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Here are a few photos of my non-HiFi '95 Cab with the Focal PS165FX speakers installed. The tweeters are in the factory pods. The woofers look pretty stock even with the Focal grilles as the logo is buried deep in the door pocket. You really need to look down in there to see it. I am very happy with the sound quality without an amp with just the Porsche Classic Nav Radio as my source, and I have had quite a few high end audio systems in other cars. Sounds very clear even at high volumes with the top down. May add an amp further down the road but not in a rush.
L39E, your installation looks very clean and the Focal's specs are good. I wish they made a ~180mm driver that could play a bit lower in the frequency range. I have no qualms cutting up my doors to fit lager mids in the interest of more bass
Here are a few photos of my non-HiFi '95 Cab with the Focal PS165FX speakers installed. The tweeters are in the factory pods. The woofers look pretty stock even with the Focal grilles as the logo is buried deep in the door pocket. You really need to look down in there to see it. I am very happy with the sound quality without an amp with just the Porsche Classic Nav Radio as my source, and I have had quite a few high end audio systems in other cars. Sounds very clear even at high volumes with the top down. May add an amp further down the road but not in a rush.
Awesome looking upgrade. I did buy the coaxial version, but this gives me hope it was the right choice. And you are right, no problem with that aftermarket grill at all!
<OT> I love your leather door handles and storage lids - are they OE or aftermarket?
Thanks. I believe the car has full leather as the door handles, storage lids, upper dash, center tunnel under the shifter and e-brake, and rear seats and center console are all leather.
Here are a few photos of my non-HiFi '95 Cab with the Focal PS165FX speakers installed. The tweeters are in the factory pods. The woofers look pretty stock even with the Focal grilles as the logo is buried deep in the door pocket. You really need to look down in there to see it. I am very happy with the sound quality without an amp with just the Porsche Classic Nav Radio as my source, and I have had quite a few high end audio systems in other cars. Sounds very clear even at high volumes with the top down. May add an amp further down the road but not in a rush.
Was install straight forward? Any gotchas? Not cutting etc?
I just tried to fit the Focal PC165F and failed. I don't know why this was never mentioned, but the car has plastic cups behind the door panel that hold the screws for the speakers. Those 4 holes cannot be moved and the new speaker needs to fit in there. Furthermore, the Focal's would not even fit inside those cups, as they are way too large for the opening. I tried removing the cups and screwing the speakers into the sheet metal (which I have read here many times), but not only could I not get the screws to penetrate the metal, but the opening in the door panel would not allow for the speakers to be pushed in, and retriming isn't easy, as they are obviously covered in leather. Seriously, what has everyone with those 6.5" Focals been doing their cars and how can you claim this was plug and play? Sorry if my frustration shines through here...
Old Nokia speakers, not hard to see why they need to be replaced.
Trying to insert Focals into the "cup" behind the panel.
No chance fitting the Focals, this is about as far as they go with the cup. With the cup removed, they go half an inch further, but not fully in.
And for anyone who read the beginning of this thread, here's how the story ends. I'll copy this into my first post as well. Thanks everyone for chiming in.
Headunit
Continental TR7412UB-OR, I could not be happier. Styling suits the rest of the car, illumination is almost spot on with the rest of the dashboard lights, bluetooth works like a charm, reception is good, power to speakers is absolutely adequate for my desire. All for $145.
Front-Speakers
My initial requirement was as close to plug and play as possible. Unfortunately, the many suggestions for Focal 6.5" failed to mention the required modifications; turned out they did not fit into the hole in the door panel nor the plastic cup behind it. But since I already bought them, I took a fellow Rennlister's offer for help in the installation process (whom I am very happy to have met). We took the door panels off, made the hole for the speaker a little bigger and bought longer screws, which we screwed straight into drilled holes in the sheet metal. For a plug-and-play for the wiring, you can buy an adapter from crutchfield. The Focal grills are very low-key, so using those wasn't a problem. The speakers I bought were Focal Performance Expert FLAX PC165F (Coaxial) and cost $235 from ebay. They sound tremendous and completely satisfy my needs. That said, if you found them in a smaller diameter, you might be able to fit them without the aforementioned modifications.
Rear-Speakers
For now, the radio is set to only play through the front-speakers, but I am planning on changing the rears out for Polk DB463.
And for anyone who read the beginning of this thread, here's how the story ends. I'll copy this into my first post as well. Thanks everyone for chiming in.
Headunit
Continental TR7412UB-OR, I could not be happier. Styling suits the rest of the car, illumination is almost spot on with the rest of the dashboard lights, bluetooth works like a charm, reception is good, power to speakers is absolutely adequate for my desire. All for $145.
Front-Speakers
My initial requirement was as close to plug and play as possible. Unfortunately, the many suggestions for Focal 6.5" failed to mention the required modifications; turned out they did not fit into the hole in the door panel nor the plastic cup behind it. But since I already bought them, I took a fellow Rennlister's offer for help in the installation process (whom I am very happy to have met). We took the door panels off, made the hole for the speaker a little bigger and bought longer screws, which we screwed straight into drilled holes in the sheet metal. For a plug-and-play for the wiring, you can buy an adapter from crutchfield. The Focal grills are very low-key, so using those wasn't a problem. The speakers I bought were Focal Performance Expert FLAX PC165F (Coaxial) and cost $235 from ebay. They sound tremendous and completely satisfy my needs. That said, if you found them in a smaller diameter, you might be able to fit them without the aforementioned modifications.
Rear-Speakers
For now, the radio is set to only play through the front-speakers, but I am planning on changing the rears out for Polk DB463.
Hi Alfa,
What did you use to cut the panels? Jigsaw or router? I'm assuming you had to cut the leather/vinyl, as well? Did you also have to get rid of the cups?
What did you use to cut the panels? Jigsaw or router? I'm assuming you had to cut the leather/vinyl, as well? Did you also have to get rid of the cups?
Once you take the door panel off, you'll see that the vinyl is stapled to the back of the cutout (the door panels are just a wooden board). The staples are easily removed and you can just fold the vinyl back while you cut the wooden board with a simple utility knife. The vinyl can now be put back into place, without any modification. I decided not to staple it back on, but used super glue instead. You now have a bigger hole, without cutting into any of the vinyl.
Yes, you do remove the cups, they can't house the larger speakers. This means that you will no longer have anything for the speaker screws to screw into. That's why you need to screw the speaker screws directly through the door panel and into the metal of the door. As a side effect, you have a much more stable hold for the speaker.
Once you take the door panel off, you'll see that the vinyl is stapled to the back of the cutout (the door panels are just a wooden board). The staples are easily removed and you can just fold the vinyl back while you cut the wooden board with a simple utility knife. The vinyl can now be put back into place, without any modification. I decided not to staple it back on, but used super glue instead. You now have a bigger hole, without cutting into any of the vinyl.
Yes, you do remove the cups, they can't house the larger speakers. This means that you will no longer have anything for the speaker screws to screw into. That's why you need to screw the speaker screws directly through the door panel and into the metal of the door. As a side effect, you have a much more stable hold for the speaker.
Great, thanks for the input!. Hoping to get started this weekend. What length screws did you use? Would like to get them ahead of time, so I don't get stuck mid-install needing longer screws. haha
Here's my planned setup:
PCRN Head Unit
Focal PS165FX Components
Focal 2-channel FDS 2.350 Amp (Decided to do front speakers only)
Scosche LOC90 - Hi to Low signal converter and HU output to RCA converter to feed signal to amp.
Will run new speaker wire from AMP to speakers, while leaving stock wires in place.
Thanks for sharing your journey. Nice to have updated info on speaker options. I'll try to document the whole process and share it on this thread.
Length was approximately two inches, but it won't matter if they are a little too long, there's some room behind that sheet metal.
Don't forget to drill holes before you put the screws in, I don't think self-tapping screws will cut it by themselves.
And for anyone who read the beginning of this thread, here's how the story ends. I'll copy this into my first post as well. Thanks everyone for chiming in.
Headunit
Continental TR7412UB-OR, I could not be happier. Styling suits the rest of the car, illumination is almost spot on with the rest of the dashboard lights, bluetooth works like a charm, reception is good, power to speakers is absolutely adequate for my desire. All for $145.
Front-Speakers
My initial requirement was as close to plug and play as possible. Unfortunately, the many suggestions for Focal 6.5" failed to mention the required modifications; turned out they did not fit into the hole in the door panel nor the plastic cup behind it. But since I already bought them, I took a fellow Rennlister's offer for help in the installation process (whom I am very happy to have met). We took the door panels off, made the hole for the speaker a little bigger and bought longer screws, which we screwed straight into drilled holes in the sheet metal. For a plug-and-play for the wiring, you can buy an adapter from crutchfield. The Focal grills are very low-key, so using those wasn't a problem. The speakers I bought were Focal Performance Expert FLAX PC165F (Coaxial) and cost $235 from ebay. They sound tremendous and completely satisfy my needs. That said, if you found them in a smaller diameter, you might be able to fit them without the aforementioned modifications.
Rear-Speakers
For now, the radio is set to only play through the front-speakers, but I am planning on changing the rears out for Polk DB463.
@Alfa40 you have me convinced to change directions and ditch my old OE tape headunit for one of these continental ones. Thanks for sharing! Do you have any details of any extras you needed to purchase besides the headunit such as a wiring harness(s)? I don't want to splice into the factory one.
03-17-2018, 05:36 PM
