fitting door speakers
Turbo Mini Forums

OK, with the reality that my car is never going to compete with 75% of the cars on the forum, I've decided to put a stereo in it to make the longer journey to the end of the strip more enjoyable! I know most of you are running stripped out racers but I'm sure there are a few that have road cars as well.

I've been looking at door builds and have some ideas but I thought I'd see what any of you guys have done before I strike a blow.

I'm looking to put Infinity 5" components up front with the drivers in the door and the tweeters up on the dash/ a pillar area. I've also got leccy window switched I'd like to build into the pods if I can.

So what have you all done?

cheers

Rob

You will need:
Some MDF
Some Dowel
A hot Glue-gun
A staple gun
Some polyester fiberglass resin
Some old t-shirts
Body filler
a bit of chopping matting fiberglass.
Whatever you need to achieve your desired finish.

Its a really simple thing to do. Make some baffle rings with MDF then spacer them away from the wood on the door card by using the dowel.

Staple the cloth from an old t-shirt over the baffle firstly then onto the door card to create the shape.

Mix some resin and slap it on then work it in with a cheap paint brush. Wait for that to cure, it will not take very long.

Apply some resin to the inside of the shape and put chopped matting in then wet out with some more resin. this is just to give it some rigidity.

When cured and hard again. Body filler and smooth down. then your finishing process.

Although i have not done a door build on a mini in my daily, i have made some pods for the foot wells using the same process. Ill try to find some pictures.

For your application i would make a tube using the same process, ie a circle of MDF and an MDF baffle the other end. then shape it to the door. This way it will ensure a sealed enclosure for the speaker.

As for your tweeters i would put a third of the way up the a-piller firing at each other.

Sam

interesting you say to keep the pod sealed from the door? I was going to vent it into the door through the panel - would also give me some extra depth and reduce the size of the pod

Rob

If you keep the pod sealed, you'll get nice crisp fast response from the speaker, and also it will go louder before it starts to distort. Having a hole in the back allows all of the air behind the speaker to escape into the door, this can increase bass, but allows the cone of the speaker to move more and start flapping, thus producing a lower quality, less controlled sound. Porting on speakers is quite technical - the length and diameter and shape needs to be tuned to the enclosure and the speaker.

rob lisa's equinox has some excellent door builds ill get some pics later

You wont need an awful amount of volume to be honest.

door speakers? radio? i did about 1000 miles in the last 2 weeks as the mini was my only working car and i never missed having a radio. you need a straight cut box to listen to (plus you wont hear the radio over it) may be also a dump valve and your sorted

would normally agree with you but the car is going to be used by the wife from time to time and she likes to sing along to her TakeThat CD!

get her an ipod instead

i have a radio in mine, 4.5inchers up front and goodmans speaker pods down back (my dads from mid 80's ) but anyway i have an na mg metro engine and have a 1 7/8 twinbox maniflow not mega loud imo but at motorway speeds the radio is useless.... top of 3rd on a country road its useless... cruisong at about 40 u can just about hear it.... it does stop me from getting bored at the lights though lol

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

So, so true. My stereo lived on 17 for most of its short lifebefore the heat took its tol. Or I just turned it of as the loud pedal often over powered speakers

Own the day

Am sure youve to keep the tweeter within a foot dia with the mid so the sound doesnt travel??

Rick

not heard of that one rick - I always lift the tweeter up towards the dashline so i can direct it better - i suppose it could be built into the door somewhere

not really a great deal of point trying to direct the sound correctly in any car - the acoustics always up odd because of all the seats controls etc, but I'm surprised you guys saying you couldnt hear your radios at all. My daily has just the 2 speakers in the parcel shelf, some infinity 13s and I can hear them ok at motorway speeds or when gunning it down a country lane

With components, the tweeters ideally want to be at ear level, or at least point in the general direction of your ears. The mid/bass component should also be angled upwards towards you if set in a door to give the best sound. This is down to the fact that midrange and treble are directional. Bass however, is not, it will fill any space available to it as there is very little detail to it, hence the reason subs are fine in the boot.

I think what Rick was referring to is adding delay to certain frequencies - if the tweeter is significantly closer to your ears than the mid/bass, then the treble will reach your ears before the mids which could create a muddled sound - this in practice though isn't too much of an issue - its not like you hear something from your front speakers and then hear it again from the rears. However, purists will try to keep the mid/bass and tweeters as close to each other as possible, or use expensive electronics to equalise the delays.

Edited by Coupe on 4th Sep, 2009.

Sorry to steal the thread, but i have fitted two 6" subs in the parcel shelf of the mini. When i initially fitted them we decided that the boot, although bigger then required, is a sealed box.

Do you think the sound will be ok, or will it the bass be crap whith such a large area?

(yes i know this is tm, and they weigh x amount, and its chavvy blah blah blah )

On 4th Sep, 2009 Mini_Andy said:
Sorry to steal the thread, but i have fitted two 6" subs in the parcel shelf of the mini. When i initially fitted them we decided that the boot, although bigger then required, is a sealed box.

Do you think the sound will be ok, or will it the bass be crap whith such a large area?

(yes i know this is tm, and they weigh x amount, and its chavvy blah blah blah )

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

As above - the air leaks and such will impede performance, but only trying it will tell - it may be sufficient for what you want, but ideally you'd want free air subs on a parcel shelf.

this is a pic of my front speakers. used to run a sub but its not worth it. I run a pair of good 6x9 under the rear seat with a trebble blocker. Keep weight down and give enough bass. Engine makes much nicer noise than the radio any ways.

nice seats!

I've not run these subs befors, so as you say, i'll wire it up and see how it sounds. If it sounds shit then i'll make a box to try and improve it.

Off the same amp i will be running 6x9's under the rear seat. and rinally 130mm compnants in the front door cards.

Minimadmotorman's old Jet black has a 10" sub in the centre of the rear shelf and a 6x9 on either side. Wired up with the approriate coils and amp it sounded bloody good.