Prius Speaker Replacement Guide by ~sparky~

Actually, that's what I was thinking, but I checked two charts and even did a hand calculation and came with up with the same results for a 3.9 uF cap and a 4 ohm speaker. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't know what. Now it is a gentle roll off since it is a single cap and not a inductor/cap arrangement. Maybe it has something to do with that. Also there is the frequency response of the tweeter itself. It seems maybe this somewhat odd crossover frequency takes that into account. Anyway, those are just some guesses.

 

Sweet, sparky... excellent!

Hey, you forgot to figure in your time tho! hehe.. I'm sure you're worth at least what, $150/hr? X 10 hours total labor? more? You're looking at a $2,000+ system there mate!

Seriously, I'm going to take a plunge sometime late this week by taking my brand spanking new vehicle in for a professional install (i know, i just lost all pride) and I still am not sure what exact pkg I'm going to install! lol

One request however, could you share trade secretes in maybe a rough, 3-step guide, how you went about disassembling your dash?

Start from right side then worked everything to left forinstance? or Left, working right? both sides working in to center little by little? you know..

You can PM me if you prefer, np.

Thanks a million.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanH\";p=\"99511)</div>

I think the tweeters are 6 ohm, which would make it a 6.8khz at 6db/octave.

EDIT: I went back and looked at that picture and I think the 4 ohm label that you can see in the picture is actually a resistor glued to the back of the tweeter. I can't see what the wiring is from the picture so I don't know what the resistor is there for, but it could be in series with the tweeter for attenuation, or it could be in parallel for damping oscillation.

EDITED AGAIN If it's the former, the crossover frequency would be lower. It occurs to me that the 6 ohm value mentioned for the tweeter in another thread may or may not include that resistor which may be in series or parallel, so without having a closer look I can't really give a value for the xover freq, but if the resistor is in series, it would be lower than the 6.8khz I posted above.

 

http://www.vfaq.net/FAQ-stereo.html has the impedance of both the base and JBL speakers.

Bottom line - if you just replace the speakers on the JBL system, be ready to be VERY disappointed in the sound levels. Or be ready to mess with your own crossovers, etc, as the JBL system uses non-standard impedances.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(~sparky~\";p=\"100001)</div>

4ga is overkill when running to the aux battery, but if you're pushing high watts, I wouldn't go with 14ga. 10 or 8 should still be easy to run and should work decently well.

What went wrong with the 4ga?

 

Has anyone out there tried or considered the Infinity Kappa Series 63.7i? Sparky, I know you used the 62.7i and were thrilled with the results. I just wonder what kind of difference the 3-way speaker will provide....more mid-range? Is it worth it? Any input is appreciated.

Eric

 

Just followed Sparky's guide and replaced my speakers. I used the kappa's with coax for the rear and 2 way componenents for the front.

I used the plastic mount. After removing the rivets I put in new ones with threads. I used the plastic as a guide. It would help to center it if you put screws in the 4 speaker mount holes so they just fit in the hole. I didn't do that and got some centered better than others! Anyway I found 1 hole I could re-use for a rivet. Then added two new holes for the rest. I installed with silicone caulk around the plastic mount and then the speaker mounting plate with grille. I put it all in with a bit of foam weather strip on the top, so it seals against the door panel like the original. It just fits perfectly that way, elimiinating sound leakage around through the big plastic covered holes.

I used ties and silicone caulk to attach the crossovers to the bottom of the door inner sheet metal, below where the window can reach. Clearance was not a problem for the rear, but the front window goes lower and just fits.

I cut and pulled out the tweeter wires. Then rerouted the feet line down to the crossovers. Had to crimp on big butt splice terminals to the wires to fit the component crossover. The clamps could not hold the tiny wires tightly.

Sound is now far better and once I get my sub-woofer in, that I saved from my old car, it should be great.

 

Well, I replaced the rear speakers about 2 months ago and delayed replacing the front because of some of the comments about it not making a large improvement. They were wrong. The front speaker replacement made more of an improvement than the rear ones.

Replacing the front speakers was a piece of work. h34r: I took a bunch of pix and will do a write up similar to sparky's with pix. I found that if you were very careful there is room between the plastic door panel and the sheetmetal to mount the crossover so you could pop one or two of the holddowns and reach the boost switch. Also, by removing the metal speaker grill on the tweeder it will mount, with minimal trimming of the plastic, directly where the original tweeter mounted. I used some black rubberbased sealer to "set" the tweeter against the enclosure with a small dab on instant glue on the back to hold it in-place. The rubber sealer replaces the foam cushion on the original tweeter.

Just a reminder, before you venture into replacing the front speakers get some spare metal clips for the tweeter enclosure. My Prius has eaten three. They are like socks in the washer, they just disappear. No rattle, just gone. I think they slide into the same folded space that Toyota uses to get so much interior room into what appears, on the outside, to be a small car. :huh: Check for my previous posts to get the part number for the clips.

I was at the Crissy Field gathering last Sunday and after listening to the sound some comments indicated that it was better than their premium system.

 

Glad to hear it made a big difference in sound. I am going to replace all speakers Monday. Any chance you could post the pics this weekend. It would help.
Thanks…
-Lee

 

OK, I feel like an idiot, but I can't seem to find any attachment to this post, either in the Audio forum or the File Library. Can somebody let me know what I'm doing wrong?

 

Attachments were lost in the great crash of 2005

I have stored it on my server until things recover and Sparky posts it to the files section.

Index

 

Did you have to splice the factory wires at the speaker locations to swap to the Infinitys? That is the only part I'm reluctant to do.

 

I tapped them and left the origianl connector intact for replacing the originals if needed. Running new wires to the doors would be a pain in the

 

Yeah. I have an Infinity Basslink (10" sub with 200W Class D Amp combined) that I want to re-use. I would need to tap the rear speakers to get my signal which means I'd have to run them from the back doors. UGH!

 

Here is my Basslink install (see attachment). Just tap the wire under the passenger seat.