Making 6.5" speakers fit

[simons81 0]

Hey, I'm looking for a bit of advice. I bought some 6.5" Focal component speakers for my 99 Civic LX which has 6.5" stock speakers. The problem is that the Focals appear to be a hair larger than they specified... The diameter of the speaker is a good 1-2mm wider than claimed, which means I'm forced to do some modification. I would probably just huck them on eBay, except a) I really like their sound, and b) I already drilled / installed the tweeters on my door panel.

So I'm left with a tricky situation. I'm debating whether or not I should be cutting the metal ring around the speaker, or the plastic on my door. They both have pros and cons and while I'm slightly handy, I'm not very experienced with cutting plastic or metal. If I dremel the plastic opening on the door, while I only need an extra hair of clearance, it looks like I might damage the structure of the plastic housing. I only need an extra millimeter or two, but that's about all it'll take to make the speaker housing sorta weakened. On the flipside, I wouldn't have the slightest clue on filing down the metal ring of the speaker... not very experienced with shaving metal, especially on something fragile like a speaker. Anyone have any advice on which avenue I should proceed, and which tools I'd want to use? Would you do slight modifications to both? After spending my entire weekend on this, as well as lots of hard earned moola, I'm just a little freaked out, lol.

Thanks

[indytrucks 1]

Cut the plastic. No if ands or matbeys about that in my mind. If you could post a pic of the mounting point I'm sure I or someone else here could tell you how to go about modifying it properly.

[bassahaulic 155]

Hey, I'm looking for a bit of advice. I bought some 6.5" Focal component speakers for my 99 Civic LX which has 6.5" stock speakers. The problem is that the Focals appear to be a hair larger than they specified... The diameter of the speaker is a good 1-2mm wider than claimed, which means I'm forced to do some modification. I would probably just huck them on eBay, except a) I really like their sound, and b) I already drilled / installed the tweeters on my door panel.

So I'm left with a tricky situation. I'm debating whether or not I should be cutting the metal ring around the speaker, or the plastic on my door. They both have pros and cons and while I'm slightly handy, I'm not very experienced with cutting plastic or metal. If I dremel the plastic opening on the door, while I only need an extra hair of clearance, it looks like I might damage the structure of the plastic housing. I only need an extra millimeter or two, but that's about all it'll take to make the speaker housing sorta weakened. On the flipside, I wouldn't have the slightest clue on filing down the metal ring of the speaker... not very experienced with shaving metal, especially on something fragile like a speaker. Anyone have any advice on which avenue I should proceed, and which tools I'd want to use? Would you do slight modifications to both? After spending my entire weekend on this, as well as lots of hard earned moola, I'm just a little freaked out, lol.

Thanks

Pics plz

But you can probably dremel the housing like you said and it should fit.

[vladd 26]

without seeing the housing i won't say for sure, but i'd definitely say they are right, it's probably your basic shitty plastic baffle that everyone cuts/modifies anyway.

[simons81 0]

Ok, so I'm feeling particularly stupid right now. I borrowed a dremel from my work and started sawing and shaving the driver side door panel and still couldn't get this thing in. I had a feeling I was going to break something and weighed out the cost of having to buy new door panels vs. just getting them installed. I called the local chain car stereo store and they told me it'd be $60 over the phone. I just wanted my damn door panels back on... between rattling and non-functionality, I was prepared to just pay to have it put in. They said they have spacers and all kinds of tricks so I said what the hell. I drove in with my door panels and my speakers. They told me instead it'd be $135 and that normally component installs are $180 but since I already installed the tweeters, they'd cut me a break. My break turned out to be more than they said over the phone, but whatever. I paid it. They said it'd be quick. I waltzed around the store for a little over 3 hours. I couldn't leave because it began dumping rain. Anyways, so I'm sitting here at lunch and I notice that the factory grill wasn't completely pushed in. I got a little curious and decided to take apart one door just to see how much rain has entered, and if the crossover and woofer were at risk. Besides, I figured the dremeling is all done, I could easily put it back together.

Here's a pic or two:

As you can see, they left the cover off the crossover, I believe to make this thing fit. I'm not sure if this is a stupid idea, as the cover may help keep water out? I'm unsure. As for the speaker woofer itself, definitely exposed to rain. I pulled the cone out and it was a little damp. That said, the woofer is marine rated aparently, though I have no clue if that means I should still do my best to protect it from the elements.

At this point I'm feeling like a major jakcalope, having spent a good chunk of change for something that I originally thought I could do on my own, instead to get it installed by someone else in a way that just doesn't seem very... long-term.

Can anyone give some advice? Should I worry about the woofer if it's marine-rated? The speakers are Focal 165A1 if that helps. Should I try to get that crossover cover on and protect it with duct tape or something? Sorry the pics are so crappy, cell phone pics.. Keep in mind, when the woofer is installed, it either directly contacts the metal rail for the window, or comes a molecule away...

[wenn_du_weinst 1]

you could have just ground the plastic until it fit then put resin over and behind it to strengthen it back up

[simons81 0]

you could have just ground the plastic until it fit then put resin over and behind it to strengthen it back up

Thanks, that helps a lot at this point.

Anyone have any comments about whether I should leave it configured as it currently is?

[christobear 0]

im not sure about focal, but i know with some companies it voids the warranty to mount the crossover in the door. (i think because of the water concern)....and right now im drawing a blank on which company that was. but it may be worth looking into.

most mount them somewhere close to the amp

[vladd 26]

my advice is listen to the people that have tried to help you, we asked for pics and you give them to us once someone else already did a hack job....

[simons81 0]

Gosh, filled with help here. I was going to post pictures last night but I took measurements and the speaker would not POSSIBLY fit. The metal on the door literally had to be cut to get the speakers in, so no amount of advice would have helped anyways. Believe me, I did not want to pay an arm and a leg to get a hack job done.

So, now, hopefully that doesn't make me look like as much of a dumbass, as I haven't the tools to even cut the metal frame of my door anyways. What I'd really like to know is if the speaker claims to be marine-rated, how concerned do I need to be about water? Can anyone answer that? Not looking for 1337 forum users to tell me that I fudgeed up, just looking to protect my investment.

Please and thanks.

[vladd 26]

if you're not looking for 1337 forum users then don't go to a forum for your question, go back to the shop that did your install.

btw the answer to your questions are....

very

yes

[KU40 173]

I'd definitely take the crossovers out of the door, and they definitely need to be covered.

Can you put a small mounting baffle in to adjust the size? Even a 1/4" piece of plywood should work if depth is a concern.

[simons81 0]

I'm going to try to go back to the store that installed them since they did a far worse job than I had anticipated I myself would do. I ran 16/4 conductor wire the the doors so that the crossover could be kept in the car. Additionally, they pretty much screwed the speaker into the actual metal of the door, lost a bunch of screws and plastic clips, and managed to somehow keep the covers of both of my crossovers. Talk about a lame install. Hopefully they will refund my money, though I highly doubt it. I'll just reinstall the chit myself. When I called them over the phone though, they told me they had spacers and their techs go to school to perform seemless installed and will make sure it's covered from water. Instead, a hack job with no concern for water.

Bleh, what a waste of dough, lol. I made a temporary duct tape shield that will allow the water to drip down away from the speaker until I find a better solution.