09 Vibe with Monsoon possible replacement?

[OutlawTorn]

Hey Guys.

I have been looking around on the forums here and only bits and pieces of information on this topic.

I have an 09 with Monsoon. I would like to upgrade the speakers (maybe the tweeters too, do you think components are the way to go?), the sub, and possibly the amp as well. The head unit is not a big concern yet, but I am thinking that by adding a sub, I'll need a new head unit. I am a noob at this.

So, what should I start with? Replacement speakers? And how serious of a job will it be to get a new amp and sub in there?

Any recommendations for quality replacements?

[Burkett1974]

Hi OutlawTorn,

I undertook this endeavor a few months back. I upgraded the head unit, amp and sub together the first time around, then followed suit with the door speakers and tweeters a month later. The Monsoon wiring is a pain in the (removed), so I just ran all new wiring rather than spend the $150 on an adapter plug. I didn't use Onstar so there was no need for me to spend that much money on an adapter. Plus, when you change the amp out, you have to run new wires for the back speakers as they pass through the stock amp. I spent hours trying to utilize the stock wiring to the head unit and the new amp... just not worth it. Run some new speaker wire and amp wiring kit and you can knock out the whole job in less than 4 hours. The door speakers are held in place with rivets so you will have to drill those out, but again, so worth it to put in some good speakers.

i personally thought the stock system sounded great... until I upgraded! lol. I went with a JL Audio 8" sub, JL Audio amp, Pioneer nav system and Polk 651's for speakers. Like I said, save yourself some money and a lot of time by just running your own wiring rather than trying to integrate with the Monsoon system. It is too proprietary. Also, I never found a way to make my Pioneer head unit's satellite antenna work with the existing satellite radio antenna on top of the car, so i just ran the one that came with the unit to the front dash. Works fine there.

Good luck!

[OutlawTorn]

Hey man. Thanks so much for getting back to me.

Sounds like if you want things to work as normal, like XM and Onstar (which i still use, on occasion) it will cost some serious dough for wiring harnesses and such.

Would my steering wheel buttons work too? (Probably another expensive harness, right?)

Did you need shallow-depth speakers in the front because of the windows? And are the tweeters components, part of the front door speaker?

Thanks again

[Burkett1974]

For the steering wheel controls, I used a PAC SWI-PS. (Just Google it and it should come right up). I am attaching the directions to actually install and program the device for our model car. It took some digging to find the info, but I can confirm that it works flawlessly with my head unit.

For the speakers, I went with the Polk 651's. I don't think they are shallow depth. There are mounting brackets that are needed for the door speakers which provide a lift from the door that allows a little depth. If you buy replacement door speakers, i suggest using Crutchfield as they will send you the mounting brackets for free with the speakers. I went with independent tweeters up front. Just pop the sail (tweeter cover) off and remove the old ones and pop in the new ones. I took mine with me to Bestbuy to get the right size. I think I went with Clarion, but can't remember off hand.