hans14914

As part of all the speaker components I am working on, I have been evaluating all the various assemblies for the 928. I now have replacement grills/mounts for the 4" speakers for the 84+ doors (will also work in the rear hatch area) and also for all 84+ tweeter locations.

The only location that I do not have new parts available for is the rear 6.5" speaker. On the earlier (84-88) cars, large square grills were supplied, which can be used with an adapter to install different speakers. Starting in 89, a round assembly was used, and the speaker basket is part of the lower assembly - they can not be separated. Installing a new speaker requires permanently destroying the original equipment.

I can have replacement rear grill assemblies made for the 89+ cars. It would require a significant investment for the injection molds, and I would have to commit to a large production run. So I thought I would check and see if people need/want these parts.

The new part would be round, like the 89+ style, but would be useable on other years as well. The bolt pattern is the same on all 84+ cars, so the round versions could be used on an 84-88 car if the vinyl/leather has not been damaged or faded from the larger square grills. Additionally, these grills could be used to add larger rear speakers to earlier cars - this would require permanents and destructive modifications to the 77-83 car, but would appear very factory, with the contouring for the rear interior quarter panels.

Please let me know if you would buy a set of adapters/grills. These would have the ISO mounting flange, so any ISO 6.5" driver would fit (as long as the motor/basket was not too large for the sheetmetal opening below). I will have 6.5" speakers available to match my 4" drivers if you are looking for something special to stick in there.

Because of the cost of tooling, and the order quantity, these would be expensive. I am still shopping around for bids, but would anticipate these adapters to retail in the $75-$100/pair. Material would be injection molded ABS, and the grill would be a stamped perforated steel grill, painted black. Quality would be as good or better than original equipment.

Please only vote if you would be interested and willing to pay upwards of $75/set. Also, I have setup the option to vote for multiple answers. Please include both the number you would purchase, as well as what application you would use them for.

Thanks for your interest and participation.

Hans

hacker-pschorr

In B4 the poll

What did we conclude will work in the rear of the 78-83 cars?

Ninespub

Hans, I presume that this is for the adaptors only; but I would also want to have an idea what replacement speakers would probably additionally cost before I voted. BTW there is no poll showing!

hans14914

Yeah, Rennlist uploads the post why you are constructing the poll. Should be visible now.

The poll is for adapters only. These would have the full ISO mounting pattern on there, so you should be able to use any 6.5" rear speaker within reason (the hole in the sheet metal behind the panel is only so big, and so deep). I do have 6.5" speakers which I am working on... but they are kind of pricey, so would make the adapters available separately for use with whatever speaker you would want to use. Naturally they will be compatible with my 6.5" drivers which will be released later this year though. These parts would be available in advance of those drivers, if there is enough interest, I could have these made in the next 2-3 weeks. My 6.5" speakers likely wont be available till the holiday season.

Thanks
Hans

S4ordie

Me wanty tree sets. One for each of my cars and a reserve set. Ultimately same for all speakers as well.

hans14914

Back to the top.

So far, not enough interest to justify the tooling and production costs. Looking for more commitments if this is going to go much further.

Thanks
Hans

Dictys

I would be up for a set to replace my ones made from the remains of the old speakers. Would they add a little extra depth? As I had to use the old rings then add a spacer for my pioneers.

hans14914

Yes, these will add a bit of useable depth, as the driver would mount to the front. Not a huge amount of increase, but probably on the order of 10mm as compared to mounting on the back.

Thanks,
Hans

Ninespub

Lets see...........3.2MM=1/8" ergo, you gain approximately 3/8" extra depth. This information for the benefit of the metricly challenged.

PHIL928

This is exactly what I need!
How many people do you need to commit before you are willing to go ahead and make the molds? I could probably ask around here (12 or so 928s, I found out today)

Thanks Hans!

hans14914

Phil,

Thanks for the enthusiasm. Its what drives these projects.

The problem is the overall cost of the tooling, and the minimum order quantity. I have been working with an injection molding company, who provides a very affordable tool (comparatively... tools are expensive. For example, I pay $2000 for a tool from the company which would normally cost $8000 from your average supplier) but they help offset that tool with a larger minimum order quanity. Whereas I could probably order a 500 part run from the $8000 tool, I am lucky if I can get my current manufacturer to run 1000 pieces, and they generally prefer minimum batches of 2000 parts.

As you can imagine, the market for rear adapters is pretty small. No matter what I do, there will be a box of adapters that will follow me for the rest of my life. I will possibly sell 100 pairs of adapters over the next 5 years. So the other 1800 parts I have to run are immaterial. I have to amortize the cost of the tool against the 200 parts I think I can sell... and if we use the $2000 tool example (I dont have the final quote yet, so dont hold me to it) the tool alone would contribute $10 of expense to each part. Then you have to examine that I need to do the same with the large minimum order requirement, knowing that I will not be able to sell the bulk of the order.

So, its not a question of how many people are necessary, its a function of what the part is worth to the people who do need it.

Right now we have 21 sets via the poll. Please take this as a very rough estimate based on my previous parts with this manufacturer. I would imagine the cost spread across such a small number of people would be almost $300/pair. We need to get past the 50 pair mark to really make this even remotely possible.

I expect to get a quote early next week. I did a CAD model of the adapter, but sent an original part to the manufacturer for them to get a better idea of the piece. They should have that part now.

In the meantime. If you guys want these parts, please spread the word and get some more commitments. The more people interested, the cheaper the parts are. There wont be any greedy margins on these parts, so the number of the participants will scale the price down almost linearly.

Thanks,
Hans

blown 87

I guess I am interested in a set, I have the rear panels from a 89 in mine, so am not sure of the ones I need.

hans14914

Here are some early renderings to get you guys excited. These are the first stab, and will be modified, but give you a concept of the the part.

We need more commitments to get these made. So if you are on the fence, and you have a concept to make these better, let me know. I dont want to get in the design-by-committee mode, but at the same time we need more firm commitments to get this launched.

Thanks
Hans

Alan

Hans - since this looks a long way off the finacially feasible point at this time... isn't there a generic spacer ring with the required max depth that could be fitted to a specially made jig to remove the required material for fit against the B-Pillar shape? Given a stock version as a template seems that would not be too hard to create a jig & template to be used with a router to remove the excess material?

Other than this profiling the unit doesn't really need to be that custom does it?

My rear spacers needed work but they are fine now so I'm not really in need - but I did something similar to fit my subwoofer to the front door contour - this is certainly more difficult - but we do have a template in the original material...

Alan

hans14914

Alan,

You are correct, you could profile an existing ring. However, it wont have the same contour as the original part, so the permanent indentation/scuffing from the original part will show on the rear quarters. Additionally, the mounting boss locations would be off, and need to be drilled and cemented.

It certainly is possible to make them custom as you suggest, but they wont look factory. One of the largest benefits of the custom part, apart from the perfect fit, is that the grill will be part of the assembly. Machining an off-the-shelf spacer, will require adding a grill on top of the spacer, so you will end up with a sharp/raw edge as the grill will not be the same diameter of the spacer.

If it does not look feasible to make the injection molded part, then the next best option is unfortunately to butcher the original part. Modifying a rear ring would personally be my last choice... not becuase it wont work, but because it wont look as good as the original part, which is kind of the purpose of an upgrade.

If this project falls through, which it may, I hope that someone does come up with a jig and offer a modification service, but it wont be a project I am ready to take on. It is too labor and time intensive for my current schedule.

I am still hoping for a short run of parts.

Thanks
Hans