How do I add door speakers without factory door fitment

[Daryl80]

Hi Guys,

Posted this on another forum, but somewhat new here, and seek your expertise.

But basically, I bought 3 ways, but no idea how to fit them into the door.

Anyway, I write with a 97 986 Boxster, that had the standard, low end stereo system. (4 inch paper speakers, no tweeter, no amp.... thats it!)

Unsatisfied with the sound, I've gone ahead and done the following.
Changed the HU to a nice Nakamichi deck
Installed a 3 channel Audison amp
Bought a Rainbow, 3-way component speakers. (1 inch tweet, 4 inch mid, and 6.5inch woofer)

So I've gone ahead and installed everything but the 6.5 woofer.

The reason being, my car was never designed for door speakers, and reading some old posts, there is concern over clearance for windows.

So, can I ask, how difficult is it to add door speakers to a door not designed for them (i.e, they are completely flat)

I've got a set of door speakers from eBay and am hoping to use those also.

Having done some reading, I've downloaded Andy Morris' pdf file. Great info, so I also have the baffle design to fit 6.5inch speakers. I just need to know what mods I need to do to the door trim.

One last thing, I'm actually located in Melbourne, Australia. Parts, such as replacing doors aren't really a cheap option here, so much prefer to fabricate something. Better yet, employ the services of a professional locally to do it for me!

I also was thinking, if it's too hard to make door pods, how about putting something in the back rear shelf. Similar to the "rear shelf speaker kit" but have the speakers firing up. (Dremel something)

But then I was thinking how would it sound with the top down? Would the roof cover it, and would it sound any good? How about when compared to a door pod?

Appreciate, and advice people can offer.

Cheers!

Daryl

[Daryl80]

Has nobody done this before?

Can anybody advise?

Thanks!

[Cloudsurfer]

You will need to order the speaker pods (try a salvage yard) to mount to the door to mount your speakers in. Otherwise, you could have an audio shop custom fab enclosures for you. There may be a company that makes an enclosure already.

Sorry thats not of more help

Patrick

[Daryl80]

Hi Patrick.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I was looking at making some door pods actually. Similar to those from the template provided here. http://images.wikia.com/boxster/images/b/bf/Door_Baffle_Template.pdf

My only concern is that does the door trim, which is currently flat, does that needs to be raised/ bent etc to fit the door pods and speakers in?

I guess, anybody who has attempted this before, will notice that doors with speakers are slightly raised and pushed out to fit speakers, opposed to doors without, where they're complete flat.

The concern that if this is too hard, what alternatives do I have, such as using the rear parcel shelf, and seeing how that would sound.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

[Amfibius]

Hello Daryl, fancy seeing you here Rainbow speakers and Audison amp eh ... sounds like you will have a Boxster that sounds better than mine

To answer your questions:

- Flat door panels = not enough clearance for the back end of your midwoofer

- Can door pods be fabricated = yes they can. You will need to cut the existing door panels to fit the door pods. Ask on MEA for recommendations for somewhere local that can do it for you.

- Is this cheaper than buying a secondhand door pod = depends on your luck.

- Should you use the rear parcel shelf = NO! Maybe use it for a very small subwoofer but do not put your midrange drivers there.

[davej_anderson]

I did this - it was a pain in the hoop but is do able.

In the end, I bought new door cards from a car that had the door speakers. I've only seen a couple of examples where people have cut holes in their door cards to mount speakers.

I made a wooden baffle, much the same to the install guide you have downloaded. Don't bother using the plastic OE pods other than a guide for the mounting holes for the baffles.

Remember to add some sound deadening to the door skin and seal the inner skin else you'll get wet feet.

The biggest problem, after getting the baffle to fit properly, is getting the wires into the door. If your car didn't come with speakers then there isn't any wiring in place. I fed the speaker wiring through the black cable tidy, through the connectors and up through into the door. If the doors ever need to come off then the speaker wire will need to be fed all the way back through as I didn't install the OE connector pins.

I'm now running a Traffic Pro, Genesis 2 channel amp and Rainbow 3 way speakers and it sounds very good. Its a bit bright and lacks low down kick but overall I'm very happy with it. Would I do it again, no. I'd buy a boxster with the upgraded sound pack!

PM me if you've got any questions.