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hi Alfa40 : Tried to look up the DB463 but came up with DB 462 instead. Do you have a photo of it? Wow the model I had was perfect in that you did not need the old plate to do the install -- just dremel the corners, mount directly to shelf and snap on grill. With the new DB model it seems like you need to do the process listed in the earlier part of the thread. Not sure a swiss army knife can do the trick, or would be really slow. I see you are in SF. I'm just in Marin. PM me and maybe I can help with the install and better answer your questions.
As for the fronts, I used Focal speakers. I have the hi-fi setup, so 3 speaker deal I made wooden mounting structure to hold the mid and low (there is a post with the details). I was able with some minor filing and silicon glue, able to use the focal tweeters in place of the original -- note all your original speakers are shot -- the paper has failed.
On a side note, curious as to which Alfa you own(ed)! I had a 66 Guilia GT Sprint for a while.
These Rockville look like drop in replacements to the OEM without altering the mounting bracket, it even includes a grill that looks decent...... has anyone used these? https://www.rockvilleaudio.com/rv46-3a/
1. I got the Polk DB461 4x6’s off Amazon: https://a.co/d/3191epq - they’re discontinued at Crutchfield. $57.
2. Adapters for the stock speaker harness: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120729...s.html?tp=3097 - Crutchfield has them listed for the front speakers but they are indeed the right ones for the rears too.
3. Although it’s not necessary, I took the rear shelf out - two screws on either side. One near the seatbelt, one behind the seat backs. Shelf can slide out to make it easier to take the speakers out. There is plenty of speaker cabling behind the shelf so don’t worry about having enough to play with.
OK, so the fun parts:
1. The flat grills were $32 in 2008 per the OP and are now $95 in 2023 at Pelican: https://www.sunsetporscheparts.com/o...le-94455514901 - they really don’t want to come off and are naturally brittle - my rear shelf is in immaculate condition but plastic is plastic.
2. The speakers themselves come out easy. Unclip from the back, take out the four screws, pull the speaker & the spacer plate off.
3. With the Polks you absolutely need to mill/otherwise remove some material on the longest sides of the spacer plate (see photos). The back of the Polks interferes and won’t let them sit flat. Get a Dremel.
I have everything sitting on the table waiting for a Dremel to arrive — I was overdue to buy one and this project gave me an excuse to finally order it — so I can mill out the spacers and put it all back together.
1. I used the cutting tool to cut most of the inner lip of the speaker spacer off, and then finished with grinding & sanding tools. LOTS of plastic everywhere. Wear eye protection and a mask.
2. The spacer clips over the *top* of the Polks — around the metal lip surrounding the speaker diaphragm — vs the OEs sitting on top.
3. The Crutchfield adopters clipped right in to the factory harness.
4. Tested it (works!)
5. Put the shelf back on and the speaker grills clipped back on. As others have said, they sit about 3mm higher than stock, but you only really know if you compare photos. In a perfect world you could grind down the spacer itself on a belt sander or similar, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
Speakers sound dramatically better. The 4 Ohm Polks are also louder vs. the 12 Ohm OE Nokias, which is also a win.
02-08-2018, 11:52 PM
