Hey Guys
I just bought a 2003 350z and some of the speakers don't work. So I have been looking into putting in new speakers. What sizes are the two door speakers and the rear speakers? I am also installing a custom carpet box with either one or two 10" subs with an amp rack and was wondering what are some good middle price range items.

 

6,5" plus tweeter 1"

 

Thanks man
What about the rear speakers?
When I bought the car they were blown out.

 

6.5 Coaxial in the rear, many people will tell you to spend your money on good fronts and ditch the rears. I love audio and full range, so I'd replace the rears too.

 

The rears don't add range, they add volume at the cost of losing staging. You could get the same gains by driving your fronts with an amp.

But to each his own

The added benefit of forgetting about the rears is that they're a pain to get to.

 

Hi, “Putting in a system” you say. Ok… Let’s do it!

You have a 2003 350Z. That is the most versatile Z model for installing an aftermarket A/V system.

The first thing we need to address is your budget. I assume this is limited since you ask only about speaker replacement. Let’s take this a little farther and build a system in stages that fits any budget.

Here is a very nice setup that has a plethora of features and components, but does not cost much $:

• Aftermarket H/U
• Navigation
• Front Component Speakers
• Rear Coaxial Speakers
• External Amp(s)
• SubW

Aftermarket H/U
Look for a single-din digital H/U. Who uses CD’s or DVD’s in a car these days? You want an H/U that supports iPod and USB-connected devices. Single-din H/U’s provide the best value and features. Look at the Kenwood digital H/U’s for the best reliability, feature list, and value. You want a H/U that is scalable, and that is why I mention Kenwood H/U’s.

Navigation
You can mount a 7” LCD in your 2003 by simply unscrewing the rear pocket, and then putting the LCD in the position used by the pocket. That screen combined with a Garmin GVN 52 or 53 provides a very reasonably priced navigation for less than $500 that outperforms the > $2000 stock OEM Clarion Navigation system. You can use the 7” for other things if you want.

Front Component Speakers
Spend the $$’s to get front components and decent sound. Depending upon your budget, $250 to $600 (or even less) is all you need to spend to get very good sound. Add another $200+ to get door pods or kicks for better mounting and sound.

Rear Coaxial Speakers
You don’t need these, but if you like the extra fill (mostly volume), you can get a very good set for <$200. Do not keep the stock rears and incorporate these into your better CES upgrade since the stock rears (Clarion or Bose) are junk and only pollute the sound.

External Amps
This is a necessary add to get good sound. Even a $200 external amp significantly improves sound. A 4 channel amp is a good choice if you go with front and rear speakers. If you add a SubW, a dedicated external amp is a good choice.

SubW
The majority of modern recording take advantage of a SubW, so this is a good addition to your CES. Consider a dedicated external amp when adding a SubW. There are many ways and positions when adding a SubW. Search here for all the discussions.


Summary
The cost for doing everything can become high, but you can do it in stages that fit your budget. If you can afford it; do the H/U, front component speakers, and external amp first.

The SubW is optional, and you add this when you can afford the speaker, its enclosure, and the external amp.

Add the navigation if you want this and when it’s affordable. It’s an add-on that you can install whenever.

Hope this is helpful,

--Spike

 

Ayght
Sweet I already got a nice double din pioneer and now im looking at replacing the 6.5 in speakers and the tweeters but dont know where or what kind to get. Then im getting a custom 10' sub box with amp rack but yet again I dont know which sub or amp to get. I have a great place in my hometown that will install all of it.
I'm new to the interior of cars, but i know more about exterior.

 

Ok… You have a very good H/U , so you only need front component speakers, a SubW, and an external amp(s). You can build your CES in stages without compromising the current components that you use and enjoy these while waiting to install the additional components.

If you disconnect the rear speakers and go with a 4 channel amp, use one channel-set to drive the front speakers, and combine the second set of channels to drive the SubW when you install this. If you keep the rear speakers (swapping in a better set of coaxials), you need a second amp to drive the SubW.

The Z’s interior has a generous set of cubby slots to mount all sorts of stuff. The rear slots (2 large and 2 small compartments) behind the driver and passenger seat easily accommodate your electronics (amps, navigation boxes, CD/DVD changers, etc.). It’s very easy to install the wiring since everything runs down the center console to the rear.

About selecting your components…
There is a ton of information on my350z.com. Spend adequate time searching here (my350z.com>Discussion Forums> 350z Tech Area>Audio and Video) for lots of advice and comments about speakers, amps, installations instructions, etc.

Keep in mind that the cost to benefit ratio of A/V equipment is actually a structure of diminishing returns. $300 buys a very good set of component speakers… $600 buys an even better set, but the $600 set is not twice as good as the $300 set. Same is true for amps (you can spend hundred$ or thousand$, but thousand$ only gets you little bit better sounding amp).

When you make your decision, please post back to this/your thread telling us what you purchased and installed.

Thanks for posting,

--Spike

 

I'd like to vote Spike as most thorough person on this forum... Geeze lol Takes an answer a guy could've found by just visiting bestbuy.com and seeing what size his speakers are (or Google) and puts it all out there... Props man! You've got patience with these patients!

 

^^ Thanks for kind words.

--Spike

 

Thanks Spike
I really appreciate your time. It really helped.

 

^^ Thanks for the reply. New members are what makes my350z.com so great (my350z.com is the best Nissan Z site on the Web, but that is only because the site attracts new members who present new questions).

I appreciate the importance of your question, and that is why I participate on your thread,

When you get it done, please post back to this thread.

--Spike

 

I don't really get why everyone here recommends this. It's not just volume. Sounds much better to me and some others with how the sound fills the car. Sucks he doesn't have rears to listen to and decide for himself though.

 

Hey guys.
I just wanted to let you all know that I bought the system for it. (all Pioneer. They have a really easy site to use.) I got two 5 1/4" speakers with 1" tweeters, 6 1/2" ones for the rear, 10" sub with a custom box from 350z evolution with an amp rack and amp.
I will let you all know how it sounds as soon as it is installed this week.

 

I have always had rear speakers, but until now and reading on stereo competition forums that the rears really are useless other than adding a bit of extra volume. Guess it depends on the vehicle too, as when I had a big Tahoe back in tha day it seemed having the rear speakers was detrimental to myself as well as passengers, but as far as my Z goes the space is compact to where I could see there not being a need for rear speakers. Im looking into replacing my fronts asap, so this was a good thread read, thanks again to Spike, good pointers as I put up with the stock bose for a while but did add subs and amp when I first got my car. After adding the aftermarket HU I realized how important good quality front speakers are now.

 

Yep, this is called staging. In a good SQ setup, you can close your eyes and "see" where the sound is coming from, and pick out distinct instruments. It should "look" like the sound is coming from your front, and the "positions" of each instrument should be clear.

Adding rears just gives you more noise. It might sound "clearer" because the speakers are facing toward you...but that's not because the rears at quality, it's because the fronts aren't positioned correctly and you're losing some of that sound.

FYI, if you modify your front grills, you will get a LOT clearer sound without having to shell out for kickpods or doorpods. It's not as good as kickpods because the positioning is still not as good, but it does add clarity.

 

You describe the concept very well. Rear speakers (and you cannot use the junk OEM rear speakers – Clarion or Bose - since they are “thin” and “tinny”) do not add value to your sound if you stage your fronts correctly.

The exception for rear speakers is a 5.1 sound system. For example, some live concerts are recorded as 5.1, and the rear speakers provide sounds coming from the audience for a “live concert experience.” A true 5.1 recording does send sound to a center front speaker, so you would need this in your Z for 5.1 sound.

I like your point “FYI, if you modify your front grills, you will get a LOT clearer sound without having to shell out for kickpods or doorpods. It's not as good as kickpods because the positioning is still not as good, but it does add clarity.”

You are so right. If you mount quality front component speakers in the stock door position and use the stock speaker grille, you get muffled sound and lots of vibration from the door panel. The problem is the stock door grille.

The stock door grille has too few and too small holes. In fact many of the “holes” are not holes but are decorative. The result is muffled sound and vibration across the entire door panel (if you install a good-level speaker).

As FineWine states, you must modify the front grille. But… How do you do this?

1. Drill out all the holes so they are larger, and drill out the “decorative” holes in the grille so they allow sound to pass through the stock door grille. That will certainly allow the speaker to deliver better sound, but you significantly weaken the door grille and door panel. Nissan obviously used small grille holes for a reason. An errant foot-kick could destroy the weakened grille and possible damage the speaker.
   
2. Cut-out the stock door grille and cover the hole with speaker grille material/fabric. Of course that allows the sound to come through the door, but the speaker is vulnerable unless you fabricate some type of protective screen on which you overlay your speaker fabric. An additional problem is making this look stock and “good.”
   
3. A third option is drilling out the holes or completely removing the stock door grille, and installing the cover grille that you get with your aftermarket speaker. I think this is the best way to do this, but the door panel is concave at the stock door grille position, so this requires some custom fabrication to fit the aftermarket speaker grille.

Evaluating the different ways to get great sound from your front speakers mounted in the stock door position, the third option is probably best. But this requires significant custom fabrication to fit a flat-mounted aftermarket grille to a speaker mounted in the door since the door panel is concave. That is why door pods are so popular in the Z.

--Spike

 

There are a few sound systems that do benefit from having rear speakers...and I say FEW! In some cases for sound quality judging, adding a small amount of rear fill can actually bring up your sound stage dramatically without affecting the depth, width and overall imaging. In fact, sometimes it can improve these aspects with just a small amount of actual sound and power.

That said, the 350Z is just about the worst car on the planet for utilizing the factory speaker locations to provide any usable or quality sound (ok that was a bit of an exagerration!). If the speakers were located much further back near or beyond the strut tower bar, then I could see some advantages in keeping rear speakers. It just never ceases to amaze me at how little time and effort Nissan spent on the Z for its horrible stereo. *sadface*

 

Thanks for the info Spike, I was actually looking at the speaker grill the other day and wonder about that. I'm thinking that a Dremel is probably going to work best for the holes. But if the speakers and their grill look good with the rest of the interior I may just remove them completely.

 

^^ I experimented with different ways to use my aftermarket Focal speaker grilles with the stock door mount, and gave up on this. It’s just not practical since the door is concave.

The easiest way to use an aftermarket grille is mounting door pods.

If you use the stock door mount, drill out the holes in the stock door grille (i.e., widen the existing holes and drill through the decorative holes). You must use a bit that has very fine carbide flutes or you end up with a mess. If you do ruin the stock grille doing this, not to worry since you can fix this by mounting door pods.

--Spike