Focal Speakers

[victor]

Hello guys,,

Upgrading my sound system, I just bought and received Focal speakers for my 2001 carrera.

I've read in some forums that there's a way to retrofiting them in our cars.

I got the 4" KP 100's for the front and rear and 6.5" woofers for the doors.

While I knew that I would have to do some modifications for the doors, I thought the front and rears were going to be a little easier to fit in!!! :cursing:

My question is: has anybody done this retro and if so, have you taken any pictures of how they look mounted on the grills etc.???

I'm going crazy trying to see how to go at mounting them!

Any suggestions or tips you could send my way, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks guys

[Dharn55]

Do a search here and at REnnlist.com. There are lots of threads on this, including pictures of the install adn how to mount the 4" in the dash. I did it. You use the frames from the stock speakers to mount the Mids and silicone to mount the tweeters. I used 5" in the doors and with some dremel work they fit fine. I know Newport996 has the 6.5" in the doors, but i don't know how he got them to fit. You will have to run new wires to the dash as the stock set up doesn't use crossover, but uses resisters, so there is only one set of wires. Look at the threads, them if you need some help let me know.

[viper501]

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=8780

Or you can buy a sheet of ABS plastic, trim it to size and attach it to the factory bracket/cover using some RTV. Not nearly as elegant as the above link though.

[johnp77777]

Victor, here's a reprint of a post I did last year on the same topic...

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Below is a reply to a query I sent to Rod Birch at Car Audio Innovations in So-Cal. I asked about reasonable upgrades that can be done in stages. I hope Rod doesn't mind the use of his response publically...

Hi John,

thanks for the email.

That's cool that you got a car with the hifi package already, the guys without the door speaker location are at a serious disadvantage, and it's costly to convert the door panels and add that location.

The drawback to having the 996 is trying to make economical upgrades. There are no strengths in the factory setup, 'simply replacing speakers isn't sufficient because the factory amp is underpowered and can damage the new speakers by overheating them with distortion. Keeping the factory headunit initially can save you some money, and I have a Becker Din/RCA adapter plug that'll allow it to interface with an aftermarket amplifier.

Maybe instead of doing a 3 way component set in the dash and doors, separate subs and amplifier, maybe do the economical version of just a small 4 channel quality amplifier to run a dash component set by Focal and better quality door subwoofers. You can just use head unit power to run the rear speakers, even leaving the stock ones in initially. Eventually, changing out the factory head unit will be wise to maximize the money you've spent on other, better quality components. For an oem look I really like the Nakamichi, it looks factory but trounces the performance of the Becker unit.

If you just want to upgrade dash and rear side speakers, no sweat, I'd recommend a set of 4" Focals for the dash, $379.95/set, and 4" coaxials for the rear at $179.95. We can mount up the speakers to your grills for $95 for the dash mount and $65 for the rear speaker mount. You can ship your grills to me and I mount them up and ship them back, they're kind of tricky, the speakers mount to the grills, and a good speaker mount requires a rigid, airtight mount.

A 4 channel amp to run the dash and door speakers is $479.95, vs. a 5 channel amp to run all speakers at $649.95. The door subs I like are the Focal 5" at $249.95 each.

let me know your thoughts. Congrats again, I hope to have my own 996 in the next few years!

-Rod