dash, 6x9 speakers in the doors, and 6.5" speakers in the back doors, stock still in the tailgate. The factory stereo definitely doesn't have the power to fully drive these speakers but the improvement in sound was significant. Add a 4 channel amp to that to power the 4 doors, use the stereo to power the 3.5 in the dash, and you will be happy. This is all assuming you're looking for a relatively simple upgrade and not looking to spend big $ on multiple amps, DSP, all that good stuff.

 

IMO, there are two routes to go... 1. Try a few plug and play speaker swaps and hopefully it makes a noticeable improvement. 2. Open a can of worms with removing seats and adding new amps and wiring harnesses, etc (have done that before when I had more time, and desire for a "killer system").

I bought the tweeters too, and I'll try to do a sound comparison with a digital audio recorder before and after. I'm assuming it will be noticeable. If it helps, I may upgrade the door speakers eventually, and if it feels like I need/want more power, I'll deal with adding an an amp. Mostly I'm just looking for a bit cleaner sound. With the stock setup, it sounds decent, but a bit muddy for my taste.

I bet if you bought the tweeters from Amazon and they don't sound any better, you can return them. No $ wasted.

 

I really like the stance of your truck. Can you list what you did for your lift? I'm debating a few kits (Toytec Boss vs. Icon Stage 2) and wondering if it makes sense or cheaper to piece it together?

You went with the FN wheels instead of the TRD wheels. Where you concerned with the 7" rim width and the 285s? Or do it for another reason?

 

Good idea and I was already thinking exactly what you just suggested but since I was replacing all the speakers, I might as well do the tailgate 6 1/2 as well and add a 6 channel Amp. The LC6 will help out keeping the stock deck

 

Just keep in mind the rear doors and tailgate are wired in series. You will have to rewire the 2 rear doors and tailgate in order to run a 6 channel for the 6 door speakers.

 

Excellent info.....If it is in series, running a 4 channel would suffice and just use the stock deck to drive the rear tailgate speakers. Thoughts?

 

Stock stereo would be best to power the tailgate and dash. New 4ch to power the front and rear doors.

 

Blacked out mirrors

 

Tvd color matched logo instead of the total black out. Did the front logo also.. Dumbs down the bling a bit and something diffrent

 

My experience now having them on since April. I installed them in April, warmer weather and did hear a crack when rolling windows. I think it was the thin flange ina few places but are fine. The double sticky tape needs to be replaced every 4 months. Call weather tech and have them send you a small roll

I just looked at mine yesterday and the rear ones have come up taped again and will fall down if the window is rolled down.

 

I’ve used the AVS ones for a couple of months now and haven’t had any issues at all with them

 

Also a car audio guy 23 years now.
Working for an OEM supplier now.
Installed my 2010-2013 lid cubby with aqua ambient LED wired to dimmer to match dash lights.

 

Question about Rav4 mirror replacement. What years from Rav4 mirrors? DEALERSHIP?
THX

 

RAV4 mirrors from 2016-2018. Without BSM.
Here’s my TW thread.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2016-rav4-convex-mirrors.468473/

 

Thanks for the heads up! I hope mine don’t do the same thing but time will tell. I honestly would’ve thought the right fit alone would be enough to keep them in place. I never really felt like the tape was doing a whole lot

 

I can't stand the stock speakers..!
I will definitely keep you in mind... thanx

 

This past weekend, earned my Appalachian Pinstripes. Went with our Toyota group to Flagpole Knob, G.W. National Forest:


.

 

I think what happens is the weatherstripping over time gets molded to the inserts and makes it a bit loose, then the tape fails. I was thinking to put a small dab or two of high grade silicon as an adhesive which might be a bit more permanat but still can be removed