Upgraded 2016 speakers

[Don Ridley]

As part of an ongoing stereo upgrade project, I finished the speaker upgrade. I have a 2016 XLT with 6 factory speakers ( 4 door, 2 tweeters). I installed 6.5 inch 2 way speakers in the rear doors and 6.5 inch component speakers up front. I think most 6.5 inch speakers will fit the TC and there seems to be plenty of depth for the speaker magnets.

I used the factory wiring. It is too much hassle to rewire the entire van even though the sound quality may be better with larger gauge wires. The stock speakers have an integral mounting ring and electrical connector. I used these plastic mounting rings to mount the new speakers.

1.First check the polarity of the speaker connections using a 9v battery (see youtube). Mark the connector because both wires are black . 

2. Cut the speaker cone out of the stock speaker. You were going to save this cappy speaker only to throw it away years later.

3. Cut and grind the plastic speaker supports away from the mounting ring . Check for sizing on the new speaker. The plastic is easy to manipulate.

4. Mount the ring to the new speaker with small scews.

5. Solder two short wires from the integral connector to the new speakers.

Now you have a upgraded speaker that mounts and connects like OEM.

The tweeters were more work. You will have to see how your tweeters fit in the OEM bracket that has 3 locking tabs around the circumference of the tweeter. I notched my  tweeter mounting ring to match the mounting tabs. I added a dab of glue to keep things from rattling. Disconnect  and secure the stock connector and wire. Splice speaker wire at the back of the head unit (see other posts for wire colors). You are connecting in parallel to the wires going to each front door speaker. Install the crossovers in the void below the head unit and run wires over to each tweeter.

The sound with the new speakers is significantly  better than stock. The stock head unit has enough power to deliver good sound. But I need more power and will install a digital signal processor (dsp), amp and sub in the near future. I am waiting for the 2017 audio products. I will probably pre-wire the van while I am waiting. The amp will require 4 sets of speaker wires  to and from  the head unit. The  amp and sub will need separate power wiring. So there is plenty to do while I wait.

 

[mmitchell@nc.rr.com]

Here is what I done. I decided that I was not ever going to put the crappy factory speakers back in. You have to remove the factory speaker from the ring that is screwed into the door and you will be re-using this ring. I have a grinder and just grinded down the ring until the new speaker was flush.

Another benefit is that the new speakers wiring terminals aligned perfectly with the factory terminals. I soldered them together and now I have a factory look and no one is the wiser.

I used JL Audio speakers. Tweeters are mounted in factory tweeter location. They were easy to sandwich between the plastic pieces on the A pillar and are invisible. The factory hole for the tweeters was perfect for the JL tweeters. Pics attached

Edited May 14, 2017 by mmitchell@nc.rr.com

[herb]

On 11/26/2016 at 12:27 PM, Don Ridley said:

As part of an ongoing stereo upgrade project, I finished the speaker upgrade. I have a 2016 XLT with 6 factory speakers ( 4 door, 2 tweeters). I installed 6.5 inch 2 way speakers in the rear doors and 6.5 inch component speakers up front. I think most 6.5 inch speakers will fit the TC and there seems to be plenty of depth for the speaker magnets.

I used the factory wiring. It is too much hassle to rewire the entire van even though the sound quality may be better with larger gauge wires. The stock speakers have an integral mounting ring and electrical connector. I used these plastic mounting rings to mount the new speakers.

1.First check the polarity of the speaker connections using a 9v battery (see youtube). Mark the connector because both wires are black . 

2. Cut the speaker cone out of the stock speaker. You were going to save this cappy speaker only to throw it away years later.

3. Cut and grind the plastic speaker supports away from the mounting ring . Check for sizing on the new speaker. The plastic is easy to manipulate.

4. Mount the ring to the new speaker with small scews.

5. Solder two short wires from the integral connector to the new speakers.

Now you have a upgraded speaker that mounts and connects like OEM.

The tweeters were more work. You will have to see how your tweeters fit in the OEM bracket that has 3 locking tabs around the circumference of the tweeter. I notched my  tweeter mounting ring to match the mounting tabs. I added a dab of glue to keep things from rattling. Disconnect  and secure the stock connector and wire. Splice speaker wire at the back of the head unit (see other posts for wire colors). You are connecting in parallel to the wires going to each front door speaker. Install the crossovers in the void below the head unit and run wires over to each tweeter.

The sound with the new speakers is significantly  better than stock. The stock head unit has enough power to deliver good sound. But I need more power and will install a digital signal processor (dsp), amp and sub in the near future. I am waiting for the 2017 audio products. I will probably pre-wire the van while I am waiting. The amp will require 4 sets of speaker wires  to and from  the head unit. The  amp and sub will need separate power wiring. So there is plenty to do while I wait.

 

 

 

Are 2 way speakers a better choice than 4 way or 3 way ?  All i want is a little more volume & clarity than what the stock TC comes with , not sure if just better speakers & tweeters would do that or not , hoping not to need a digital signal processor .

 

So 6.5 inch replacements seem to be the correct size for the doors , i need to find out what the stock door speakers are rated at and then purchase slightly more powerful ones i suppose.

[Don Ridley]

2 way speakers will be good for a basic upgraded from stock. 

[mrtn]

Do you remember if the wire boots were easily accessible to run heavier cables through?

 

I have a pair of new 2-way speakers left over from my Corolla project but they require a lot of power to run (won’t budge below 40W RMS) so factory wiring is out of the question. Experienced this with Corolla’s stock wiring and a 2x55W amp. Just a squeak, no actual music power at all.

[Don Ridley]

No, it is not easy. The wires terminate in a plug, not a rubber boot. You would have to drill a new hole.

[mrtn]

I mean the boot between the door and the body.

[Don Ridley]

 The wires don't pass freely across the gap. There is a connector on both sides. I did not see an easy way to install different wires so I used the stock ones. They are approx 18ga and are fine for my speakers @ 50-75w. 

[mrtn]

Thanks Don. I dont particularly WANT to do it but I might.

[Fifty150]

Those rubber wire boots do remove, and you can run new wiring alongside OEM wiring.  I did it with my lift gate to install the backup camera.  But with a door, it may be easier to run wiring once you remove the door interior panel.  You should have enough access to run your wiring using "fish tape" and lubricant. through that rubber boot, without removing the rubber boot..  Yes, there really is a special lubricant used for pulling wires.  With the right tools, the job is much easier.  Only problem is that if you're not an electrician, you wonder if you want to send $$$XXX for those tools to do a simple small job.