I'm a bit nervous about installing in a brand new car - 09 Corolla S

[Tempe 10+ year member]

I swore I would not buy a new car (due to all the crap that manufacturers include in the stock h/u that is inoperable with an aftermarket unit), but I have my heart seat on a 2009 Toyota Corolla S 5-speed. The one I am looking at has the 6 speaker setup. I am quite comfortable installing in my 1998 Ford Ranger that I've had since 1999. Now I am dealt with working on a vehicle with pristine interior and risk being accused of voiding factory warranties with installing aftermarket equipment.

Last May I bought some Dayton RS225s and Seas large format tweeters. It has come down to the point where I will most likely not want to fiberglass the brand new door panels. With my Ranger I was not worried if my first ever glassing job did not come out perfectly. Now I am hesitant to risk having to drive around with a flawless vehicle with a ghetto interior.

There is no way in hell I will keep the stock system. Plus last night I sat in the car and took a listen to the stock system with the doors and windows closed. I cannot stand having the tweeters right in my ears and the midwoofers so far down. My brother in law (who thinks he knows a lot about audio just because he can afford nicer stuff) tells me not go changing stuff on a brand new car. He told me to get the JBL system. I told him most brand name stock systems have bottom of the line speakers in combination of processing to make it all sound good. He told me they would never put anything crappy in a Toyota.

Any insight on this? Anyone having installation experience on newer Corollas want to share any installation tips? Also any Toyota or Corolla forums that have a good audio section? Thanks!!!

Tempe

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[nauc 10+ year member]

i know how you feel. i finally got a decent car and was scared to cut up my doors. but i had a shop i trusted to do it and i really like how it looks and sounds but i do have a deck that has time correction, to make it sound even better

cars a 99 Accord... mids down below the tweet

 

[bball09124 10+ year member]

You can always pay a shop to do it, but still no guarantees it will come out as good as you want it if you go that route.

 

[Tempe 10+ year member]

I'm a DIYer all the way to the grave!!!

 

[bones22 5,000+ posts]

I swore I would not buy a new car (due to all the crap that manufacturers include in the stock h/u that is inoperable with an aftermarket unit), but I have my heart seat on a 2009 Toyota Corolla S 5-speed. The one I am looking at has the 6 speaker setup. I am quite comfortable installing in my 1998 Ford Ranger that I've had since 1999. Now I am dealt with working on a vehicle with pristine interior and risk being accused of voiding factory warranties with installing aftermarket equipment.
Last May I bought some Dayton RS225s and Seas large format tweeters. It has come down to the point where I will most likely not want to fiberglass the brand new door panels. With my Ranger I was not worried if my first ever glassing job did not come out perfectly. Now I am hesitant to risk having to drive around with a flawless vehicle with a ghetto interior.

There is no way in hell I will keep the stock system. Plus last night I sat in the car and took a listen to the stock system with the doors and windows closed. I cannot stand having the tweeters right in my ears and the midwoofers so far down. My brother in law (who thinks he knows a lot about audio just because he can afford nicer stuff) tells me not go changing stuff on a brand new car. He told me to get the JBL system. I told him most brand name stock systems have bottom of the line speakers in combination of processing to make it all sound good. He told me they would never put anything crappy in a Toyota.

Any insight on this? Anyone having installation experience on newer Corollas want to share any installation tips? Also any Toyota or Corolla forums that have a good audio section? Thanks!!!

Tempe

so he watches a lot of Unique huh

the higher end JBL stuff isnt bad but there is far better out there

 

[SilverTurboRidi]

so he watches a lot of Unique huhthe higher end JBL stuff isnt bad but there is far better out there

x2, Id much rather throw something else in there for the price the dealership charges that "option" ha.

 

[wu501 10+ year member]

lol....man up tempe. We are talking about a Corolla here....not some high end car.

 

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

look for some i think q logic kick panels......i installed em in a camry once, and it sounded nice

 

[adas Pro Seller]

Seriously, once you start its fine. I've cut into my m3(well certain things), a brand new 08 explorer, a like new blazer, new tahoe...all turned out fine.If you were doing an install in say a friend porche, or something of sorts it'd be a different story.

If your planning on keeping it, why not do it? If it doesn't come out like you want the first time, do it again. Worst case senario you buy new door panels:

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

I have an '07 Corolla CE manual 5-speed.

This car was easy to remove panels to run the wires and install the HU. I have the Crutchfield install instructions on how to take apart your doors and console if you would like a copy.

The doors are nice and deep. I was able to fit my 3 1/2 deep MMC6500 without needing a baffle (though I'm going to install one soon and properly seal my doors). You could easily fit a 7" woofer and maybe even an 8 without having to mod the door and there is enough room to do an angled baffle. I placed my tweeters in the kick panels - they have a good angle and are level with the woofer. The crossovers are behind the dash above the kick panels.

I ran 1/0 positive and negative and have done the big three. I drilled through the firewall for both runs and used a Streetwires firewall grommet. The positive is near the steering column and negative is behind the computer, which is behind the glove box (which is also where the interior air filter is, BTW). Both run along the center console on opposite sides and run under the rear seat to the trunk. There are deep impressions in the rear seat frame for the wire to run.

If your Corolla chassis is like mine, it can't handle much current for your negative path. I was having bad voltage drops with my 1900RMS system, hence why I installed a negative run.

I've also installed Raammat on my front doors, the whole trunk, the rear seat, dash and side panels. Also covered the rear dash and side panels with ensolite. I don't hear any more rattling from the rear, which was pretty bad.

Let me know if you'd want any pictures of my install. I could show you my big three, tweeter placement, etc.

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

i agree iamamp3 with buying the Q logics. just see if they make them, if they do then your in luck and won't have a ghetto looking interior. i am considering on getting a second pair of comps for my front stage and setting them in the kicks. now i can fiberglass my own and pretty sure the outcome will be fine, only issue is that my hood release latch is integrated into the kick panel which is throwing me off and why i may pick up some Q's.

 

[chunky cumz 10+ year member]

lol....man up tempe. We are talking about a Corolla here....not some high end car.

Hey, i have a HHR 2006, i swear this car is wired like a BMW.

Fuse box in front, batt in back. all kinds of electrical running thru h/u.

The only major issues i see with newer cars is

1. alot of plastic

2. putting door speakers in means alot of deadning is going in.

3. Weird electrical setups, but still possible

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

That reminds me, I did have to replace 6 of the trim panel clips because they do tend to break //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Dealer charges almost $2 per!

 

[redfred18t 10+ year member]

You can always pay a shop to do it, but still no guarantees it will come out as good as you want it if you go that route.

thats why I decided against having a shop install my components. Every shop will cut corners to save time and money and if something happens I dont want them to say "its user error"

at least if I screw up, I can learn from my mistakes to do a better job next time.