Agent☣Orange
12-23-2011, 03:26 PM
Yeah, I know some of you have seen it but I just wanted to be the first in the Interior section! :p
This is a quick show-n-tell of how I overcame a problem I had with some new speakers. Folks who upgrade to nicer speakers but like to hide them beneath the stock grill cover won't like this DIY. I really wanted to use the grills that came with my aftermarket speakers but did not want to just screw them on top of the stock speaker grills like a chump. I also did not want to mount the speakers to the stock grill itself either (don't need to go into why that's a horrible idea).
So, obviously the stock grill has to go. But, in doing that, the aftermarket grill will look so sunk in as to be an amateurish disaster.
Solution? Cut out the stock grill and float the aftermarket grill so that it sits flush (or close to flush) to the door panel.
_____________________________________________
Okay, so by now, I've already cut the plastic mesh grill out of the stock speaker panel. I used a Dremmel with a cutoff wheel to get as close to the borders of the ring as possible and then finished it off with a sanding cylinder. I had to go slowly here because the sanding starts to melt the plastic and coating the sanding element reducing effectiveness. Take your time and let the stuff cool between standing jobs.
I selected some 1-inch aluminum spacers and special, longer screws to reach the new length requirement
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Spacers1.jpg
and then mounted the speaker and grill in its new position paying attention to get the grill centered
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrillspacedeml1.jpg
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrillspacedeml2.jpg
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrillspacedtesteml.jpg
Then I test fitted a spare door panel with the stock speaker grill cut out
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrilltestfitwithpanel.jpg
Decided I didn't like the look of the aluminum spacers so I wrapped them in CF for looks
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Spacers2.jpg
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Spacers3.jpg
I also reinforced the grill and the speaker ring with steel washers
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Washers.jpg
and finally finished the project!
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrill.jpg
The aftermarket grill now floats independently of the door panel and looks great to me, especially after a little neffy on the tweeter panel earlier
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrill2eml.jpg
Later, I want to change to black screws since the silver ones are bugging me. I also want to cut the spacers down a tiny bit to make the grill more flush or even slightly below the surface so it won't get damaged when the inevitable shoe hits it.
This is a quick show-n-tell of how I overcame a problem I had with some new speakers. Folks who upgrade to nicer speakers but like to hide them beneath the stock grill cover won't like this DIY. I really wanted to use the grills that came with my aftermarket speakers but did not want to just screw them on top of the stock speaker grills like a chump. I also did not want to mount the speakers to the stock grill itself either (don't need to go into why that's a horrible idea).
So, obviously the stock grill has to go. But, in doing that, the aftermarket grill will look so sunk in as to be an amateurish disaster.
Solution? Cut out the stock grill and float the aftermarket grill so that it sits flush (or close to flush) to the door panel.
_____________________________________________
Okay, so by now, I've already cut the plastic mesh grill out of the stock speaker panel. I used a Dremmel with a cutoff wheel to get as close to the borders of the ring as possible and then finished it off with a sanding cylinder. I had to go slowly here because the sanding starts to melt the plastic and coating the sanding element reducing effectiveness. Take your time and let the stuff cool between standing jobs.
I selected some 1-inch aluminum spacers and special, longer screws to reach the new length requirement
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Spacers1.jpg
and then mounted the speaker and grill in its new position paying attention to get the grill centered
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrillspacedeml1.jpg
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrillspacedeml2.jpg
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrillspacedtesteml.jpg
Then I test fitted a spare door panel with the stock speaker grill cut out
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrilltestfitwithpanel.jpg
Decided I didn't like the look of the aluminum spacers so I wrapped them in CF for looks
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Spacers2.jpg
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Spacers3.jpg
I also reinforced the grill and the speaker ring with steel washers
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Washers.jpg
and finally finished the project!
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrill.jpg
The aftermarket grill now floats independently of the door panel and looks great to me, especially after a little neffy on the tweeter panel earlier
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Stereo%20and%20sound%20damper%20and%20heat%20insul ation/Speaker%20grills%20front%20spaced/Speakergrill2eml.jpg
Later, I want to change to black screws since the silver ones are bugging me. I also want to cut the spacers down a tiny bit to make the grill more flush or even slightly below the surface so it won't get damaged when the inevitable shoe hits it.