Door Speaker Replacement.... Straightforward??

[jerseycat10]

I have recently come to the conclusion that I would like to make some mild improvements to the stereo system in my '05 Legacy 2.5i. The stock stereo leaves a lot to be desired. The first logical step is to replace the door speakers.

 

I am under the assumption that the speakers are 6.5" all the way around, is this correct?

 

Are the door panels a pain in the ass to remove and reinstall?

 

Is this a plug-and-play operation? Any issues I need to be concerned with?

 

I plan on buying 2 pair of these, I assume they will work just fine? http://www.cardomain.com/item/POLDB650

 

As soon as I am done this, I will install a new headunit, and single 12" sub, and call it a day.

 

Thanks!

[vet]

Check out crutchfield.com for speaker size/fitment, I believe those will fit. May want to invest in some dynamat while you have the door panels off. You probably want to disconnect the factory front tweeters. Did you search on door panel removal techniques?

[rao]

The depth is very limited. Do a search for spacers.

[VTsullyman]

I am pretty sure you can get the Polk db components to direct fit. Pretty decent speakers IMO.

[JuxtaGT]

To do it right you'll either need to buy spacers or build them, this will open up a lot more speaker options. I thought the pre-made ones were a bit expensive, so I built my own out of MDF. A jigsaw and a drill are pretty much all you need. Total cost to build, about $10, took me a few hours to design, cut, and trim them. I've also heard of one guy who cut the speakers out of the stock spacers and used them to mount the new ones.

[mickeyd2005]

If you use spacers, you may need these too:

 

http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/2540/img0604xi8.jpg

 

Tom at Kartboy made some speaker spacers.

 

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1223664

 

They're $18 shipped.

[mickeyd2005]

I forgot to add... my Infinity 6.5 inch speakers came with speaker spacers. They look like the cheap flimsy generic ones that Crutchfield provides for free.

[deneb]

How to remove the door panels:

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20069

 

Install of Polk DB 650 coaxials:

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55588

[FishingFiend]

Many will attest that removing the door panels for the first time is a serious pain. Search door panel removal for tips...

 

As for the Polk's they're not that deep, you should be able to hack the stock speaker for the spacer. Without additional amps, this solution should work. I used these polks in the rear doors and no extended pins were needed.

[deneb]

The door panels aren't that tough once you remove the door handle. Check the link I posted above. The Polks fit fine for me depth wise without issues. It will be difficult at best 'hacking' the stock speaker for the spacer, as it is integrated into the speaker basket, it isn't a separate part, at least on the front doors.

[FishingFiend]

The rear doors are the same integrated speakers, but I believe they're 5.25 instead of 6.5.

 

As for hacking the existing speaker, cut the crappy speaker out, dremel the lip off the factory speaker and there you go. Speaker gasket material also helps. Took about 10 minutes with a couple of test fits. Cutting the lip off may not be needed as I did this to the rear doors. I got IA spacers for the front with the extended pins.

[SuPeR_WoJo]

I got the extended door pins from napa and they do not work. They are thinner than the factory ones and they just push all the way in and do not hold the door panel out at all. It seems they are working for others. Maybe they work on the '08 and not '05? I can see where the panel is leaving marks on my speaker surrounds so I know they are touching and that concerns me. I hope I don't f up my brand new speakers before I can find out a way to keep the panel from touching.

 

Also I currently don't have the panel fully clipped in place around the speaker area and when I close the door it pushes the panel back into almost clipped in mode. With extended door pins will the door be able to close?

 

I'm thinking I'm going to have to cut some wood pieces and drill holes in them to put the extended pins through so they line up but don't push through.

 

Has anyone remedied this problem?

[ericgu]

The door panels aren't that tough once you remove the door handle. Check the link I posted above. The Polks fit fine for me depth wise without issues. It will be difficult at best 'hacking' the stock speaker for the spacer, as it is integrated into the speaker basket, it isn't a separate part, at least on the front doors.

 

Hacking the stock speaker is pretty simple to do.

 

1. Cut off the plastic baskets on the back. A dremekl with a diamond blade works great for this.
   
2. Trim the foam on the outside of the speaker cone
   
3. Cut off the wires to the speaker coil. That gets the magnet and cone out.
   
4. Remove the foam on the front of the speaker. That will get you back to the paper spacer. Scape the foam so you can see it well, and carefully peel one layer of paper from the inside until the new speaker fits.
   
5. Break a hole where the speaker wires connected for new wires.
   
6. Mount new speaker, feed wire through OEM hole. I used some hot glue to improve the speaker mounting.
   

[dr_sharp]

Hacking the stock speaker is pretty simple to do.

 

1. Cut off the plastic baskets on the back. A dremekl with a diamond blade works great for this.
   
2. Trim the foam on the outside of the speaker cone
   
3. Cut off the wires to the speaker coil. That gets the magnet and cone out.
   
4. Remove the foam on the front of the speaker. That will get you back to the paper spacer. Scape the foam so you can see it well, and carefully peel one layer of paper from the inside until the new speaker fits.
   
5. Break a hole where the speaker wires connected for new wires.
   
6. Mount new speaker, feed wire through OEM hole. I used some hot glue to improve the speaker mounting.
   

Pictures?

[frapjap]

Hacking the stock speaker is pretty simple to do.

 

1. Cut off the plastic baskets on the back. A dremekl with a diamond blade works great for this.
   
2. Trim the foam on the outside of the speaker cone
   
3. Cut off the wires to the speaker coil. That gets the magnet and cone out.
   
4. Remove the foam on the front of the speaker. That will get you back to the paper spacer. Scape the foam so you can see it well, and carefully peel one layer of paper from the inside until the new speaker fits.
   
5. Break a hole where the speaker wires connected for new wires.
   
6. Mount new speaker, feed wire through OEM hole. I used some hot glue to improve the speaker mounting.
   

 

Pictures?

 

I realize this thread is old, but as I believe forums are the key to loads of important information that would be lost otherwise, I wanted to share the photos and more detailed instruction of this process that I took today with y'all. They're hosted on NICO, where I am a moderator.

 

If anyone is interested in details and photos for the above mentioned process, follow the link here:

http://forums.nicoclub.com/how-to-retrofit-aftermarket-speakers-into-stock-locations-t597998.html

Edited March 4, 2015 by frapjap

[RustyShackleford]

Hacking the stock speaker is pretty simple to do.

 

1. Cut off the plastic baskets on the back. A dremekl with a diamond blade works great for this.
   
2. Trim the foam on the outside of the speaker cone
   
3. Cut off the wires to the speaker coil. That gets the magnet and cone out.
   
4. Remove the foam on the front of the speaker. That will get you back to the paper spacer. Scape the foam so you can see it well, and carefully peel one layer of paper from the inside until the new speaker fits.
   
5. Break a hole where the speaker wires connected for new wires.
   
6. Mount new speaker, feed wire through OEM hole. I used some hot glue to improve the speaker mounting.
   

Man, I'm confused. Are you guys talking about being able to install new speakers without removing the door panels ? Making spacers for your new speakers out of the old speakers ?

[FishingFiend]

Keep in mind back when we did this in 2007/2008 there were not a lot of options available, so many of us made speaker mounts out of the existing factory speaker. The door card must be removed to replace any speaker...