Ok I just had circuit city install a JVC Headunit in my car and its really nice. I figured its gonna not work to well with the BOSE speakers tho so I bought Infinity 6x9's for the rears and 4's for the fronts. Now I read Craigs site and I understand how to remove the doorpanels to get to the fronts and how to remove the rears by dropping them from inside the trunk. What my question is once I get these speakers in place how do I hook up the wiring to them. Do I need to run new speaker wiring back to the headunit or can I somehow tap into the exisiting wiring. Also what other asseseires might I need to install these speakers I plan on doing it myself Ihave monday and tuesday off from work. Any help or pictures would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanx Mike

 

http://www.geocities.com/bracecraig/maxima/stereo.html

more stuff

 

Ok Craig I read the instructions on wiring if you have a BOSE system. My question to you is to I have to by new wire and run new wires back to the headunit I dont really understand it too well just clarfiying dont mine me lol. thanx

 

(dont mind me jumping in on this thread with a related Q)

when was the bose system changed/altered.. 91? 92?

 

You can use the Bose wiring. Just determin what is the power pair at each speaker and don't wire your speakers to that...

You can get the exact colors by looking at the HU wiring, if you trace the colors from teh HU to the Max and cross ref it with the HU's manual you will have an easy job at the doors and the trunk.

 

yeah, you can use the stock wires, you just splice into the ones that go into the amp and use the colors from my site

Maximan190-yes, I think the BOSE did change slightly, check out Bryan91SE's page in the FAQ newbie

 

I found out that using my Kenwood headunit with the Bose amps sounded 3Xs better than using the power from the headunit. The Kenwood gives the amps a stronger signal to amplify than the stock head did. Doing this DOES NOT combine the power of the headunit and the Bose amps but the cleaner (stronger) the input signal any amp gets the cleaner the output from the amp.

 

ok master

 

Hey Craig just wanteed to tell ya I dropped the BOSE 6x9s today and installed my Infinity Referience Series 6x9's. Once I got them all set I began to look at the wiring you were telling me about I cut the plug off to expose the 4 wires and I stripped the 2 smalled wires and connected them to the speaker and they work fine. I just have to get a better connection tho it was getting dark so for right now I just bent the wire around the metal prongs. Are there crimps I can get or somethin what am I really suppsoe to use to make a nice connection? Oh tommorow after school I plan on installing the 4's in the front, that should go faster since I already know which wires Ill need to use. Just taking off the doorpanel will be a pain but Ive done it before to get to the window regulator when I replaced that.

 

I used a wire harness adapter for the radio and then found the leads where they fed into the old bose amps. It didnt take long to figure out which was pos and neg cause if it was switched the bass was weak. Also I took the old bose out of the front, cut a 4" hole in some plywood the same thickness as the inset in the box the bose sat in. AFter I cut the hole I sat the bose speaker in there and traced the edges of the basket, you know that rounded triangular shape. I also marked where the screw holes were and drilled them. I painted this wood black, put silicone one the one side, screwed it into the ported plastic box and now had an almost flat surface for my aftermarket 4" speakers. I also added silicone to the back of the aftermarket speakers. So now the aftermarket ones sound so much better by recycling the enclosure. I had to do all this cause the aftermarket wouldnt fit where the bose did casue of the unusal shape and recessed mounting of the bose speaker plus I didnt want to buy and adapter. Anyway it was real easy and sounds really good. Better than the 61/2" s in my truck with dynamat. Good luck.
Steve

 

Oh really so your saying I have to do all these modifications to the door to get the 4's to fit I was told they should fit right in there what the heck lol. Anybody else have this problem?

 

Well, my aftermarket speaker had a square shaped flange with a 4 hole arrangement for mounting and my bose 4" were flush or recess mounted in a ported box that was bolted to the door. This recess mount was triangular in shape with three mounting holes. So with mine it was like trying to get a square peg in a triangle hole. The aftermarket wouldnt line up correctly and there would be gaps around the sides of the speaker. The way I did it enabled me to mount the speakers to my newly created flush surface. I used one existing screw hole and drilled 4 new ones into the plastic. Now my aftermarket was seated air tight into the ported box. Not sure how yours is but would think all bose were similar. I was quite pleased with my outcome and using the ported enclosure sure made those 4" speakers sound great. I couldnt believe it.

 

Ok guys I toke my front passenger side door panel off and I removed the BOSE speaker and amp all in its encloser piece. I now see what you guys are talking about how 4's wont just fit right in there and that you'll have to make some kind of new enclosure out of plywood or something. First I wanna know do I scrap the whole plastic enclose thats holding the amp right now when making the plywood enclosure or do I somehow use it? Does anyone have pics of htis so I have an idea

Another important question for you guys, right now I have Infinity Referience series 4's for the front now that Im gonna be making a custom enclosure you think I should go bigger and bring these back? Possibly getting some 6 1/2s or 6.5 or whatever size what do you guys think. Anyone expericne the difference in sound when going up bigger than the 4's. Or do they sound good and should I just keep the 4's. Oh ya they would be runnin with the 6x9's that I have in the rear those are Infinity's as well.

 

on my page, there is a link to my pics of custom plates that I made out of plywood
they're nothing special, but they get the job done. I've seen ones that look much nicer too

http://www.geocities.com/bracecraig/...eo/stereo.html

 

Thanx Craig would you or anyone else be able to answer this question tho?

Another important question for you guys, right now I have Infinity Referience series 4's for the front now that Im gonna be making a custom enclosure you think I should go bigger and bring these back? Possibly getting some 6 1/2s or 6.5 or whatever size what do you guys think. Anyone expericne the difference in sound when going up bigger than the 4's. Or do they sound good and should I just keep the 4's. Oh ya they would be runnin with the 6x9's that I have in the rear those are Infinity's as well.

 

I used the enclosure and to me it made all the difference. Just think, you dont see home speakers mounted in car doors, they're in a solid cabinet that isolates the front of the speaker from the back. Unless your plate you make is big enough to block the waves from behind the speaker from the ones in front its useless, they sort of cancel each other out. I used the enclosure and to me, they sound better than the 6 1/2 separates in my truck. It wasnt hard to fabricate the enclosure to work. I used a jigsaw and a 4" hole cutter tool that I plugged into my drill, some silicon and some extra screws, and black paint and whalla. I only did this initially because I didnt have the money for the 6 1/2's so I used some 4" that I had had in another car and made them work. For me it turned out great. If I wasn't going to use the enclosure I'd go with the larger speakers, but IMHO the 4" in the enclosure sounds better. Also, Im just running mine off the deck. So at a pleasurable listening level I get full sound, I dont have to crank it. If you are going to compete, dynomat and seal off your door and turn it into an enclosure, and go for the biggest ones you can fit in there. JMO though. Good luck!
STeve

 

Hey Steve what your saying sounds very true I talked to my dad about it he used to install audio for his work in cars when he was younger and he says using the plywood idea would not be so great since youd loose alot of the sound out threw the doors. We held the 4 inch Infinity up to the enclosure and we can actually fit it im gonna just snip the tips off 2 of the plastic screw holders on the speaker and its going to fit in no problem. Then I'll just have to drill new holes into the enclosure and Ill have a good fit. My one problem I say I might run into was runnin the wires into the enclosure cause you know on the stock Bose system the wiring is outside the encloure and the clip plugs into the amp then the amp wires over to the speaker. So I think Im gonan have to extend the wires and get them into the enclosure somehow to connect my speakers. Sounds like a plan lol. I'll get back to you guys.

 

I drilled a small hole in the back of the enclosure just big enought to get the wires through and sealed it from both sides with silicon. I had it long enought so I could tap into the wires on the outside of the box to find my + and -. I'd also seal the infinities, so that the only air to move is through the port. Good luck.
Steve

 

Sharing some info,

I recently replaced my fronts with 51/4 speaker. I first took the front Speaker/amp Assembly out of the door and made measurements because I wasn't sure about the size of the speakers. I heard Maximas usines 4X6 and 4". After measuring the speaker itself I found it was slightly bigger than 4". To me 4" isn't going to do much for anyone. What I did was take the front cover off the assembly (the piece the Bose speaker was attached to) and took it to the nearest audio store and found that a 5 1/4 speaker would fit into the hole with some modification. I used Graig's info as a guideline. I made the speaker hole bigger by chipping away the plastic. I used a small thickness plywood and cut out a piece that would sit square on the top portion of the Speaker assm. ( the piece that angles upward directing the sound, or pointing the speaker up towards the listener in the car. You'll know what I'm talking about if you've actually seen the Bose speaker assembly. I cut a hole in the wood to fit the new speaker, bolt the wood to the Bose assembly and screwed the new speaker onto the wood and reassemble the Bose assenbly back into the door. My hopes was that keeping the Bose assembly and the tune port intact that I would get a tighter sound from the new Pioneer 5 1/4 speakers I used. I sounds good, but not as good as the Bose speakers them selves. I think I would have been better off using bigger speakers attached to plywood alone like graig did with his 6X7. I recently added a 40watts per channel amp to power the Pioneer 6X9 at the rear. It sound a whole lot better now. More bass like the Bose used to produce. Hope this helped.

 

If 4" wont do anything then why do you say that the bose 4" sound better than the 5" you replaced them with. My 4" sound better than the original bose speakers. Just a thought. I went with a high power sony deck, 6x9 in the back and the 4" in the bose box and its by far superior than the original setup. I was pleasently surprised.

 

Hey your right lol. That dont make sense it must be your Pioneer's or the plywood enclosure u made man theres prob some sound escaping through it.

 

That's interesting. How are your 4" setup. Are you still using the Bose enclosure? I just don't think 4" speakers unless they are in an enclosure like the Bose with it tuneed port are efficient enough in size to give you good overall range in sound. The 4" speakers I've seen didn't look rugget or handled high power. What 4" do you have. 4" speaker are ok if only handling mids and highs and you have enough bass coming from the rear or a sub. It's interesting you say your 4" sound better than the bose 4". I thought the bose sounded great for it's size before they blew. Tell me about your setup, maybe I can get something out of the info you give. Your right about the air leak from the 5 1/4 I'm using, I don't like the sound.

 

Check the first couple of posts I had in this thread. I used some ADVENT speakers I got from crutchfield a long time ago. They handle 75w rms and have a sensitivity of 92 db. They have a "bullet" tweeter mounted in the center of the woofer. It sounds better because it utilizes the enclosure, at least thats my conclusion. I think its kinda like a guitar string by itself doesnt produce much sound but when its on the intrument from which it can resonate, it produces more sound. Anyhow Im not a technical guru but it sounds better than the original bose speaker ever did, more bass and more highs.

 

Was this a direct speaker replacement or did you have to modify the enclosure to fix the Advents?

 

Sorry about previous post. I posted before I read earlier post. thanks for info again.

 

Guys Ive talekd to a friend who is very experienced in car audio and showed him my problem with fitting the 4 in the bose enclosure. He is sure that the $ is just not gonna give a good amount of bass if i just mount it with free area around it. it needs to be completely surround. I believe this is true since the enclosure has that port and everything its really made to fit those BOSE speakers. Im wondering if I can get an adaptor from crutchfield or somethin that adapts that triangle fit over to the speaker I have. I rember someone saying this does anyone know of a link?
Thanx

 

In my first post I described taking some plywood the thickness of the recessed area on the box where the bose speaker mounts and cutting a 4" hole in it. Place the bose speaker inside this hole and trace around the edges of the speaker flange. Also mark the screw holes. Now use a jigsaw and cut out the triangle shape you just traced on the board and drill a small hole where the screws go. Paint it black with spraypaint. Once dry put a generous bead of silicone on the back of it, place it in the bose box, screw it in. Now you can mount any 4" speaker in the new hole you cut out of the wood, just apply silicone to the back of the speaker flange/basket and drill the holes and screw it down tight. You know have an airtight enclosure (except for the port) for your little 4" speaker. Once I figured out what I was going to do it took me all of 30 minutes to do it. Hope that helps give you an idea. Anyway it worked great for me. Good luck. As far as the adapter goes I think the adapter replaces the box and you just mount the speaker to a flimsy plastic piece. This is what crutchfield described to me anyway. I dont know of anyone who makes an adapter so you can fit it into the bose box, just make your own like I did its easy. You will end up with more air around it if you get a plain adapter than if you use the box. It is true that the port is designed for the 4" bose but the slight difference if any in displacement from another 4" didnt seem to have any adverse affects for me. I was just happy to save money and end up with something much better than if I had spent twice the money. Good luck.
Steve

 

Wait so when you made this piece oout of plywood did you fit it to the trianglur shape on the enclosure that came with the blose speakers and then mount the 4s onto that? If thats the cause why wouldnt you be using the port its still there no? Also did your speaker sit a little higher beacuase the trangle spot is recessed but the plywood piece wouldnt now that I think about it.

 

Exactly! The wood does raise the speaker like a 1/4 of an inch, until it level with the side of the box, and it does still use the port, thats what makes it sound better than mounting it on a plastic or wooden braket without the enclosure. Anyway, that is my experience. I wouldnt do it any other way in mine.
Thanks,

 

Wait so If i Do it that way with makin a plywood adapter the speaker is gonna sit higher and my tweeter is going to hit am I not right?
Thanx

 

I dont think it would hit. the plywood triangular adapter you'd make would only be thick enought to make the side of the box where the speaker mounts level, its only like 1/4 " or so. I should have taken pics of the install for you guys. You would mount the speaker in the box, and then just use the bose grille that is built into the door panel. If you look at that grille on the door panel the grille is about 2" or so away from the side of the bose box, or from the edge of the door panel that would be next to the door. Let me know if I can be of any more help.

STeve

 

You'll have plenty of room. I mounted my plywood on top of the assembly technically adding another 1/4 inch of height. There is plenty of space between the bose assembly and the grill on the door. You can allways clip off some of the supporting plastic rails that run behind the grill. Guess they support the grill from being kicked in. I clipped mine off, the grill is still rigid and I can see the speakers as well.

 

Ok guys I need your help here. Are these the adapters I need for my car to fit the 4 inch Infinitys Ill include the link so you can look at the picture. They sound like it to me Ijust wanna be sure. Also Im thinkin of getting some Dynomax paper to surrond the speakers and 6x9 boxes for the rears so they will sound better. How do we install these boxes do they fit up into the hole where the speaker sits now. Thanx


Heres the link for the plastic adapters please let me know if these are the ones or not.

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...2SA464&o=m&a=1

 

All those brackets do is stretch across the gap where the Bose enclosure would go in the door. So you would throw out the bose enclosure, cover the new hole you just made with those cheap flimsy plastic brackets and then mount your speaker to that. If you aren't going to make your own adapter and use the bose enclosure just go with bigger speakers, even though in my opinion they wont sound as good as the 4" would in the enclosure. Have you ever taken the driver out of a speaker cabinet and noticed how much weaker it sounds? When you mount in the door using those brackets thats what you are doing. So you will loose whatever bass response you had. So if you start with a 4" and mount it like that its going to suck, if you get a 6 1/2 and mount it that way, it too will not sound as good as it could. IMHO the 4" in the enclosure sounds better than either of the other choices. BTW The 4" I have in the bose enclosure now used to be in another car mounted the way you are proposing and that sucked, I was dissapointed. When I fired them up in the bose enclosure it was like night and day. Do what you want, its your money and your car. Just trying to share my experience so take it with a grain of salt.

 

Funny I just finished guys. Let me try and explain how I did this. Ok I did use the BOSE enclosure and it sounds excellent with the Infinity 4's. I didnt make a plywood adapter tho to fit the 4's in the box what I did was trim the litle brackets on te speaker so theyd fit and drilled new holes. Then I siliconed the metal pieces the screws screw inton udnerneath my new holes and then screwed down the speaker into these. Gave it a nice firm fit. I got them mounted and they sound great! Id really like to thank all of you who have posted on this thread you have helped me soooo much thanx a ton.

One question nothing to do with the fronts. I just put in Infinity 6x9's as well they sound great as well better than my old BOSE but Im wondering if you can or if anyone has used those 6x9 boxes and put them in there then up into your deck. I think they would sound even better cause it would be kinda like the BOSe enclosures for the front. Cause right now all our sound is escaping through into the truck nothing is surrounded around our 6x9's. Heres a link from crutchfield they have the boxes Im looking at you think they'll work?

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...4QL69W&o=m&a=0

 

Glad the 4" worked for you and that your happy with them. I have a little experience with the 6x9 as well. I had some that I had in the rear deck of another car and then had them in my 1st gen rx7. Since I had no money and no rear deck in the hatchback I put the speakers in a box just like the ones on crutchfield. The did not sound as well as they did in the 1st car nor did they sound as good as they do in the Maxima now. I think in the case of the 4" they dont need that much airspace or volume behind them, and the port helped take care of that. However, I think that the 6x9's need more volume than the boxes like the ones in crutchfield can supply. I think they might need something more of the size that might be appropriate for an 8" sub. If you have the speakers sealed up against the deck it can act as a large enough baffle to keep the frontal and rear soundwaves from reaching each other and cancelling out. The deck is more sealed off than the car door. Also the trunk is "more" air tight or like a box than the car door. You could try the box but I dont think you'll like it as well as with them just mounted to the deck. Plus it would be real hard to mount them in the box and then get the box up flush and sealed against the deck. I have been thinking of sealing the edges of the 6x9s with silicon to seal them up a bit better. You could dynomat the rear deck to get rid of any rattles and make the deck less resonant. Good luck and let me know how it turns out. If you get it to sound better I may just reuse my old boxes!

Take care.

 

I'll have to agree with 89sks. Auto speakers are not totally designed to work efficiently in and enclosure. They are designed to work with free air. What you might want to do is make sure you power the 6X9 to their rated power. to little power and they will not push enough air and give you distortion once your head unit reaches it's top end. Run an amp to the 6X9. Get an amp that is rated to give the max RMS power to the speakers. You get a fuller and more bass. You can even use Dynomax paper to get rid off vibrations in the trunk. And if you wanted to get even better sound use a Sub to enchance the low bass and add a crossover to the 6X9 to cut off some of the Low bass the the sub will produce. In effect the 6X9 can drive the Mids and highs beter because you won't have The 6X9 flexing to much since there wouldn't be much low end bass driving the cone back and forth excessivly. I have a small 40Watts RMS per channel amp driving my 6X9s. I sounds alot better than the 12 or 13 watts a typical head unit can give.