audio upgrade..

[Nigel215]

I was lookin to upgrade my sound system in the near future. Im leavin in my factory radio and not puttin in any huge boxes or anything. All I want to do is replace my existing factory speakers in the doors. What would be the best type of speakers for this? Im not lookin for too much bass, more of a crunch. I listen to mostly hardcore/ metal music.

Does anyone know what the sizes of these speakers are? I know their is 2 in each front door, and 1 on each side in the back. My truck is only a 3 door n:. Also, how do I get the door panels off to get to the speakers without breaking anything. I know my brother ruined his 92' BMW by takin off his door panels. They never stayed on after replacing them. I think he broke the clips or something. Any input would be great.

[jeverett]

Ok dude, I love answering questions about car audio. I'm a certified CEA mobile audio professional, and dealer. If your wanting to keep your factory head unit, upgrading the speakers, as you said, will be the best single upgrade you can ever do. Your truck has 6 speakers, 2 in back which are 4x6's, 4 in the front doors consisting of a 6½ woofer and a tweeter in each door. I've heard many speakers, and it really depends on how much your willing to spend. You can get some Pioneer's, or some Blapunkt 3 way speakers for pretty cheap, or you can spend a decent amount and go for some higher end Infinity, MB Quart's, or Planet Audio, maybe even get a set of component speakers for the front...the options are endless almost. If you do spend a little more, you'll benefit from some lower bass, and great crisp high's, perfect for metal.

To replace them you'll need to remove the front door panels, which is very easy on these trucks. There are 3 screws holding it in place, 1 behind the armrest above the door handle, 1 on the bottom of the pocket at the bottom of the door, and I think one under the lock, and windows swtiches. Remove these screws, and the lightly pull the panel upwards and slightly out to get the panel loose. Unhook the window and lock switches, and the courtesy light and its done. Speaker access is great, and they're easy to replace. The back, I'm not quite so sure, I haven't had the opportunity to disassemble one yet, but I'm sure its similar to the front. Just take your time, and you wont break the panels, I've taken mine off several times and they still fit like factory.

Sorry for the long post, but I felt like going into detail..

[Nigel215]

thanks....now that i know what sizes are in their im gonna start shoppin around...maybe ill have somethin ready for my G/F to get me for christmas

[AaronIROCZ]

I have a 2002 non bose silverado ext cab and the speakers just totally distorted when I turned the bass up half way, so I replaced them with alpine type-s componets in front and 4x6's in the rear, still the same fricken thing, so I am leaningon replacing the factory head unit. Am I on the right track???

[Nigel215]

When I have mine cranked up the bass dosent really drown out anything, but they are startin to crackel I think. I was just lookin for a cleaner sound with a little more thump. I wanna feel the doubble bass drum and heavy palmute guitar riffs

I did see something at tweeter audio and video that looked like something I would like. It was a center consoul for 99-02 silverados. It had the same size storage as the one i have now but it had a 10" woofer built into it at the bottom. I really liked that because it dosent take up any room.

My other "thought" was....for thoes of you who have an ext. cab, their is a little shelf all the way under the rear seat where the jack and seatbelt stuff is.... I was wondering if I could fit 1 or 2 6" or 8" bass tubes under their?? Has anyone tried this?

Basicly my thing is... i wanna get as much sound as i can without loosing any room upfront or outback.

[jeverett]

You probably would beneift from replacing the head-unit. They dont put out nearly enough power to get the proper sound out of high-end component speakers.

[cliff-o2-z71]

Hey Jeverett, what do you think about Memphis speakers and amps?

[jeverett]

From what I've dealt with, and heard from them, they seem to be pretty awsome. There was a shop in the next town that installed 4 15's and a 1200 watt amp in a Blazer for some high-school kid, and he went to the NOPI contest in Atlanta last year and placed 2nd!! I was astounded. So yeah, they're definately worth looking into. I'm currently re-building my system using all Bostwick components, I can't wait to get it done and take some pics and such.

[Bz02z71]

replace your head unit first. if you have the onstar, you have to have a harness if you want to keep it. i have alpine 9827 head unit and then i upgraded my speakers to the alpine type s in the front and back doors. if you want to look at the install here it is:

http://photobucket.com/albums/v102/n2fire/

look under 'the z'