DroppedGS

I have a 95 Lexus LS 400. I would like to know will I be able to fit 6 1/2" speakers in the doors? Will I be able to use the Factory Enclosure? How can I go about doing it? Where is thr best place to run the Power Wire to my Amps in trunk? Will I have to drill a hole to get wires through? I will be running 2 Gauge wire to trunk.

mtaalib3

have a 98 LS 400. when i had my stock enclosure i could only put in a 5 and 1/4 inch driver. a 6.5 may not fit without modification, depending on the speaker. now i have 8 inch drivers where my stock enclosures used to be. the factory doors and panels are all the same. all i did was remove the factory enclosure from the front doors and use it as a template. i used a 3/4 inch mdf board and cut it to the same shape as my factory enclosure. i then siliconed and screwed the wooden mdf board where my factory enclosure used to be. but not b4 i cut a hole to the size of my 8 inch midbass driver. i centered the hole so that the sub will be centered with the hole in the factory door panel. make sure that you dynamat exrtreme the crap out of your entire door. dynamat both the inner and outer sheet metal to help prevent vibration. remember boys and girls.....vibration and flexing is the enemy of good sound!!!!

by the way, i did not have to cut the factory door panels in any way. the 8 inch driver DOES NOT hit the door panel grill either (especially when playing). the door itself acts as the enclosure. if you were to open my front doors you would not know i had 8 inch drivers becasue it still looks like STOCK!!!! Woo Hooo!!!!!

as far as the power wires are concerned, i have seen one other way it was done. but this is how i did it in my car. i just punctured a hole in the rubber gromet by the brake cylinder and ran 1/0 guage wire through the hole. the wire came out by the gas pedal inside the car. the wire that was inside the engine compartment got flex loomed and black tape for protection and looks. the rest of the wire got ran on the driver side of the car and also got flex loomed and black taped. i ran the wire along the corners of the car past the left side of the driver's seat and up through the plastic housing on the left side of the rear seat. i pulled up the rear bottom seat cushion and unbolted the back seats and took both out of the car while i worked for ease. you will be able to see the plastic housing that goes into the trunk if you remove the rear seats. just use a long skinny screwdriver and tape your wire to it and push it through the plastic housing. make sure you cover/tape the tip so you don't cut any wires in the process. once you get enough wire through the housing you will see it in the left hand corner (assuming you a facing the front of the car) of the trunk. just cut the tape and pull the wire through. BAM!!! you're done. don't forget to fuse your power wire at the battery. you don't need any fires. make sure your fuse and housing is of good quality. otherwise it will melt or crack from the heat under the hood. also, (car stereo 101) NEVER RUN YOUR POWER AND LOW LEVEL SIGNAL CABLES (RCA) ON THE SAME SIDE. you will almost alwayz get radiated noise in your speakers. some people call it alternator whine. either way, just don't do it!!!!

make sure your ground cable is the same size as your power cable. for example, if you use 2 guage for power, use 2 guage for ground. make sure all of your amps are grounded at the same spot. a distribution block for the ground will help you acheive this. most people only use distribution blocks for the power and not ground. if you don't ground your amps at the same spot, you can cause ground loops which is another way to get noise in your system. hope this helps and good luck.

Lexkost

Yes speakers will fit the front, look at thread below:
Run power wire throught the large AC boot behind glove box.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=164080

Lexkost

Yes they also fit the rear door:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=163264

DroppedGS

Thanks! Do you have any pictures of your Installation? What kind of 8" driver you use? So did you build an enclosure for your speakers or did you just build a back plate so he speakers won't fall or rest on glass?

Thanks Alot!

DroppedGS

Thanks Alot! How much cutting did you have to do to get the speakers to fit? What did you use to cut the hole? Any pictures of the opening with out the speaker in? What size are those tweeters?
Thanks Again!

mtaalib3

i am currently going with jl audio 8w1. the mounting depth is a little deep so my windows don't go completely down. that is to say that the window hits the magnet of the driver. but personally i feel it is worth the trade off especially since i almost never roll down my windows. i'd say they go down approximately 90%. but if you get morel elates, you will not have a problem. their drivers are very shallow.

i don't know how to post pics. if you tell me i will post some later. i built a back plate made out of 3/4 mdf that had the same shape as the factory encolsure. i only wanted a surface to mount the driver since removing the factory enclosure left a really big, strangely shapped, hole. i then cut another circle out of 3/4 inch mdf to go behind the 8 inch driver.

so to sum it up, i mounted the factory enclosure shaped mdf to the door. i then used a jig saw before mounting it to the door to cut a hole that would allow the back of the driver to pass through. i then lined up and mounted the 3/4 inch mdf circle to the front of the 3/4 inch mdf back plate. i then mounted the 8 inch driver to the circle. i used wood and sheet metal screws to hold the pieces together. in between each sandwich i used caulk to help prevent leaks. it really was no big deal. nothing really fancy but very effective.

DroppedGS

Could you please send pictures to my email? Custom215@comcast.net

mtaalib3

i can send pics to your e-mail address but it will have to be in about 1 week. i plan on switching out my 8 inch drivers with one that is not so deep do maybe my windows can go all the way down. let me know if you have any other questions.

vsynergy

Hey, do you guys think a speaker with a 2 7/8'' mounting depth would fit perfectly in the first gen's front doors?