Well now. I have my 1994 4runner that I have started tearing into for purposes of stereo improvement. The purpose of this thread is to outline the design I have for my end-result stereo, specific to 2nd gen 4runners and 3rd gen pickups. I also want to see any posts and pictures you are willing to make on your own positioning or selections. I'm more than happy to post any and all picture of my own work and decisions.

When I first got my 4runner about a year ago, it had blown front speakers, a shot rear driver (still busted at the moment dagnabbit), and a stock head unit. I ran the MTX Terminator sub and amp combo when I got them on the cheap, replaced a blown pair of front 4" speakers with whatever else was cheap, and invested in a solid kenwood excelon KDX-X592 head unit. I have all that work on my build thread in my signature, but will post again here if requested to do so

My first question: trunk mounted drivers come in ported black plastic boxes much like the 4" speakers that come in the dash. What is the mounting depth of that box? I'd love to go check on my own, but my truck is being transported across the country right now.

The reason I ask is to determine whether I can use the JL audio 6" subwoofer in the factory box, or have to use a set of speakers with a lower mounting depth for clearance. The other option for me would be to build custom boxes to go behind and through the trim.

My second question: For anyone who has used the cargo pocket on the side of the trunk of the 4runner to mount an amplifier, or really to anyone who has the rear pocket removed but their trim in place; how deep is the space from body to trim? Does anyone have pictures of whats left with the trim removed? I've looked for months for these kinds of pictures, but if I can't find anyone who has the answers, I'll just do it myself and take some !

My proposed stereo as of now, would be as follows:


the component drivers and tweeters go in the front and rear doors respectively, the front 4" drivers go into the dashboard enclosures. Again, I'm trying to fit the 6" subs in the trunk. The 10" sub box is the perfect compromise between extremely powerful bass and leaving enough room in my trunk for whatever else I want. I would mount the two amplifiers, if possible, stacked on oneanother inside the side pocket of the trunk, since they are less than 2" deep each and have a special stackable mounting configuration.

I listen to hard rock and I want midbass. Tons of it. Heaping gobs of it. I realize that if I paid retail for this whole system, wires and all, I'd be out about 4 grand. I don't have that kind of money these days, but at least I know which pieces to buy one at a time in order to build the right system. Any input or opinions on the system would be appreciated, but any posts about your own systems would be great! Thanks!

 

Looks like a great setup! Good luck~

Here's my setup; I'm running the 4" Pioneer coax in-dash and dash-mounted component tweeters with the Kenwood head unit (50 wpc) and the Klipsch KG-3.1 bookshelf speakers with a Kenwood 275 wpc stereo amp. The subs are driven off a Kenwood 900 watt sub amp mounted to the sub enclosure. Sorry about the crappy mpeg sound:

 

I replaced my front 4"ers with aftermarket. Not happy. They are line-of-sight speakers and do nothing pointed down. I had cheapies, so no loss. I would DEFINITELY recommend door speakers, tweets in the pillar if you can fit them in. For the back, I yanked the rears and cut the holes in the trim for 6.5". Works fine. All of this works off of the HU power. The result: better than stock/ok for ambient sound driving. Sounds atrocious when cranked (as I expected). I, too, like metal/rock but also like many other types of music, and I also like it louder than stock. Decided to order a box for four 6x9's and wired them to a Fosgate amp that I mounted under the driver's seat. Thought about the "side pockets" in the back, but after cutting for the 6.5s decided that it's too brittle to mess with mounting inside of, and that depth and mounting locations (to actually hang the amp and run a ground) were more than I wanted to chew. Plus, under the seat has more airflow than a closed panel. Mounting depth was a question at first, but I was going with 4crawler's seat lift: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...tml#SeatHeight for a higher seating position, so it worked out in this way as well. I think the 6x9s would suit your listening tastes well, and not take up much space. Got the box from eBay from a place in Florida. Good price, HEAVY mdf box.

 

heres what i did for my 91 pickup...may be a little more info than you need but i figured ill make a good first post
speakers are bassworks 5 1/4" components powered off the pioneer dvd unit. i didnt think i would put so much work into these speakers so i didnt take the proper time to make nice speaker rings. They are uneven and way too big (i was going to flush mount the speakers but decided against it). still look okay though

tin foil taped down on the door bottom


2 layers off fiberglass matte


mdf rings cut, wrapped in t-shirt material and hot glued together


coat of resin

sanded, one layer of glass, sanded again


gaps filled with kitty hair



trimmed and sanded followed by a milkshake layer (resin/filler mixed)


sanded followed by another layer of resin. sand sand sand


a couple more coats of filler were added. finally some spot putty to fill tiny holes and then it is shot with high build primer..



after a few primer coats / sand first base coat..




final result



they arent the best speaker available but they sound great in their enclosures. Since there is no paper material you can sink your truck in water and fill the cab without worrying about ruining the speakers haha (already happened once, speakers still sound great.)
the speaker imaging is great and the music sounds like its coming from the front of the hood right at you. imo the best place to put the speakers other than the a pillar.

 

sooo... you cut the plastic internal speaker boxes? I wouldnt be cutting into those, I was just wondering of I had to make a custom one for the space out of MDF. I would be cutting out the square grill section on the trim in its entirety, and building a box so the mounting surface will fit through that hole (but have a greater surface area inside the trim). I wouldn't be mounting anything to the trim itself. Also, the JL subs I want to install are 6" across, not 6.5". Diameter wise, I shouldn't have to trim to make them fit. I would consider the seat lift, but I would rather keep the amps where they wont get splashed or kicked. Anything from my muddy feet while wheeling to my idiot buddies who are known for dropping full sodas (especially shortly after being purchased or opened) all over the floor. If I do lift the seats, I'll be able to put both of these amps under one seat, I think... the JL amps I'm eyeballing are under 2" deep each. I like the idea of keeping both of my side pockets as pockets, honestly, but it seems like an awful safe place to keep a securely mounted amplifier to me!

As for the 4" speakers, I hate 4" coax speakers. I want the 4" components, to start. Also, the direction of the speakers in the stock location (at least where I sit in my truck) isnt anywhere near as big of an issue - at least nothing a good EQ can't mitigate - as the lack of a speaker to handle the lower frequencies. It's just not off-axis enough to color it beyond recognition. When you turn up the volume, your 4" speaker is trying to give you the lower frequencies you so badly want to hear, but it has to essentially make up for its small diameter with the length of the excursion of the cone in order to move all that air. Unfortunately, economy 4" speakers will never do that for ya. I want the midbass drivers in the doors to get around that, as the 4" midrange speakers will be equalized to work in their optimum frequency range and leave the tweeter's job and the midbass driver's job (not to mention the sub!) to the apropriate speakers. It frees us the midrange 4" speaker to make good midrange sound that I usually wind up turning down anyhow. If you equalize the midrange, the mild off-axis mounting of the factory position will essentially be correctable to the ear.

The transporter company has my truck, and it'll be home in 6-9 days from today. Since one of my speakers is out anyhow (and I want to see if thats the stock amp thats blown or the speaker itself) and I have a set of boston acoustic component speakers I may throw in there in the interim if the amp is still good. I'll bust out a tape measure and my digital camera and get busy as soon as she gets home to daddy!