New Speaker or Sub & Clutch Cost..

[Blue1984]

Hi all

I've done a search on my query and couldnt find anything that really answers my question so here goes!

Our Red MK1 will soon be back in working order *fingers crossed* and she needs new tyres soon, a new clutch soon and an audio improvement too.

I've read on here that changing the speakers tends to be quite a bit of hassle and that some people have bought or made subs which go behind the seats. If you purchase a sub, do they take a lot of wiring in? How do you fix them in place? Are prices roughly around the £150 mark? Any other advice anyone can give?

I'm not into "da heavy bass" or anything, just like the sound to be decent and not be so shrill and tinny like it is out of the standard speakers in the MR2.

All input appreciated, need to budget out what can be done when finances permit

EDIT: I've been given a price of around £300 for a new clutch and fitting all together - is this a reasonable price?

[WeirdNeville]

Re subs, you have a couple of options.
You can get all in one 'active' sub which either clips into the speaker loom or uses a sub output on the stereo itself. They can be had for about £100 and I think alpine used to do one, but they're getting increasingly hard to find.
Secondly you can get a cheap sub and box (they need to be in a box to work well as a rule) and use a seperate amp to power it. If you know what you're doing and source second hand bits there's no reason you couldn't get it done for £150. The problems are that most subs need more box size than you can give them in an mr2, and the problems associated with mounting, wiring in and setting up a stand alone amplifier.

The choice is yours! If you haven't upgraded your head unit or standard speakers then I'd make that the priority tbh, you'll get better value for money there.

[trunks_mk1]

I paid £250 for my clutch to be fitted which was resonable.

As for sound improvement...you can easily change the front speakers to any 10cm speakers yourself, very common - even argos do a pioneer set for around £20 which would do the trick and improve it drastically. Seriously...go for a big brand name and at least 100w should be fine...head unit is your choice if you want to change it. There are 2 speaker at the top rear of the car but the are expensive to source because of the size, not worth it in my opinion....if they still work I would just fade most of the sound to the front as theyll pop when you turn up your new front speakers. OR disconnect them like I did. As for a sub, Pioneer do an under seat one which is around £100 and you don't need an amp because it built in.

If you need pictures/links let me know.

Trunks

[Blue1984]

Thank you both for your replies.

So it's worth doing the front speakers then? It only has one rear one working and I'm not bothered about that if the front ones can be improved & disconnect the other one.

She has an aftermarket head unit with a CD Player..I think it's Sony, but I haven't driven or been in her for so long I can't remember

We've found a clutch for her now, it's a genuine Toyota one so it's just the fitting of it.

One thing I do want to try and establish, is that both of us are not very used to dealing with electrics in this manner and if it is very complex then I'll shy away from it.

[crazylegs]

i know nothing about subs, thought its a sarnie, but the clutch cost seemed a bit high. not bad though. fitting will be a good bit less. if travelling is not a problem then pm me for a price.

[trunks_mk1]

if the rear speaker is blown and your not too bother, just upgrade the fronts for now and fade the sound to the front.

See how that sounds and if your not happy you can go a bit further. For now I think that will be a big improvement. Keep the same head unit if your happy with it.

[WeirdNeville]

Thank you both for your replies.

So it's worth doing the front speakers then? It only has one rear one working and I'm not bothered about that if the front ones can be improved & disconnect the other one.

She has an aftermarket head unit with a CD Player..I think it's Sony, but I haven't driven or been in her for so long I can't remember

One thing I do want to try and establish, is that both of us are not very used to dealing with electrics in this manner and if it is very complex then I'll shy away from it.

Don't worry about the 'electrics' for wirng up speakers. It's as simple as electrics get! Just disconnect the +be terminal of the battery before you start work to prevent potential short circuits or blown fuses.
For the fronts gently pry out the plastic grille, they're held in by 2 clips and this will reveal the speaker behind. It will be held in by 2 bolts. Undo those and the speaker will simply lift out. Have a look first as if somesone has upgraded the headunit they may have upgraded the speakers too. Any 4" speaker should fit so long as it's not too deep. Any cheaper speaker from halfords or so will be fine. Wiring is simply a case of using the connectors on the wires (only two wires) to connect to the terminals on the speakers. Even if you get +ve and -ve mixed up nothing terrible will happen, it just won't sounds as good as it could!
I'm an advocate of disconnecting the rear speakers generally, bit if you really need the volume you can find small speakers to fit. They're a tad harder to access than the fronts but wiring them is still very simple. I can't remeber the size off the top off my head, but a quick search on here will reveal it!
Hope that helps!