6.5" in a 4" Hole - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Keefe · 07-09-2006, 05:34 PM

I have a 1995 Toyota Corolla. Going by what this thread says: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t64414.html
I should be able to put 6.5" speakers in the 4" stock hole. I went out and bought a pair of Polk DB650 speakers today (6.5") but when I went to put them in, I couldn't.

Depth wise, the speaker fits, but there is a plastic piece that the speaker screws onto that will only fit a 4" speaker (the screw holes are too far in).

If anyone knows of a new plastic piece for 6.5" speakers I can buy, or something I can do to make it fit, I would be very thankful.

sirsaechao · 07-10-2006, 10:16 AM

You prolly need to make some sort of bracket to screw the speakers into it...like thin piece of metal that are used to make L brackets.

Keefe · 07-10-2006, 10:53 AM

What should I use for the material? Is metal better than wood, or can I use something like MDF? Or does it even matter?

sirsaechao · 07-10-2006, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keefe

What should I use for the material? Is metal better than wood, or can I use something like MDF? Or does it even matter?

Up to you, wood or metal...I dunno how your mounting depth is and how much room you have from your door panel to the 4" mounting hole.

Delay_FTB · 07-10-2006, 12:32 PM

Depending on how much clearance you need, you should just be able to make a baffle out of 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch mdf or birch or something, and that might take up the extra space between the speaker's lip and the door. Find whatever thickness you need for the wood, but be sure to check it installed with the door panel, since that will limit the clearance you're allowed.

[SMAN] · 07-10-2006, 08:46 PM

metra makes 1/2 inch and full inch speaker rings in abs plasitc, if you can space the speaker that far out form the door, you can just screw those in and that will let the end of the speaker basket fit in the hole.

Keefe · 07-14-2006, 11:17 AM

I picked up some MDF. 1/4 of an inch is all I can find. Haven't tried to install anything yet because I have a few questions first.

1. If the 1/4in MDF isn't big enough, would it be a good idea to make two brackets per speaker (1/2in total) and glue them together?

2. How should I wire the speakers? The factory speakers are soldered to wires and those wire are soldered to a little white box. I can either buy all new wires, or cut the wires and re-solder to the new speakers.

3. If I buy new wires, does it matter what kind of wire it is?

Also, I'm thinking about getting an amp. I was looking at the Phoenix Gold Octane-R 4.0
http://cgi.ebay.com/PHOENIX-GOLD-Oct...QQcmdZViewItem
I was wondering if that will be the best one to get and what else I need to get in order to install it (wire kit, etc.)

Delay_FTB · 07-14-2006, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keefe

I picked up some MDF. 1/4 of an inch is all I can find. Haven't tried to install anything yet because I have a few questions first.

1. If the 1/4in MDF isn't big enough, would it be a good idea to make two brackets per speaker (1/2in total) and glue them together?

2. How should I wire the speakers? The factory speakers are soldered to wires and those wire are soldered to a little white box. I can either buy all new wires, or cut the wires and re-solder to the new speakers.

3. If I buy new wires, does it matter what kind of wire it is?

Also, I'm thinking about getting an amp. I was looking at the Phoenix Gold Octane-R 4.0
http://cgi.ebay.com/PHOENIX-GOLD-Oct...QQcmdZViewItem
I was wondering if that will be the best one to get and what else I need to get in order to install it (wire kit, etc.)

I don't know the exact measurements/calculations for the circumfrence of the speaker when pulled out 1/4 inch, but if it doesn't work with the first (single) baffle, you could certainly double up the baffle for more depth, just make sure that you'll still have enough clearance for the door panel to be reattached.

You can get something along the lines or a soldering iron, only it has an additional attachment with a rubber bulb on one end (think of a turkey baster). You can use this to heat up the solder and then suck up the liquid solder into the bulb attachment, thereby removing the solder, and allowing you to operate with the current wiring. Other options do include cutting and re-soldering, or completely doing new wiring. Depends on how in-depth you want to go with it.

If you buy new wires, generally, you'll hear people say to go 16 awg speaker wire for smaller speakers like that. Brand/kind, etc...doesn't particularaly matter, but everyone has a different opinion on wire. If you search on here, you'll find some good information regarding wire. Personally, I use KnuKonceptz twisted pair speaker wire (16 awg) for my smaller speakers, and go with some 12 awg for subs and larger speakers.

And "best" is a suggestive term, but that amp would suffice for your purposes. To install that, you would be needing an amp wiring kit, and misc. tools for the installation. Amp installation might be a little more laborious than you might think (insofar that you would need to remove paneling, run the wire, attach to the HU (remote wire and RCA's) secure power and ground wire, and whatever else I'm forgetting. Its no "difficult" persay, just taxing in that its a lot of repetitive wiring. I think Crutchfield Advisor has a pretty good how-to on installing amps if you want to see what the entire process involves.