New Owner - Aftermarket Stereo Upgrade

[kebler]

Hello everyone! I just picked up a new 2021 Jeep Gladiator Willys Sport. Yup, I went old school with manual doors and windows. I had a 2000 Wrangler before this and was shocked at how much more I like the Gladiator. I'm very happy to a member of the new community.

One of the items I was considering upgrading was the stereo system. I like to do things myself so I want to keep things simple while getting the best bang for the buck. After reading the forum my initial thoughts were:
- Stinger 10" head unit
- Upgraded sound bar speakers (maybe the $500 Alpines)
- Dash speakers
- Leave kick panel speaker to keep it simple

The biggest questions for me are if I should add a sub and an additional amp for the speakers.
Has anyone come across an installation procedure for adding a power subwoofer and amplifier to the base unit?

I would love to do it, but also don't want to bite of more than I can chew and end up removing the entire dash and interior.

Thanks!!

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[athous]

Congrats on your new willys and you’ve got a good plan going. If you bypass the factory radio and jump to the stinger as your first mod things will be easier. you’ll have more traditional outlets and you won’t need the 300 converter to retain the stock head unit. As for an amp that really depends on what speakers you go with however I would suggest one none the less. Amps have really come down in price and you can easily fit one under the drivers seat. as for speakers themselves the biggest difference is going to be upgrading the bar speakers. Id suggest a metro 6x9 kit and Quality 6x9“s or go with the alpine. I went with the alpine and was quite happy with them. They made a tremendous difference and I have the alpine premium system. Next hit the dash speakers as they are the simplest to change out and there are lots of direct fit options. with those two speaker upgrades my system finally sounds how I want. The knee speakers really don’t matter much as they are facing below and are just odd to begin with. The only other thing I can suggest is an air saw for the cutting of the bar speaker plastic. I got one on Amazon for 25 bucks that came with some blades and worked amazingly well. I just have a dinky harbor freight compressor too so you don’t need a ton of air. I was nervous to make the cuts at first but there’s a lot of room for error. So if your blade wanders a bit you’re fine. However I doubt it will.
good luck on the install!

 

[mike921921]

Not to dissuade you from the Stinger (I have it and love it), but you know it's not weather resistant, right?

 

[xrecar]

I cannot speak to the Stinger unit as I have not had any experience with it. As for adding an amp and sub to a base unit, there are a few options out there. For something plug and play, you could look at the iDatalink Maestro or PAC Audio sites:

https://maestro.idatalink.com/
https://pac-audio.com/

They both make an interface that allows you to connect an aftermarket amplifier to the factory units. They are a bit pricey, but if you want plug and play, and want to use any amplifier, those are going to be your best option. You also have the Alpine package that includes the under seat sub & amplifier setup. In that case, it is also plug and play but limited to the Alpine sub and amp included in the kit:

https://www.quadratec.com/p/alpine/full-sound-system-upgrade-wrangler-jl-gladiator-jt-pss-23wra

There are other ways to handle if you dont care about plug and play, but you would have to test and connect the wiring manually.

Hope that helps and congrats on the Gladiator!
Rob

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