Crap.. Speakers won't fit with Spacers...
 

I have JL XR-650 CSi speakers, and I just tried to fit them on with ZEnclosure 1" spacers. They hit the windows. *Crap*
Where can I go from here? I was so excited. :(

**And I just tried to do tweeters for now, but those required cutting. I was told the component's tweeters would fit without modification...
I'm starting to think I should just take the components to an installer nearby. Is it dumb to be overwhelmed at this point?

How much extra room is needed to clear the window. I would think that you can put washers or some kind of spacer between the door frame and the actually spacer.

Um, buy thicker spacers.

Where would I buy thicker spacers? I was just thinking of the washers idea. Well, I was thinking bolts actually. I can't tell how much extra room is needed - with the spacer and speaker in the hole, there is no way to see.. At least not to my knowledge..

Hit it with a couple layers of dynamat.

I'm gonna go with the washers idea. One question - am I even going to be able to get the door piece back on once I have added enough washers to stop the speaker from hitting the window? It just doesn't like there is that much room where the grill on the door piece is..


**Awesome, I just looked up the mounting depth: 2.81". From searching it seems these will never fit the stock location. I should have listened to Crutchfield.
And I bought these components on eBay. Restocking fees...

DO NOT USE WASHERS.
It's important to get as much of a seal as you can behind the speaker to the door... if you use washers you will just create a big gap.

Do you mind if I add this info here?
https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-v...ent-guide.html

I have a set of top of the line CDTs and a set of kick pods made by bing if you are interested! In all seriounsness I would just buy pods or kicks but then again I wouldnt have bought JL Audio to begin with!

You could consider door pods. Wouldn't be my choice but lots of others do it and you can see a few pics here and decide if it's worth it. Of course the expense of those will be greater than your restocking fees. On the other hand, you may get superior speaker placement. Not much other than door pods or kick panels that even an installer can do to make things fit the 350Z door.

As for tweeters you have a couple options; realize that even if you do modify your stock location tweeter panels to fit the tweeters you will be in a less than optimal spot . First, kick panels or door pods may be an acceptable option for the tweeter. Your second option is to take it to an installer and have him place them in the a-pillars (or kicks or door pods). If you do the latter, that's bucks for custom work.

Honestly, if your concern is cost, I'd eat the restocking fee and pick something else with a shallow mounting depth. Most good midbass drivers will be deeper than the recommended 2 1/8-2.5 with a spacer of the 350Z, but there are certainly some decent choices that can fit (personally, I opted for Dynaudio 240GT, very shallow).

If superior sound quality is your concern, go to the audio builds section and look at Bing's installs. He's done more creative kick panel, door pod and a-pillar options than any of us that don't own shops have seen before and he apparently gets contingency money from digital camera companies for the meticulous install galleries he makes.

110% correct!

I made my own spacers using plywood, a pencil, and a jig saw. It doesn't have to be pretty as it's covered by the door skin when you're done. IIRC I used two layers of 5/16" plywood back-to-back. The two layers were glued together and then screwed into the stock holes. Lots of people just take a saw/knife to the stock front speakers and use their frame as a gasket.

Yep, a decent jigsaw for this application is like 25 bucks and you get a new tool.

If it's rubbing the front door, You could shave down the back of the door a bit?

Another option:
You can also off set the spacer so the speaker is sitting a little more towards the center of the grill. With the speaker grill mod, it will maybe touch a little mesh grill, but it should work.

keep in mind just sapcing it out to clear hte door is not hte only part, you cant space it out too much or the fornt door panel will buzz and if hte surround touches, that would kill your speaker in no time.

this is part of hte reason why i dont work with 350z doors, a ton of work for such mediocre reults sound wise :)

That's what I did: a few layers of RAAMmat made a great sound deadening baffle -- and gave me the extra couple of mm of space that I needed to clear the window.

I'm confused now. I was under the impression that there is no way these speakers will fit without a door pod.

Are you guys saying they could fit? I don't want to buy $200 door pods.

you are making this too complicated in your head.
Go look at the door with the window down..that is what is in your way.
I have seen installs where the speaker is deeper, but fits PAST the window so that it doesn't hit... Its not always just about depth... also the diameter of the motor. Go outside with your speaker and your spacer... see how much more clearance you need. is it just a few millimeters? You could probably make a thicker spacer.. you don't want to go too big or you will rub against the door panel.
You have the speaker, and you have the car.. go outside and look to see if it will fit or how much more clearance you will need.. its easier for you to look than it is for us to figure it out on here. If you don't think it will fit, then either get door pods, kick pods, or return them and get a different speaker.

Okay, I think there needs to be an extra 5-6mm of space to fit the speaker.
Is that going to rub? That is ontop of the 1" spacer.

It is either that, or if I can angle the speaker by raising the right side (facing the drivers side door), the speaker base is small enough to miss the window. But that would be hard to seal.

my speakers are 2 3/4" deep and fit great with a 1" spacer

i THINK there are people using 1.5" spacers without issue.. if you only need about 5mm more that should be more than enough. I'm not 100% sure on that.

Put the door panel on without the speaker grill and look how much clearance you have for spacer/speaker... =) See, its fun to get your hands dirty.

2 or 3 layers of dynamat as a gasket will fix it and make it sound better

Hmmm.. okay so I got a piece of ~6mm wood from Home Depot, along with my first Dremel. Created a very screwed up yet somehow fitting spacer to attach to the 1" spacer. Hot glued the two together, drilled some holes, and put the speaker on.

I plugged the speaker in and it works fine, except I have to say, it doesn't sound great. Then again, the door is still completely off, I just tried closing the frame of the door almost shut. Plus, this is only the left speaker - right speaker is still stock. Oh, and I don't have the tweeter in. :-P