New Wire for Door Speakers

Has anyone put in aftermarket wire for door speakers?

I have upgraded audio. Components, amp, etc, on stock HU. Gonna put in aftermarket HU soon. I'd like to install single runs of wire from door speakers to amp and bypass factory audio wiring.

Had a look yesterday and it doesn't seem easy. Most notably on driver side. Huge collection of harnesses in driver kick panel area. Very difficult to run wire through rubber door-to-body channel.

Anybody blazed a trail already? I've done this on several other vehicles and it was always pretty easy. Doesn't seem easy here.

 

It’s not easy at all but it can be done. I did it using a fiberglass fish tape and unhooking the connection plug in the kick panel helped . It’s a tedious and time consuming process, so be prepared.

 

Thanks for your input. Was the job worth the effort?

 

Unless you’re trying to run 100w RMS or more to your speakers, it won’t be worth it

 

it is to me... YMMV

there's also another option as well. cut an 'x' just slightly smaller than the diameter of the cable being ran on both sides of the boot, and run it external to the door boot

 

And that way, when water gets in your vehicle (it will) and hits those huge connection panels in the kick panel area, your insurance can immediately deny your claim and you’re stuck with a wrecked ECU, a corroded connection panel, and a few grand out of pocket in damages

 

drip loops save lives

that picture is from my brz. car was received and audio system were installed in early 2014, absolutely no issues with water ingress

 

I'm at about 125w RMS. It's more for simplicity of setup. One run straight to amp instead of relying on factory wiring and harnesses and connectors and...

 

There was a moment where I considered this. But, I think I'd stick with the factory wiring. I don't want OFC that bad.

 

I usually end up putting an amp on all my speakers at some point in time. So to me it’s worth it not having to go back and do it later . Plus I like the challenge of figuring things out to maybe make it easier for me next time or someone else that’s doing it.

 

The connectors have some empt pin spaces in them and I’ve seen people run single wires through them. It’s still a pain to get it through the boot, but can definitely be done for those determined enough. Which is the case for all vehicle mods.

 

Ain't that the truth. How badly we want a thing is often the limit of possibility.

I'll probably go for it.

 

I fished a wire through the boot on the passenger side yesterday. It was much easier than I thought it would be and took about 15 min including disassembly. I took off the kick panel unplugged the door harness and pushed the boot off both sides. Then I used a ln extra 8 ga power wire and pushed it through. Then I taped the speaker wire to it and pulled it through. the boot went right back on. Just be sure it's properly seated all the way around. I'm going to do the drivers side today. I'll let you know how it goes.

Also, I am running the teeter and door speaker on different channels on the amp or I would have used the OEM wires

 

I did the driver's door after work it was about the same. I took a few pictures.

 

I remember trying to rationalize not doing it. But in for a penny…in for a pound. It’s a pain but so very glad I did it. I run a modest 40 watts to each component speaker (40 to tweeter and 40 to mid-woofer)…but still sounds big and clean. You must do it…lol.

 

Super easy to run extra speaker wire in the factory "boot".....
As @MattDsTaco pics show...

Just a slight learning curve.
Thankfully the harness in the kick panels are easy to disconnect and pull out of the cab.

In Tacomas, Tundras, and 4Runners I try to always run new wires to the Mid and Tweeter. It leaves the factory wire intact and I don't have to worry about aluminum speaker wire or speaker harness adapters( and the toyota loves to tie the Mid and tweeter together).

 

It’s really not that hard to do if you want to. I used a 2ft heavy duty zip tie, taped 12guage wire to it and ran it through the boot from the inside. Get some windex or wd40 to lube the boot area and it slides right through.

Is it needed, No, is it over kill, YES, but i had the extra wire and come from the 90's & 2000 era of car audio where we did it. If you can get by without doing it, use the stock wiring. It will handle 100watts easily to the doors.

 

How would you run new wire up to the dash tweeter locations?

 

I didnt have dash tweeter locations but im sure if you pop the speaker out, you can trace the wire from the top going down using a long ziptie, they seem to work best for me. They are slim enough to slide down the speaker opening to see from under the dash.

 

You can feed the wire in from the dash location and it will come out under the dash but the factory wiring to the dash speakers should be sufficient since tweeters or small speakers won't use much power. However, you would need a speaker harness ike this to not have to cut the wire. If you buy one one of these make sure you check the polarity. Thr one I ordered was reversed.

METRA - Subaru/Toyota 2008-Up - Speaker Harness (72-8110)

$6 METRA - Subaru/Toyota 2008-Up - Speaker Harness (72-8110)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NB4SF5X