I am looking for tips/advice on installing 6.5" speakers into the rear doors of my '97 4Runner SR5. The current opening is for a 5.25" speaker.

Has anyone attempted this? I know it is possible, but wonder how easy it would be with a dremel and a spare saturday afternoon.

Thanks in advance guys

 

trimming sheet metal/plastic would not be the problem mounting depth would be the issue.
The 6.5s are usually much deeper than the 5.25s and might interfere with the window operation. If you had some shallow mount 6.5s though all would be good.

 

is it feasible? do you have scissors? do you have a blow torch? do you have plasma cutter?

if you can answer yes to any of those, then yes it's feasible.

 

Thanks Aviator, it appears that the mounting depth is 2.5" for both front and rear doors, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Authority, I'm looking for some helpful information rather than an off-the-cuff remark that I obviously addressed in my initial post. Next time before posting, read the entire post instead of just the title.

Is there anyone that has done something similar that has some advice or tips?

 

lucky, u actually have speakers in your door. mine are in the dash... and sound like garbage.

 

id stick with the 5.25'' speakers

 

Elton, why?

 

cause they fit with out hacking and cutting to make them fit

 

BURN!!! lol!

Not sure about the speaker mounts though. Theres 2/5" of depth so does that mean the bigger speakers are just as deep as the others? If not and you are dead set on those 6.5" once you could bring the speaker out and mount into a pod of sorts. Like make it out of some wood covered in fiberglass and then smooth with body puddy. That would give a "molded" look for the speaker itself. idk...thinking off-the-cuff.

 

It's not that hard to do and not even TOYOTA related.

You're wanting to fit a Large Round Speaker and mount it there.

If the depth fits then you use 4 self tapping screws then put the cover on afterwards.

It's easier than you think ....

 

If for some reason the mounting depth is an issue I will definately go back to the 5.25s. I want the door panel to look stock so I'm not going to bring the speaker outside the door -- which is also why the "hacking and cutting" doesn't worry me to much, it will be covered up.

The speakers I ordered last night have a 2.3" mounting depth so hopefully a little grinding and cutting is all it takes.

 

what speakers?

 

You can get speaker adapters from Crutchfield, paint them to match your interior and your 6.5" will look good. I run Kenwood 5.25" 3 ways in my doors because I will never hit their 50Watt operating rating but some people like their sound higher than that. Good luck with whatever you decide upon.

 

so this is your door? is the speaker firmly pressed against the door panel or can you use a depth extended to put in a larger speaker?

 

I picked up these last night http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QA6QSY

I'm going to pop the door panels off tonight or tomorrow and take a good look at what I'm getting myself into.

 

*edit
Yes, that is my door.

 

You might run into some contact issues fitting the 6.5s behind the stock grill.

To answer the question most people switch to a 6.5 because they can usually handle more power and provide a richer tone colour then the 5.25s.

 

You get some hefty 5.25's though with depth extenders.

 

I was actually considering doing something like that as well...except...I wanted to put two small subs in there since I have nice loud components in the front but then I found these...

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=264-831

now...i've only thought up to the point of fitting something in there as I want to move out those large bulky 12's taking up all the cargo area...its gonna be a different story trying to figure out what frequencies are going to resonate in the doors and how to eq those things plus dampening...but it would probably provide enough bass as long you don't expect that huge kick in your chest...plus...i'm not sure if these things will even come close to clearing the front or the back side... haha ...like i said i just wanted to know if there was anything that would fit back there as well...