For those who have used the MB Quart Front Components as replacements for the door speakers in a 10 speaker (or 8) setup, what was the chosen method for using the MB Quart crossovers and installing the mids? I'm sitting wondering how the heck I'm going to get this to fit without fabricating a whole new panel for under the armrest, as it doesn't seem like either the 5.25 or the crossover will fit without completely tossing the factory plastic piece...am I missing a configuration here that works well, or did y'all make a new piece? I've looked at all the brackets that came with the 5.25" as well, and none really seem to fit the bill.

All suggestions appreciated

 

I used the MB Quarts in my car a couple months back. The 5.25 will fit if you take a dremel tool and bore out the opening some. I also got a pair of 3.5" full range speakers that I used in there as well. I didn't use the MB Quart crossover I just kept the factory one and it still sounds great. But people I talk to say the one Quart gives you will be better, but it's only a 2 way.

The tweeter you have to mess with a little bit to mount. The way the factory one is mounted is that it's glued into a little bracket that's not like any that I could find. So I had to take a little pick and carefully cut the thing out and then glue the new one in and it works great. Once I got it all said and done it all looks like a factory setup, only it sure doesn't sound like one! Those are great speakers.

 

one important thing that i found when installing my components. on the outside of the speaker cover panel is a metal grille. when i took the panel off a while after installing i noticed that the metal from the grille was biting into the rubber on the speakers. if you take a look at the back side of the panel you will see what i mean. i dremeled the metal from the grille so it sits flat with the plastic.

if you look at the panel and that doesnt' make any sense then i'll try to take pictures to illustrate my point but you should definatly do this to avoid ruining your speakers.

 

I just can't find a suitable place for the Xover so I'm thinking I might do what you did and reuse the factory unit, but without the 3" (mine is shot)...when you say dremel out the housing for the 5.25, do you mean the area where it screws into (it seems like the diameter of the Quart is perfect, just that the screw doesn't hit anywhere because their tabs are a bit too short...did you use just the speaker, or did you use one of the mounts they supplied?

 

Andrew, do you mean on the 5.25"? I'm a bit concerned particularly given that I think I might need to use an adaptive spacer...so you found that basically 'cutting' out where the 5.25 sits right against the outer factory mesh cover and using the supplied ones would be a good idea?

 

I think I used the little frame thing that came with the 5.25s. It moves the screw holes out a bit and they ended up lining up perfectly. I THINK thats what I did, but it was about 6 months ago so I don't recall exactly. The depths of the Quart are an exact fit for that area, so once you get it mounted in the housing it's perfect.

I think the reason I had to dremel it out a little was because it didn't quite sit flush in the hole. But if yours does maybe you should just drill a couple small holes or something for the screws where it's at.

If you can't figure out a way to do it I can go pull my panel off and take some pictures of what it looks like. It's easy enough to take off so that's not a big deal if it'll help.

 

I definitely appreciate the offer, I'm hoping I can make it work with some washers and those Quart spacers. I am a little irritated with the tweets, as I used the Quart mounting pieces and it makes it so that the factory mesh covers don't quite fit...I'm debating cutting down the quart mounts to make the speaker cover fit OK, but right now I'm in the middle of figuring out what is best to do.
I'm still torn about trying to figure out a way to use the crossovers...I'm a bit confused by the factory piece, as the color of the wires in doesn't match up to anything...I have brown and brown and red, whereas at the tweeter I have red and red and brown...I guess they change over at some point, but I'm trying to figure out where to make sure I get the right wires set up.

 

OK, got the wiring thing figured out. I'm a bit unsure (I suck with stereo stuff, as I'm sure most have already figured out) as to what frequency to use on the crossovers...any suggestions? It has -6, -3, and -0 listed...what are the benefits and/or drawbacks of each?

 

I have no idea about setting up the crossovers. I decided not to use them since I didn't see a good place to mount the thing in the door so I didn't do any research on how to set them up. The wiring diagram in the factory manuals was complex enough to confuse the guy I had at my house who does outrageous things with car stereos as a hobby..after that I didn't feel too bad about not understanding it!

Yeah the tweeter was a pain to get right. Like I said eventually I chiseled the factory one out of its little housing and glued the new one into it so that it fit right. And these Quarts are the closest thing to direct replacements that you can really get...Imagine tryin to work with something else!

 

Yeah, unfortunately my factory ones were cracked off right where the screws go through, so I had to do something other than your method (which I would have preferred)...so now I'm working on figuring out how the h*ck to make these covers fit. However, I will get some pictures, I have figured a way to make the crossovers fit in the door...

 

Actually that happened to me too! The screw holes cracked when I tried to take them off. I "rebuilt" the thing with some 10 minute epoxy and got it to work..

 

LOL - mine were actually missing, so I just let it go and used the quart pieces...now I kinda wished I'd spent some time looking for some junkyard tweeters to use the housings from. I'm pretty psyched about the quart crossover locations I got to work, as soon as my gf gets home I'll use her digital and take some pictures for you, though since you got the 3.5", you probably won't want the quart crossovers anyway.

 

Yeah I think the setup I have works pretty well. But I'd definately be interested in what you ended up with just in case I decide to play around with it one day just to see what she sounds like through the Quart crossover. The 3.5s I can live without because it might actually sound better through the other...So if you feel like snappin some pictures I'd love to see them so I can tell what other options I have for later on.

 

Well, I have pictures, but I have nowhere to host 'em except my p-car profile, so, if anyone wants to see it put together (but not on the car, damn Florida sporadic rain) you can click

<a href="http://www.p-caronline.com/directory/jasonecw/" target="_blank">my p-car profile</a>

 

Looks good! How does it sound with the new speakers hooked up??