[SD-Realtor]

Hello,

I'm doing a full stereo overhaul on my 08 GXP which came with the Monsoon setup. I'll keep this post simple though. I am looking at a component system, JBL MS-62C, which I have decided on and I wanted to see if you guys/gals could give me any input on if they will fit in regards to depth. I am afraid to take the plunge on this component set just to try and install it and find that they hit the windows or the A pillars won't go back into place.

The 6.5" mid-woofer is has a mounting depth of 3.07".

The 1" tweeter has a mounting depth of .9"

My desire is to install them without making any modifications to the car. As for the tweeters, I want to put them behind the A-Pillar in the stock location, behind the stock grill. I don't want to cut that out or have these showing at all.

I know many of you have upgraded your front speakers so you might know the measurements of your speakers, if they seemed deep but still fit. Or maybe you have the same set in your Sol.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TomatoSoup]

Plenty of depth for those. The Subwoofer? Not so much

I have Alpine SPR-17S speakers in mine - so you can compare to those specs if you like. I got my tweeters to fit in the exact stock locations and clips - though it took a bit of dremelling of the tweeters themselves. Others have just cut out the old tweeter and re-mounted theirs in it's place with the new tweeter's mount & grill.

This is the door speaker - as you can see it mounts in a deep plastic ring anyway...

(photo from: http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f62/mod-how-add-fully-automatic-up-down-your-power-windows-64212/ )

 

[SD-Realtor]

Thanks for the reply, TS. It looks like your alpines are 2 5/16 inches deep... far more shallow than 3.09. I havent yet removed my door panels cause I don't want to dive into that project until I have all the equipment I'm installing (I understand it isn't exactly a simple fun task taking the panels off - and I need to since my outside door handle broke and I need to put the new one on, like many others have had to do). Anyways, do the speakers just mount into the plastic "cup" and that is the depth limit, or is the cup and actual door cut out for the speaker to protrude through the plastic cup and into the door towards the window? Did u notice if there was any extra room behind your speakers when you installed them?

Anyone else have somewhat deep front woofers? If u think you might, please give me the model number and i will look it up.

 

[TomatoSoup]

Taking the door off is easy (see the thread I linked for more info).

Yes there's much more space back there with a hole into the inside of the door. Plus I think it's below the window, so no worries there either.

 

[SD-Realtor]

Sounds like I'll be good to go with those components. I appreciate the pictures, as it really helps me visualize this. Two questions if you don't mind...

1) You seem to keep a pretty good photo log of your projects... do you happen to have any pics of the back side of your A Pillar panel, maybe before and after the tweeter was attached? I'm curious to see how you would attach them. The tweeters I'm looking at have a lip on the face of them that doesn't detach, so I'm not sure if that will make it difficult or not to mount.


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2) Where did you mount your crossovers? Will they actually fit anywhere between the door and the door panel?

Thanks for all your help! BTW... I have gone through all 29 pages of the Audio subforum. While I may have missed it, I try not to ask any questions that have been covered.

 

[TomatoSoup]

1) You seem to keep a pretty good photo log of your projects... do you happen to have any pics of the back side of your A Pillar panel, maybe before and after the tweeter was attached? I'm curious to see how you would attach them. The tweeters I'm looking at have a lip on the face of them that doesn't detach, so I'm not sure if that will make it difficult or not to mount.

Yeah, I already checked, seems I didn't take any photos of my speaker/amp/sub install (was early on, before I started taking photos of everything )

The stock tweets clip into a three-pronged 'basket'. I pulled the Alpine ones out of the mounting enclosures they came in and the bare drivers had a molding ring around them that I just shaved where the prongs would align (with a dremel) so that the prongs would fit and grip the new tweets. They stood off a bit more than the stockers, so I sealed the gap with a ring of Permatex sealant. Failing that, like I said, you can cut a ring out of the A-pillars and mount the new ones with the enclosure/mount they come with per the photos here http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/f61/upgraded-tweeters-sub-monsoon-68087/#post1031202 (I'd show you a photo of mine, but outside they look just like stock).

The photo here shows the stock tweets from behind the A-pillar. You can see one of the 'prongs' I mean right at the top edge of the tweeter (grey plastic), and a second between the Y of the wires coming off the tweeter: http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/attachments/f12/3810d1137262032-more-interior-disassembly-door-panel-e-brake-trim-pics-inside-tweeter.jpg

2) Where did you mount your crossovers? Will they actually fit anywhere between the door and the door panel?

They could I'm sure, but I mounted mine up under the dash with velcro, on far left and right sides.

The existing speaker wires, are (a) not very good, but (b) originate at the head unit, where there's no room for the crossovers, so I decided not to use them. Thus I ran new speaker wires up to the A-pillars and into the doors from the x-overs. That last one is a real pain, let me tell you, not helped by the thickness of the wire I used. I used Stinger SHW514BC 14 Ga wire which comes with a thick round outer insulation. Was a b*tch to route! I fished it through the existing rubber grommets and channels out the sides of the firewall, and then into the hinge 'bellows' into the doors. Ugh!

DON'T use this stuff (or similar!): :cuss:

 

[SD-Realtor]

Thanks for the link to the pic with the tweeter mount. That helps me get an idea of what I'm up against. I definitely want to mount mine like you did, completely behind the panel, and with the lip on my tweeter I imagine I will have to shave either the lip or modify the panel clips itself. I'm not sure which one would be better... I am thinking I might try to modify the panel, as If for any strange reason I ever put this component set in another car or sell the set, the components won't be devalued. As for the clips behind the panel, I'm seeing that if I did for any reason sell the car, even with the clips removed, I could always figure out a way to reattach the stock tweets.

To my question about where to mount the crossovers, after thinking about it and reading your response, I will do it your way without a question. Why, you ask? Because I want to run my wires through the stock channel into the door, and if I mounted the crossover in the door, I would need to run the input into the door and the tweeter wire out of the door. Twice the work. I'm sure one wire will be hard enough. I'm going to try the method I read here using a thick long ziptie... fishing that through, attaching the wire, and pulling it back. Not sure if that will make it any easier, but it sounds like it might make sense.

So far I have the I-Beam and I ordered the JBL component set today... I have about 5 more parts to order (5 Channel amp, 8" insanely shallow sub, rears, bass blockers, and LC8i - I'm keeping my stock head unit and want to keep a 100% stock look). It's going to be like Christmas in my mailbox in the next couple weeks! I think I'll document my build in a thread just for fun.

Thanks again!

 

[TomatoSoup]

I'm going to try the method I read here using a thick long ziptie... fishing that through, attaching the wire, and pulling it back. Not sure if that will make it any easier, but it sounds like it might make sense.

OK another tip here, then... The door 'bellows' is a tight squared-S shape - impossible to fish in place. Pull at least one end out of the door (maybe even both ends) then you can straighten it enough to easily fish through (I used a straightened coat hangar). Once you've fished it, then just plug the end of the rubber tube back into the door.

Good luck and have fun!