R32 Speaker Upgrade

[B0oStEr]

I started this ages ago but only decided to finish it off last week.

I didn't forget the sound deadening

Now I've got to make kickpanel pods for the mids and tweeters.

I'll put pics up when they're done.

[B0oStEr]

I'm starting the kickpanels and need some inspiration.

Has anyone on here put midrange and tweeters in the kickpanels of a 32 before?

[HuH]

Nice clean work there, mate - looks good. Personally I wouldn't mount both the mid and tweeter in the kickpanel. Maybe do the mid there and find a place for the tweeter where there's still a clear path for the sound to reach the ears of the people in the car. High frequencies are very directional, and you'll lose them altogether if they're down by your feet. I put mine up behind the mounts for the wing mirrors which works fine. Ideally they should be closer to the main driver, but it was easier this way.

I've never seen that door/seat trim in a 32 before? Is that an NA model or something? EDIT: Ah, it's a 4 door by the looks of it?

Edited June 27, 2008 by HuH

[mark_sudakov]

nice work. What contact adhesive did u use?

[B0oStEr]

Hasn't anyone put speakers in their r32 kickpanels before?

I cut the middle out of my kickpanels and mounted the speakers in mdf rings that were held in place with metal straps.

I listened to them like this and tried different angles by adjusting the straps.

Once I was happy with the sound I made fibreglass backings and stretched fabric over them before coating them in resin and laying fg matting behind them.

After a bit of sanding they are ready to cover in vinyl.

Due to the complicated contours the vinyl will have to be vacuum formed so I've sent them away to be done.

I'll post more pics when they're finished.

[GTS4WD]

Awesome job.. but the problem with having speakers so low and fr away in the footwell is that it bring the "Stage" of the music very low.

I used a single 3 inch tweeter at the base of the A pillar and it really opens the sound up and brings the tage almost head level..

I was hugely surprised.

Just a thought..

[B0oStEr]

Awesome job.. but the problem with having speakers so low and fr away in the footwell is that it bring the "Stage" of the music very low.

I used a single 3 inch tweeter at the base of the A pillar and it really opens the sound up and brings the tage almost head level..

I was hugely surprised.

Just a thought..

It's much easier to get stage height than it is to achieve a solid centre image in a car.

The main reason for placing speakers in the kickpanels is to get them as far away as possible so that the difference in the distance between the left and the right speaker and the listener is as small as possible.

There can be issues with stage height but careful postioning and angling of the speakers and tuning with an equaliser can help overcome this.

I spent time listening to this setup before building it in fibreglass and the stage is dash top height at low volume but rises above that as the volume increases.

[B0oStEr]

I finally got my kickpanels back from the vacuum formers.

Not too bad a match to the factory panels.

The metal bar on the driver's side helps guide the right foot away from the speakers.

[RusH_]

thats brilliant man, great job, very good idea with the metal bar too, i would even suggest doing the same for the passenger, there is nothing worse than having a passenger come in and kick the crap out of your nice new setup, and it looks kinda stylish too.

I agree with the placement of the tweeters that they should be up higher, i think that you can go wrong putting them on the panel opposite the door mirrors, considering its a common place its probably because it works well.

But anyhow nice work, look forward to seeing the tweeters in

[B0oStEr]

thats brilliant man, great job, very good idea with the metal bar too, i would even suggest doing the same for the passenger, there is nothing worse than having a passenger come in and kick the crap out of your nice new setup, and it looks kinda stylish too.

I agree with the placement of the tweeters that they should be up higher, i think that you can go wrong putting them on the panel opposite the door mirrors, considering its a common place its probably because it works well.

But anyhow nice work, look forward to seeing the tweeters in

I thought about using a bar on the passenger's side but if I put it in the same position as the bar needs to be on the driver's side it wouldn't do much to protect the speakers anyway.

I'm not sure I follow your comments regarding tweeter placement, typo perhaps?

There is no perfect place for speakers in a car so placement will always be a compromise.

The bottom speaker is my tweeter.

I said why I chose this setup in a previous post.

The stage height is quite good, even excellent at higher volume.

Our ears are easily tricked by careful alignment.