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OEM subwoofer- $30 drop in upgrade

33K views 58 replies 21 participants last post by  Nameuser 
#1 · (Edited)
Greetings all. I've been doing some recent upgrades to the audio in my 2007 FJ. My goal was to get all the modern features I needed, and improve the overall listening experience in the cabin. I had no desire for a competition audio setup, just something that sounds really good when I'm driving. I bought the truck with the factory Jammer system, complete with OEM subwoofer.

I started by adding a Kenwood double DIN reciever so I could have Bluetooth and SiriusXM; I used the ASWC adapter to keep the steering wheel controls working. Overall, it was a fairly drama-free installation. The sound improved noticeably just with the new head unit, mostly of the additional power, and because I could EQ back the mids and get rid of the "shouty-ness" from the 3 1/2 dash and pillar speakers. The bass through the factory sub was loud enough for ordinary listening, but was boomy and flabby. The OEM sub enclosure and internal amp leave a lot to be desired, but it is nice from a space standpoint... I wanted to see if a simple speaker upgrade could improve the situation. If not, I would go the whole way with a new enclosure and sub amp.

I tracked down this Dayton 8" sub from Parts Express... $29 plus shipping. I've had good experiences with their speakers in the past, and the specs looked like they could work with the factory enclosure. I wanted something with dual voice coils so I could use both halves of the wimpy factory sub amp inside the enclosure.

Dayton Audio SD215A-88 8" DVC Subwoofer

Installing it into the factory enclosure was easy. The push-on connectors for the negative wires were too small for the new sub tabs, so I clipped them off and crimped on some bigger connectors. Also, the mounting holes didn't line up, so I had to drill four new ones. Here's how it looks:


So how does it sound? Much better than the stock speaker! Most of the flab is gone, and the bass is much more punchy and defined. I'm still experimenting with EQ and whether or not to plug the ports and use it as a sealed enclosure, but right from the start it was a noticeable improvement over the factory speaker.

Now that the subwoofer flab is controlled, I'm noticing that the 6x9's in the door are also very flabby in the bass. I might try high-passing them, but it will probably be better overall to just trade out the speakers for something a little better.
 
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#3 ·
Thanks. Any opinions on whether it's better to go with full-range coax speakers in the doors and dash, or components with the mid bass in the doors and the tweeter in the dash? As a general rule, I don't like to have the tweeter that far from the mid bass driver. On the other hand, the 3 1/2 inch full range speakers all look a lot less efficient that the comparable 6x9's that would go in the door, and that are wire in parallel. Typically 86-87dB for the 3 1/2 vs. 92-93dB for the 6x9.
 
#4 · (Edited)
That's why I mention tweeters in the dash instead of the full range speakers . On the components you would need a amp the do it right, the head unit only just isn't enough power to run components and make them sound good and with components up front not sure that sub will cut it at the very least you would need a better enclosure so to do it right you would need a 3 channel amp to run the system 2 channels to run the components up front and 1 channel for the subwoofer
 
#8 ·
I used the factory amp that is inside the enclosure. It takes the high level input from the rear speakers, and outputs two pairs of leads (one for each 2 ohm voice coil of the factory speaker). I have no idea how the amp is designed, but here's my guess... I'm assuming that it sums the input signals to mono. That cheap little amp doesn't look like it could swing much current, so I would be surprised if the 2 ohm factory voice coils were wired in parallel, for 1 ohm. More likely they are wired in series for 8 ohms.

I have the Dayton speaker hooked up exactly like the factory speaker was hooked up. If the amp outputs in series like I suspect, then it's seeing 16 ohms. If it outputs in parallel, it's seeing 4 ohms.

Update on the sound... this thing rocks. I'm actually kind of amazed at how good it sounds. I didn't put it in to wake up the neighborhood, but I'll say this. I had some hard rock on last night on my way to my beer league hockey game, turned up pretty loud. When I pulled up to the stop light, everyone around turned to look. For my needs, this is more than enough bass.
 
#6 ·
Parts Express has lots of great deals on Daytons

Nice to see cheap mods that actually work :bigthumb:
 
#7 ·
My experience with the factory speakers and just replacing them was not so good. The issue is both the doors and dash are wired together meaning you have to use 8 ohm speakers. So mine sounded weak sauce since they didnt have enough power to run them. Otherwise you could try separates like ZOSO stated above. I think I went too high end and the demand for power to run them was too much. Maybe a less power hungry speaker with more efficiency would have been better like a 6 1/2" in the door and tweeters in the dash

TacoTunes makes adaptors for the 6 1/2" speakers. Most just reuse the mounts from the factory 6x9" to mount their new ones as its the cheapest option. I used TacoTunes set up.
 
#9 ·
I just replaced the factory 6x9 with Boston Pro's, full range, and bought another pair of Boston tweeters up on the dash. Used factory brackets and they actually angle them for pretty decent imaging and reflection. Wrapped the underside of the door speakers in those poly enclosures. Haven't missed my sub since.
 
#11 ·
So much misinformation.

Factory sub amp is in fact two amps(basically stereo) so they use two small and cheap amps to double the power to the sub instead of needing a voltage boosting mono amp with expensive power supply(expensive for oem I mean) This is the cheapest way to get 50wrms.

The factory speakers are not 8 ohm in the door. They are 4 ohm Panasonic 6x9's and 8 ohm TWEETERS in the dash, The dash speakers have a 4.7uf capacitor on them making them work above 5000hz only. They are not simply wired in parallel. This is essentially no different to an every day 6x9 with a tweeter on top(coaxial) which just has the 4 ohm woofer running full range in most cases with a simple capacitor usually between 3.3uf and 6.8uf on the tweeter(which can be any impedance really)

Think of the factory door and dash speakers as a basic split system.
 
#12 ·
I don't suppose you have a picture of where you ran the wires from the truck to the sub? I ordered the same sub as you and it's been about 10 years since I got out of car audio and don't remember how to hook this thing up. :bigthumb:
 
#14 ·
If you take the factory sub out and look at it it is actually exactly like the one he suggests buying. I ordered the sub and installed it and it's a night and day difference. Took about 10 minutes to change it out.
 
#21 ·
I just installed this sub in my 07 FJ. Question..
So far it's not firing. Being an 8 Ohm speaker could there be an impedance issue? Did your install start up with no changes?
I soldered the connections.
 
#22 ·
I did this same drop in from PartsExpress. I just wired up all 4 wires. +/- for each side. I don't remember the colors for each wire but I believe the positive leads are slightly thicker.

I used wire quick slide connectors on mine. Once they were on, I tested before screwing the speaker back in place.

Check your wire connections and also make sure your subwoofer button is on. Before soldering them, I just electrical taped the connects just to see if the sub would work.

By the way, this sub wasn't as loud as the OEM but I just turned the bass a little higher. It sounds way better. To me it seemed this sub can hit a wider range of frequencies.
 
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#23 · (Edited)
By the way, this sub wasn't as loud as the OEM but I just turned the bass a little higher. It sounds way better. To me it seemed this sub can hit a wider range of frequencies.
What did you mean by this? Is it or is it not louder than the OEM sub? The wider range of frequencies makes sense but did you mean once you turned up the bass EQ it got louder? It's worded a little confusing. :lol:
 
#25 ·
I installed this Dayton sub in my system. But it would not play with my Pioneer head unit. I'm guessing the 8 + 8 ohm speaker is exceeding the 4 ohm system. Did you experience this? I'm setting it aside till I can install a new sub Amp. Gotta finish installing the rear pillar speakers. I've replaced the door, and dash speakers.
 
#26 ·
Hoping to revive this thread as I also have an '07 FJC with the system which includes the sub. (Not going to the garage now, but pretty sure mine includes an amp under the passenger seat.)

First, a little background. I am so happy with my FJC. Bought this cherry manual 6 speed when I worked in the oilfield in ND for 8 mo in 2014. Currently 190k miles, and knock on wood, the most amazing vehicle ever. I have done minimal mods:

-added air horns wired to the steering wheel, and added a switch in one of the available slots to keep the OG horn for "light work". LOL

-added a Bluetooth backup cam, mounted into the bumper between the spare and hitch (has its own screen I chose to Velcro in the empty space to the left of the steering column)

-added this Bluetooth unit for connecting my phone to the stereo:

https/www.amazon.com/dp/B009NLTW60?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

(since my Jammer 6CD changer died like everyone else's, I have a magnet mount for my Pixel phone plugged into the CD slot and use my phone nav and music...this Bluetooth unit gave my whole stereo new life!!!! But I want a little more...)

Now, based on this and the seemingly infinite other stereo threads I have been researching, I purchased the replacement sub yesterday from this thread's OP.

I plan to upgrade the front door 6x9s also, and likely the dash speakers per Zoso's suggestions. However, I haven't decided on upgrading the HU. I have been heavily considering it, but from the minimal mods mentioned above, you can see I don't need or care about SiriusXM or in-HU-nav or Bluetooth calling or in-HU-backup cam, as I basically have all that covered. (I don't care about wires, I keep things clean enough.) Also, I don't really use any steering buttons other than volume occasionally. (My FJC only has the buttons on the left side.)

Bottom line, do I need to purchase a new HU for this new sub and the other new speakers I would purchase? A few of the threads talking about losing some of the whole system "pre-programming" makes me hesitate. (Don't want to go thru the efforts to install a HU and have everything sound worse. I would definitely do it myself, BTW.)

But maybe I need some more power? If I do get another HU, that would likely be the only reason...if the speakers need the power boost. Likely would get the simplest Kenwood, etc. that would serve that purpose.

Please advise, and thanks in advance!
 
#27 ·
A aftermarket headunit is going to sound way better , and actually the factory headunit May have a hard time driving aftermarket speakers via ohm and build quality of the aftermarket speakers compared to the stock speakers , you should be able to buy an adapter to use with the stock sub and a aftermarket headunit check with a car stereo shop or Best Buy etc. You can go single din or double din on a aftermarket headunit , I would recommend a aftermarket headunit yes , if you want more volume the Alpine Power Pack amp is a good choice
 
#28 ·
Thanks for the response!

Follow up: does the aftermarket HU sound better due to added power (i.e. could I instead keep the Jammer and just add the Alpine amp, like the guy in the other thread who installed your suggested amp + door + deck speakers and ran the new amp for both doors and stock sub...I am aware he already had a new HU), or is there more to it than just the power?

If I can get away with keeping the Jammer and still improving significantly, I'd likely go that way. Purchasing the HU, door speakers, deck speakers, and amp is likely a bit more than I want to spend ideally.
 
#29 ·
aftermarket amp won’t hookup to the factory headunit , you could try using the stock headunit with the aftermarket speakers first to see if it works for you just don’t except much volume , doing it steps at a time speakers first then at some point get a aftermarket headunit then maybe add the amp if you think you need it
 
#30 · (Edited)
I hope I am not too much of a bother to you on this Zoso...thank you for all your insight, both for me and everyone else.

I think you have convinced me I need a head unit. I found this locally on Craigslist refurbished for $110...do you mind giving your thoughts if it would do the trick? (Obviously, per the link, I checked it at Crutchfield and it is compatible. I am asking you more based on your amp as well as tweeter and front door speaker recommendations.)

 
#31 · (Edited)
While I was waiting for your response, Zoso, I called Crutchfield. Here is the package they put together:

1. 109CT9631G JBL Concert Series 9631 6" x 9" 3-Way Speakers w/Grilles (front doors)
2. 158XAV10BT Sony XAV-V10BT Digital Multimedia Receiver (head unit)
3. 120958202 Toyota Kit 2000-Up, DD
4. 541RP4TY11 PAC RP4.2-TY11 Toyota/Lexus Interface, retains SWC
5. 264PASCON ReadyHarness Service Connect Passive Harness to Radio

For $390, this includes the upgraded head unit to the discontinued Sony I mentioned above from Craigslist (minus the features I don't want/need, and with more power output and better EQ, and for only $80 more), the wiring harnesses needed for my '07 FJC (including steering controls) pre-configured and connected to the head unit on arrival (basically plug and play when I get it and with a $50 savings for buying the HU from them), custom mounting brackets and wiring harnesses for the front door speakers (current upgrades to the discontinued JBL GTO939 GTOs you suggested in another thread years ago), and custom installation instructions for everything.

The prices on the individual components and free shipping match Amazon (with the custom brackets, speaker wiring, and custom vehicle specific instructions included free). For the moment I plan to purchase and install these with the $45 sub upgrade (Dayton Audio SD215A-88 mentioned in the OP, simply swapped in my stock woofer box) and see how it sounds.

Fingers crossed I get what I am hoping for...just a nice boost for a minimal investment up front. I can later come back and upgrade the tweeters, sub amp, and add an amp for the door speakers down the road as I see fit (or as the new set-up blows out the remaining stock components). Please let me know if you see any mistakes in my logic or set-up.

I can't speak enough about how your insight over multiple threads thru the years empowered me to tackle this! And Crutchfield is definitely the way to go (if you are cool with installing yourself...maybe even if not). Not only are the prices spot on as well as getting the harnesses, custom brackets, and instructions...but when I called in to ask questions, I gave the guy a code from my open web page, and he could see everything I had searched and look up compatible upgrades. Then he emailed me a link to a pre-configured cart with everything we discussed. Pretty awesome shopping experience!

I hope this detail helps someone else along the way. Thanks again so much! Be back soon with an update and pics...
 
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