I currently have 2001 4Runner SR5 with stock stereo, which came with CD/Tape/AM-FM deck, amplifier and 6 speakers.

I'm thinking of replacing all the components with something that will sound better, while not drilling any additional holes or making any visible changes. If I understand, front doors have 6.5" speakers plus 1" tweeters and rear doors have just 5.25" speakers.

My deck will be Pioneer DEH-8400, which has 3 RCA outs plus all the standard wiring. Since I probably won't be using RCA, here come the questions:

1. Should I leave the stock Toyota amp, or should I upgrade to another one? If I do need to upgrade, which one should I get to power all speakers, without loosing ability for front/rear fade? And where would be the best place to put it, making it invisible?

2. If I'll get Inifinity 5.25", Infinity 6.5" and Infinity 1" tweeters, will I be able to swap them out without any additional drilling or wiring? I'm pretty sure I can do that with speakers, but I'm not exactly certain about 1" tweeters.

3. Are there any particular brands you would recommend for speakers which are good for 4Runner? I'm interested in speakers which will produce just enough bass, but must have clear and crisp sound at the same time w/o any additional subs or boxes?

Thank you much in advance,
-- Andrey

 

1. no no no no if your going to leave the stock toyota amp dont even bother changing anything. Besides that you probably cant even use it, it would depend on the impedenace the amp outputs.
USE RCA's much better sound qaulity.

2. Go inifinity, i think you will like them very much. go kappa. For an amp i like pheonix gold alot, jls are really nice. It all depends on budget. Give me an idea and ill give specifics. Can comment on the install dont have an 01

3. Infinity Kappa

www.thezeb.com the lowest price you will find with full warranty

 

why did the designers think that my ears are by my ankles? The rear speaker is literally 2 inches from my ankle. Those speakers are worthless....

 

As a word of warning, the rear speakers are NOT 5.25". I fitted a 5.25" and it was too big. You could shave away to fit them though, or probably force them in there. 4" is what I went with, and they're fine for me. The don't fully seal the hole they're in, so you lose some of the mid-bass from them, but it satisfies me. They are actually 5" in the rear, stupid Toyota sized speakers... Also, you WILL have to drill holes for the rears, as again Toyota has come up with the genius idea of only using 3 screws in a trigonal planar pattern to mount the rear speakers. I mounted them with 1 pre-existant hole and just drilled the other 3 right into the plastic. It's covered by the door panel though so it's invisible. You'll need a 4-channel amp if you want full control or front and rears. Best invisible place in under the driver's seat. Next best would be in the cargo area storage pocket, and after that hidden as best as possible in the cargo area. I wanted to hide my amps at first, but then changed my mind. If you mount it in the back though make sure you have enough RCA cable. I'd say go with a new amp if you have the DEH-P8400, otherwise you'd be wasting it! If you wanted to you could even power the speakers directly off the head unit. What does it have, like 4x50w? I think that's what my DEH-P9300 has. Well that's my $0.02.

Zach

 

I would honestly just add the deck to start with. I think you will be pretty suprised what you hear. You will NOT use the factory amp, the pioneer actually probably makes more power. I'm sure some of these guys will spout off tons of high end components you could use (ducks in advance), but to most people they're not needed unless the factory stuff is beat up real bad.

 

I'm w/ PhxTRDRunner. Me personally, I am using an Alpine head unit and 12 disc changer. Most head units have built-in amps, so an external one isn't necessary. I did; however, replace my factory speakers. I am using MB Quart's in the front and rear. I had no problems w/ the fit. I also added a box w/ 4 - 8" JL Audio's. I am using 2 Phoenix Gold Amps to run everything. I will try to post some pics of my install shortly.

 

How difficult is it to replace the factory deck?

I found excellent instructions for replacing door speakers (here), but haven't seen any instructions for replacing the deck on '01-'02 4Runners. Are there any write-ups out there?

Thanks again for all the help!
-- Andrey

 

if you have the money, get it done professionally. If not well then.... yeah i have an 86 4runner so im not much help

 

Replacing the factory deck is very easy. I have an '01 as well, and did just the deck install for under $10. All you need is the little kit that utilizes the stock hole. Get it from any large local car audio shop, that's what I did. You will need to tap into 2 leads: one that is all-time and one that is turned on by the key. I found these with a borrowed volt meter. If it is only the head unit you are replacing, you can just bypass the factory amp and use the factory wiring. You'd need to splice into your speaker leads. Then you need to have antenna control -- my antenna goes up whenever the HU is on, not only for the radio, so I don't know if I spliced into the wrong wire or what, but my reception is loud and clear. That will give you what you want I think, although the Pioneer HU might blow your factory speakers! Here's a pic of mine installed (I have an EQ in the lower part of the head unit kit).




Zach

 

Along with the dash kit (which you really only need a toyota pocket (looks cleaner IMO) you will also need a toyota wiring harness that will plug directly into the plugs that currently plug into the factory amplifier. This will make the installation painless as possible and retail factory wiring in case you ever want to go back to stock.

Have fun!

 

PHX, earlier u said the u will not be using the factory amp. just so Andrey doesn't get confused, the harness u r talking about DOES NOT get plugged into the factory amp, just the harness that leads to all the speakers. me personally, i removed the factory amp all together. less confusion.



as far as installation, w/ the correct harness from your local audio shop, it's a breeze. i thought the harness already had a ground and +12v(constant). the only wire i remember connecting was the yellow +12v(switched) one.

 

Thank you so much for all the help and advice!

I finally installed everything (deck, 4 speakers, amp) and it wasn't too difficult at all!

I have one more question though. I used my older Kenwood amp to power up everything and apparently this amp is a lousy product, since I get cracking noise in all my speakers now once amp is connected, but everythign works flawlessly without an amp. While I'm thinking about getting Phoenix Gold amplifier instead, which one would be good 4-channel PG amp, and which will be reasonbly priced (less than $300-$400)?

-- Andrey

 

check out eBay. if u want new, look at the titanium or tantrum series. used, there are some M44's.

 

I actually was looking at new Octane-R series, and 5.0:4 in particular. PG Octane-R seem to be very reasonbly priced, while offering the same features as high-end models.

Would you think getting PG Octane-R would be a good choice?

Thanks,
-- Andrey

 

I too have the DEH-P8400. I replaced only the head unit and added one 10" Infinity Kappa sub using a MTX 2202 Amp. If I read correctly, you said you used an amp. As said before, try it without any amp (use the head unit's). Why would you spend the money on an amp to run these speakers when you aleady are getting 50Wx4. It sounds like you're not running a sub, so you won't need any more power to bring out highs and mids in the speakers. You can use the head unit's settings to increase low end quite a bit and you'd be really suprised what you can do with a only one small sub. My 10" is louder and cleaner than a dual 12" Bandpass I had in my old car.

This head unit takes some finess to get it really sounding good because it is sooooo customizeable. If you want any advice on settings, let me know.

GL and HF,

Nick

 

BlueTrane,

Does your DEH-P8400 dim when you turn on your headlights? I'm not sure if I didn't connect everything correctly, or is this only a feauture of Pioneer decks, but my doesn't dim for some reason.

-- Andrey

 

Andrey,

Mine does not dim. I believe there is an option to make it do this though. Try holding down the function button while the unit is off. I'm not sure so I'll check tomorrow. If all else fails, I'll check my manual.

Nick

 

Correct, even with dim option ON my 8400 still doesn't dim.

To get to that option, just turn off the stereo by holding SOURCE button for a few seconds. After that hold down FUNCTION button for a few seconds more and by pressing FUNCTION several more times you should be able to get to the dim option. I believe it is 5th or 6th one.

Thanks again,
-- Andrey

 

Would anyone else who has Pioneer CD deck can try dim / undim option and post here if it works?

Thanks,
-- Andrey

 

andrey how many watts do you want for the 4 channel??? 75x4 100x4 125x4???????