SC2993

After owning this car for 7 years now it was time to update the sound system, the old Nokia speakers sounded terrible at any volume, wait until you see the condition of these 17 year old speakers. The speakers that I purchased to replace the old Hi Fi Option units are Polk DB 5251 and Infinity 4629 CFP. Polk does not make a speaker that will fit into the stock speaker bracket, my goal was to use the stock mounts and grilles and not go aftermarket.

Tools used:
Dremel
#10 Torx
8mm ratchet
Phillips screwdriver
Wire cutter & stripper
Parts used
#10 1 1/2 Machine bolts, washers and nuts

Read the DIY on how to remove the door panel, this is a very easy job. There are (4) mounting points to the speaker enclosure, remove that and unplug the wires from the speaker. Once I removed the speaker enclosure I tested the fit of the Polks, the base is deeper than the old Nokias so a little Dremel field surgery was in order. I cut the flange out in the spots where the Polk base was hitting the flange, the area around the connector is a little wider so the cut needs to be adjusted there. The old Nokias were deteriorating so badly that they were falling apart in my hand. The Polks fit OK and the existing spade connectors plugged right in. Have not solved the mystery of the 3" mid range speakers yet but once found I will report back. Put the speaker enclosure back in and re-install the door panel.

My tweeters still function good after testing but I will get around to replacing them in the future. They come off the door very simply, there are some plastic tabs on the enclosure, just squeeze them a little at the top and the bottom and they will pop off. They also have the spade connectors and are easy to remove.

The rear speakers were more challenging because I wanted to use the stock Hi Fi mounts, the Infinity speakers were not my first choice but they provided the easiest plug and play option. The photos show how the bolt pattern from the orignal mounts line up, very good!

There are (4) screws that hold in the rear seat panel, remove this and turn over the panel, un-hook the clips and remove the speakers. Dr. Dremel came to the rescue again as only a portion of the Hi Fi tweeter dome needed to be removed. This is where the 1 1/2 " # 10 machine bolts were used. Remove the (4) bolts from the speaker mount and install the longer bolts in their place, I was only able to use (3) bolts because of the way the hole pattern is on the Infinity speaker, do not think this is an issue here. With the bolts installed in the stock bracket push through the already present holes in the deck. I was able to mount the speakers on the underside of the back deck, clearance was OK. I did have to move the (2) wiring harness units a little to accomodate the left speaker, this was very simple. Once the bolts were through you can see where they will mount onto the Infinity Speaker bracket. The speaker wire wires with the solid color was the negative and the wire with the stripe was the positive wire in my case. No problem with the Infinity crossover, it tucked up under the panel with no problem.

The sound difference is huge but of course the best music is the flat six out back!

Jackcas

Nice job! I just had my whole system replaced a few months back!
It was time! The door speakers were dry rotted etc.... I had mostly all "Rainbow" equipment installed
Check out the video - not the best video but shows the AMP

8" door speakers - Rainbow X-Plain
CAL 25 SILK VOF Rainbow Germanium door tweets
AMP: Rainbow iPaul 4.300 (540 Watts)
Rear Speakers: 4x6 Orion
Head Unit: Kenwood Excelon

CorrdoBrit

I need to look into some upgrades myself as I've just noticed one of the woofers has begun to sound weird. Probably blown driver.

e9stibi

Nice write-up! Good to hear that you like the result.

swmic

Thanks for posting! It's definitely on my list of things to do.

H.H.Chinn

Excellent write-up and photographs on the replacement of the Hi-fi speaker component system. It reminds me that I still need to do my non hi-fi door speakers.

csmab

John
Did you change the amp? I thought the ohm rating on newer speakers wasn't compatible with the Nokia amp. I might need to come by and take a listen to them. I would like to upgrade my system as well. However, I don't want to invest much $$$.

SC2993

Hi Craig,
The PO of my car put in an Alpine head unit w/ XM when I purchased the car, the ohm rating on the new speakers that I installed were the same as the old speakers. The only connectors that needed to be replaced were the rear speakers, they had the VW/Audi logo stamped on them!

justin993

nice write-up, will come in very handy
so many things to do, so little time!

appear

Very nice, I like how you kept the factory look!

What is the correct OHM rating?

What would it require to take it one step further and use component speakers with crossovers? Would the nokia-amp need to go or is it possible to keep it? If the Nokia Amp needs to be replaced would it then be possible re-use the old wires from the amp to the door-speakers?

I'm having mine installed this week, and I haven't found a shop that has a lot of experience with 993s so any input here that I could pass along to the installers would be great!

V

Nice install indeed .

So I take it that the speakers alone can be replaced and it's possible to keep everything else intact including the Nokia amp? I might change the head unit but that's about it. Did you keep the stock tweeters?

M Fig

Can somone link this...I couldn't find when I searched.

thanks

Mark

SC2993

What is the correct OHM rating?

OHM is the Impedance and it is on the back of the speaker, IIRC the Rears were (4) and the fronts were (6) or (8) I may be wrong as I don't have the speaker info with me but they matched the old speakers perfectly.

Did you keep the stock tweeters?

Yes, right now my stock tweeters are still installed. If you take the tweeters out there is a special "Porsche" bracket holding the speaker and I have not taken the time to figure that issue out yet.



What would it require to take it one step further and use component speakers with crossovers? Would the nokia-amp need to go or is it possible to keep it? If the Nokia Amp needs to be replaced would it then be possible re-use the old wires from the amp to the door-speakers

I would think that it would be possible but I am not sure!

NP993

Note a very important detail that the OP left out in his initial post -- he has an aftermarket amp. Not nearly such a straightforward deal with the stock amp....

appear

Can you elaborate that please? I'm very interrested in what kind of challenges the stock amp poses. And if the existing wires can be re-used in case the amp is replaced? Thanks!