Yep. BIG difference.

 

That is a huge upgrade.... nicely done.

Did you paint them, or just clean them? Mine are just cleaned up - the steel core VC gaskets have kept them dry for about 16-17 years now.

 

Well, it ain't done yet (they were just set in place for that pic), but thanks!

The covers were already painted when I bought them. Not the best job, but they're good enough that I didn't want to strip and refinish them. A quick onceover with some compound, and a few coats of wax made them look pretty good, and should help them hold up so long as I don't subject them to anything harsh.

I'd like to use the steel-core rubber gaskets, but need the thickness of the 1645's.

 

I was actually just looking at some 4 way pioneers just a minute ago.

 

Don't buy into the marketing hype. A good coaxial speaker will almost always sound better than a "4-way" anything. (And components will generally sound even better with the proper tweeter placement.) Sound emanating from the same axis is more correct and sounds better to our ears. The timing is off because the tweeter is in front of the woofer, but that's another audiofile-level topic. Further, if you look at those 4-way things, at least two of the drivers are usually tweeters. Sometimes one is a "super-tweeter " With those side by side, you have highs coming from two or more points instead of one. Great for increasing their volume, crap for clarity and precision. Sometimes, in the cheap speakers, those extra "drivers" aren't even really speakers at all. "Coaxial" 3-ways (I put coaxial in quotes, because the drivers typically are not on the same axis) can be decent if they are truly a mid-bass, mid, and tweet design, but again, 2-way coax speakers can sound just as good or better.
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So those pioneers aren't that good? I got them for free thru my work lol. All 4 doors have em. They sound pretty good to me. Way clearer than the oem speakers when cranked up (I know that's a low bar that was set). I really don't have any complaints with em and my biggest reasoning for replacing my stock speakers was the lack of clarity especially at higher volumes.

 

Hmmm I guess I learned something new today. I thought about getting some OEM tweeter trim pieces for components but then I'm limited on what I can use.

 

Well, the price was right! "Good" is relative, as you note. Compared to the factory speakers, I'm *certain* they sound better, especially "clearer" like you say, since they have dedicated tweeters rather than just a full-range driver.. I replaced the factory fronts in my '99 with a set of name brand 3-ways that I picked up cheap (Pioneers, I think) which sounded better. I moved them to the '03, and again, they sounded pretty good. Then I installed the Alpine Type R coaxials, and was surprised at how much better those were. Moving to the components topped those.

Yes, you're limited to more quality-sounding speakers!
With some thought and ingenuity, you can make things work that aren't supposed to fit, but Crutchfield's fitment guide is a great place to start.
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Welp when I get my next truck, I'll be sure to hit y'all up for info again lol. I'm by no means an audiophile but I do appreciate good clear music. After adding my sub I'll never go back to a sub-less system. Wished I would've added one years ago. Just didn't think it was worth it $$$... boy was I wrong lol

 

The A-Series is Pioneer's middle of the road. Their G series aren't much better, if any, than a stock speaker. I have 4 of their A-Series 5 1/4" (TS-A1370F) speakers in my Toyota. Not the greatest speakers, but worlds above the Toyota speakers I pulled out of it. For stock speakers, Ford really doesn't do a bad job in comparison to some of the crap I've seen over the years.

The A-Series is actually a good compliment if you have a sub, IMO. Everyone's ears are different though, LOL.