Help my install be pro! Speaker Mounting woes....

[elementxero 10+ year member]

This is a somewhat long post, but I really would appreciate any ideas. I'm trying to make this a quality install and learn a thing or two about best practices, but I'm running into some serious walls with the factory holes in my **** 1991 Volvo 240.

I will post some pictures tonight to make my situation clearer (new digicam ftw!).

Alright, here's the deal:

I have a pair of Coax Kappa 52.7i 5.25"s which I installed last week in an extremely ghetto fashion. My problem was that the factory speaker holes went through the panel and the steel frame, but the diameter of the hole was SLIGHTLY too small for the new speakers.

My (impatient) solution was to put a foam baffle between the speaker and the door, and since only 2 of the 4 holes would line up, screw a long screw in through the speaker, a U-shaped bracket (since the speaker was too wide to be flush mounted) for 2 of the holes.

This worked. Kinda. Highs and mid-highs sound pretty solid actually, but midbass is of course lacking.

Another problem is that the factory locations are EXACTLY after the door handle, so there is less than 5mm between the end of the handle and the start of the speaker, thus destroying any ability to have a grille. This also destroyed my idea to have a few 5.25" mounting rings stacked on top of eachother to give the necesary girth and depth to the hole. Basically building anything around that hole is impossible unless it BARELY protrudes over the edge of the preexisting hole.

Last night my left speaker was disconnected somehow, I think it pinched on the power window gears (I taped the wires/xover out of the way but duct tape + dirty metal = bad seal). I could fix it to be how it was in a few minutes, but frankly I'd rather do this right and spend the time.

So, I'll post some pics later on to give the pros some clearer insight, but I'd love any solutions or ideas because I'm sort of in a rut here.

-EX-

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[elementxero 10+ year member]

Rather than finagle some crazy crap to get this going I was considering getting some prefab kickpanels. If I did that I would have no reason to go coax so I'd probably sell these (or return them if crutchfield will refund me, came less than 2 weeks ago), and go with a set of nice 6.5" components.

The more I think about it the more this sounds like the best solution rather than a bunch of half-assed steps.

Only problem is that Q-Logic doesn't make kickpanels for my car ('91 Volvo 240), and my fuse panel is attatched to my bottom right dash panel where a kickpanel should go >_

Any thoughts on the universals? How easy are they to unmount if I were to blow a fuse and need to get to the anel?

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Sounds like you're screwed unless you're willing to make major mods. Custom door pod that moves the speaker away from the handle? Shaved door handles with poppers? Dunno what to tell ya mang.

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

/sadface

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

It sounds like no matter what you do, it's going to involve a lot of work. Could you make kickpanels? That might be a lot easier, and lead to a better result than trying to mess with the doors.

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

I've never glassed before and I'm not confident enough to buy all the materials just for a potenentially crappy result. Also I'm 6'2" and the car is a little cramped at the pedals as it is.

Actually I was searching around on cardomain.com to see if anyone with my car had figured anything out and I got in touch with a guy who used slightly modified 6x8 to 5.25" adapter plates to get a nice clean fit. I'm going to give this a shot, I bought the plates last night (along with a bit of dynamat).

We'll see how it works out. I'll be sure to take some pics so I can needlessly bump my thread with my victory or defeat ;P

Thanks for the input!

-ex-

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

good luck

 

[JIMMYSX95]

go to selectproducts.com and buy some videos, or you could do some major reworing the doors... as in taking doors off. and absing the rear so you can have something to screw to. and reshaping cut out.. many otptions depends on your skill level and patience... well i see you havee little so.. there are soulutions but .. skill level is key..

 

[goodstuff 10+ year member]

Door speakers can be a real pain in the ***...

worth it in the end...

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

Nice hax dr //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I think this solution is going to work pretty well actually. The 6x8 to 5.25 plate adapter is too tall to flush mount to the door, cuz there is a place where the molding juts out. That's about a 1/2 inch, and the plates add another quarter inch. Going to stick a 1/2 inch of weather stripping to bottom half of the plate so its flush with the molding outcropping. That gives me 3/4 of an inch extra mounting depth, plus the few mm of depth provided by the crutchfield foam baffles, which I think should be just enough.

Cross your fingers, the plates and dynamat are incoming today! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif If this doesn't work out its gonna be an ordeal! >_

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

Well I implemented my mounting solution. It worked, and it looks a lot better than my insanely ghetto original install, what with having room for a grill and not just an exposed cone and all.

However, the original ghetto install sounded MUCH better. Which is frustrating because it was much faster and sloppier. The bass seems louder now, but there is more cone movement which makes me wonder if its properly sealed.

Also aside from the bass I notice a SIGNIFICANT decrease in the sharpness of the highs. Before I could crank it to 60% power on a punk song and it would almost hurt my eardrums from the blistering nature of the highs. I know a lot of people dislike harsh highs but it "feels good" to my ear, and I want them back!

The main difference with the new method is it doesn't include a 5.25" crutchfield foam baffle. It provided mounting difficulties so I chose to ditch it.

Could it be the fact that the "enclosure" of the speaker is pretty much my entire door? Would that only matter if the seal was bad and not properly separating front from backwaves?

Appreciate any insight!

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

By the way I also figured out why the left speaker died. Crappy connection inside the factory crossover. Had to resolder the + lead to the pcb.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

um. take that giant plastic piece off. then build a MDF panel to fit the metal of the door.

can get get a pic of the door panel without the metal on there?

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

I'll try to take a pic but building an MDF panel to fit that door would be a nightmare that I doubt I'll be willing to take on, mostly due to my complete lack of experience and access to proper tools.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

all you have to do is trace that plastic thing on some wood and cut it with a jigsaw.

then cut your hole for your 4x6 on the MDF. only use like a 1\2" piece. you can get 1\2" MDF in 2'x4' sizes. then if the factory hole is too small in the metal, you might need to cut it out a tiny bit. get a metal jigsaw bit and draw out what you need with a sharpy and trim it up. i would prolly put some sort of paint or clear coat over the meatl i cut tho =\

inside a door im not a fan of rust, even tho its a small chance some would creep up in that spot.

but it really shouldnt be too hard mang.

and i doubt you will be getting any sort of real authoritive midbass from a 4" driver in a non-deadened door. i just cant see it happening without a really professional install.