speakers for 2007 frontier kc

[slaterson]

i am upgrading the spearkers in my 2007 frontier. along with a small sub between the rear 'seats' behind the console. for the front doors/dash and the rear doors, i am looking at the jl audio vr600-csi and jl audio vr600-cxi, respectively. components for the front - woofer in the door and tweeter in the dash, two-way for the rear.

my goal is to keep the install as simple and unobtrusive as possible, i.e. no cuts or modifications to the truck. a couple questions:

1) anyone using the tweeters in the vr600-csi - do they fit in the dash locations well? was any bracket required?

2) where should the crossover modules be mounted for the front components? where are some locations that work well? what about running speaker wire from the head-unit to the crossovers, crossovers to the two speakers?

3) anyone using both/either of these speaker models? how do you like them?

4) where can i find info on installing the tweeters? my main concern is removing the dash pieces to get access to mount the drivers, mount the crossovers and run the speaker wire.

any info is appreciated. thanks!

[Andy4106]

lol not trying to be odd or anything, but what your talking about is pretty much a whole new system. thats more than simple. i mean its not hard but i had to cut my plastic runners along the door to make way for big enough gauge wire to the back seats, had to remove carpet. had to rip out my dash to run av cables from h/u to the amp then to new speakers. and im pretty sure you will need a new h/u im not sure if the stock ones supports amp, so it wont have av cable ports. someone correct me if im wrong.

i ran my tweeters on the hump on the low side of the front doors, and the crossovers i mounted behind that door.

are you planning on doing an amp for your speakers? because some speakers you have to run with amps, and i noticed that you said you were going from h/u strait to c/o to speakers.

try checking your info on the speakers. you might end up spending money on something you cant use without a h/u or an amp, lol sorry i said a lot hope this helps a bit, if not just tell me to shut up hahahahaha

[aaronb532]

Originally Posted by slaterson

i am upgrading the spearkers in my 2007 frontier. along with a small sub between the rear 'seats' behind the console. for the front doors/dash and the rear doors, i am looking at the jl audio vr600-csi and jl audio vr600-cxi, respectively. components for the front - woofer in the door and tweeter in the dash, two-way for the rear.

my goal is to keep the install as simple and unobtrusive as possible, i.e. no cuts or modifications to the truck. a couple questions:

1) anyone using the tweeters in the vr600-csi - do they fit in the dash locations well? was any bracket required?

2) where should the crossover modules be mounted for the front components? where are some locations that work well? what about running speaker wire from the head-unit to the crossovers, crossovers to the two speakers?

3) anyone using both/either of these speaker models? how do you like them?

4) where can i find info on installing the tweeters? my main concern is removing the dash pieces to get access to mount the drivers, mount the crossovers and run the speaker wire.

any info is appreciated. thanks!

I just recently installed a set of Polk speakers in my 2005 CC very similar to what you're looking for. I put db5251' components in the front and db651 2-ways in the rear. I did all my own installation since I hate paying people to work on my truck. Anyway, on to your questions.

1. Your tweeters are 3/4" vs. my 1" so I'm sure you can make them fit. What I did is cut holes in the plastic cover and have the tweeters sticking out of them. The tweeters are actually mounted to those covers using the bracket and holder that came with them. It's difficult to explain so I took some pics to show you. When finished it looks very clean.

2. This is the part I really cheated on. I didn't install the crossovers. At first I just skipped it to make sure everything was working and planned on adding them later but never got around to it. What I did instead is added Bass Blockers inline to the tweeters. It cuts all the lows out like the crossover would and was much easier to deal with. I'm wouldn't call myself a true audiophile but I do like crisp highs and I'm perfectly happy with the sound I'm getting. If your adding a sub you may want to get some blockers for your woofers too, just with a higher frequency.

3. Answered already-- Not me

4. Removing the plastic covers/grills is as easy as getting a screwdriver in the gap and prying them up. Just be careful not to break the clips holding them on. I don't know what kind of hardware comes with the jl audio's but it should be similar.

Another thing to think about is speaker adapters for the front woofers. 6x9 down to 6 1/2's worked well for me.

If you're sure you want to use the crossovers I can't help much. It was too much work for me and I'm perfectly happy with Bass blockers. I can tweak the sound through my head unit enough to balance out the sound the way I like it. I do plan on getting a sub eventually but for now I'm getting by with just the speakers.

Hopefully someone else who knows what they're doing can offer some help too!


PS - I didn't buy most of my stuff at Crutchfield and I certainly don't work for them. I just like how informative and complete their site is so I use it for reference.

[ToddG]

Check my sig for my write ups.

They may not directly answer all of your questions but you should find some helpful information and my logic (or lack thereof . . lol) for doing it how I did.

[Mylt1]

a. your gonna need an adapter for the front speakers since your going from a 6x9 to a 6.5. you can buy or make one, choice is yours.

b. your gonna want a new deck. sending even the highest quality speakers a crappy signal is just gonna result in a crappy sounding system.

c. your gonna want an amp. RMS on those are 60w and even an aftermarket deck is only putting out 22-25w RMS max. again, aftermarket deck will provide you with RCA's to get signal to the amp.

d. your gonna need to run new wires from the amp to each speaker. my general rule is anything over 45-50w RMS needs bigger wire. factory wire it the bare minimum they can get away with. keep that in mind.

once you figure all that out, then its time to worry about the install. its fairly easy but time consuming. figuring out how and where to run wire, mount amps and crossovers, and keep it all looking nice will take time.

[WeeHooker]

Do some searching on this forum. you'll find everything you need on component speaker installation.
Havign said that:
-1" tweeters can be mounted under the dash grills easily by fashioning a bracket from some plumbers strapping. (Well covered here on numerous threads)
-If your putting your component tweeters in the dash, the crossovers should go in the dash as well. This makes running the tweeter to crossover leads short /simple and keeps the crossovers dry/safe. Mine are tucked and wire tied under the drivers side dash where they are easily accessable for tweeter level changes.
- If your not running a big amp, it's fine to use the factory wireing. Splice your crossovers in between the HU and the factory connector on the front channels. You can leave the rear channels alone unless splicing in an amp. This keeps you from having to cut any wireing that's perminatly attached to the truck. It also keeps you from having to fish new wire all over the place.

hth

[slaterson]

thanks for the quick replies. some additional info...

i really want to keep everything hidden, in stock locations. the tweeters are the most concerning, as it looks like everyone has surface mounted them due to space limitations. the tweeters in the vr600-csi are about 3/4" deep, a little over 1/2" mounting depth with a 1/4" bubble on the top. are the factory locations in the dash too shallow for this? it also requires a 1.5" hole for mounting. if it is impossible to mount the these tweeters without cutting/drilling interior pieces, i will most likely get a different pair of speakers. are there any known, good quality/brand name component sets that are known to fit in the stock tweeter locations? if all else fails, i'll go with two way drivers in the front doors (as i plan to in the rear).

for powering/wiring the speakers, i initially plan to use the factory installed speaker wire and run then off my head unit (an alpine). if i don't like the results i'll get a four channel amp later. i have a zapco studio 150 that i'm going to mount under the passenger seat (or driver seat, i haven't looked under either seat yet), run my rca cables under the center console to the amp and have the speaker wires come out from under the seat or under the console to the box. i'm also hoping to run the ipod cable (from the back of the alpine) under the center console and into the center console storage compartment. i'll need to cut a small hole in the plastic storage tray/box in the console, this is the only cut/mod to the truck interior i want to make. that will let me have the ipod connected full-time while keeping it concealed without unplugging it every time i park the truck.

if i decide to get a four channel amp for the front & rear speakers, i will try to find one that fits under one of the seats, however that will mean a lot of speaker wire routing (from the amp to the crossovers in the front and from the amp to the rear speakers - this is something i'm trying to avoid since it possibly means gutting the interior of the truck and re-assembling).

thanks!

[Mylt1]

depending on the model of your deck, alpine makes an add on amp that is 45w RMS which will make everything sound much better. it wont be optimal but close enough. as far as running wires, a coat hanger will help with running the wires under the carpet so you wont have to pull it up.

[slaterson]

Originally Posted by Mylt1

depending on the model of your deck, alpine makes an add on amp that is 45w RMS which will make everything sound much better. it wont be optimal but close enough. as far as running wires, a coat hanger will help with running the wires under the carpet so you wont have to pull it up.

any chance you have the model number of the add-on amp? i got the alpine head unit almost two years ago, can't remember the model number (i gotta check next time i'm in the truck).

thanks!

[Mylt1]

Alpine KTP-445 Power Pack Upgrade your Alpine receiver to 45 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield.com

not sure on what models it fits. but its pre order right now. not sure when its gonna be out. i had heard mid summer but its still not out that i know of.