1/2" or 3/4" MDF for 6.75" components

[lisevolution]

Ok, I've had my Kenwood XXV-04s 6.75" components sitting around for over a year now and I'm finally getting some baffles made to put these in the front doors. I would do this myself but to be very honest I just don't have time... The top mount depth on them is 78mm or approx 3 1/8". I know we have somewhere between 2 5/8" and 2 3/4 of depth in the door which means going with the low number in terms of space in the door I'd have exactly 1/2" I'd need to make these fit. My question is are these numbers 100% accurate in terms of depth for the pros doors? Should I just go with 3/4" to be safe? If I go with 3/4" how much space do I have between the door panel and the baffle? I believe I have about 1 3/8" of room that I'll need on the top of the baffle if my conversion is correct... there's about 30mm = 1 3/8"... all advice is very much welcome and quickly please...

 

[chuyler1]

I used 1/2" which should work with most speakers. There is room for 3/4" though if you want to be safe.

 

[lisevolution]

I thought from my initial impression that I had room for 3/4 but you know the rule of thumb, "measure twice, cut once"! Thanks for the input Chuyler much appreciated. You should freaking see these components, Kenwood significantly over did them. They are the true definition of overkill... I swear they weigh as much as some of the 12" subs I've had my hands on

also I figure if I go thicker and they're too tight against the door panel I can always sand down the space I need to get them in there

 

[chuyler1]

Whether you use 1/2" or 3/4" you will have to trim away the plastic ring on the inside of the door panel. A sharp utility knife works great for this.

Oh, and if you haven't found it already, I made a little how-to.
How-To: Installing different sized speakers in your car

 

[lisevolution]

Thanks, I saw the how-to and that's why I thought I was safe with 3/4" but I wanted to make sure of the space between the baffle and the door panel

 

[FoxPro5]

I recently had to take my original 3/4" MDF baffles out because even at like 50% excursion my midbass was hitting the door panel. What happened was that over time...after sticking multiple drivers on it...and multiple screws....the wood split and swelled to about 1" or so.

This is after about 2 years of use...or should I say ABuse:

So, If you do use 3/4" MDF, make sure you seal it somehow.

My solution was to use 3/8" HDPE plastic. Here's how it turned out:

 

[basementgeek]

I had issues with 3/4 mdf baffles. My Focal KP's hit the door panel. It was a close fit and nothing touched at rest, but when I played them loud, they hit the door. Put a holes in the surround from plastic burrs that I missed when I cut the ring off.

I guess if I'd counter sunk the driver, it would've been ok. But I just cut up some 1/2 and it was fine.

One thing that was suggested to me by someone on this board (Poseur?), was to pop off the window switch panel and shine a light in there so you can see for yourself exactly what's happening.

 

[lisevolution]

well, I went to the shop that was gonna make these for me, guy i used to work with when I was still in the car audio industry and popped off the door panels to take a closer look at things. These speakers won't work with the car. I could make them fit but it just isn't worth it to cut up the inside of the door to make these go in. They are unbelievable speakers but just aren't made for this application. Now I have the dilemna of do I keep them and hold them for another car or do I try to sell them and recoup some of the investment. They're like $700+ components and I paid close to $450 when I got them so I'm gonna take a big L on it if I do let them go. I'm thinking I'm just gonna suck it up and eat it for now...

 

[chuyler1]

Who cares about the inside of the door. It takes 10 minutes with a saws-all to widen the opening. When you sell the car, the buyer will have no idea you did it unless they pull the door off. If these are the speakers you truely want in your car, nothing is stoping you from getting them in there. We have a board member who installed an 8" driver in the door and another with a 10".

 

[bonesmp5]

we had to use a 1/4 piece to get my Focals to work --- i forget what it was treated with to make it stronger since it was only 1/4, but it worked really well --

 

[lisevolution]

Who cares about the inside of the door. It takes 10 minutes with a saws-all to widen the opening. When you sell the car, the buyer will have no idea you did it unless they pull the door off. If these are the speakers you truely want in your car, nothing is stoping you from getting them in there. We have a board member who installed an 8" driver in the door and another with a 10".

I hear you and I know it could be done... it's just a question of is it worth it. I don't know how long I'm gonna keep the car at this point since I'm at the point where to get it where I want performance wise I need to completely build the engine... this is my everyday driver right now so I can't really have the car break everyday. It's just easier if I spend the $200 and get a set of speakers that fit easier. It's more than enlarging the opening, it's overall excursion of the woofer and other properties that make it a real b****. The speakers were really designed to be displayed in some kind of a pod with a top mount application. Being hidden in the door and only getting half of the sound through the grill in the panel seems to make little accoustic sense since I won't hear the full potential of the speaker anyway. I don't know though, I do love these speakers...

 

[Poseur]

So you get some kicks made. problem solved... It's all a matter of priorities. For me, 8's in my doors were indeed worth the hassle. which really in the end wasn't thatmuch. the cuts I made are easily "patchable" with dynamat or whatever else should I ever feel the need.

And, yes. you can VERY simply leave your window switch panel off and peek down threough it, and see what you're working with for clearance. Believe me, I didn't really have much to spare, attempting to keep things stock-looking.