genius1512

In my gs300 I was gonna change my sub to a jl audio IB4 free-air and my door speakers and tweeters. My question is what tweeters will fit up front? Like which brand and model to buy. And What size door speakers should I use? I know it comes with 4" speakers now and I heard that bigger ones can be used. But I don't want to hacking the car up and make a mess. Would it sound good if I just put new 4" speakers in or should I go to 5.25"? Would I even really notice the difference? I want to replace them with the least amount of damage to the car.Thank You!!!

Twiggy

What's your budget?

I think most tweeters will fit in the stock tweeter location. Some tweeters (dynaudio) will come in a casing that wont fit but you can take those off usually.

I would use 6 1/2 inch speakers up front. The smallest I would go is 5 1/4....never heard of a good pair of 4 inchers.....except if you have a three way set up (typically something like 6 1/2, a 3 or 4 incher, and a tweeter) from reputable speaker companies like dyn, focal, diamond audio,......

If you want to put anything larger than a 4 inch then you are going to have to do some custom work....You don't have to cut up anything...you can just build a baffle and mount your speakers to it....check out DaveGS4 on the second page....very good pictures on how to do it.....also search for BananaGS...he cut up his stock enclosure to put some 5 1/4 speakers but i guess that's not what you want.....

You WILL tell a difference between the stock and good aftermarket speakers and yes ...you will hear a difference between a 4 inch speaker and a 6 1/2 inch speaker

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Genius,

Here's a link to the baffle fabrication post --><link> . Keep your old speakers and baffles, will be easy to put back to 100% stock if it's a lease or you want to sell it and keep the speakers.

Once my GS was put back together you can't even tell the Dyn's are installed (visually only, of course) all tucked behind factory enclosures. A huge difference in sound quality and volume capability.

I agree with everything Twiggy recommended. I would also add that I'd expect a bigger sound quality difference just changing out the crappy factory speakers, regardless of size. Do watch the depth on the speakers you select. Might also want to check out some of the higher end JLs and ADS as well.

Responded to your PM as well.

amlin423

Dave GS4, I was working on my baffle today and also had the same problem of the hitting the window with only a 1/2 inch baffle....i started out 3/4 inch and the thickness allowed clearance for the window to come down but I couldn't put back my door....Went with 1/2 inch and it seemed I was just a quarter inch off...did you end up adding a 1/2 inch spacer or 1/4 inch spacer? i think Percy used a 1 inch spacer but even with 3/4 inch space I still couldn't put my door back properly. Wonder how he did it...

ohh....by the way the outline of the factory baffle definitely looked like a pig.......I had to chop of the "legs" and trimmed its "stomach" because it was still pretty hard to put the door back on....I only have two screws attaching the baffle to the factory screw holes......so my baffle (pig) now looks like a rhombus....or a weird looking diamond shape thingy.....

genius1512

Okay, but if I change from 4" to 5.25" then will I need to amplify them? Could I get away with out? I already have an amp for a 10" jl audio IB4 free-air sub. That setup will be in the rear. And what tweeters could I buy that would fit nicely in the front?

Percy

[QUOTE]Originally posted by amlin423
[B]Dave GS4, I was working on my baffle today and also had the same problem of the hitting the window with only a 1/2 inch baffle....i started out 3/4 inch and the thickness allowed clearance for the window to come down but I couldn't put back my door....Went with 1/2 inch and it seemed I was just a quarter inch off...did you end up adding a 1/2 inch spacer or 1/4 inch spacer? i think Percy used a 1 inch spacer but even with 3/4 inch space I still couldn't put my door back properly. Wonder how he did it...

***The speaker is probably situated differently. I probably just lucked out and had it dead center of the grille. If you're off by more than a bit the door may not go back on correctly.

Percy

Mean Gene

Genius - The EASIEST upgrade would be just to switch to some better aftermarket 4" drivers but like Twiggy said, that won't be MUCH of an improvement. Try to utilize at least a 5.25" component set in the doors. The larger driver will play lower ( down to 40 Hz at least & the 6.5" will drop to 35 Hz but require just a little more work to make them fit ( but nothing visible from the outside ). I'd recommend another stronger amp to drive the upgraded speakers because, for all their faults, the Pioneer 4" factory driver ( with their wimpy magnets ) are decently efficient in terms of power. I've found any basic 1" tweet will fit in the A-pillars of the front doors but U may need to fabricate a little bridge to use it in the rear doors. DON'T try the Focal cpmpetition tweeter - the waveguides won't letcha mount it behind the factory grill. Good luck & enjoy!

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

amlin423,

Glad to hear you had fun shaving the pig!

We used 5/8" wood for the baffle, plus the Dynaudio trim ring (inverted) that came with the speaker as a spacer to make it fit.

If I had to guess, I'd say the trim ring was about 1/4". I think I still have them from the rears, and if you still need it I'll measure them when I get home this wekend.

My installer was very careful to mark original stock speaker location and measure various depths along the install area (look for the multiple holes in the pics). He did center it in the same spot as the stock.

amlin423

Hi DaveGS4,
I am using 1/2 inch baffle now with 1/2 inch spacer....I actually don't have a problem with the spacer...checked it out carefull today.....it's actually the "tail" or the "nose" (the protruding part on the far right) that's preventing the door from fitting perfectly...I could put back the door but i'll have to push it down a bit to be able to screw the screws on the bottom. I might need to cut off another part of the pig again....

I'm actually afraid that when I put on the speaker the factory grill will be touching the speaker....damn.....that's gonna really screw things up....but if percy can fit his speakers over a 1 inch spacer I guess I'll be ok....