jamesfoley

I've just bought a set of spacers for a set of new speakers in the front of my bugeye, but they seem to bring out the speaker too far causing them to actually hit the front of the door card.

The spacers are the Autoleads SAK-2820. Has anyone faced a similar problem or know of a spacer kit that doesn't suck?

Thanks in advance.

YODI

iTrader: (3)

How did you get around this in the end mate ?

Dubzy

iTrader: (4)

you can fit decent size components in the front doors without any modification to the door. Ive made mdf spacers which are deeper than the off the shelf plastic items and the driver clears the window and doorcard, you have to leave off the surrounds and grilles off the speaker though. Ive fitted Rainbow Slx265 deluxe, while you have the door cards off apply some sound deadening to the inner door skins, makes the world of difference

YODI

iTrader: (3)

Thanks Dubzy,

I also bought the SAK-2820 spacers and have bought sound deadening, I have a double din and want to get some speakers and have it all before I fit them.

The adverts for the speakers adaptors say they are for 5.25" but I'd prefer 6.5"?

Dubzy

iTrader: (4)

you want 6.5" for the front doors mate, they would do for the rears.

Sarg400

iTrader: (1)

I used the Vauxhall corsa spacers, ones from halfords for the front 6.5" didn't bother with spacers on the rear just used sound deadening,

Front alpine 6.5" type g
Rear alpine 5.25" type g

jamesfoley

I actually ended up building some spacers with some MDF, and some slim 6.5" speakers (Vibe Lite Air 6). It wasn't perfect, but sounded so much better than the factory front speakers.

YODI

iTrader: (3)

For clarity, the Autoleads adaptors I bought will take 6.5" speakers, and 5.25" will go straight in to the rear doors without adaptors?

Manford

You have a part no?

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Whilst the plastic Autolead adaptors will fit, they are a really poor choice compared to proper MDF rings. Regardless of how good your hardware is, quality installation is absolutely vital for good music reproduction.

The big consideration is speaker depth. The doors are very shallow, so slim depth speakers make your job a lot easier. Compare the standard speakers with some decent ones:




Admittedly I did try and fit the deepest 6.5" speakers on the market, much to my pain

Make sure you cover as much of the flat panels of the door, especially the inner skin (which you can't really see in the photos) with Silent Coat or similar:



Another issue with the stock speakers is the triangular mounting holes. If you can, I would strongly suggest taking your MDF rings and drilling 4 equal distance holes through them. Then line them up on the door and mark the 4 holes and drill through the door skin. Then use some long bolts, washers and nuts and bolt them to the door. You may need to trim some metal from the door to fit the speakers if going 6.5" (which I would recommend). A Dremel is a worthwhile investment. Don't for get to paint any holes you drill/cut.

Also, it's very important that you paint your MDF rings with acryllic wood paint or similar - otherwise they will rot.

Some decent 6.5 comps with tweeters on the dash/a-pillars and a nice amp can really make a massive difference and sound very pleasing with a little tweeking. I wouldn't bother with the rear speakers personally but it's up to you. The stock speakers aren't actually too bad, it's just that the stock HU is utterly dreadful.

If you want to run an amp or 2, you can fit the under the front seats, as long as they aren't too large. I managed to fit these Denon amps under my front seats.



I mounted them on some MDF and covered them with carpet. The smaller of the 2 amps had enough room to mount the fused distribution block and I mounted the earth to the seat-belt bolt.

One other thing to note, if you have the earlier Bug/Blob doorcards, where they angle up, like these, then you may struggle to get the cards on if your speakers are too deep (as you'll have to push them away from the door to clear the windows).



You may get away with just trimming the plastic away on the inside. Otherwise, consider fitting the later door cards from a Blob/Hawkeye as I have done in my Bug:



Hope this is of some help. It is worth the effort but Scoobies are not the most straightforward of cars to perform a decent install.

YODI

iTrader: (3)

Top post mate, very informative. Thanks

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Let me know if you have any questions. I learnt a lot from trial and error and really took my time getting it right. Wish I had taken more photos now.

YODI

iTrader: (3)

Okay, I'm after something a bit simple, don't mind spending a few hours installing the speakers though. I'm not after award winning sound, just some decent 6.5" mids and tweeters will be enough for me, any you recommend that are a bit shallow like you said?

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Do you have a budget?

Manford

I'm with Yodi on this one, great write up from Technopug but more than I can arsed with and im no chippy to start making mdf brackets

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

I agree. I bought a plunge router especially to make the rings but I really struggled to get them small enough, real pfaff. You can just drill and then use a coping saw to cut the holes. Then use a Dremel to get them right. However, ebay is your friend:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fr...rings&_sacat=0

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

The speakers which I bought (without actually measuring the space - doh!) are 130mm depth - about the deepest you can get. Even with 18mm MDF rings, I still needed to space them out further to clear the windows - so that's 150mm. Of course the doorcards didn't then fit. So you want to be looking for =<70mm depth. You should them be able to use 10-12mm MDF and still fit the Bug door cards - probably need to trim the inner plastic. I have some spare Bug doorcards now that have already been trimmed if anyone is interested.

So, speakers to consider:

Hertz do a couple - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/hert...165-5-slimline and http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/hert...170-3-slimline

Focal do a slimline 165 V model.

Audison Prima APK 165

Plenty of other to choose from, just check the tech sheets for the mounting depth. I've only listed components systems - I don't think that co-axials really work with the speakers being down by your feet.


Again, depends upon your budget. Decent speakers (by that I mean £100+, not some Halfords specials), really need to be amped to get the best from them. Hertz are quite sensitive and will play from the HU. However, remember that even a "50w x 4" HU is a peak value and in reality will only be about 12w. Think how small a HU is and therefore how small the amp will be.

Bigger speakers (6.5") need more power to move them. Even a modest 50w x 2 amp will be a big improvement. Talkaudio classifieds are the best place to source amps at very nice prices. You can get good deals on speakers too but I'd be weary of paying too much unless you hear them first. I bought all my gear from there except the HU and cabling. I still ended up paying a lot more than I had first intended (mission creep) but still paid a 1/4 of what retail would have been.

So something like this Genesis would be absolutely perfect to run the front speakers - 75w x 2, low profile so will easily fit under a front seat for £85.

http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/ipb/index...2-channel-amp/

Always lots of good deals about. Even on ebay, some of the older, models go for peanuts, like £20 for classic Calibre amps etc.

Obviously rubbish in, rubbish out, so a cheap, nasty HU is going to sound poor, no matter how good the rest of the system. You can easily pick up some very good older models without stuff like Bluetooth & DAB for nice prices, where they have concentrated on quality not gimmicks. I even have a very nice Alpine CDE-9880 sitting inn a box that I have hardly used that may be a available.

But whatever you go for and whatever your budget, I cannot stress enough the importance of have your speakers properly and securely mounted. You want the cones to be transmitting their energy into audio waves, not flexing and rattling the doors of flapping about in their mounts.

One last thing, if you aren't planning on running a sub, try to get a HU that has a LPF, otherwise the doors/dash with rattle like buggery if you try to play at any decent volume. Pretty much all HU @ £100+ should have some sort of LPF control. Failing that, most amps will if you go that route.

YODI

iTrader: (3)

Great reply again, I'm half deaf so anything too good is simply wasted on me

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

You just need it to go loud in that case


In fact, going loud in a Scooby is a pre-requisite; a Lexus is ain't!

YODI

iTrader: (3)

Haha yes, volume is more important than quality unfortunately

YODI

iTrader: (3)

Cheap and cheerful ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alpine-SXE...item51b913da66

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Are you asking me or telling me?


No experience of them but they are more expensive on ebay than if you bought them from a reputable specialist: http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spea...-2-way-speaker

Can you stretch your budget a little further?

These are a great deal for a little more:

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spea...ieci-dsk-165-3

Or the slimline versions for less than a ton: http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spea...170-3-slimline

Easy fit Focals: http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spea...gration-iss165

Bit more but a lot better (slimline too): http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spea...165-5-slimline

If you are on a small budget, best going to Halfords or similar and having a listen. I'd imagine that they are all much of a muchness at that price range.

What HU do you have? You may find that spending an extra £50 on the HU with the stock speakers, will sound better that a cheap HU with £50 speakers...

YODI

iTrader: (3)

Thanks again for a great reply Techno

My headunit is this - http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/prod...FbDLtAodUmkNbw

I'm likely to go for these if they will work okay off the headunit - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spea...ieci-dsk-165-3

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

That HU certainly has a lot of features! The speakers should be a good match, as they have quite a high sensitivity, so shouldn't need too much power to drive them. Look at the specs on the HU, it's only 14wRMS (which to be fair is the same with most HUs). It may be prudent to buy and fit the HU and run it with the standard speakers. You may be satisfied with the results.

If not, then by all means, the Hertz are a great a choice. But remember that bigger speakers need more power; a little 50w x 2 amp would really make them sing. You may get away with running them from the HU but the bass will probably be stifled.

Another option would be to replace the stock speakers with better ones of the same size. What are they, 5" (13mm)? So you could try the smaller Hertz http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/spea...ieci-dsk-130-3. They still should be installed with a decent MDF baffle though. Less bass and range obviously but will probably get better results straight from the HU.

Sorry - more things to consider, less answers

YODI

iTrader: (3)

I've had the headunit in for almost a month, it's good enough for me and the best feature is the hands free bluetooth.

I've bought some 6.5" MDF rings from ebay, I will seal them too, I've bought some cheap sound deadening too, just the speakers left whoch I will buy in the next day or so.. Oh and then decide if I want an amp too

TECHNOPUG

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like you are one your way. Lett us know how you get on.