kratos

I have decided to make a new thread here so it doesn't get missed in the 5 pages of the infamous thread made by RSTSpeed (the one in the sticky at the top of this forum).

I have decided to tackle this procedure during one of my rare days off. Basically it is a little more in depth on how to make your tiny 4" speakers into 6.5" speakers up front. I was originally going to use 1/4" ABS plastic but I couldn't find my sheet so Instead I used 1/4" MDF. I may upgrade later to plastic. There are a few simple recommendations I would suggest before you think about doing this:

1) When using a 5.25" or a 6.5" high power speaker or component set, it will always sound better with a separate amplifier. The stock Nakamichi or Pioneer unit is meant to power a whopping 20 watt speaker per channel so it may not do your 100 watt babies justice.

2) If you must use your factory deck/amplifier or an aftermarket hi-power deck, make sure you get more efficient speakers. Something like a co-axial or a basic component set with a smaller crossover will suffice. A decent cheaper set of coaxials would be the Alpine Type S. Of course, any lower or entry level make and model will do. A general rule of thumb: The bigger the crossover, the more power it will need.

3) Give yourself at least 3-4 hours for the basic install

Now, on with the show. Here is what the factory door speaker/enclosure looks like:


Now, you can remove the top part of the enclosure with the speaker in it from the bottom 'box'. At first it looks like there are only two screws but in fact there are 10. The remaining 8 screws are hidden beneath the foam gasket on the box. You can locate the screws with your fingers and remove them with a screwdriver or drill-driver. When you do, the box comes away from the factory baffle. Here is a test fit with my Kicker speaker:



Now, this thing is bloody deep! You should be able to fit the deepest speaker on the market in there. My kickers had plenty of room to spare:



Now you may be wondering why I don't utilize the factory tweeter location. Well, the tweeter is just too darn big. I just use the point-source mount which I believe to sound better anyways.

Here's a pretty good shot of where those hidden screws are. I also tested out the 1/4" MDF baffle to see how it would line up with the box:



To affix the new baffle to the box I used this stuff made by 3M called strip-caulk. You can get it at Home Depot or any home improvement store. Its pretty sweet !



Now, lets switch gears a bit here...I wanted to run a 2 channel amplifier which will go in the trunk. I HATE factory wiring so I ran not one, but TWO sets of 14 gauge speaker wire through the door boots - one for the mid and one for the tweet. Why? My crossovers are huge !



So it took me about 15 minutes per door which wasn't too bad. hint* Run one wire through, tape the second wire to the first then pull them both through completely. There is anough room !

Remember to mark your wires so you can tell which one is which. I put a piece of black tape on the mid-bass wire (one at each end !). Now, I don't want to drill any holes in this car so I ran it through this handy little piece of tape covering a hole. They must have known I wanted it there



Now, here is the baffle/box assembly in place with the two screws up top. I want to pick up a couple of longer screws fro the bottom eventually.



Now here is the speaker all installled in the baffle/box:



More to come with the amplifier install !

RSTSpeed

iTrader: (4)

Nice dude! How did you get the wiring through the boot?!?! I couldn't, I had to punch a hole (looks crappy). :-(

I like that strip caulk stuff, wish I had used that.

Thanks for the props, too!

vin 78

To make it easer to run the wire through the boot, use WD-40.

kratos

I didn't have to use any WD-40 or grease or anything. You just need to take your time with it. It helps to pop out the grommets on both sides. You can actually pull the wiring out of the door about 8-10" to give yourself more room. Start at the car side because its the tightest at first. Squeeze the wire through as far as you can, bunch up the accordian boot as much as possible, then pull the wire through with a pair of plyers. Once its through its actually pretty easy to pull through the boot. Oh, you don't have to use 14 ga. either - even 16 or 18 gauge should work fine. I just like to overdo it.

JJSC400

WD40 eats through rubber! if you want to test this for proof blow up a baloon and spray it with wd40 it will pop within 5 minutes ! Best thing would be silcone spray. Save the SC Rubber! Wish everyone the best~

RSTSpeed

iTrader: (4)

I used 14 awg. as well - great minds think alike, haha!

Good to know about the WD-40.

Thanks guys!

VinnyQH

iTrader: (2)

do you have any pics of the finished results yet?

kratos

Well, there is not much to see as of yet. I still need to get my amps in the trunk, install my deck and start working on the fibreglass enclosure. Its going to be a long and slow process because I'm too busy working on many other projects (as in projects that actually pay me !).

RSTSpeed

iTrader: (4)

Damn, do I ever feel ya there....

GaDawg

Kratos,
I know this has been a while, but I'm fairly new to the forum. I got some great pics and tips from RSTSpeed, but I would REALLY like to see pics from your project, beginning to end. Can you post your latest pics?

Also, what HU did you go with? I have a good idea of everything else I'm puttign in my '94 SC4, but I have only seen a few 2-DIN units that look good and don't cost $1000+.

Alpha8A

sorry to bring up such an old thread, but i would also really like to see pics of how you installed it all. your information looks really useful as im trying to also install new speakers.

vntperform

iTrader: (15)

Kratos: Got any uploaded pixs, all I see is Red X's.

I'm getting ready to redo my sc and needed your link for advise!