[tamathumper]

Well, I fired up the new head unit tonight hoping the speakers would come to life and that it was the old, original stereo to blame.



Actually the old stereo was faulty, and didn't play for more than a few seconds, but nevertheless, even the new stereo can't overcome the problems with my stock speakers.



The right side front crackles while that rear side is OK. The left side front is OK, but the rear is too dim to hear, just barely if you listen closely.



I suppose it's been 20 years in a cab and the speakers have seen their far share of the elements, so it's probably time to pop the panels and put some Dynamat Extreme on the inside of the doors and some nifty new speakers in the holes to boot.



Does anyone have suggestions before I begin?

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[Rap]

I am glad to have you validate my decision to replace everything. I was advised on Hertz. Check them out!

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[flash]

yeah - the only way to know for sure is to remove and bench them - the oem stuff actually sounds pretty good when it's working, and you correct the piss-poor installation that porsche did, but if they are blown, they are blown



unfortunately the locations the factory chose are not conducive to great sound - i am wrestling with this now, and i think i am going to cave in and install larger woofers directly through the door panel where the factory midrange would be, and abandon the location lower and farther back in the door - though the kenwoods i have now spec out better than any thing else i have found in that size, and actually do sound good, i'm just not getting what i want



the cab is hard to tune though - what sounds good sitting still is nothing like what sounds good with the top down at 80 - top up is a whole new tuning - i find that i will have to create 2 patterns for each top position, and a pattern for each input source - it's a real pain



lol - maybe i should have left it alone and let it all suck

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[tamathumper]

flash,



I benched them and I was able to do 1,320 reps before my arms got tired. Is that good?



TT

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[flash]

roflmao - not bad - i guess it's time to move up to some heavier magnets

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[bombfactory]

I am in the middle of tearing apart my car to do a complete stereo install (all speakers plus amp in spare tire well). I bought 6.5" components for the rear (I have the 10 speaker option) and these should just drop right in. I bought 5.25" components for the front. I've heard they fit with some modifications, but will know more once I have the door panels off. Like Flash, I will not be using the speaker location under the arm rest.



My original speakers all looked (I destroyed the original tweeters to use their baskets as mounts for the new tweeters) to be in decent shape, with the exception of the foam surrounds, which are all disintegrating. That's probably causing the buzzing sound you're hearing.



-Austin

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[Rap]

I am looking at putting the sub-woofer and amp in the wheel well. Anyone do this before. Second has anyone used a dampener behind their door and quarter panels?

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[flash]

search is your friend here - many have done it

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[DaveN]

Some of us twice <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

lol - true enough

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[tamathumper]

I partially removed the driver's side door panel last night to get a look at what the OK-sounding speakers looked like, and they were as expected in fine condition. I don't know if I got the top of the door panel back on correctly - I remember that being a @#$! in the 924 and 944S both.



Perhaps back at it tonight hopefully.

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[flash]

yeah - it's truly amazing at how they can sound though, once you correct the factory installation - but, you really need to bench test them to see that they don't have a voice coil dragging or something

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[tamathumper]

What would that entail?

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[flash]

pretty much hooking them up to a known clean source and listening to them, free of door panels and mountings and such



you can do a physical check by manually running the cone through its excursion (speaker not connected to anything) and making sure there is no dragging sensation or any noise as it goes in and out

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[tamathumper]

Will do.



For now, I'm trying to route the wires for the !@# GPS and handsfree mic.



I want to get them to the A pillar on the driver's side, so I can go under the dash (over my feet and the pedals), but how do I get from under the dash up and around to the A pillar!? It's all solid in there as far as I can tell, nothing wiggles when I pull on it...

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[DaveN]

Just remove the side triangles at the end of the dash (with the door open). Remove the plugs that hide the A pillar screws and unscrew them. Remove the black U shaped moulding that's on the A pillar. You can transition from the dash to the A pillar with your mike wire up to the top of the A pillar; that's where I have mine.

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[tamathumper]

I did take off the A pillar successfully, and the GPS antenna sits at the base and the microphone sits at the top now. Then I put the A pillar back on and replaced the plugs. That was easy-peasy.



But getting from the base of the A pillar down to below the dash is my challenge. There's a little plug in the middle of the triangle (on the side of the dash) you speak of, but I can't get it out without seemingly mangling it - is that where the screw is hiding that holds it on?



I apologize for asking - I've looked through my manuals for hours and I can't find an explosion that shows how this is put together, and I'm a nancy about just pulling on things until they come off - a lesson I learned with my 924 and 944S about how plastic gets brittle over time and little tabs like to break off.

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[DaveN]

Yea there is just a single Philips screw in the center and the plate falls off.

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[tamathumper]

Moowahaha. Popped the passenger door panel this morning, and the only problem was the ground wire on the tweeter had fallen off.



Put it back on, gave it a little pinch with some pliers and the fronts sound fine. Tinny for sure, but I'm glad when something like that is the problem.



Now, to tackle that back one... Getting to the back ones is a little harder than getting to the front ones IIRC.

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[tamathumper]

Well, that was easy - three screws and the back panels come out! That's WAY easier than in the coupe, at least if the coupe is anything like the 944 with having to remove the window trim and all that.



I took both panels off, and swapped the speakers. They look just fine, but one of them refuses to work, so I guess maybe it's time to replace them both.



Now I have to start trolling through all of those forums on speaker replacement, sizes, etc.

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