3rd Gen non JBL sound system Upgrade Info

There's not a lot of information on aftermarket audio interfaces for the 3rd gens, even though they have been out for 3 years now. I just upgraded everything in my 24 and regardless of whether or not you have the "premium" package (larger multimedia screen or regular screen) these installation accessories will work.
The front doors are 6x9 speakers, the dash is 3 inch speakers, and the rear doors are 6.5 inch component speakers. As of this post, I could not locate any aftermarket speaker plug for the dash speakers. Just like previous Toyotas, they are tied in with the door speakers. I ended up cutting my plugs off and soldering in new wires to connect to my speakers or crossovers. I was surprised to see that the OEM speaker wires were aluminum opposed to copper, so it took a little longer to solder the copper to the aluminum.

Metra 82-8148- these are the adapters to adapt anywhere from 5 1/4 to 6.5 inch speakers for the rear door speakers
Metra 72-8110- these worked for the dash speakers in previous generation Toyotas, but the OEM plug is different in this generation, however this plug is the same in the rear doors for the woofer/tweeter combo in the door

$17 Metra 72-8104 Speaker Wire Adapters for Select Toyota Vehicles - 4 Total Adapters

Metra 72-8104/Metra 72-8109- can't remember but one of these will work for the front door speakers
Metra 82-8146- 6x9 front door speaker adapters
PAC LPHTY02 LocPro Advanced T-Harness- this allows you to replace the radio or add aftermarket amps to the OEM radio without cutting the oem wires

Hopefully this will help someone else wanting to do some upgrades but have no idea what harnesses or adaptors to use.

 

Funny how they list the subwoofer as 4 watts as well as all the other JBL speakers being lower wattage than the non JBL ones. Also the individual price difference in replacing the speakers is stupid crazy. I was looking at those the other day and list price of a single JBL replacement speaker was over $540

 

You can find all the harnesses at www.autoharnesshouse.com or you can go to Tac0Tunes and get their high quality CNCd speaker adapters and the harnesses all in one place. I wouldn't suggest buying any of their electronic equipment.

 

If you buy speakers from Crutchfield, they provide the speaker harnesses and speaker adapters for free. Tac0tunes are over priced. I'm not sure what electronics they are rebranding, but the speakers are rebranded Image Dynamics speakers. I can say that back in the mid 90's and early 2000's Image Dynamics speakers were very high quality. For a couple of years I was using their under dash high compression horns and midbass speakers in my competition set up. With all of the advancements and technology there are many good speakers to use these days.

 

1) I think the issue folks are having is that Crutchfield doesn't list any speakers for the 3rd Gen. IDK if you can call and talk to their techs and get speakers and all the adapters. 2) What if you don't want to buy your audio gear from Crutchfield? 3) Those shitty flimsy Metra adapters are no where even close to the quality of the solid Tac0Tunes produced adapters that are CNCd to your requested diameter.

I know folks have shitcanned Tac0Tunes on this website due to their previous customer service, but I took a chance and ordered from them and was very satisfied. I'm not their fanboy at all, but it seems a little narrow minded to write off a small business because they had some shitty service in the past. Does anybody get a second chance these days?

I'm not endorsing their enclosures or their rebranded speakers/amps/processors, but if you want all the harnesses and speaker adapters so you can pull out the stock system and wire in a multichannel amp with speakers of your choice they are an option in the marketplace. I don't think you can find the same quality install parts from any other vendor.

For the record I ordered my parts on 28 November 2023 and USPS delivered them to my doorstep 04 December 2023. The USPS tracking shows the parts were shipped the same day I ordered them. Label was created at 9 AM and they were at the USPS sorting facility at 9 PM. I used their chat function on the website before I ordered and they answered all my questions. To make it even sweeter they provided me a military discount for my purchase.

 

There's not a lot of any places that list stuff for 3rd gens, but if you do know the speaker sizes, you are already ahead of the game. If there's something someone likes from Crutchfield they do offer free adapters and harnesses, that was my point. Crutchfield does sell a variety of entry level and high end speakers. I also listed the part #'s in case someone wanted to buy speakers or gear elsewhere than Crutchfield. As for the speaker adapters, the tac0tune ones are solid abs which makes them a little better than the Metra abs cutout ones. For most people they aren't going to make a huge difference. I am a newer member here and have no experience or knowledge of tac0tunes before these forums and my opinion after looking to purchase aftermarket equipment and shopping them is that they are overpriced on the harnesses and speaker adaptors. I never wrote them off. I already had amplifiers from my previous truck and tac0tunes doesn't offer anything in speakers other than a 2 way component set and I was in the market for a 3 way set. As I said in my other post, the rebranded Image Dynamics speakers have a good history of being a quality speaker. As for the wire harness adaptors, there's not going to be a drastic quality difference between a harness adapter between Metra, tac0tunes, autoharness house, Schosche, PAC, etc. They are all using 14-16 ga wire in their harnesses and all serve the purpose of integration without hacking factory wires. A majority of the people that are upgrading their sound systems are not looking to run all new 10-12 gauge speaker wire throughout the truck to all the new speakers.

 

I agree with you. All the harnesses are probably made in China at the same factory and I think 99% of people would find it unreasonable to upgrade from the stock 16 gauge wiring. Most high end component speaker sets are manufacturer wired with 16 or 18 gauge so its probably not necessary. I really don't know how anyone would justify running new thicker cable thru the door jambs.

I think if you shop around you'll find its either autoharnesshouse or Tac0Tunes for the 17' harness to feed the stock speaker level outputs from the headunit to a preamp converter and then back out to the speakers. There really is no need for the 12v power and remote turn-on harness they sell for $70. The headunit can never be shut off so you can just grab the 12v remote turn on from the accessory power in the drivers kick panel and then pull your 12v main power with a 4 gauge wire from the battery to a distribution block in the rear.

The rear tweeter harness isn't really necessary either. I got them with my order because I already had a rear component set in hand, but in hindsight I should've just installed a quality coaxial. The factory rear tweeter location is very small and really not positioned well.

I'll have to disagree with you on the TTunes speaker adapters being worth the price. They are very stout and provide a level of rigidity that you won't be able to achieve otherwise with the Metra stuff. If you're going to put a door speaker in with any significant weight you'll be glad to have them, plus they'll provide the specific cutout diameter you need for your speaker basket. Granted, if someone is just throwing in some $50-$100 component set they're probably not worth it. But if installing a quality component set or coaxial in the $250+ range I would highly recommend them.

 

I guess you could buy this harness for $20 and then splice on whatever length of wire you need. https://www.autoharnesshouse.com/82193_info.html

If you're going for an OEM quality install it seems like a lot of effort/expense to modify the length and maintain the color coding, when you could get the 17 footer for $120.

But if you're on a budget you could definitely just splice in some bulk paired speaker wire and label everything well.

 

I used stinger 9-wire and that harness above to make a loop-back harness. Makes everything super easy

 

The PAC harness includes the switched (which you can use for a remote), constant, and ground which is convenient if you are installing powered line level or processing converters close to the head unit. I installed an Alpine PXE-C60-60 under the drivers seat so I was able to run the constant 12v and switched from the head unit. Most amplifiers these days won't require a separate remote turn on wire because it can turn on the amp sensing high or low level voltage on the line level inputs. We can agree to disagree on the TT adaptors, your door speakers are playing midbass range and up and there's just not going to be so much flex like that of a subwoofer. What's more important is getting sound deadening material in the proper areas such as sandwiched between the adaptor and the door and the exposed metal areas. If you want to preserve the plugs, then the rear speaker adaptors are needed. As for the tweeter location, it's high enough to make a difference, it's much better than having the coaxial with the tweeter pointing at the feet of the rear passengers.

 

You can buy a 9 wire cable that holds all 8 speaker wires plus a remote turn on wire that is in a single jacket (case) from Crutchfield, Amazon, or elsewhere online. The wires are color coded the same as the aftermarket harnesses, white, green, purple, grey speaker wires so it makes it super simple. You are just running one jacketed wire bundle opposed to 4 sets of speaker wire. You can get this precut in 20 ft lengths for around $30 generally and this allows you to have some flexibility to mount the amps where ever you want, you cut it to length.

 

All good points you've made. Definitely a lot of different ways to approach the upgrades depending on goals, price point, install skills, brand preference, tradeoffs, etc. I think the main point in this is getting all the info about the different options out there for folks to consider and decide.

The 9-wire is a great option, and one I considered, but I'm not sure about the cost benefit compared to the prebuilt 17' T harness. If you add up the $20 harness, the 9-wire to get you back and forth with the speaker outputs/inputs, the butt connectors, and the added splicing time is it really worth it? An added difference is the 17' harness is 18g out from the head unit and 16g to the speaker pathway. All considerations each person has to make.

I mounted my Audiocontrol LC5iPro in the void behind the underseat storage bin on the drivers side and then ran 3' RCAs to my amp. I made this choice because I had read some analysis about keeping the line level cable runs as short as possible because the high-level speaker outputs are more resistant to induced noise. I'll have to dig up some pics of that part of the install. But below you can see the amp and subwoofer mounted in the rear.

 

I tried using the automatic sensing turn-on feature of the Audiocontrol LC5iPro, but ran into two problems.

1) Using the GTO function which is supposed to sense the OEM media system is on, induced audible distortion when the volume was turned up past 35.

2) Using the Audio function only turns on the system when there is a music track playing. I figured that out when handsfree phone calls kept dropping. For whatever reason, I guess there's not enough of a signal to keep the LC5i happy.

3) So I ended up wiring in a traditional remote wire and added in a 2 amp fuse that is located right underneath the door jamb for rear drivers door. This way I can pop the jamb off quickly and pull the fuse to disable the system whenever the truck goes into the shop for any reason.

I've got my 6.5 door speakers crossed over at 90 hz so they still play a moderate level bass. Really don't need any deadening material on the Taco adapters. They are solid AF and provide structural stiffening to the door. I just ran some 3/4 foam weatherstripping between them and the door panel. Added the rubber baffles to protect the magnets a little better and seal the speaker to the adapter. On the outer door skin I ran a small 12" x 15" patch of deadener and then placed a 12" x 12" piece of 3/4" neoprene adhesive backed foam over that to try and suck up some of the back wave.

Like I said before, all of this is just options for folks to choose from depending on a lot of variables. Really no wrong or right way to go about this. Just do what you think is best for your audio goals.

 

With the 9 wire, you are only running a "single" jacketed cable, or 2 jacketed cables if using high level inputs. I don't use any butt connectors, I solder and tape/heat shrink all my connections a much better process for many reasons but one benefit is there is no big ball of plastic connectors you have to contend with. I also like to have my wires cut to fit, so if you are using pre-terminated harnesses you could end up with extra wire. This presents issues with having to find somewhere to stuff the wire and could also induce unwanted noise if coiled up. The important thing on using low level (RCA cables) inputs and induced noise is making sure you are using RCA cables that are shielded and twisted and keeping them separated from wires carrying power (like your power cable for the amp power). I even custom make my own lengths of RCA cables. I agree with you that people should become educated on the options available, because there isn't much information available for a vehicle that's been in production for over 3 years. Just trying to help someone out here who may be looking for information.

 

I'm not sure how the Audiocontrol is set up internally with the GTO, it seems odd that the voltage sensing would pass through with increased volume to turn on the processor. Previously it just needed to see the voltage signal to activate a switch to remotely turn on the equipment, the set up now seems as if it's extremely sensitive. It does make sense with the audio function as noted in your #2 because when a call or notification comes in there is an audible drop in volume on the front driver side speaker to sound the notification from your phone. Maybe this drop in volume on one channel is enough to confuse the Audiocontrol. I've always had mixed results relying on a sound based signal for remote turn on and have always just used a separate wire. It beats having to go back through and rerun the wire once you've already got everything run and put back together if it doesn't work out. I used to run into this issue on every OEM Bose sound system in GM's and Nissans back in the day. The foam you added to the adaptor will help because you have 2 solid surfaces meeting and the foam will dissipate any vibration from the 2. The key for sound deadening material is to apply it over all of the exposed surface area. The purpose of the sound deadening material is that it adds mass (weight) to an area to help absorb the sound. Think of how echoes are in an empty unfurnished house, but once you move furniture in the sound is different. It's the same principal, I added sound deadening to all the inside (door skin) and the inside structure (where panel snaps on) and even to parts of the plastic door panel itself. If you want to help the back wave of the speaker, glue some egg crate foam to the door skin directly behind the speaker opening. This will help the sound wave flow into the foam to disperse it and reduce reverberation.

 

The T-harness from Taco is essentially a single cable. I mean yeah it's 8 physical wires, but you can use fabric electric harness tape to bind it all together in a single cable. There's no splices whatsoever, it runs the full length from the plug behind the factory headunit all the way to the line converter where it is cut to length and inserted directly into the input ports. Same thing as the other cable exits the amplifier, a full run with no splice from the amp all the way to the plug behind the headunit.

Here's the pics of where I mounted the LC5i Pro and the fused remote turn-on I can disable. Notice how the two integration harnesses are each a separate bundle? So underneath the sill plate you have, the factory electrical wiring harness, t-harness output from headunit to the line converter, t-harness from amp to speaker connector in dash, and inside the loom is the remote turn-on lead for the LC5i Pro and the phone cable for the Audiocontrol bass knob in the dash.

 

I went with the neoprene closed cell foam adhered to the door skin behind the speaker. Most all of that egg crate stuff out there is open cell foam and I didn't want what is essentially a sponge inside the door panel.

Here's a link to the foam I used.

Adhesive Foam Padding, 8 Pieces Neoprene Foam Anti Vibration Pads High Density Closed Cell Foam Sheet, Insulation Soundproofing Black (4" x 4" x 1/4", 8 Pcs)

https://www.amazon.com/Adhesive-Neo...p_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM

 

Hey Max and Chris, if I wanted to add a powered sub to this OEM system in the back storage how and where would I grab the auto on/off signal and audio? The 4g power wires would come from the battery. I am used to doing subs from aftermarket head units that have dedicated subwooffer outputs and on/off wires.

 

There's a few variables, what type of powered sub are you adding? Does it have speaker level inputs? If you want to add something without hacking your existing wires/harnesses you would need to get a T harness. You can buy one that just has the speaker side as it's a separate plug on the radio or you can get the complete T harness which will include a 12 volt switched wire you can use for the remote turn own. I would suggest that you use the front speaker outputs for the high level inputs as I have found that Toyota has some type of suppression (for lack of getting too technical) on the rear speaker outputs. I have experienced this in this Tundra as well as my 21 Tacoma. Depending on the powered sub you are looking at you could consider using an Audiocontrol LC2i Pro which is a 2 channel line output converter. This will work with the JBL or non JBL equipped systems. Raylo reported having issues using the audio sensing feature so you can use any switched 12 volt source to turn it on. It also comes with a level controller like you see in one of Raylo's pictures which acts like a separate sub volume controller.

 

For anyone that goes down the rabbit hole of adding an external capacitor, I’ll save you the trouble and tell you to make sure you get a battery isolator as well. My truck started intermittently throwing codes because it would sense voltage after the truck was off when I added a JY Power NXT. Fix was simple enough and even when blasting my system I don’t get any dimming.

 

What did you use to mount your fuse holder at the battery?

 

it’s a small metal bracket, affixed to the battery tie down, with a HDPE base.

I also have a SMD 4 post grounding bar that I will be installing soon to have a cleaner place for grounding the lightbar, marker lights and fender lights. Just need to find time to hook everything up finally.

 

So, in theory I'd need a harness like this. It apparently pulls the audio feed from a rear speaker although I understand you think the front would be better choice. And one other thing I am not clear on... I see many of the sub amps and powered subs are "auto on". Does that mean that they turn on and off from sensing the audio signal and do not need a dedicated 12v remote turn on wire?

I need to go measure my rear seat storage bin. I see plenty of nice compact 8" and 10" subs that might fit there... and I'd probably go with one of those and a separate amp. But I need to go look up on how to take the dash and console apart to make the connections and run the wires. PITA to learn a new vehicle... and this one seems very tightly sealed around the head unit space. I can also see myself upgrading the OEM speakers at some point. But probably not amps for those, as the factory unit is plenty loud enough for me. I had Focals in my Tacoma and loved them.

2022+ Tundra p&p add a subwoofer harness at Taco Tunes. (link won't work)

 

Which sub is this in the photo? Is this a CrewMax or Double Cab. I have a DC and not sure the storage bins are exactly the same... although they could be.

 

Its a crewmax

 

So, what are the dimensions of that sub fits in that space?

 

There's a link to the Audison subwoofer I squeezed in there. It just barely fits between the center seat brackets. Takes some very careful and patient wiggling to get it installed or removed. It's almost like it was made to fit in there. Dimensions are listed in the specifications tab.

https://audison.com/product/apbx-10-ds/

 

Awesome write up! What are people doing with their center dash speaker? Are they converting it to a tweeter and splicing it into the left and right tweeters. Are they replacing with 3.5” speaker? Or just deleting it?

 

The speakers are all on the same harness plug so you should be able to choose which set you tap into. For aftermarket applications, the standard colors for front speakers are white- left side and grey right side. Yes an auto on feature senses low level or high level voltage to turn the amp on. Some products works great on others not so much, one of the biggest things I've found is that you will get a sharp "pop" turning on or off when using auto sense. Not sure which head unit you have, but I have the larger screen and it was simple. Remove the trim pieces on both sides of the center AC vents. Then just pop out the tray in the top of the dash (the one with the cigarette lighter plug) and there are (4) 10 mm bolts securing the radio in place. I used a couple layers of painters tape over my AC controls to keep from scratching them up. There's a lot of space to feed the wires down. It's not a matter of the factory unit being loud enough, it's only producing about 15-20 watts of power and when you replace the speakers you won't be getting their true potential. It would be the equivalent of building a full on race engine and using 87 octane gas instead of the 110 octane racing fuel. Right now I'm using the JL Audio Stealthbox that I had in my Tacoma under the rear seat storage until I can build my own box. There's definitely plenty of options even for powered subs. You can use a bazooka tube which has auto on and takes high or low level inputs, or something like a pre fab, I recently installed a small JL Audio prefab powered sub box with (2) 8" subs in a customers 1975 F250 behind the seat and they sounded really good.