Can I install new rear speakers by removing the grills? or is it more complicated?

 

Way more complicated

 

you have to remove the trim pieces along the side that start on the floor and behind the seat belt and to include the whole trim piece that has the cubby hole and the glove box
then you can pull th entire trim panel off that spans the width of the car to access the speakers

 

http://liljerk.morpheus.net/350Z/rear_speakers/

http://www.activetuning.com/pat/4/6/

 

It sure is complicated but there is a DIY thread that makes it look simpler. Search

 

Thanks you guys are awesome!!!!!

 

Nice write up.

 

It easy and dont be afraid to put some force when taking off the whole plastic piece the speak grills are on.

 

Surprised no one said dont waste your time

 

Don't waste your time.

 

Yeah… I did that… installed a couple of Infinity coaxials in the rear speaker slots. I spent a lot of time and effort doing this.

But now I have them turned down to almost no sound so they don’t interfere with the front Focals I installed.

I justify the wasted effort by playing subdued sound/music through the rears while listening to the voice guidance from my GPS broadcasted over the fronts.

I suppose if you have an extra $100 and a weekend to waste, you could install some better speakers in the rear slots. But, you are probably better off just disconnecting the rears or fading them to zero sound.

--Spike

 

I know when I listen to my stock stereo, it sounds like something is missing when I fade out the rears to zero. I don't like hearing everything from the front only, so I plan on doing this install when I upgrade. I have a feeling it just comes down to personal preference.

 

You are describing exactly what I thought 7 years ago when I bought my first Z. After doing a piecemeal upgrade over a couple of years, I now realize that the OEM speakers do in fact sound better with the rear fill. But, that is because the OEM fronts are so bad they need some extra help. If you keep the OEM speakers in place, you will keep the rears near the same level as the fronts.

The steps in my upgrade: I swapped out the OEM Clarion rears with a pair of Infinity coaxials that cost about $50 apiece. The sound from the Infinity’s was so much better than the OEM equipment that I ended up fading down the OEM Clarion front components and playing the rears as the dominant speakers.

That made me realize I wanted to replace the fronts. I did this with Focals (and this of course required adding an amp). Now the fronts sound much better than the rears, so I fade down the rears and play the fronts as dominant. And, I keep fading the rears lower and lower and lower.

Your point (“I have a feeling it just comes down to personal preference.”) is valid. Some people will prefer a little rear fill. But, the need for that rear fill is significantly diminished if you add an external amp driving quality front components.

--Spike

 

Thanks for the info. What about those not running an external amp at all? Would you then see more of a need for some coaxials in the rear?

 

You would not install quality speakers in the front (or the back for that matter) if you did not install an external amp. Just because a speaker is a coaxial configuration does not mean it will sound OK with a wimpy internal amp. There are some very good coaxial speakers that require more power to take advantage of the speaker’s build to provide excellent sound quality.

So answering your question… You will see a significant improvement replacing the rears with an intermediate-level coaxial speaker if you are only going to use the H/U’s internal amplifier. In this case choose a coaxial that runs well under the lower power you get from your H/U’s internal amp.

Here is some information that might be helpful:

• If you do get a quality component speaker or a quality coaxial speaker, you need an external amp to properly drive the speaker and get the sound the speaker is capable of providing.
  
  
• If you plan using an external amp to drive a component speaker that has two or three components or a quality coaxial speaker, get a quality speaker and not a “cheapo.” Cheap component speakers are what you get in the Z’s OEM configuration, and they are not meant to run with a good external amp.
  
  
• Do not assume that a coaxial speaker is junk. In fact there are some very good coaxial speakers that match the sound you get from two-way component speakers. Just as is the case with high quality component speakers, high quality coaxial speakers require an external amp to provide the speaker’s best sound.

--Spike

 

You sir, are the man. Thanks again - exactly what I was hoping to hear. Glad to get some advice from someone who has gone through the motions before.