yes you can damage a speaker by running it below it nominal power rating

fusionssl
yes you can damage a speaker by running it below it nominal power rating

If you feed a 300W speaker 150W RMS, you're not going to damage it. The damage comes when you try to make that 150W RMS amp push 300W by turning up the gain all the way, in which clipping will happen.
 
Coaxial speakers are usually rated for "Recommended amplifier size of: # - #W RMS"

I don't know jack about car speakers but I have been doing audio work for over 20 years. A speaker is damaged thermally or mechanically meaning the speaker coil is melting because of too much heat or the speaker itself is physically traveling past what it's designed, going past it's excursion limit, because of too much power and also because of the enclosure it's built in. This can happen if you are trying to push a frequency the speaker can not handle such as feeding a tweeter a signal that is intended for a subwoofer. Although you can "clip" a signal with a lower powered amp, I have never personally seen it do any damage to a speaker and is debated among audiophiles. So while you may be able to damage some components with a power under the rating, the likelihood is very small. You would almost have to "try" to do it. I haven't heard any components do this in the last 15 or so years but then again, I don't tinker with cheap stuff for giggles anymore either.
To me, if a tweeter sounds like it is getting blown regardless of the power present, you turn it down. Any speaker for that matter. It's usually pretty obvious when you hear a speaker bottom out or distort and common sense usually kicks in to help you out. I don't think I am going to have a problem with my speakers or the amp I am intending to use as far as being under powered in my situation. I have used the amp before and the stock power is plenty for me with hardly any volume.

Car audio is not any different than general audio, including home theater surround. If you know everything there is to know about home theater audio and setting up the audio, you pretty much have the knowledge about car audio. If you're wanting to get into reflex boxes and tuning the frequency of the box, that can take some skill and knowledge. My personal taste for car audio is component speakers rather than 2way or 3 way speakers. They have a broader spectrum to render more accurate sound(s) than 2way/3way systems. 


The speakers put out the same frequencies as general audio do. In fact, if you wanted, you can even take the car audio and use it for home theater, and will sound just as good. 
 
Getting into your car and taking apart the stuff within your car (e.g. door panels, carpet, etc.) that can take alot of time, though. 

CDT makes some really nice affordable 5.25 coax sets that last forever. Had a pair in my s10. Things took a beating and never died on me. The classic series is what i had. 
 
Car audio once you get to a certain level is completly different then home audio. Once you get into competition style audio its a whole different world. Tuning frequency, Resonant frequency and all come into play. If going for sound quality alignment and all comes into play also. Most is vehicle specific. 
 
Ive been 158.6db sealed legal @37hz and 160.6 outlaw in the kick panel in my last truck. Working on a new build now trying for over 162db sealed up. 

fusionssl
yes you can damage a speaker by running it below it nominal power rating

 
False. The second you turn the volume down technically the speaker is "under powered". The speaker will not see full power at all times. Power to the speaker continues to fluctuate with volume and tones. It does not see a constant power at all times. Throw a clamp meter on an amplifier while playing any given song. Power is never constant. 

Violence.
Car audio once you get to a certain level is completly different then home audio. Once you get into competition style audio its a whole different world. Tuning frequency, Resonant frequency and all come into play. If going for sound quality alignment and all comes into play also. Most is vehicle specific. 
 

Well, when you put it that way, yeah..., car audio has a huge difference, especially with the bass. What I stated above, car audio is doable for home audio (mostly for those that are on a budget or doing some physical/audio tests) and the majority of consumers won't even tell a difference and/or even care about it. But it does work. 
 
 

Violence.
CDT makes some really nice affordable 5.25 coax sets that last forever. Had a pair in my s10. Things took a beating and never died on me. The classic series is what i had. 
 
Car audio once you get to a certain level is completly different then home audio. Once you get into competition style audio its a whole different world. Tuning frequency, Resonant frequency and all come into play. If going for sound quality alignment and all comes into play also. Most is vehicle specific. 
 
Ive been 158.6db sealed legal @37hz and 160.6 outlaw in the kick panel in my last truck. Working on a new build now trying for over 162db sealed up. 

Is there any info you wanna pass to me? I've been lurking into some 6th orders for a month now, its kinda closed area where isnt any advices around. If you dont want to, i can feel you.

158.6db sealed legal @37hz

 
Yeah, no... I won't be getting anywhere close to that. At all. Reference level (85db) in my home is  plenty. I can get down to 16hz but that's for movies. I just want this jeep to sound decent. I don't need to bump and the only person intended to hear my music is me so I don't need the crazy power.

agent8

158.6db sealed legal @37hz

 
Yeah, no... I won't be getting anywhere close to that. At all. Reference level (85db) in my home is  plenty. I can get down to 16hz but that's for movies. I just want this jeep to sound decent. I don't need to bump and the only person intended to hear my music is me so I don't need the crazy power.

Yeah, agreed. That kind of sound is to prove to the world that you have sound while not getting stopped by the cops.