HELP Speaker Replacement

[knowurroots]

Hello everyone, i was wondering if anyone had a write-up on replacing stock speakers in the front and back, i found one for the frown speakers but i cant find a writeup for the rear. Are there any adapter that need to be purchased as well? Thanks in advance for any info, its for a 99 Beetle by the way.

[knowurroots]

im looking to do this this week, does anyone have any helpful info?

[sean_fabanich]

i have the same model year...

i can talk you thru it...but how much info do you need....panel removal and all?

the speaker brackets i used were the bracket metra made for old neons....and other chyslers...Metra Electronics Corp. 82-6600.

they have taps on them...i cut off all the taps and drilled them into the medal...they mounted the speakers to it...you dont necessarily need them...it depends on how deep your replacement speakers are.

you cuold also have rings made of 3/4 inch mdf...which is what ill be doing when i get in a new set of speakers...just ordered them thursday.

i also ordered some boom mat speaker baffles...ive never used them before...but i am pretty sure the 6.5 inch speakers could use them...my present speakers...which are pretty good speakers...have terrible midbass response....if the speaker baffle helps i may resin them to firm them up before i install them.

so those are all things you may want to consider...

enyways...let me know how in detailed of a guide you need...i can help

[knowurroots]

Originally Posted by sean_fabanich

i have the same model year...

i can talk you thru it...but how much info do you need....panel removal and all?

the speaker brackets i used were the bracket metra made for old neons....and other chyslers...Metra Electronics Corp. 82-6600.

they have taps on them...i cut off all the taps and drilled them into the medal...they mounted the speakers to it...you dont necessarily need them...it depends on how deep your replacement speakers are.

you cuold also have rings made of 3/4 inch mdf...which is what ill be doing when i get in a new set of speakers...just ordered them thursday.

i also ordered some boom mat speaker baffles...ive never used them before...but i am pretty sure the 6.5 inch speakers could use them...my present speakers...which are pretty good speakers...have terrible midbass response....if the speaker baffle helps i may resin them to firm them up before i install them.

so those are all things you may want to consider...

enyways...let me know how in detailed of a guide you need...i can help

thanks so much, i was wondering about the speaker brackets, i will probably pick them up sometime today or tomorrow, do you know if the front ones need brackets as well? I also was wondering if you knew how to remove the rear panels as well to get access to the speakers, I'm looking to do this little project probably on Friday since i have off and want to get all the things i need to do it. Also, while im asking do you know the best way to wire HIDs, or how to remove the front lamps, i heard it was a pain but i was hoping to find a write up on it too. Thanks again so much!

[sean_fabanich]

cant say i know anything about the hid lights...and fortunately since ive owned the old girl no headlights have burnt out...but im sure there is more than a few threads concerning that...so i just look around and search

concerning the speakers

id get 2 sets of the speaker brackets...and id strongly consider the baffles as well. ull need some self taping screws to secure everything...the front speakers use rivets to hold the original speakers in place...and the rears use screws...youll have to drill out the front rivets. my personal choice was a unibit...

anyways...to get to the rear speakers...first start by flipping up the rear seat bottom...and squeezing together the mounting medal prongs and remove....then fold down the rear seat...first grab along the rear of the panel wear the back of the seat meets against side of the car when the seat back is up...

anyways....grab along that and pull out....you should feel a few plastic pop-its release....

then get a pick tool...or a small screwdriver if necessary...and go along the door frame...starting at teh bottom of the panel where it meets with the rubber seal of the door and the panel that runs the length of the bottom of the door...pull that part up...then slide the pick tool up the side of the door and pull the edge of the panel out of the rubber seal....its pretty tight.
once you get it out of the rubber seal pull on the panel gently and youll feel at least one more pop-it release below the speaker toward teh front of the car....then simply sit in the car facing the panel...put your palms on the bottom edge of the top part of the panel...usually they panel is painted....and push up...the panel should release...take note how the panel is seated in position before removing...esp along the window...so you know how it looks when you put the panel back....long story short...it can be a pain to get the top of the panel back in place...but once you get that...the rest is easy.

anyways....just so you know...if you have the original speakers in right now....i pretty much guarantee(if they are still working) that they sound better (in bass response) then any after market speaker...even if you amp them....i had to dynamat the entire panel of the rear speakers under the trim panel to get any decent mid-bass response...but im thinking the best way to get any full range sound will be with a speaker baffle....so just be warned...if you run into this task and do the work....it may not be an improvement in bass response...although it is most likely that the highs will be improved...also i strongly suggest using component speakers up front...u most likely have a tweeter in the front sail panels above the dash...unless you have the monsoon system...which youd have more than that.....anyways...
consider what your doing....cause you maybe unhappy with the result...depending on what your trying to achieve. so good luck...just be patient with the install...and strongly consider amping and using speaker baffles....good luck

let me know if i can help anymore.

[knowurroots]

Originally Posted by sean_fabanich

cant say i know anything about the hid lights...and fortunately since ive owned the old girl no headlights have burnt out...but im sure there is more than a few threads concerning that...so i just look around and search

concerning the speakers

id get 2 sets of the speaker brackets...and id strongly consider the baffles as well. ull need some self taping screws to secure everything...the front speakers use rivets to hold the original speakers in place...and the rears use screws...youll have to drill out the front rivets. my personal choice was a unibit...

anyways...to get to the rear speakers...first start by flipping up the rear seat bottom...and squeezing together the mounting medal prongs and remove....then fold down the rear seat...first grab along the rear of the panel wear the back of the seat meets against side of the car when the seat back is up...

anyways....grab along that and pull out....you should feel a few plastic pop-its release....

then get a pick tool...or a small screwdriver if necessary...and go along the door frame...starting at teh bottom of the panel where it meets with the rubber seal of the door and the panel that runs the length of the bottom of the door...pull that part up...then slide the pick tool up the side of the door and pull the edge of the panel out of the rubber seal....its pretty tight.
once you get it out of the rubber seal pull on the panel gently and youll feel at least one more pop-it release below the speaker toward teh front of the car....then simply sit in the car facing the panel...put your palms on the bottom edge of the top part of the panel...usually they panel is painted....and push up...the panel should release...take note how the panel is seated in position before removing...esp along the window...so you know how it looks when you put the panel back....long story short...it can be a pain to get the top of the panel back in place...but once you get that...the rest is easy.

anyways....just so you know...if you have the original speakers in right now....i pretty much guarantee(if they are still working) that they sound better (in bass response) then any after market speaker...even if you amp them....i had to dynamat the entire panel of the rear speakers under the trim panel to get any decent mid-bass response...but im thinking the best way to get any full range sound will be with a speaker baffle....so just be warned...if you run into this task and do the work....it may not be an improvement in bass response...although it is most likely that the highs will be improved...also i strongly suggest using component speakers up front...u most likely have a tweeter in the front sail panels above the dash...unless you have the monsoon system...which youd have more than that.....anyways...
consider what your doing....cause you maybe unhappy with the result...depending on what your trying to achieve. so good luck...just be patient with the install...and strongly consider amping and using speaker baffles....good luck

let me know if i can help anymore.

ok, so im going to go an pic up some speaker brackets tonight or tomorrow, you said the neon ones would work right? i think you even gave me the model number which makes it even easier i have self tappers and we bought some speakers this past weekend, they are going on a 4 channel amp which we are going to be wiring this weekend as well. I'm looking forward to the project, its going to be a long day i'm sure. thank you so much for the helpful info.

[sean_fabanich]

those are the brackets i used and they worked...just depends on how deep the new speakers are that you purchased...

have fun running the power wire....and when you go to install the radio with rca plugged into the back...have fun...youll probably wanna saw off teh plastic bracket that held the orininal mounting bolt in the back of the radio compartment...itll give you the extra room you need...

let me know if you have any other questions....


i have a full system....4 speakers...radio...2 amps....and two 10's in the wheel well...

[knowurroots]

Originally Posted by sean_fabanich

those are the brackets i used and they worked...just depends on how deep the new speakers are that you purchased...

have fun running the power wire....and when you go to install the radio with rca plugged into the back...have fun...youll probably wanna saw off teh plastic bracket that held the orininal mounting bolt in the back of the radio compartment...itll give you the extra room you need...

let me know if you have any other questions....


i have a full system....4 speakers...radio...2 amps....and two 10's in the wheel well...

I actually had the power wire run but it was an 8 gauge wire for a small sub that unfortunately got stolen. Now we are running 4 gauge into a distribution block for the 4 channel and a mono block amp. I remember putting in the Alpine deck that we have was a pain, it took so long for it to even lock in. If you wouldn't mind me asking, how did you put the sub in the wheel well? We are trying to do a custom box and display for the amps and sub. Its going to be one 10 inch.

[sean_fabanich]

i have a few pics from my phone....i actually put them in another thread already...but i dont remember which one...so ill just put em on here....it def took some trial and error....but its actually very punchy, clear, and loud...

i havent finished it off yet...waiting for the components to arrive...ill be mounting them as rear coaxials...but still using the crossover...so ill put them with the amps...and then finish it off with a carpeted piece of wood...so all you see is the amp faces and the subs....if i had to guess volume wise its probably around 140 db...at least when its up a good bit...i actually barely used the bass boost on the amp...so i know the subs could handle more power...it just inst necessary...haha

i must be getting old to admit that.

anyways. the subs i have are older mtx 7500...they are quite deep...so to keep the box from being to tall i ended up building a common air box....i know the hit could probably be a bit cleaner...but its really clean as is....so i actually dont mind a common air box for once...im pretty picky. haha

anyways. here are the pics....once i finish it up ill post a few more....i may actually change to 2 or 0 gauge to from the battery to the 5 farad cap (i strongly suggest you get a cap) ill also be adding a yellow top optima battery soon too. anyways. i have 4 gauge run back to the cap...it was actually getting hot enough to melt the solder on the inside of the barrel fuses....so i just switched out to a circuit breaker...

enjoy....

oh yeah...this box is just about 1.5 cubic feet...i resined the inside after nailing it together to strengthen it a bit

[knowurroots]

Originally Posted by sean_fabanich

i have a few pics from my phone....i actually put them in another thread already...but i dont remember which one...so ill just put em on here....it def took some trial and error....but its actually very punchy, clear, and loud...

i havent finished it off yet...waiting for the components to arrive...ill be mounting them as rear coaxials...but still using the crossover...so ill put them with the amps...and then finish it off with a carpeted piece of wood...so all you see is the amp faces and the subs....if i had to guess volume wise its probably around 140 db...at least when its up a good bit...i actually barely used the bass boost on the amp...so i know the subs could handle more power...it just inst necessary...haha

i must be getting old to admit that.

anyways. the subs i have are older mtx 7500...they are quite deep...so to keep the box from being to tall i ended up building a common air box....i know the hit could probably be a bit cleaner...but its really clean as is....so i actually dont mind a common air box for once...im pretty picky. haha

anyways. here are the pics....once i finish it up ill post a few more....i may actually change to 2 or 0 gauge to from the battery to the 5 farad cap (i strongly suggest you get a cap) ill also be adding a yellow top optima battery soon too. anyways. i have 4 gauge run back to the cap...it was actually getting hot enough to melt the solder on the inside of the barrel fuses....so i just switched out to a circuit breaker...

enjoy....

oh yeah...this box is just about 1.5 cubic feet...i resined the inside after nailing it together to strengthen it a bit

that looks awesome, i cant wait to see the finished product, we are using one alpine type r 10" with an alpine amp for the sub, an mrd605 i think, we just picked up 4 mtx speakers and powering them is a jbl amp. im looking forward to getting it all complete.

[sean_fabanich]

should sound very nice when you are done....

one thing i suggest is see if your deck has time correction...and using it...i had an eclipse and it didnt have it...and its ipod capability was limited...so i bought a kenwood with time correction...it also has a 5 line display and runs teh ipod exceptionally well. once i measured out the distances for each speaker the sound really improved....the position of the speakers in the beetle really creates an imagining issue...considering you are closer to the rear speakers than the front....

so if things dont sound quite right...look into a new radio....i would have done alpine...but you need the sound processor to do any decent amount of sound tuning....im usually a pionerr guy...but the kenwood has worked out great...and looks good too

[knowurroots]

Originally Posted by sean_fabanich

should sound very nice when you are done....

one thing i suggest is see if your deck has time correction...and using it...i had an eclipse and it didnt have it...and its ipod capability was limited...so i bought a kenwood with time correction...it also has a 5 line display and runs teh ipod exceptionally well. once i measured out the distances for each speaker the sound really improved....the position of the speakers in the beetle really creates an imagining issue...considering you are closer to the rear speakers than the front....

so if things dont sound quite right...look into a new radio....i would have done alpine...but you need the sound processor to do any decent amount of sound tuning....im usually a pionerr guy...but the kenwood has worked out great...and looks good too

we first bought the alpine, its a 9857, a few years back and it was one of the first decks to do a "full speed" ipod connection, i tried other ones at the time and it tok forever to scan through songs and artists, this one worked out nicely and i've loved it ever since, i looked at an alpine processor but they tend to be so much money, at least the one i saw.

[knowurroots]

I just tried to look up the wiring diagram online for the speakers and i couldnt find it, do you know which speakers are positive and which are negative?

[sean_fabanich]

yeah i dont have that info....i used to work for circuit city so i just looked it up in there database when i hooked mine up...i know when i hooked up the speakers to the 4 channel i didnt do the usual loop-dee-loop id do in most vehicles...i acutally ran speaker wire to the rear speakers...and also speaker wire to the kick panels at the front of the car...theres a harnes which you tap into there to send the signal to the new speakers in the doors....

i looked up your radio...seems like a nice unit...bummer that it really seems to have no on board eq settings....alpine used to be awesome for that....now they make you spend so much on them...thats why i prefer pioneer or kenwood....i got a kenwood for $230 with hd radio tuner...ipod connectivity (with 5 line displaay)....and that includes iphone and itouch capability. and also hpf, crossovers, a 3 band eq, and a time correction....and also 4 volt preouts...

itll definetly be a task to get the car tuned properly with only the crossovers and gain control on your amp...good luck

[knowurroots]

I just left a car audio store and they were trying to talk me out of getting the speaker brackets. Ill have to find them somewhere else. As for the baffles, can you explain it to me a little more, I haven't really thought of it or know what I would do to make it. Thanks so much.

[knowurroots]

I just left a car audio store and they tried talking me out of the speaker brackets, ill have to go somewhere else for them. As for the baffles, I'm interested in doing this but was wondering if you could explain what and how the best way to do it is.

[sean_fabanich]

wow...they are dumb

anyways. you could always make your self some speaker spacers...3/4 inch mdf would work.

i would just search the interenet...amazon for speaker baffles....by them deep enough for your speakers to fit into....the simply will fit in the speaker hole...then put your spacer over it...then fit the speaker in...or if you dont have enough depth...put the spacer in place...then the baffle...then speaker....

Amazon.com: Boom Mat 6-1/2" Speaker Baffles Protect your speakers Regular and slim-line sizes Slim-line: 2-1/2" depth: Electronics

they make differnt depths of these...i just bought the 3 inch ones....i might end up trying to resin them if i think theyll help the woofer...still unsure thou

im curious...y were they trying to talk you out of them?

[knowurroots]

Originally Posted by sean_fabanich

wow...they are dumb

anyways. you could always make your self some speaker spacers...3/4 inch mdf would work.

i would just search the interenet...amazon for speaker baffles....by them deep enough for your speakers to fit into....the simply will fit in the speaker hole...then put your spacer over it...then fit the speaker in...or if you dont have enough depth...put the spacer in place...then the baffle...then speaker....

Amazon.com: Boom Mat 6-1/2" Speaker Baffles Protect your speakers Regular and slim-line sizes Slim-line: 2-1/2" depth: Electronics

they make differnt depths of these...i just bought the 3 inch ones....i might end up trying to resin them if i think theyll help the woofer...still unsure thou

im curious...y were they trying to talk you out of them?

they said to make my own speaker brackets, i ended up getting them today tho for free. I bought baffles, 9 conductor wire, dynamat, and and i ended up buying a board of mdf wood. im ready to go...hopefully.