Making 6.5's Fit

[Dynasty 10+ year member]

I have an '03 Chevy Malibu with the stock 4x6 front speakers. They were fine at first, but now they have to go. I want to replace them with 6.5 speakers because of such a difference they will make.

How do I go about doing this? What mods need to be done? I will order some 4x6 into 6.5 speaker adapters, but from there what needs to be done?

Can someone walk me through the steps?

I really appreciate your time in helping me upgrade my speakers.

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[oneflatoniakid 10+ year member]

I going through a simlar porocess with my Mustang Vert.

I'm upgrading from 5 1/4 speaker size to 6 1/2 inch speakers in the door. [ circular sepakers ]

I will have mine professional done this weekend & let you know the process.

My speakers will need special drilling & mounting brackets becasue of the magnet size of the new speakers.

 

[john#21 10+ year member]

I going through a simalr porocess with my Mustang Vert.I'm upgrading from 5 1/4 speaker size to 6 1/2 inch speakers in the door. [ circular sepakers ]

I will have mine professional done this weekend & let you know the process.

Mine car will need special drilling & mounting brackets becasue of the magnet size of the new speakers.

What year mustang?

 

[oneflatoniakid 10+ year member]

What year mustang?

Sorry just getting back on the board.

I have a 1988 GT Vert [ Fox Body Era ]

Will be picking it up from the paint shop tomorrow,

 

[Mynameismcgyver 10+ year member]

I had 5.25 in my doors orginally. All I had to do was cut alittle off the speaker mounting face and then the original grill. Used a die grinder, took 30 min. I think it varies car to car. Helps if you have a 6.5 speaker so you can measure and look at it.

 

[Hoodlum007 10+ year member]

i had 5.25" in my old install and used 1/2" spacers to make them fit and it worked great.

 

[Dynasty 10+ year member]

These are the speaker adapters I'm looking to get- http://cgi.ebay.com/6-speaker-adapters-for-Cavalier-Sunfire-Grand-Am-NR_W0QQitemZ330043883642QQihZ014QQcategoryZ60208QQcmdZViewItem

Will that allow me to just drop a new speaker?

 

[Dynasty 10+ year member]

Anyone?

 

[acold7dusta 10+ year member]

if that replaces the stock adaptor, it could work

i just went with kick pods in my alero (also 4x6)

 

[Dynasty 10+ year member]

Did you make the kick pods yourself or did you buy them some where?

 

[Notwerk 10+ year member]

You can get kicks pre-made from Q-logic:

http://www.qlogic.ws/home/home.jsp

But if you go that route, make sure to apply dynamat or similar dampening material to the inside of the panel. They're made of rather thin plastic and need the help. Also make sure that whatever speaker you're looking at will fit in the panel for your car. Oversized 6.5 inchers usually won't fit, so be mindful of that.

Other than that, you can make them yourself if you're handy with fiberglass (going this route is cheapest, but you have to know what you're doing) or you can have them made in a shop, though custom-made kicks usually cost a lot. I should warn that the hardest part of making kicks is figuring out how to aim the speaker. If a shop doesn't spend time doing that (and many don't), even if they come out really well made, they might sound like crap. Definitely look into a shop's rep (and if you can see their work, even better) before you have them make kicks for you.

Oh, as for the stock opening, you can try making a MDF baffle and hoping that'll fit. Really depends on how the speaker opening is cut and what the magnet on the speaker is like.

 

[Dynasty 10+ year member]

I just looked at the Q-Logic web site and they do not make kick pods for my car, which is a 2003 Chevy Malibu.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Q-Logic is coming out with new panels that will allow you to use 6.5" speakers. When they will be out I don't know. Why not just build your own?

 

[Rattlebrain 10+ year member]

I'm not sure of what your current stock location looks like but I have used Masonite to make new mounting plates. You know the stuff that peg board is made out of without holes. You can get a 4x8 sheet for like 7-8 bucks. Comes in handy for a lot of different things.

 

[acold7dusta 10+ year member]

Did you make the kick pods yourself or did you buy them some where?

i made them myself. they costed about 50 bucks in material and took about 20 hours. and they sound really good, any other questions we can take ot PM