P5 rear door speaker size

[LTD-Scott]

I read the FAQ and it shows the rear door speakers are 6". That size apparently doesn't exist anywhere. Other websites show 5-1/4" speakers as fitting, but I bought a pair of speakers in that size and it's clear they are too small for the hole. The mounting "tabs" on the speaker barely reach the sheet metal of the door. Would 6-1/2" be a better fit? I did a search here and found no answers.

Thanks.

 

[Poseur]

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5-1/4's are the safest bet.
6-1/2's will risk cutting surrounds unless you're willing to trim the inside of your doorpanels a bit.

 

[Killer 8]

6 1/2 will go in there i had sony 6 1/2 and they went in pretty well may only get two holes to line up though.

 

[LTD-Scott]

Well as I said, the screw tabs on the 5-1/4" speakers I bought BARELY reach the sheetmetal. I would have to drill VERY close to the edge of the speaker holes to make em fit.

 

[Poseur]

I'm aware of how it winds up, but the ssue is on the door panel side of it, look at it and notice that ring that protrudes back. if you're fine cutting that off, then go ahead and go bigger, but it's that same ring which will cut into the rubber surround of a 6-1/2" speaker. Additionally, trimming these rings will cause more possible doorpanel flutter seeing as there's nothing to direct the air moving off of the speaker cone out the holes and instead it "impacts" the plastic door panel around the grille area.

It's alot of compromising for no huge gain. the tabs jsut barely touching is just fine. if you're really concerned, put some weatherstripping or even caluking in the gap.

 

[LTD-Scott]

I'm aware of how it winds up, but the ssue is on the door panel side of it, look at it and notice that ring that protrudes back. if you're fine cutting that off, then go ahead and go bigger, but it's that same ring which will cut into the rubber surround of a 6-1/2" speaker. Additionally, trimming these rings will cause more possible doorpanel flutter seeing as there's nothing to direct the air moving off of the speaker cone out the holes and instead it "impacts" the plastic door panel around the grille area.

It's alot of compromising for no huge gain. the tabs jsut barely touching is just fine. if you're really concerned, put some weatherstripping or even caluking in the gap.

Ah, I didn't think to look at the back of the door panel. Good call on that.

But my concern about mounting the speakers isn't the gap between the speaker and the hole in the door. It's the fact that because the mounting tabs on the speaker (Sonys BTW) don't protrude all that far from the speaker itself, I'd have to drill the four holes to mount the speakers so close to the edge of the sheetmetal where the big speaker hole is that there'd only be like 1cm of metal left between the screw hole and the big hole for the speaker.

I don't exactly feel comfortable suspending a somewhat heavy speaker on a door that opens and closes (although not frequently) on four tiny bits of sheetmetal. I'm thinking that over time, the small existing pieces of sheetmetal between the screw holes and speaker hole may weaken. Or am I just being paranoid? Anyone have pics to show what their rear door speakers look like installed?

 

[chuyler1]

Cut off the plastic ring on the back of the door panel. You can do this with a razor.

Make a baffle out of 1/2" MDF that is slightly larger than the stock speaker. drill counter-sink holes in the baffle that line up with the stock mounting holes. Cut out a mounting hole in the center for your new speaker. Drill holes for the new speaker.

Mount the baffle to the door, mount the speaker to the baffle.

If you are concerned about sound waves bouncing around inside the door panel, head to the cauck isle of Home Depot and look for window-mount A/C sealing kits. They usually have 1'x2' foam pieces. You can cut a ring out of it slightly larger than your speaker and glue it to the back of the door panel. This will help dampen the panel and redirect soundwaves out the grill.

 

[LTD-Scott]

Since I have 5-1/4" speakers, I'd like to install the ones I have, and it looks like I have found my solution:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/spea...38646QQitemZ8037639449QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

 

[chuyler1]

^^^
Those will prolly work but I doubt the holes will line up perfectly. I'd save yourself a few bucks and just buy a 1/4" piece of MDF at Home Depot for under $5.00 and cut the baffles yourself.

 

[LTD-Scott]

^^^
Those will prolly work but I doubt the holes will line up perfectly. I'd save yourself a few bucks and just buy a 1/4" piece of MDF at Home Depot for under $5.00 and cut the baffles yourself.

Well I am not handy with making stuff myself, so $8.99 is worth the time savings. I went ahead and bought a pair, so I guess I'll play guinea pig and see if they'll work! I'll report back once I get em.

 

[LTD-Scott]

FYI I bought the adapters that I linked to on eBay and they fit like a glove!

I was very happy with them. I'd highly recommend them to anyone wanting to put 5-1/4" speakers in the rear doors of a P5.

What I'm not happy with is the speakers. They're clearer than the stockers but put out WAY less bass. I'm pretty sure I'm going to put the stockers back in.

BTW a tip to pull the grab handle off the door panel to remove it: Use a flathead screwdriver to push up on the clip through the little hole on the bottom of the grab handle with your left hand, and use the "claw" of a claw hammer to pry the handle off with your right hand. Stupidest design evar.

 

[chuyler1]

The absense of bass is due to two things. First, the diameter of the speaker is smaller so you have less cone area. Second, the new speaker is designed to handle 50-100w RMS and the factory system only puts out 5-10w RMS. The stock speakers are very efficient and lightweight which is great for low power but they distort easily and have no detail in the highs. If you install aftermarket speakers you should give them more power by also installing an amplifer or upgrading to a high-output head unit.

 

[LTD-Scott]

The absense of bass is due to two things. First, the diameter of the speaker is smaller so you have less cone area. Second, the new speaker is designed to handle 50-100w RMS and the factory system only puts out 5-10w RMS. The stock speakers are very efficient and lightweight which is great for low power but they distort easily and have no detail in the highs. If you install aftermarket speakers you should give them more power by also installing an amplifer or upgrading to a high-output head unit.

FYI I am running a new Pioneer head unit (can't remember model number offhand) but no amp.

 

[chuyler1]

Ok, that rules out the power issue except you might get better bass response by using an external amplifier. (stock:5-10w, aftermarket head:10-20w, aftermarket external amp: 25-100w) But 5.25" speakers are going to fall short in the bass department no matter what. They simply don't have enough cone area to play below 100Hz.

 

[LTD-Scott]

Yeah obviously so. I replaced my stock 6X8s up front with Pioneers a while ago and they sounded way better than stock.

But I really am disappointed with these rear speakers. If I could have run 6.5" speakers without hacking up stuff, I would have.