These sound a lot better now with speaker diaphrams intact, as good as a contemporary set of 4x6 are going to sound over the engine and good enough for listening while parked with the engine off

 

Nice write up Harlan, Thanks for sharing

 

Ok ... finally had a chance to install my rear deck Polks. I followed your DIY except that I didn't solder the old plug terminals. Instead, I just cut off the plug terminals and crimped on some spade connectors that plug right into the Polks.

Taking the Dremmel to the spacers took the longest - but only about 5 or 10 minutes per side. After milling it down, they snap right on top of the Polks. My original grills and spacers were in good shape, so I just reused them.

All in all, it took about 30 minutes or so to replace the rears. Much shorter than doing the front door speakers (see my other thread/posts).

HUGE difference in sound. Can't beat it for $50.

Thanks, Harlan! Your DIY made this simple.

 

Great write-up, Harlan...thanks!

I, too have the "base" stereo. Anyone else had luck with a "drop-in" install of other brands or models, perhaps without the milling step? These Polks do have pretty good specs. For response, the lower the lower number (75) the better bass repsonse. The higher sensitivity rating, the better (you get more out of a small, stock amp).

frequency response: 75-22,000 Hz
sensitivity: 91 dB

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB46...r&tp=100&avf=N

 

I just got these in the mail yesterday from crutchfield:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107MM46...o-MM461P.html?

Im hoping that I can cut the tabs and epoxy them to the oe plates! We shall see this weekend....

 

Well the install was a PITA!! The 4x6 plates are bigger than I thought.



I had to trim the speaker to make it fit. If I were to do it again, Id go with the euro fit speakers (plug and play). As others have said, the rear speakers do not make that much of a difference.



I used epoxy glue to secure the speakers to the stock frames.



Next, install Focal Components (V2 polyglass) in the doors! Im hoping to use the stock grill for the 6.5's

 

Nice install! It looks like you milled off the mounting tabs on your speakers instead of milling or grinding off the flange on the stock speaker frame. The speaker could have mounted fine had you milled the frame like I had done, but then the mounting tabs appear to be pretty wide. Just in case you develop a problem with a speaker, all of the alterations would make it harder to return, if that matters.
The speaker frame Part Number 993 555 769 00, are less than five bucks a piece through Sunset Motors in Oregon. My grilles cracked when I went to snap them off, I order new ones but can't recall how much they were. They weren't too expensive.

 

Nice . . . but quick additional question.

My deck leather (vinyl?) is in need of replacement too. How much more work do you think it is to remove the deck cover for repair then replace adding the new speakers?

 

I believe it's a just a few more screws that need to remove to get the shelf off, It's not that complicated.

 

IIRC you'll need to remove the rear seatbelt anchors at the seats to get the seatbelt ends through the openings in the deck but I think that's all the additional work that's necessary.

 

I have a set of discontinued (like a 993!) Kenwood eXcelon KFC-X468C speaks shipping to me today for $49. They appear to have nice specs:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-rzGrJL4...KFC-X468C.html
Per Harlan's suggestion, I will endeavor to retain as much of the mounting tabs as possible and share my results later.

 

I would have gone with Harlan's install but the speaker plates are really thick and much larger than the hole in the oe base. I HAD to mill the speaker down and it also would have sat relatively high off the rear deck. I did do a couple test runs on different ways to install the plates. In the end, milling the speaker frame to fit the stock base was the best way to keep everything looking stock. Like Harlan said, might be a bit difficult to return the speaker if it fails!

 

I was just looking at the Polk Audio MM Series the other day. I like their warm sound. Not bad for a simple setup with no sub or amp.
"SHU" did you or are you also going to do the fronts? I am curious to see if the stock grills could be reused with them.

Cheers,

 

Has anyone tried Pioneer TS-G4642R speakers? The specs seem decent, although maybe a little low on the rms (20w), but I'm no longer into high volume sound.

 

CaptainGSR, Im havent looked into the Polk Audio MM series for the front. I have read alot of good reviews on the focal component speakers for the front. The plan is to do without a amp and maybe at a later date run a 2 channel just to the focals in the front. The rear should be fine off the headunit.