ZR6 Speaker Upgrade

[DKzr6]

So i decided to go with new speakers for my Zr6. The stock ones just didn't sound right. Bass seemed uncontrolled, and there wasn't enough crispness in the high ranges.

Since the stock speakers are 6x9 all round with tweeters in the top of the dash, i decided to get a set of eclipse 6x9 4 ways to replace the 4 6x9's in the car. I decided to leave the factory tweeters in the top of the dash to help with the staging.

Here are some photos.

1. Removal of door trim was easy, just remove the grab handle cover, and door handle cover and remove the three screws. The trim then just pulled away from the door. There are clips all around the trim to hold it in place.

2. You can then see that the speaker has odd mounting points, the hole in the door is much much larger than a standard 6x9 speaker. You can also see that the oem speaker has a plastic frame, i bet its worth about 50c.

3. Once removing the speaker, i needed to remove the green plastic mountig plugs. They protruded from the door frame and wouldn't have allowed the new baffle to sit flush against the door panel.

4. I then made a cardboard template for the new baffle base. I used the template and cut out the baffle with my jigsaw, i used the template provided with the speakers to cut out a speaker hole in the new baffle. I mounted the baffle in place using nuts and bolts through the existing holes. I also used a 2mm rubber under the baffle againt the door frame to ensure a perfect seal.

5. The new speakers were still too deep to mount directly on the new baffle, they would have hit the window. So i made another spacer out of MDF to mount onto the baffle. This allowed me to mount and screw the speaker directly onto the main baffle.

6. Once the front doors were done, i moved onto the back speakers. Removing the rear speakers involves (in this order) Removing the seat base, the seat belt bolts at the base, the seat back, the left and right c pillar trims, and then the parcel shelf.

The speakers are mounted on the deck with bolts, easy enough to undo. Again the holes are too big for a standard 6x9 so i made another plywood baffle using the factory speaker as a shape template. I cut out the baffle and then screwed the speaker to it before mounting the baffle. I then mounted the entire baffle/speaker in once piece. This made it easier to work under the glass. The baffle screwed into the factory mounting positions.

The baffles also provide enough clearance for the bottom of the speakers against the boot springs.

I only have one photo of the rear, as my camera battery ran out, and i couldn't be bothered waiting for it to recharge.

RESULT: The difference is absolutely astounding!!! Nice tight controlled bass, crisp clear highs, and a sweet mid range. The amp in the head unit has no problems driving these speakers. The timber baffles i'm sure help dramatically with the sound quality. All in all i'm really happy with the new speakers and my install. Not one hole was drilled or cut into the car. No rattles or unwanted vibrations in the car either. It would simply be a matter of unscrewing the new speakers baffles and screwing in the original speakers to restore the car to factory condition.

[Adrian]

Nice work !

[Plugger]

Well Done.

Sounds like it was worth the effort.

I'm glad you didn't have to make any modifications to the car, that's a bonus.

[saintly]

good work! glad it turn out nicely for you! :)

[CAP]

Nice guide. I'm going to pin this :D

[muzcarley]

could you please tell me what brand of speakers did u use ? and would 7 X 10 speaker fit in the front doors ?

[DKzr6]

could you please tell me what brand of speakers did u use ? and would 7 X 10 speaker fit in the front doors ?

Hi,

I used eclipse speakers (fujitsu ten). 7 x 10 would be a tight fit. You could probably fit them, however depth would be an issue. The 6x9 only have about 3-4 mm gab between the magnet and the window glass when it opens. Bringing the speakers forward with a bigger baffle would cause them to interfere with the door trim.

6x9's give excellent bass and clarity. Can't see why you would need more.

[muzcarley]

could you please tell me what brand of speakers did u use ? and would 7 X 10 speaker fit in the front doors ?

Hi,

I used eclipse speakers (fujitsu ten). 7 x 10 would be a tight fit. You could probably fit them, however depth would be an issue. The 6x9 only have about 3-4 mm gab between the magnet and the window glass when it opens. Bringing the speakers forward with a bigger baffle would cause them to interfere with the door trim.

6x9's give excellent bass and clarity. Can't see why you would need more.

thanks for the info !! i just happen to have a set of 7 x 10 in the shed i thought i could use them instead of them gathering dust good try anyway :(

[stephenp]

Thanks DKzr6, I followed your guide and managed to change my front and rear speakers last weekend and also put in a white neon light for the trunk. It was not an easy job but got it all done within an afternoon. I did not put 6" x 9" at the front but a 6.5" as I worry about the windows clearance. The sound truly improve compare to the original, and can't believe the original speakers were so horrible and light weight.

[mkay]

Thanks for this handy guide, I'll definetly look at doing the same when I get a chance.

[AcoustiK]

could you please tell me what brand of speakers did u use ? and would 7 X 10 speaker fit in the front doors ?

Hi,

I used eclipse speakers (fujitsu ten). 7 x 10 would be a tight fit. You could probably fit them, however depth would be an issue. The 6x9 only have about 3-4 mm gab between the magnet and the window glass when it opens. Bringing the speakers forward with a bigger baffle would cause them to interfere with the door trim.

6x9's give excellent bass and clarity. Can't see why you would need more.

What was the height of the eclipse speakers? i am thinking of putting all 6x9 pioneer yellows into the aurion, and bit concerned on the fitment, also I noticed that the yellow's tweeter pokes out from the woofer a bit....

[mkay]

I'm currently in the process off replacing the stock speakers with some pioneer splits for the front & 6x9's for the rear. I also could not believe the poor quality of the standard speakers. The rear ones weighed 290g and the front 300g as photographed. Compared to the replacement speaker 2090g rear & 1120g front. The speaker surrounds are very distorted too even though their only 3 weeks old.

Stock rear speaker

Stock front speaker.

Comparison of new and old.

Edited December 4, 2009 by mkay

[mkay]

Back view of stock front & rear.

The replacement speakers I'll be using.

Thanks again for the installation guide, I have refered to it a couple of times already.

Should have everything in by tomorrow.

Edited December 4, 2009 by mkay

[AcoustiK]

Mkay:

Did you also plan to remove the existing tweeter? if so what do those look like as I was just thinking of using the existing ones ones and just using coaxials to replace the four.

[mkay]

Mkay:

Did you also plan to remove the existing tweeter? if so what do those look like as I was just thinking of using the existing ones ones and just using coaxials to replace the four.

I was thinking about it but decided to leave them in for the time being and seeing what it sounds like. If the distort too much I might just unplug them. I removed the front tweeter cover and had a look, their (approx) 2 inch cone speakers. The covers are quite tricky to get off, clips all across the bottom and along one side. I used a couple of peices of stainless steel sheet to unclip the cover without doing too much damage to the clips.

[AcoustiK]

How did you go with the installation? how much clearance did you still have with the splits and Ovals?

[mkay]

How did you go with the installation? how much clearance did you still have with the splits and Ovals?

I finished installing everything yesterday.

The rear 6x9 caused the most problems, if you mount them too deep, they contact the boot springs, too high and they hit the parcel shelf. I used 6 mm ply for the base with 16mm MDF for the baffle. The boot spring still just contacts the left speaker when the boot is closed, so I put some clear rubber tubing over the spring to avoid vibration.

The speakers were also still contacting the parcel shelf so I had to trim some plastic off the underside of the shelf to allow more room. It was a very tight fit but eventaully evrthing went into place.

The fronts were a lot easier. I made the baffles just like in DKzr6's guide but to fit the round woofer and there was plenty of clearance either side. I mounted the crossover inside the door panel near the forward top part of the door. The tweeters are mounted on the little plastic panels that cover the screws holding the rear view mirrors on. I'll take some photos and post them tonight.

I'm very happy with the sound, no unwanted vibrations at all. Definetly worth the effort but make sure you have a couple of days to work on it incase you run into any problems.

[SilverProdigy]

Mkay:

Did you also plan to remove the existing tweeter? if so what do those look like as I was just thinking of using the existing ones ones and just using coaxials to replace the four.

I upgraded the front speakers to a set of MB Quart splits. The upgrade is definitely worth it.

Here is a pic of the stock tweeter from the Aurion. It has a power handling of 17.5watts RMS.

[dannywss]

How did you go with the installation? how much clearance did you still have with the splits and Ovals?

I finished installing everything yesterday.

The rear 6x9 caused the most problems, if you mount them too deep, they contact the boot springs, too high and they hit the parcel shelf. I used 6 mm ply for the base with 16mm MDF for the baffle. The boot spring still just contacts the left speaker when the boot is closed, so I put some clear rubber tubing over the spring to avoid vibration.

The speakers were also still contacting the parcel shelf so I had to trim some plastic off the underside of the shelf to allow more room. It was a very tight fit but eventaully evrthing went into place.

The fronts were a lot easier. I made the baffles just like in DKzr6's guide but to fit the round woofer and there was plenty of clearance either side. I mounted the crossover inside the door panel near the forward top part of the door. The tweeters are mounted on the little plastic panels that cover the screws holding the rear view mirrors on. I'll take some photos and post them tonight.

I'm very happy with the sound, no unwanted vibrations at all. Definetly worth the effort but make sure you have a couple of days to work on it incase you run into any problems.

did u also change the HU, tats the MOST important to audio. u use 6x9 for rear, so u not using a sub?

[mkay]

How did you go with the installation? how much clearance did you still have with the splits and Ovals?

I finished installing everything yesterday.

The rear 6x9 caused the most problems, if you mount them too deep, they contact the boot springs, too high and they hit the parcel shelf. I used 6 mm ply for the base with 16mm MDF for the baffle. The boot spring still just contacts the left speaker when the boot is closed, so I put some clear rubber tubing over the spring to avoid vibration.

The speakers were also still contacting the parcel shelf so I had to trim some plastic off the underside of the shelf to allow more room. It was a very tight fit but eventaully evrthing went into place.

The fronts were a lot easier. I made the baffles just like in DKzr6's guide but to fit the round woofer and there was plenty of clearance either side. I mounted the crossover inside the door panel near the forward top part of the door. The tweeters are mounted on the little plastic panels that cover the screws holding the rear view mirrors on. I'll take some photos and post them tonight.

I'm very happy with the sound, no unwanted vibrations at all. Definetly worth the effort but make sure you have a couple of days to work on it incase you run into any problems.

did u also change the HU, tats the MOST important to audio. u use 6x9 for rear, so u not using a sub?

I got the Sat/Nav unit, and I'm happy with it. It's loud enough for me. I spent over $6000 on the stereo in my commodore 7 years ago and its probably worth next to nothing now, not to mention having no room in the boot. The 6x9 produce fairly good bass on their own. I must be getting too old or something hey.

[Stealth]

I'm too much of an amature to do this sort of thing, not to mention lack of power tools. Given what you guys had to go through with the installation could i trust a shop to do the upgrade properly for me?

[Tmaster100]

Hey DKzr6,

I have today installed the Eclipse 4 ways in the front (rears on the weekend) and i am not impressed at all with the sound. We build custom pods and baffles and they turned out excellent (pics to follow) however i noticed there is a huge lack of bass response up front now.

Did you end up putting sound deadening to your doors to help seal and reduce noise?

Greg

[DKzr6]

Hey DKzr6,

I have today installed the Eclipse 4 ways in the front (rears on the weekend) and i am not impressed at all with the sound. We build custom pods and baffles and they turned out excellent (pics to follow) however i noticed there is a huge lack of bass response up front now.

Did you end up putting sound deadening to your doors to help seal and reduce noise?

Greg

Thats doesn't sound right. I ended up with lots more bass all round. Sure you didn't wire up the terminals in reverse. That would cause a loss in bass response.

Since i did my speaker upgrade last year, i have made additions. A few weeks ago i added a JBL amp, and an LC6i convertor to convert the standard speaker output from the stereo to RCA pre-outs for the amp. I also sealed both front doors with Dynamat.

All this extra work was for more power not more bass.

You should have good bass response without the amp/sound proofing etc.

Have you got a tight seal between the baffle/custom mount. No Air should be able to escape around the speaker/baffle and baffle/door areas. I used a 2mm rubber to make sure i had a perfect seal.

I only added the dynamat to the doors, as due to the extra power from the amp, the speakers would cause the door lining (plastic) to buzz and vibrate at really high volumes. The dynamat prevents this.

Running the stock head unit however, will not require the Dynamat, as the speakers aren't being driven as hard as with the amp.

Double check your connection polarity (as reversing it will cause the problem you are having). Also Double check your seal with the baffles.

Edited March 5, 2008 by DKzr6

[Tmaster100]

We have made high quality pods and sealed them real well. Today i put some stinger roadkill on the front doors and toned down the front speakers and they are way too bright (Eclipse 4 ways). I also installed the rears (Ecplise 4ways) today and overall it does sound better but i think am amp would be a better option to work with this upgrade.

Have you noticed the Auto Level setting missing from your menu now after changing all the speakers?

[DKzr6]

We have made high quality pods and sealed them real well. Today i put some stinger roadkill on the front doors and toned down the front speakers and they are way too bright (Eclipse 4 ways). I also installed the rears (Ecplise 4ways) today and overall it does sound better but i think am amp would be a better option to work with this upgrade.

Have you noticed the Auto Level setting missing from your menu now after changing all the speakers?

Did you disconnect the factory tweeters in the top of the dash. This should reduce the excessive brightness.

The Auto Level setting is still on my menu.