3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving America's favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
Hey guys, new to the forums...
Just got a 95 Camry LE (hand me down from my parents). It's driveable, but it's not in very good condition. I'm cleaning it up, replacing a couple things... basically re-equipping it for the 21st century. To start, I was gonna do a full engine bay clean (I wish I had a camera.... its grooooss) and replace the deck and speakers. The cassette deck is a little dated imo. I found the engine cleaning guide thread, so now it's on to the audio. I've got around $1000 to spend, and I've already chosen out (not purchased) a nice new Alpine HU for $180. I'm hoping to fit 2 pairs of speakers and maybe a sub and/or amp into the budget as well.
I just need to know the speaker sizes in the camry... I'm guessing 5 1/4s and 6x9s. Also wondering where I should go to buy the speakers. The prices are pretty decent at Best Buy if I stick to the sale items, but would eBay, craigslist, or another store be better? I can do the install myself, because I've got my friend helping out. If anyone has done something like this before, I could use some pointers.
Head Unit replacement in the Camry is about as easy as it gets. Here's an online tutorial that I found helpful. It's a pdf, so hopefully you have Adobe Reader.
Make sure you buy adapter harnesses for the Camry for wiring it up. The harness is wired to the new HU, and once it's attached then you can just plug into the factory harness without having to cut any wires. This also allows you to reinstall the factory radio if you ever need to for any reason.
As far as speakers, you can fit up to 6-3/4s in the doors depending on the specific model. You can fit up to 6X9s in the rear deck, but no matter what you put back there you'll likely need to buy or fabricate a mounting bracket. The factory rear deck speakers are 6X9, but they have a unique mounting screw layout that doesn't match up with aftermarket speakers.
I bought adapter brackets like these from eBay to mount my new 6X9s. They required some very minor trimming to fit perfectly but they worked out well for me.
Crutchfield.com is a great place to shop, and they're competitively priced. They're not the cheapest, but their customer service, guarantee, etc., is second to none IMO. If you buy your HU from them, they'll send you the appropriate adapter harnesses for your car for free.
If you look at their "Outfit my car" area it will tell you what speakers they have that will fit your car. However, they don't show 6X9s for the Camry. That's because they don't sell adapter brackets for 6X9s for the Cam. I bought 6X9s from them, then used the adapter brackets from eBay and that worked great. Some people don't like to use 6X9s in the rear deck if they're putting a subwoofer in the trunk. Personal taste.
If you haven't visited the audio forum on TN, you can get a lot of info there too.
$1000 budget, you have enough room to get an whole system upgrades if your doing the install yourself.. if you look in the forsale section, there are a few system for sale.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony the Tiger
The Camry is a car that I can rip out someone's pride, stab it, beat it, and completely bash their egos, and it's so ridiculous that the person comes back with a hysterical laugh... ROFL They got trainlengthed by a Camry that in their mind, was a 18 sec car.
If you're not aware of it yet, be aware that to install the door speakers you have to remove the entire interior door panel. The speaker grills don't come off separately. Not a big deal, but some people have gotten aggravated cause they were trying to figure out how to remove the grills.
Same thing for the rear deck speakers. The grills don't come off. You have to take out the back seat and remove the entire rear shelf to get at the rear deck speakers.
or you can spend hours and hours trying to figure it out.. lol
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony the Tiger
The Camry is a car that I can rip out someone's pride, stab it, beat it, and completely bash their egos, and it's so ridiculous that the person comes back with a hysterical laugh... ROFL They got trainlengthed by a Camry that in their mind, was a 18 sec car.
Alright so this is turning into a pretty big job... I'm sure we'll be able to figure out the install. Thanks for the tips... probably saved me a few hours of frustration. I'll continue shopping around for the best prices because I might be able to get the brackets made by my friend for free, i just need to give him the dimensions. I think the manual that came with the car has been sitting in the glove box untouched for 13 years.
My question now is what kind of limitations do I have? Can I run powerful speakers and a huge sub without buying an amp or replacing any other stock parts?
it sounds great
i think the fronts are 6 1/2
the rear speakers are 6x9s
if you got a good deck, the deck's amp will run the speakers fine
if you want a sub, u'll need an amp for sure
Alright so this is turning into a pretty big job... I'm sure we'll be able to figure out the install. Thanks for the tips... probably saved me a few hours of frustration. I'll continue shopping around for the best prices because I might be able to get the brackets made by my friend for free, i just need to give him the dimensions. I think the manual that came with the car has been sitting in the glove box untouched for 13 years.
My question now is what kind of limitations do I have? Can I run powerful speakers and a huge sub without buying an amp or replacing any other stock parts?
It's not that big of a job. I didn't mean to make it sound harder than it is. Just wanted you to be aware that it's not as simple as removing the grills and dropping in new speakers. Once you know how to take the door panels and the back shelf out, it's not a big deal. A little time consuming, but not that hard.
As far as limitations, if you want to run powerful speakers then you'll definitely need an external amp. Most head units don't have sufficient power enough to run high power speakers. If you're going to run a sub, then you'll either need a powered sub, or an external amp with a non-powered sub.
It helps if you define your goals for your system. What kind of system do you want? Do you just want a really good sounding system for your own enjoyment inside the car. Or do you want a high power system with concert volumes that rocks the car next to you at the stop light and rattles the windows in houses when you drive by? Do you want bling in the trunk so you can open it and show off, or do you need your trunk space and you don't want to sacrifice any more than you have to?
Once you define your goals, it's easier to plan a system.
When you say that it's not in very good shape, what do you mean?
I also picked up a hand-me-down '95 LE about a year ago, the first thing I did was to replace the radio / speakers. You say that you have $1,000 to spend on a new audio system, just spend the $180 on the radio and maybe $200 total for the remaining four speakers. Worry about amps or subs or anything else after you hear how the new head unit / speakers sound.
And for what it's worth, I was under a pretty tight budget at the time that I got this car, I ended up just spending $205 total on my sound system (four Sony speakers & a Sony GT410U head unit, there was a pretty good Sony package deal at Crutchfield at the time). Sounds great and I really love the front USB port.
As far as replacing the radio goes, this is a very easy radio to replace. Just pop off the U-shaped piece of trim, remove four 10mm bolts, and the radio is out.
Getting to the speakers is a little tricky but not impossible. If I remember right, there is a trick to getting the front door panels off, something about the inside door handle - do a search and you'll find information on it. The rear deck speakers aren't hard but you have to remove the seat. For the bottom part of the back seat, just pull straight up on the front lip, two clips are holding it in, it'll pop right off. Then you fold down the back of the seat and remove the two side pieces (the part of the back seat that doesn't fold down). Then you remove the rear deck to get to the speakers. It's not hard but will take a little bit of time. Plan on 60 or so minutes to change all four speakers and the radio. Nothing too difficult but a little tedious at times.
When you say that it's not in very good shape, what do you mean?
I also picked up a hand-me-down '95 LE about a year ago, the first thing I did was to replace the radio / speakers. You say that you have $1,000 to spend on a new audio system, just spend the $180 on the radio and maybe $200 total for the remaining four speakers. Worry about amps or subs or anything else after you hear how the new head unit / speakers sound.
And for what it's worth, I was under a pretty tight budget at the time that I got this car, I ended up just spending $205 total on my sound system (four Sony speakers & a Sony GT410U head unit, there was a pretty good Sony package deal at Crutchfield at the time). Sounds great and I really love the front USB port.
As far as replacing the radio goes, this is a very easy radio to replace. Just pop off the U-shaped piece of trim, remove four 10mm bolts, and the radio is out.
Getting to the speakers is a little tricky but not impossible. If I remember right, there is a trick to getting the front door panels off, something about the inside door handle - do a search and you'll find information on it. The rear deck speakers aren't hard but you have to remove the seat. For the bottom part of the back seat, just pull straight up on the front lip, two clips are holding it in, it'll pop right off. Then you fold down the back of the seat and remove the two side pieces (the part of the back seat that doesn't fold down). Then you remove the rear deck to get to the speakers. It's not hard but will take a little bit of time. Plan on 60 or so minutes to change all four speakers and the radio. Nothing too difficult but a little tedious at times.
+1!
this guy's description is ALL you need to get you to your premium audio
and yea, for driving sound quality, 4 speakers and a new deck is ALL you need.
when you putting the 6x9s in the back with an empty trunk, the trunk is pretty much being used as your subwoofer box....so you can get some SERIOUS bass with a pair of good 6x9 speakers...such as Clarion, Sony, Kenwood, JVC...or if you got enough dough, there are some Bose/Sennheiser....but ur just wasting ur money there
I put a new JVC HU in my Cam with 6-3/4" Boston Acoustics Coaxes in the doors, Polk Audio tweeters in the door handles (XLE) and 6X9 Boston Acoustics in the rear deck. For me, it's a fantastic system and sounds great. But, for someone that wants to rock the car next to them at a stop light or show off at the local car meet, it probably wouldn't suffice.
That's why I suggest determining what you're going for up front. Somebody like me will tell you an HU and 4 speakers is all you need. Other guys will tell you that you need 2 12" subs in the trunk and a 1000W amp, but it's all personal taste and what YOU want/need.
If you don't know what you're target is it's a lot harder to hit it, and you're much more likely to get sold something that you don't need or something that doesn't really work for you. Also, your whole system needs to work well together. If you plan it out ahead of time, you're likely to get a better result and waste less time and resources than if you go piecemeal. Just as an example, if you're not going to do a sub, then 6X9s will give you the most bass in the rear deck, but if you're GOING to do a sub, then you may not want 6X9s in the deck, etc.
If you can wait until BOxing Day (Canada) or Thanksgiving weekend (US) I would say check out Best Buy. I got my sub, amp and box there for dirt cheap
rockford 10" P2 was 60 bucks, rockford P200 amp was 100, vented bassworks box for 100.... i have yet to do the speakers though
When you say that it's not in very good shape, what do you mean?
As far as replacing the radio goes, this is a very easy radio to replace. Just pop off the U-shaped piece of trim, remove four 10mm bolts, and the radio is out.
Getting to the speakers is a little tricky but not impossible. If I remember right, there is a trick to getting the front door panels off, something about the inside door handle - do a search and you'll find information on it. The rear deck speakers aren't hard but you have to remove the seat. For the bottom part of the back seat, just pull straight up on the front lip, two clips are holding it in, it'll pop right off. Then you fold down the back of the seat and remove the two side pieces (the part of the back seat that doesn't fold down). Then you remove the rear deck to get to the speakers. It's not hard but will take a little bit of time. Plan on 60 or so minutes to change all four speakers and the radio. Nothing too difficult but a little tedious at times.
First off, thanks for the info! When I say in bad shape I just mean it's pretty worn. Its got 260k+ km on it, the e-brake is rusted out, there's problems with the power door locks and power windows, and the ac/air system has some kinks. Got a bunch of dents and scrapes picked up through the years. Wiper blades need replacing, and I need to clean the engine bay.
Back on topic, there is a general consensus that having a pair of 6x9s in the back as well as a sub in the trunk doesn't make sense. I think I'll go with the 6x9's to start, and then upgrade along the way. At Best Buy a lot was on sale, and most of the Alpine was pretty cheap.
Here's a potential setup:
Alpine SPR-69C (6x9s) in the back
Alpine SPR-17C (6-1/2"s) in the front
Alpine CDA-9883 HU (it had a built in iPod aux)
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95 Camry LE Audio
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