1999 RT10 stereo questions

[V10 MOJO]

Ive recently installed a panasonic in dash 7" DVD/CD player and and upgraded the amp. I need to upgrade the speakers primarily the rear (or more apropriately center) one between the seats. can/will an 8" sub fit here, does anyone know? as we all know, the overall OEM stereo sound has much to be desired (especially bass) and since i like music as much as speed, i want the best of both. Input please.

[Anthony - 98 GTS]

Albert C. here in Houston has a 10" sub mounted at the end of the passenger foot-well. The sub has a metal grill for protection.

I don't think you will get the desired bass from modifying the center speakers.

[Gerald]

You will get no extra bass putting a sub on the center. There is no airsapce to handle it. Put in a sub box that hugs the center console with a 8 or 10" sub and run it off a seperate amp. STill plenty of footspace for passenger and sounds GREAT!

Gerald

[shifter]

Actually, I had some success in bass by using a JL Audio 6W0 6.5" sub. It's made for small enclosures, similar to a freeair type sub. It's getting 150 watts from a JL Audio 300/4 amp, with MB Quart 5 1/4" component speakers in the doors (getting 75 watts each), and an Eclipse head. The MB Quart in the doors made an astounding difference. The midbass is extremely crisp.

For the sub, the enclosure it sits in is somewhat sealed, and we filled the "pockets" on the sides with a couple pieces of acoustic foam. It has very roughly .2ft^3 of airspace, which is in the recommended range for the JL Audio sub. With the hard top on, it sounds pretty good, not totally thumping bass, but 1000% better. The bulkhead material is a bit soft, so the bass sounds lighter than it would in a solid box. The only issue I had was getting the glove box door to shed it's many rattles.

I'm not sure how well this sub would sound with the stock door speakers, the MB Quarts that I have deliver midbass down to 52Hz, with the sub at about 38Hz max and the cutoff at 100Hz. It's a good combination for what we have to work with, assuming no boxes, tubes or cutting.

An 8" sub will fit if you want to do some trimming, both around the speaker opening, and the back of the bulkhead (8" is too deep). I've seen it done. However, I opted to keep the stock look.

[jimandela]

I am a total novice at audio.
recently it was posted that you could swap out the door
speakers with eclipse 6-1/2 speakers.

That was my plan until the sales person at the car audio shop recommmend the mb quartz instead if it would fit?
not being sure (the car is in storage)
i am waiting to take it in to have the speaker swapped out.
but isn't the stock door speakers 6-1/2 and does anyone know
if the mb quartz 6-1/2 will fit??
i hope this minor mod will help the sound somewhat.
the price i was quoted was $159 for the pair.

Really don't want to get involved in new amp and headunit.

JIM

[Joseph Dell]

I have been on this quest for a while... good Bass out of my 99 RT/10. Right now, I have a custom enclosure (with a 10" sub) in the passenger side footwell. As long as the passenger is less than 5'5", there are no problems. 6' folks notice a loss of legroom. And for long drives (where I have passengers in the car), I take out the sub.

I have a power amp under the driver's seat and the stock 6" sub [if that is what it is] is disconnected.

I am on a quest for something better, but this seems to work well for now.

JD

[ACELLR8]

I just did what Shifter has done and got rid of the 8" bazooka on the passenger side floor board this past weekend, (looked to ghetto for me).
The JL 6.5 inch subs sound great!! Once again Shifter hit the nail on the head it is not a thumping base that is going to make your car rattle, but very good sounding base. Since I have an older RT, with two speaker grills I put two there and bridged the two to act as one. I replaced the door speakers and tweeters with Eclipse components / tweeters and put a crossover in the doors. WOW does it sound great, crisp clear sound, finally with some base. I am certain it is not going to sound as good as the GTS's that are much better designed to put subs in the back and actually be able to hear them, but still a great improvement over stock and my last system.

Here is the link to JL audio's website and the 6.5 inch subwoofers. All you need to do is find a distributor in your area on their website, probably a special order since most places do not normally carry 6's.
http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/6w0.html

[V10 MOJO]

thx all for the input, i contacted a specialty store that does mods and stuff on exotics (LOL, they consider a viper exotic, we should have our own category; extremists) anyway, they said the JL 6W0 6.5" subs would be ideal, and after reading some replies here, i guess thats the way to go. im as big a stereo nut as a speed freak and i simply gotta have that high, mid, and bass to hit with clarity and power, i guess im just going to be a bit limited with the viper however. Im thinking about putting another mid/high 6.5" in the center and then placing two 6W0 subs, one under each side of the dash up underneath. any comments and opinions? hey, long as I can watch Blade or T2 with some excellent sound, its all good, Thnx again for the replies, Keep drivin.

[shifter]

Jim,
The only way 6.5" speakers will fit in the doors is with some significant modifications. The opening has to be enlarged a bit, and it does have a metal support ring that will make it tricky. More importantly, there is a steel door support behind the speakers, which contact the magnet on the MB Quart 6.5" component driver. If it isn't notched, then you won't get the speaker deep enough and will have issues closing the doors. I measured it all out and determined that 5 1/4" or 5 1/2" speakers were the largest possible without modifying the door panel and the door support. 6" will fit past the door support, but the opening will need to be trimmed, making it impossible to put the stock speakers back in without an adapter ring. However, I have seen guys with new door panels (save theirs to return car to stock) which house a 8" sub each! They removed the door support, which is not recommended.

The doors are set-up pretty good for carrying bass, and have the perfect spot to mount the crossovers. Some acoustic self stick foam on the inside fiberglass door surface, and the mid bass sounds vibrant.

Also, due to the location of the tweeter in relation to the mid bass on the door, I would suggest you wire the tweeter with reverse polarity (positive to negative). This will induce roughly a 3ms delay in the tweeter sound, allowing the mid bass and highs to reach your ears simultaneously. Leave the rossover at -0 Db (for MB quart Components). I don't suggest using 2 ways or Point Source speakers as they don't handle as much power, and some of the mid-bass is deflected by the tweeter. You wouldn't think it makes a big difference, but it really does in the Viper where the mid bass is critical. Also I wouldn't suggest using the stock amp with the aftermarket high end speakers. The stock amp just doesn't have enough cahonies to drive 'em properly to get a good, crisp sound.

Lastly, PHL makes a good driver in a 6.5" as well. Depends on the music you enjoy. The PHL is cleaner, but doesn't hit well below 44Hz or so.

Rdustman, not sure you will get the bang you are looking for with twin 6's under the dash. The acoustics in the car just aren't very good, and I imagine your dash will rattle like my pappy's teeth on a Sunday cruise.

Remember, this is all my opinion driven by my experience. Good luck. Any questions, let me know.

[V10 MOJO]

I think I found the answer. JL audio 8" sub between seats, 300x4 JL amp. and JL 5.25 components in each door.

[Joseph Dell]

Let me make sure I get this right (and can some of y'all confirm or deny, plz):

Install a JBL 6W0 6.5" sub in the console with an external amp and all is well?

Is that all there is to it? If so, I'm gonna find me one this weekend [after I spank some z06 butt]

JD

[shifter]

JD,
You will need to replace your door speakers as well, or you really won't get the bang for your buck. The sub is really complimented by the mid bass from the door components (or vice, versa). It's not that difficult to do, just time consuming to ensure you don't make any mistakes, and everything is perfect. Get a 4 channel amp, run all new wires (leave the existing ones with the connectors to return the car to stock someday - don't cut or let anyone cut the wires). My notes in this thread depict the components I used and very happy with.

One last note, I mounted my AMP in the trunk. It was tough getting the wires to it, but I did without any drilling (used existing grommets and wasted a few layers of skin off my hands in the process). If I were to do it again, I'd probably mount the amp under the passenger seat. Easier to run wires there, and the wires are much shorter.

[Joseph Dell]

Awesome!

Do you or anyone else know where one can order the 6.5" sub on-line? I haven't found any local places and the usual suspects don't carry this model.

FYI - I already replaced the door speakers with some "Diamond Audio" speakers which I love. Also have this 8" sub in the passenger footwell with an Amp under the driver's side seat. Head unit was replaced with a clarion pro-audio a year or so ago as well.

Let's see how the JBL fits in!

JD

[shifter]

Tough to buy on line, but WWW.wholesaleaudio.com has them. I have never bought from them, so I don't know what they are like to do business with. I do know that their list price for the speaker is much lower than local shops. Since I value being able to find the little items we often forget about, I tend to support the shops. I had a shop order mine and paid $100. I called JL Audio and they put me in touch with an authorized distributor.

I do have to mention that a friend of mine put in the JL audio 6.5" sub and we had to do a small amount of trimming. Not to the opening, but the magnet touched the back of the bulkhead. We trimmed a small 1" by 2" section out (it's soft material, an exacto works great). You'll never see it nor know it's there, so we did it.

I haven't heard any Diamond Audio speakers in person, but I'm told they are pretty good.