1993 jeep wrangler sq/spl-can it sound good

being my truck is dying, i was going to buy a bmw. i found an old jeep wrangler on the side of the road today in really good condition for its year. my teenage dream car. being in vermont is seems wise to get a car that can take a beating. i have never heard a decent system in a wrangler before except in one with a hard top but that was only bass. this jeep has a hard top, but during the summer i would never have the top or doors on. how would components in kick panels and the subs where the back seats are sound with the top off? and with the top on how would they sound? sound is a slight factor in my decision along with a huge price difference and an really early midlife crisis

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Pioneer PEH-9660mp
Mb Quart PCE-216 biamped
JL 12W6v2
Sony XM-4026 amp for tweeters
Kenwood KAC-7251 amp for mids
JL-4100 amp for sub

oh, and ive never built speakers for outdoor listening. what should i take into consideration for the subs i choose and how i build the box?

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Pioneer PEH-9660mp
Mb Quart PCE-216 biamped
JL 12W6v2
Sony XM-4026 amp for tweeters
Kenwood KAC-7251 amp for mids
JL-4100 amp for sub

I think in your case I would consider making a down firing box so as to protect the sub woofers from the elements, and if you can make a compartment inside the box with proper venting for your amp all the better. As for components in kicks, the can sound perfectly fine but the real question is how big are you. There isnt a whole lot of floor space in those  vehicles so you need to check for space issues and make sure you take the clutch into acount.

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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer

was definately going to downfire the subs for security reasons anyways. i only took it for a quick drive, checked the engine, suspension, and for excessive rust. didnt even think to check if i could put kick panels in it. i think i recall my foot rubing against the wall when i pushed the clutch. would there be any other good places to mount the speakers? there were fiberglassed pods on the roll bar. but having a speaker right above sounds awful. those pods would be good to keep everything dry

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Pioneer PEH-9660mp
Mb Quart PCE-216 biamped
JL 12W6v2
Sony XM-4026 amp for tweeters
Kenwood KAC-7251 amp for mids
JL-4100 amp for sub

I have done a Wrangler once, we cut the doors, and put boots between the doors and sidewall and ran wires, installed a set of 6 1/2's,(very tight fit, but doable) above the wheel well in the rear, we secured some 6x9 enclosures, behind the rear seat, we had 2 10"'s downfiring, it was very tight to get the box in, it was a total of 2.2 ft3. It might be quite hard to get a twelve back there, if the room is the same on this model.

This was a softop wrangler. All in all, it sounded ok, But going down the highway, top on or off, you have to accept there is little left when it comes to SQ, Loudness wasn't a problem, you could hear all speakers quite well.

Hope this gives a little insight.

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i own a 1980 jeep cj5 so of course space was the problem for a good sounding unit.  My soulution: I built a custom console that houses on 10 in sony explode sub and fits perfect between the front seats without interfering with the stick shift powered by a 300 watt sub amp. that took care of the bass for the rest i took a cheap compact truck speaker box that fits perfect behind the rumble seat and replaced the 6 1/2 inch speakers with sony explode as well as replacing the 5 1/2 inch speakers in the dash with sony explode speakers. front and rear speakers run on a 400 watt 4 channel amp (100 watts/channel) with a sony head unit. both amps fit very well under the rumble seat which also protects them from the weather. in addition i am planning to replace the rear speakers with 2-8 inch subs to hit the bass above the 10 inch sub range (recut the 6 1/2 inch openings) the box is plenty big enough for air space and shaped on an angle that matches the rumble seat(think it cost maybe 20 dollars at an auto-zone) and move the 6 1/2 inch speakers to two small custom made boxes-one over each wheel well between the rowbar and seat.  problem solved-the cosole looks great and one of a kind and the sound is awesome better than any other jeep ive heard.

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juscrusing

if you want to go a little more expensive try 4wd.com they have many cutom speaker enclosures that utilize the wasted areas in a jeep but they are a little costly. and as for the above set up it sounds good with top on or off....

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juscrusing

I'd go with sound bars. With a jeep, you want to be able to hose off the floor :)

Also, in the back, I've got a friend that put in outdoor speakers (for home audio) and mounted them to the roll bar. It looks good and works fairly well, although the speakers arn't the best...

-Drew

i took some measurements, there is no chance of kick panels. where would be the next best sq position be? the doors are out of the question as they will rarely be on.

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Pioneer PEH-9660mp
Mb Quart PCE-216 biamped
JL 12W6v2
Sony XM-4026 amp for tweeters
Kenwood KAC-7251 amp for mids
JL-4100 amp for sub

a sound bar would be your next best bet (and just about your only) unless you wanna go for a TON of custom work and put 'em in the dash....

If anyone has a better idea, I'd like to know too. I'm either gonna go for a wrangler soon, or wait a few years and get a suburu STi....

-Drew

i actually just thought of that, the dash could hold 6"s pretty easily. they are going to be even brighter than they already are though it would be better than the sound bars. do you know what is behind most of the dash? empty space, things that can be moved easily, or am i going to have to do a lot of rewiring

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Pioneer PEH-9660mp
Mb Quart PCE-216 biamped
JL 12W6v2
Sony XM-4026 amp for tweeters
Kenwood KAC-7251 amp for mids
JL-4100 amp for sub

placement of the sub(s) is really the only problem...i wracked my brain for months trying to come up with a solution short of removing the rumble seat (theres definatly not enough room behind it) . again the only place that realistically worked was a custom console but it only fits a 10 in sub. which surprisingly was plenty.  Being in the mud hosing out my jeep is almost a daily occurance and i've never had a problem with damaging my audio equipment no electrical components are exposed directly.  for other speaker enclosures there are endless designs that fit where ever you could imagine-pre-formed and contoured for anywhere from behind the rumble seat, in between the roll bars, one even curves around the sides of the front seats, not to mention another that is preformed to fit along the front of the kick panel and one for the center under the dash.  The sound bars i have heard have been fairly inadequate if a high power system is what you are wanting and for the price of them there are better ideas. 

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juscrusing

the factory locations of the speakers are fairly clear behind the dash its the head unit location thats the problem

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juscrusing

for the sub, i am taking out the back seat. the girls can always sit on the box(hehe). do you have any pics of your install? i plan on hosing out the floor also so im not sure where to put the amps. the subs water proofing will be easy, but what would i do about the deck and comps?

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Pioneer PEH-9660mp
Mb Quart PCE-216 biamped
JL 12W6v2
Sony XM-4026 amp for tweeters
Kenwood KAC-7251 amp for mids
JL-4100 amp for sub