Car speaker installation

[lewis-clarke001]

Hi,

After looking at various options for upgrading my car audio system and with some advice from some of you guys! I have decided that I am going to buy a new Head Unit, a set of component speakers for the front, a subwoofer for the boot and a 4-channel amp to power it all. The problem I have is with the component speakers. I have found a set of these http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-alpine-spg-13cs_p-23887.htm - Alpine SPG-13CS second-hand for £30 however, I'm unsure as to whether the tweeters will fit into the dashboard where my current OEM tweeters sit & how to go about removing the old tweeters and replacing them, would it mean removing the entire dashboard? & if so has anyone had any experience doing this?
Also, the speakers come with a set of crossovers am I right in thinking these devices re-direct the audio signals so that each speaker receives the correct frequencies, thus resulting in a better sound? Where in the car do you put these crossovers once installed?

Thanks alot for reading

EDIT - I drive a 2001 Renault Clio 1.2 Authentique

 

[mikeh]

I did just this today - minus the sub part. Some pics here: http://www.cliosport.net/forum/show...ilver-182-FF&p=8336215&viewfull=1#post8336215

You can ignore the MDF and cutting of door cards bit as the speakers you have bought are 13cm and will fit straight in.

The way I did mine was figured out which wires on the car side of the door plug go to the door speaker and cut them, splicing a new cable from the plug to the speaker output on the crossover (I placed this up behind the dashboard, closest to the door on each side). Establishing which cables it is is easy with the aid of a multi-meter and some visual investigation.

Then you can run new cables from the tweeters to the crossover and from the crossover to the amp. You can mess around trying to get nice meaty cables through the door plug, but it's a lot of hassle.

As for the tweeters - I put mine in the OEM spot, I just had to open up the holes a bit. I did it to just the right size and threaded them in to the existing plastic - yours may be of a different design/size though.

To access the old tweeters, you really need to take the dash top off - it's not too difficult, just remove the pillar covers, then just 3-4 screws in the windscreen vents, 5 screws behind the dash strips and two under the clocks (the steering wheel cowling needs to come off) - then it's just a case of giving it a sharp pull towards you.

 

[James28]

You can just about get tweeters out without removing dash.
If you turn the cover then you can lift the cover off. Although sometimes the tweeters don't line up exactly to the hole, so not enough room to pull them out.

 

[Steven103]

See replies in your other thread r.e. tweeter/woofer fitment

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?623239-Component-Speakers&p=8412878#post8412878


I couldn't see an answer to the bit about crossovers, but essentially you're spot on. There will be a bit of customer wiring needed so make sure you've got a good quality pair of wire cutters and plenty of time (and daylight!). Most people put the crossovers in the bottom of the doors (behind the trim, you can drop them in when you've got the woofers out) Most cheaper (sub £80 at a guess?) components come with a built in crossover, but they're fairly low-tech and won't be as good as using a proper crossover on the same set of speakers. We're probably getting very very very picky though if it's coming down to this.

If you want an incredibly cheap but labour intensive way to significantly improve your sound, it's been noted that the standard renault speakers are massively better if you install them using proper crossovers. As I said this is cheap and cheerful, £10 ebay job crossovers, £5 of speaker wire and a free afternoon - but it won't be as good as spending £80 on a set of components etc.

Oh and whilst I'm here, at the £70/£80 mark and perhaps more relavent if you're thinking of a more serious setup involving amps: Hertz Dieci are a fair bit better than those Renault TS-Q131c but obviously the catch is you have to get innovative with fitting the tweeters. http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/hertz-dieci-dsk-130.html

 

[Mrpalmer]

I did just this today - minus the sub part. Some pics here: http://www.cliosport.net/forum/show...ilver-182-FF&p=8336215&viewfull=1#post8336215

You can ignore the MDF and cutting of door cards bit as the speakers you have bought are 13cm and will fit straight in.

The way I did mine was figured out which wires on the car side of the door plug go to the door speaker and cut them, splicing a new cable from the plug to the speaker output on the crossover (I placed this up behind the dashboard, closest to the door on each side). Establishing which cables it is is easy with the aid of a multi-meter and some visual investigation.

Then you can run new cables from the tweeters to the crossover and from the crossover to the amp. You can mess around trying to get nice meaty cables through the door plug, but it's a lot of hassle.

As for the tweeters - I put mine in the OEM spot, I just had to open up the holes a bit. I did it to just the right size and threaded them in to the existing plastic - yours may be of a different design/size though.

To access the old tweeters, you really need to take the dash top off - it's not too difficult, just remove the pillar covers, then just 3-4 screws in the windscreen vents, 5 screws behind the dash strips and two under the clocks (the steering wheel cowling needs to come off) - then it's just a case of giving it a sharp pull towards you.

I tried this today but had no luck finding the cables to slice to fit in the crossovers, can you give me any clues or hints of where to luck for them? All i found was the two cables going to the tweeters, then there is a strange clip behind it with a few cables on - no entirely sure what these where for.