Front Speakers for 1997 Jeep Wrangler ?

Go t crutchfields, they can answer your questions far better than a bunch of guys who drive Jeep trucks not cars.. Do a google search for them. PS you'll piss off a bunch of guys on this NG if you call a Jeep a car...

Rich, I have emailed the exact question to Crutchfield. In fact, that is where I started for info. I don't have an answer from them yet.

Regardless of what Crutchfield says, I still want to know from the actual experience of the people on these groups. Usually, that info and input is very informative.

Thanks for the reply Rich !!

--james--

Back in 1997, there were no adapters for the speakers, so I made my own brackets to mount them. I got some cheap pair of Polk 4x6's and made do. With an eight inch speaker box from the local discount store, I've got tunes!

Be sure to have at least 50 watts per SPEAKER if you'd like to hear your tunes with the top down. This amount of power allows you enough volume without lots of distortion.

In my defense... I'm speaking here as someone who has run professional audio systems for about a decade rather than one with the "fartcan exhaust, neon lighting, and rap music with 18 subwoofers in a Civic" mentality... I appreciate quality of sound over volume.

Smaller speakers, as a general rule, will produce higher pitches. (Consider that tweeters average a diameter of an inch and subwoofers go up to around 18") There's nothing inherently "better" about 5 1/2" speakers over 4"x6" speakers. My jeep has 4x6s with some pretty heavy duty bass blockers attached in the front to handle the high end, 5.5s on a soundbar with mid-level bass blockers to put out the mid-range, and 6x9s in the back to put a little low end in the mix. All the speakers are Rockford Fosgate, they put out a clean crisp sound in all ranges.

I wouldn't waste my money on adapters to put bigger speakers in place of the 4x6s, personally. If you have big speakers all around you may find yourself with a rather "muddy" sound.

James, You can buy these adapters on ebay for around $20 shipped and yes you are right about the 5 1/4" speakers. I have done exactly what you are looking to do and they sound great! I purchased a set of Inifinity Kappas 5 1/4" off Ebay as well. One thing that will make it sound a lot better is to get some cotton batting, you can find at Walmart for a couple bucks (material/craft dept) or common rolled insulation, add just enough to close in the back section of those speakers openings, behind the speakers when installing. It'll help throw the sound towards you instead of getting lost behind the dash especially when the top is off.

Thanks for the tips BW !!!

--James--

No Problem James, Glad I could help ya out. Didn't know if that first one came through, used my other news reader sw, been having problems with the news server....

batting, you can find at Walmart for a couple bucks (material/craft dept) or common rolled insulation,add just enough to close in the back section of those speakers openings, behind the speakers when installing.

Did something similar to my rig, it improves even the stock speaker's sound considerably. Also stuff some in the soundbar tubes behind the speakers.

Have some advice, though. Use polyester batting instead of cotton, if you soak your dash (don't ask how ), cotton will retain water and corrode dash electrics. And put the batting in sections of tied up women's nylon hose, to keep the stuff from migrating around.

I went to the audio store not long ago asking about replacing my stock speakers the guy in there recommended Clarion. He said that they have seperate woof and tweets even though they ae all in one unit. He also said that they would be more weather resistant, considering the application that Jeeps are usually subjected to.

Kate

Take a look at the speaker. If it is just a bigger speaker with a small cone glued to the middle of the speaker, it is not a separate unit, it is just a whizzer cone. The only real way to have separate speakers is if there are separate voice coils, magnets, and speaker cones. You should be able to see a separate set of wires running from the larger speaker to the smaller one.

Real tweeters tend to be a waste of money in an automobile unless they are aimed straight at your ears or at a reflective surface such as the windshield so the high frequency sound can bounce off the windshield to your ears.

Clarion is OK for automobile use and may be good enough for your tastes. There are better brands, but in a Jeep you are not overly likely to be able to hear them anyway.

Kate proclaimed:

Hence my suggestion to use inexpensive speakers and cheap truck boxes so they can be replaced when deluged. I'm on my third set. We get extreme humidity here sometimes with week long rainy spells. My last top had algae on it in places. Drain plugs are your friend if you park so the front is angled down so they work!

No matter what you choose, put a baffle behind the speaker. The dash speakers have nothing behind them, offering little bass response without some sort of enclosure. The angle of the dash speakers is pretty bad for sound quality. If we had ears on our knees, they'd be perfect.

FWIW, I've called my Wranglers "the Jeep" and "the car", but never "the truck". My Tacoma and the other pickups I've owned were/are "the truck"...

Now, if my Jeeps were Scramblers...