8 ohm speakers, 4 ohm stereo?

Hi, new to the forum.  I found it searching for an answer to my question and thought I'd ask.  Having read through some of the posts I realize I'm in the company of people far, far more knowledgeable than I, so I fully expect to get a few laughs from this.

I just got a 1997 4runner and the stereo (factory) is awful.  I mean awful, I've had a few cars and this is worse than the Kraco stereo with Radio Shack cheapo speakers I had in my first car.  Wanting to upgrade, I settled on a new stereo, a JVC KW-XG700, mainly because it is a double DIN that will fit into my dash, and it seems to be one of the better double DIN models out there, at least according to various consumer reviews.  I will get an amp too, I just haven't decided which one yet (any suggestions would be more than welcome)  Now, here comes the question.  I am trying to save a little money and got this crazy idea of putting home speakers into my car.  They are Infinity RS2001 bookshelf speakers that I've had since high school and they sound fantastic.  I just refoamed them, so they are in great shape.  I noticed that the ohm rating on the speakers is 8 and on the stereo it is 4.  What does this mean and will it work if I try it?  I read through a bunch of basic info on ohms, amps and such, but still don't understand what the ramifications are of connecting pieces of equipment together that have differnent ohm ratings.

Any help would be great, feel free to laugh. :oops:

Thanks, Jason 

Do I have to watch out for anything in particulzr in terms of an amplifier?

Thanks for the reposne

8 ohms is a lighter load on the amplifier than 4 ohms.  Any amplifier that can handle 4 ohms can handle 8 ohms.  The output power will be somewhat less, that's all, but in most cases it's not a noticeable decrease.  It is often the case where a car audio system starts out with odd parts, then slowly over time becomes a very nice system.  There is a long learning curve associated with this evolution, but it's a fun curve to be on all the while.

Take your time with making choices in equipment.  From time to time a really good deal on a good amplifier is posted on these forums, so continue to pay attention to the posts.  There are just a few basic rules you should adhere to right away, though:

Never buy car audio from Ebay.  Never buy car audio from flea markets.  Look for local car audio stores and pay a visit.  Make this forum your homepage.  Save every link you see posted by members...build up your library of information.

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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.