When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Right on re: foam. I asked about the VC since if they were blown or damaged, the amp could have been overdriven and now just outputs static due to blown mosfets.
Man, I am really really embarrassed to write this to you all.
I went down stairs to the garage this morning to figure this issue out.
I connected all door connections up and turned the stereo on again and it was worse!
The sound, hissing and distortion was greater than the night before on all speakers in the car.
I thought what in the flying f*ck is happening here?
Then it came to me in a shattering realisation.
I had been testing the upgraded speaker system with the radio in a closed garage and the signal was poor!
I connected to my Spotify music and bingo, all 100% and the way it should be.
I can't believe my stupidity.
So sorry to waste all your time but I really appreciate all the help from you guys.
You rock...
Man, I am really really embarrassed to write this to you all.
I went down stairs to the garage this morning to figure this issue out.
I connected all door connections up and turned the stereo on again and it was worse!
The sound, hissing and distortion was greater than the night before on all speakers in the car.
I thought what in the flying f*ck is happening here?
Then it came to me in a shattering realisation.
I had been testing the upgraded speaker system with the radio in a closed garage and the signal was poor!
I connected to my Spotify music and bingo, all 100% and the way it should be.
I can't believe my stupidity.
So sorry to waste all your time but I really appreciate all the help from you guys.
You rock...
Don't sweat it, we all do stupid stuff.
Sorry I missed your other note. I did all the speakers at the same time so can't tell you what the incremental improvement from those rears are. Honestly the best part of my upgrade was fitting the Utopia subs into my sub enclosure but only after I got the more powerful Rockford Fosgate amp to drive them. The little Alpine I used first wasn't strong enough - was better than stock, but now those little subs are awesome.
T
And so it starts... New mid range speakers. New Woofer speakers. These door clips were integral as so many broke on the door panel removal. Thanks Amrit.Boxer. Door panels off. Right door with old woofer. Left door with old woofer. Door panels with old mids. Can't understand why I wasn't getting decent sound? Left woofer replacement. Right woofer replacement. One door panel back on. All done.
All the help here made an amazing amount of difference to the process so I thought I would add a pic or two and a few words.
Most importantly thanks to all directing me away from the Bose speakers and into the Focals!
Might now use the pre-purchased Bose speakers as boat anchors...
The Focal ICU100 4" mid range speakers were a direct swap for the stock door speakers so no issue there.
The woofers were a little more of a challenge and extra work was required for correct fitment.
From what I have read when installing the Focal ISU200's, most use the existing factory mount from stock.
The issue is the stock woofer is mounted inside the mount where as the replacement (larger at 8") is mounted on top of it.
Most remove the foam / rubber layer on top of the replacement speaker and some also cut down the top metal lip of the speaker itself so as to not have oversized fitment issues when reinstalling the door panel.
I went a slightly different way as I wanted the new replacement speaker left unmodified and as it was designed.
I also mounted the new woofer onto the top of the mount like others, but before I did I shaved approx 5 mm of plastic off the top face of the mount with a sander and rough sand paper.
This made the top thickness much thinner so I added resin to pool around the speaker mounting points inside the mount itself to beef it up for speaker mounting stability / strength.
So material removed from the top of the mount and added to the inside bottom to allow more clearance.
There is also an approx. 3 mm plastic lip on the door panel itself where the top of the woofer sits against and I also ground this off with a Dremel.
This gave me approx. an extra 8-9mm of clearance when mounting the new woofer on top of the mount (which would add approximately 9-10mm).
Therefore I could mount the new woofer with no modification and without clearance issues.
Plus the new door clips seemed to be so much sturdier that the older stock ones and held the panel snug and tight against the door.
A fair bit of extra work but IMO well worth it.
Went for a drive after the job was finished and my foolish testing mistake withstanding, the sound was amazing and so much better than stock even before the stock woofers blew (Please note I have the standard stereo setup in my 997 and not the Bose system upgrade so cannot comment on what improvement might occur there).
Well worth the effort for this improvement.
Very happy and would recommend this upgrade to any 997 owner with blown mid / woofer door speakers...
I'm thinking of upgrading the OEM Bose speakers in my 2011 997.2 to Focals next spring. I'll have the shop do the work since I'm not all that handy around cars.
My question is - since my music source is usually Spotify on my phone and I use a bluetooth thing-a-ma-jig that plugs into the head unit....is upgrading the speakers even worth doing? I mean the quality of my source isn't all that great, right?
I'm thinking of upgrading the OEM Bose speakers in my 2011 997.2 to Focals next spring. I'll have the shop do the work since I'm not all that handy around cars.
My question is - since my music source is usually Spotify on my phone and I use a bluetooth thing-a-ma-jig that plugs into the head unit....is upgrading the speakers even worth doing? I mean the quality of my source isn't all that great, right?
Thanks in advance
Erik
WI
Yep, sure is. Most of what I listen to in my car is Pandora via Bluetooth from my Dension with Waze for directions and cops. Sounds much better with the Focals
the thing with listening to bose is like you listen to music with a ball of ear wax stuck inside your inner ear. There is no clarity. Sound proofing the car just exacerbate the poor sound quality of bose.
I was able to access the door panel to apply the product with the door woofers out and loosening and prying the rear + bottom corner of the inner metal door 'card'. No need to remove that panel or any other components
Absolutely improved the mid bass from the doors. And killed 50% road noise as a bonus
12-13-2022, 05:04 PM
