No problem. Too little amplifier power won't hurt speakers on their own. An underpowered amp just won't drive your speakers to their full potential. There's an idea that an amp that's not delivering enough power to the speakers can cause distortion or clipping, but that'll be a tangible issue when you have your equipment turned up to a fool's level, and also, your typical clipping is not as harmful as a pure square wave. I think this page explains it pretty well.

So let's use jefthim's Morel Maximo 6 speakers as an example. Most speakers will specify a continuous power handling spec, and the Maximo 6 is listed as a 90 watt RMS speaker with a peak of 240 (also I'll mention now that I personally don't talk about peak power and generally don't find it relevant). If you want to squeeze all the potential out of the Maximo 6, you could get an amp that's rated to deliver 90 watts per channel at 4Ω (most car audio speakers are 4Ω, while common subwoofer impedance ratings are 4Ω, 2Ω, or 1Ω). In practice, you don't want to listen to a full 90 watts of power through a speaker.

Anyway, if that power handling spec is just a single wattage like 90, then I interpret it as a maximum. Some speaker manufacturers will specify a recommended amplifier power range and you can just follow that if it's provided.

I have Polk Audio DB6502 front component speakers for my Kenwood Excelon X302-4. The DB6502 is 4Ω and rated for 100 watts continuous. The X302-4 is 50 watts x 4 at 4Ω.

As for some other stuff, the factory Pioneer amp is annoying to deal with as it has 2Ω impedance for the front channels while the rears are 4Ω. When you go aftermarket, you're probably going to match the impedance for all four of your aftermarket speakers, which will likely be 4Ω. If you buy 4Ω front speakers now to use with the factory amp, they'll seem quieter than stock and you might even think they're defective. They're not.

This is another reason why I was okay with keeping the factory rear speakers because they're 4Ω like everything else and not pushed as hard with my head unit as the DB6502s are with my amp.

 

Great information, Thank you. I have found online that there's supposedly a general rule of thumb to use an amp with double the speakers continuous power rating. So for simplicity, if that number is around 100W continuous, x4 speakers, I'd run a 4 channel 800W amp correct? I will keep everything the same ohms, probably 4 like you said. So seemingly simple. Many sources do say to run new wires if the new speakers are over 75w rms, which they will be, but I guess that's not necessary huh? Running the amp wires to the factory wires behind the dash would be easier and cleaner. Here's a short basics write-up from Crutchfield I read through https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Xd18ot...ion_guide.html . They also recommend keeping the amp over 3 feet away from the head unit, so the factory location may not be ideal. But I get that you guys have had success with the factory location and factory speaker wires. So I feel confident that it will work fine.

 

One other thing, are there any viable options for replacing the factory tweeters? I'm sure it's not something you'd think is necessary, however these are all 1998 original speakers. Old, and old technology. What size are they? And would it be a good idea to throw some in? Like I said, I want to run 2 way rears with the integrated center tweeters, but just one way up front with the tweeters sliced or bridged as they call it for optimal location. Might be nice to have new everything. Or is this way to big of a pain? I don't seem to hear about anyone messing with them.

 

I'd think "old" would be an issue due to the extreme conditions an automobile interior goes through year to year.
Tech? Depends really on if you like the way they sound now.

 

I read the same about the factory speaker wiring up to 75 watts. While my speakers are rated at 100 watts RMS, my amp is only feeding them up to 50, so that's why the thought of upgrading the factory speaker wiring didn't even come into play. I mean, if you are going to go with a big amp, then maybe it would make sense, but giving the speakers a full 100 watts is a bit much, a 200 watt x 4 amp would be massive in both size and price, and I've honestly never heard of a four-channel that powerful.

I know you were using a hypothetical example, but this is why I don't subscribe to doubling the amp power over the speaker's max RMS rating. One, good high-powered amps are large and expensive, and two, you don't really get to make full use of them anyway. If you shop around on Crutchfield, you'll see most four-channel amps are well below 100 watts x 4, and only a fraction of those are going to fit in the factory CD changer or amp location.

The recommendation to keep the amp a distance away from the head unit is due to potential noise. Same goes with the advisory about locating the amp by the passenger side firewall/kick panel where our factory amp is. As that Crutchfield guide says, it's to avoid potential interference with the electrical system and AM/FM signals, but I haven't had any such issues.

If you run component speakers up front, you'll end up replacing the factory tweeters, and I'd imagine that's what the majority of 2GS owners have done even if they don't mention it in their install. I would say they're very necessary if you want to get the most out of your speaker setup. Putting coaxials in the front would be a downgrade, although I remember a small handful of people have done that too. I think that's kind of hacky to be honest, and you'd end up with a dummy tweeter in the factory location.

The factory tweeters are 1" in diameter.

 

You can make the installation easier overall if you consider the head unit you're going with. Something with a decent amount of power will run component midrange and tweeters on all 4 channels just fine for what your needs appear to be. And it will easily be piped right into the stock wiring for those speakers. A good head unit will also include RCA outs for a sub channel, which you can use to drive a small mono amp to power the package shelf mounted subwoofer. I chose a Kenwood DDX374BT and its been hanging in there for my door speakers just fine at stupid volume levels.


I'd also recommend spending a little coin on decent speakers in this arena. You get a lot of the sound from these, and you can get a decent front pair for less that $150-200. So $15 for a set of 4 is a bad idea.

This component set from Skar Audio should go well at a pretty cheap price.

This little amp would put out some nice power for a 10 or 12" subwoofer in the stock location. I don't get a commission from Skar. I just like their product and am running it in my GS.

Don't skimp on power wiring on the amp and subwoofer setup. Use Oxygen Free Copper(OFC). Yes, it costs a little more. But will give you trouble free service for years.

 

For the stock subwoofer location, I ripped apart the blown stock unit and used it for a mount for a Kicker 10. It served me well until the hot California sun dried that woofer up a few years later.




So this is gone now. I'm in progress on a new build...

 

Thanks for the input. I will be researching a lot for the right setup. As far as the sun, my tint is as dark as it gets in the back and I'd plan to still have the sub covered with the oem panel there.

 

8M6 I am thinking of doing the exact same setup. Do you have any tips or pictures on how to install the amp in the factory amp location?

 

The OEM amp has a mounting bracket at the bottom to hold it up. You'll have to make your own bracket to reuse that lower factory mount.

Here is the fitment of the Excelon X302-4.

 

TrueGS300,

What did you end up installing in your car? I'm shopping and installing a very similar setup to what you described in my 99 GS400. Very curious as to how your system is working out and if you have any "do's" and "don'ts" to share. What did you get for a head unit?

 

Unfortunately my GS has been sitting on the back burner due to my turbo build not going well with tuning etc. Plus I bought a house this year, along with many other busy things going on too. So it's just sitting for now, and I still only have the few installation parts I ordered a few months ago like the door speaker adapters, the foam pads, and a single din head kit. Still plan to do all this. Just need to make some time for it soon.

 

That stinks. I know how it is when a project has to hit the back burner. I have a few of those myself. Lexus GS audio, however, is a "now" thing for me. Where did you get the foam pads? You're referring to the round foams that install between the speaker and the factory speaker covers in the doors as shown above by jefthim?

 

Yes, I liked what I read about them so I got a set. Amazon had them. Thats where I got my 6.5 adapter plates and head unit kit too. I'll be buying the actual speakers, amps and sub from a more reputable source most likely. Still in the works. Just can't get motivated to do all this in a car the should be making 700-800whp but is only putting down 200 for some unknown transmission issue. Working that out with the builder slowly but surely.

 

Okay yeah I'll check Amazon. Thanks! I'm getting my big dollar equipment from Crutchfield most likely. Excellent customer service. Are you running the factory 5-speed auto? I want to swap in a 350Z manual 6-speed when I start having transmission issues. That should be a good solution to put all your horsepower into the rear end.