2kBlackMax

Today I opened my door panel...( i broke the fuccin plastic outlining the door handle) and i realized i might be going over my head trying to custom install the tweeters since my gxe model didnt come with one. I was planning to somehow put my tweeters next to my 5 1/4" midbass in the door panel but need to find out how. Can anyone help me?

ispeed

You know what you could do...

Make a bridge across your midbass 5 1/4 or 6 1/2 and mount your tweet on top of that. It will look like a coaxial setup, but I've seen alot of people do that. I see it quite often in kick panels where people want to get the custom kicks done fast without having to aim the tweets again. On bridge it can be rotated and bent for proper aiming and therefore would be a wise install.

Good luck. (hint make the bridge out of aluminum or some other bendable thin metal)

max'n out

Take a wholesaw and put the tweet in the a-piller

serin

iTrader: (2)

i agree. a pillar would yield an easy and clean installation. plus i would think it would yield better sound since higher frequencies don't sound too good firing into your leg/hip.
if you're open to drilling, think about the door, along the window sill. you know, that part at the very front of the door, that curves towards the dash

bbmax572

2kblackmax-- i feel your pain. what you should know however is that if you cut your a-pillars and mount tweeters in there, not only are you asking for one hell of a weird wiring job, but you're throwing your sound stage way off.

now, you may not really care about proper imaging or sound staging, but i'll break it down to you like this:
higher frequencies travel to your ear faster, so moving them closer to you will be extremely detrimental to the way you enjoy music.
if you want balanced sound, the tweeter should be slightly further from your ear than the mid (i.e. the way custom kickpanels are built--tweeter slightly further away).

the first option i read was the bridge using aluminum or other bendy metal--excellent idea--it saves the cosmetic integrity of your interior while making good use of your component setup. (and a simple backstrap out of a car stereo box works extremely well.)

the options i have to offer you will require a little cutting--the first was already mentioned--cut the door panel closest to the dash near the windows. it will give you great sound and depending on how you sit, may give you the distance you need.
the second is a cut in the door panel about 6 inches from the woofer grille toward the underdash. this will accomplish the same thing as the tweeter near the window, but will not be nearly as visible.

these are the two options i'm considering (just because i don't like plastic kickpanels and fiberglass costs a mint).

i apologize for the long reply.

josh burns
bbmax572

max'n out

As far as staging goes your wrong tweeters in the a piller have become very popular and the wiring isn't as hard as you think. Mine are in the a piller and at the worlds largest sound off aka spring break natinals 15 I got 50 out of 50 on imaging.and won my class. Now puting them in the door is a bad idea stage height will suck. putting them in the mirror cup is better but not great.

2kBlackMax

Thanks for all your info guys...
this car audio **** is confusing the hell out of me. I've been reading people's advices etc and they all have conflicting reports. From what i know, most IASCA people have their speakers in the kick panel- i've posted this on sounddomain-one guy told me it wasnt hard to make one yourself-
but the problem is kick panels seems uncomfortable and obstructive. I drive a manuel and i like foot space. Second, i've read that the tweeter should not be more than 6 inches, preferrably 1" away from the midbass.
Would putting the tweeter on a bracket or what bbmax suggested using the band metal be really that bad?
I know people's hips and legs might get in the way but isnt that the same for kick panels?
FOr bbmax: can you give me more details about cutting the door panel? Do you mean drilling?

max'n out

Since you have no idea what your doing put down the tools and spend 40 bucks to have a pro install it that way there are no problems. Iasca people me included all have very different opioins infact car audio is all opinion. Most people like there tweeters in the kick because they use 24db per oct crossovers and that will cause localiation of speakers if you don't have them close together but if you use a 12db per oct then you get more blending and more natural sound so you can move the tweets around. Look at the experts like mark eldrige and steve brown. they both have tweeters in the apiller. Mark has horns that fire up in the dash. So all that being said do what you want cuz your the one that will hear it.
As far as kick panels go they don't have to be huge some of the people that have huge kicks have them huge because they can't build them good. I cut the metel behind my kick and built an enclosure for the mid and have more foot room than the factory. If you want to see pics of good usable type of kick panel set up go to mbquart.com click on project cars under car audio and click on the bmw 540i that sim built. Thats they way a good kick panel should be. One last thing when you put the tweet in the kick your stage height suffers meaning the sound will be below the dash and thats why alot of guys are starting to run tweets in the a piller.
sorry for the long post but hope it helps.