Does anyone know of a replacement for the door woofers in a '88 convertible (Pioneer)? The surround had rotted out in mine and Mazda tells me they are no longer avaliable. I would ideally like to get something that would fit into the mounting without a custom modification. Any suggestions?

Rocketman

 

yeah, any 6 1/2 would do it. there is a ton of room there you could fit nearly any 61/2 for that spot.

 

if you are reffering to the speaker above the armrest that is a 4" and you could be concerned about mounting depth. But, if you put a 3/4" mdf there, you would be fine. I put a memphis audio component woofer there with 3/4" mdf spacer and it fits perfect.

 

Good: The Alpine 1629 coax speaker is a drop in
Better: JL audio VR 600 (get your local JL audio dealer to get you the CSi woofers only) also a drop in.
Best: MB Quart PWD 160, minor trimming is required to the stock mounting panel.

 

Theres over 2 1/2 inchs in there. Almost anything fits dept wise.

And its not a 6 1/2" or a 4" speaker, above the arm rest. Its a 160mm (or true 6" speaker) rather than a 170mm/ 6 1/2" speaker.

*edit
Furthermore MDF is one of the worst materials to use in a door. Like all particle laminate woods, it is extra susceptible to moisture damage and dissolving. If you are forced to use particle boards like MDF, you must seal them with polyester resins (fiberglass resin) or after a year or two in a door the speaker will be falling out of its mount.

 

Actually you are all wrong!
There isn't a ton of room in there.
There is exactly 2 1/2 inches to the window glass. You must give the window some clearance as well. I've been to all the high end custom audio shops and there are very few 6 or 6 1/2 inch woofers that will mount in this area and still give clearance to the window. If you raise the mount out much to give clearance to with window, then the door trim doesn't fit! The orrigional speaker is 1 1/2 inches deep. This is a convertible and has the compact disc sound system (not the 4 inchers in the regular models)
There are also issues with speaker efficiency ie the factory ones are extremely efficient allowing them to put out lots of db's with very little power (from the puny door woofer amp). Most aftermarket speakers are much less efficient and might not produce much sound with the stock amp.

Icemark:
The Jl audio vr600 sounds like something to try. Are you speaking from experience or just speculating? I wish it was as cut and dry as everyone is making it out to be!
Good luck getting anybody to sell you a component woofer without the tweeter! It just don't happen where I live

Rocketman



Rocketman

 

i fit a 6 1/2" i there......crap i can't remember by who....i need sleep.

 

i think they where 4 factory. but u can prob fit a 6 or so in. but not the best 6 because it needs to be deep enough

 

Yeah I have the VR600 in both my truck and my 88 vert. In the vert mounted into the stock metal speaker mounting panel. I didn't run into any depth problems.

But remember that is a true 6" speaker, not one of the import branded ones that claims to be 6 1/2 inchs, but measures out to 150mm or 160 mm.

Most any JL audio dealer in good standing should have them or be able to get them in stock. JL has a very liberal shipping policy for small amounts. But even so, most of the online stereo places also allow you to order them.

In worst case order the whole VR600 CSi set and then use the tweeters hooked up to the dash 4 inch speakers (with included passive Xover), and mount the tweets in the door.

If you have the stock Pioneer or Panasonic woofer amp, it has the low pass built in, so you can't wire the tweeters off of that.

And don't confuse the VR600 with the VR650, with the 650 being a true 6 1/2 inch speaker. Same with the Alpine I mentioned. Although the Box claims it is a 6 1/2 inch speaker it is really a 6 inch, with the alpine 1729 being the real 6 1/2 inch speaker, even though they both as claimed as a 6 1/2 inch.

JL and MBquart are some of the very few companies that accurately sell and tell the real speaker size.

 

I don't see how you could fit a speaker with a deep magnet in the door without using a spacer. When I tested my woofer, the depth was 2.3 in. and it was nearly rubbing, without the spacer my speakers wouldn't fit.

If you put a 6" in the door above the armrest, some of the cone would be covered by the doorpanel correct?

Something I didn't think about when I was making the spacers was coating them with resin. I guess I should do that before it gets any colder and wetter!

 

Icemark

Sounds like you've been there, done that! I'll give it a try. When you refer to the "stock metal speaker mounting panels" do you mean the flat metal ring that is glued to the speaker and then bolted to the door?

By the way, did you find a decrease in the efficiency of the speaker leading to decreased bass volume from the speaker since it's almost certainly less efficient that the factory ones?

Rocketman

 

yeah the stock speaker panels are the metal egg shaped panels that the stock speaker bolts into.

Although the stock 6" speaker was rather efficent, it really didn't drop that low in frequency (47 Hz was about the lowest it could go). So by using even the Alpine I mention; you have a speaker that will drop down to around 37-38 Hz (theroetically- real world is another matter and story), so what you loose for efficency you gain a little in low end. Even using a good co-ax in that location often gets reasonable low end, but you will never get true sub woofer frequencies from there.

I am working on a fiberglass drop in/bolt in 'vert sub woofer enclosure for the area that is the storage bins in the coupes. On the vert that area is just wasted space and doesn't have the accoustic draw back that the coupe do there. I am convinced I can build a decent band pass enclosure for a 8" woofer, and still retain use of the area for the spare and full size tire/wheel in emergency use. As soon as I have a prototype that sounds like I want, I 'll build the molds and knock a couple out for people that want them at cost.