Door Speakers Upgrade to 6.5" Coaxials, Recommendations (FD3S)?
 

I'm looking to do a straight-forward and simple speaker upgrade for the 2 door speakers. My car is non-bose and I've already removed the center speaker on the top of the dash.

I have an aftermarket Headunit already installed. I also want to continue using the factory speaker wiring that goes into the door... since the speakers will be powered off the Headunit and I won't be running an amp.

Given all this, I don't want to overkill it but do want a quality and noticeable upgrade versus the stock speakers. I also want to stick with Coaxial speakers because I don't want to drill a hole in the door panel for an extra set of tweeters.

Has anyone else done the same and had good experiences? At the end of the day, swapping out the stock speakers MUST sound better than before. Would going with something like the Hertz HCX speakers be overkill with this setup?
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: HERTZ HCX 165 6.5" 2-Way Hi-Energy Coaxial Speakers HCX165

And has anyone used these PVC speaker adapters:
PVC Speaker Adapters - CNC Machined - In Stock or Custom Made

I'm doing the same exact speakers up front with the 5x7 Hertz in the back. I did the subs with amp and head unit already. Marked for response

I put 6.5 pioneers in my work grest and direct swap

I am using the adapters you linked and went with infinity reference 6.5s. Absolutely no complaints. Just be careful when you are tightening the speakers since careless installation may result in stripping out the holes in the plastic.

Were your speakers plug and play with the factory wiring? Or did you have to splice over the connectors from the stock speakers?

I have been using factory wire w no issues. The Bose system and the connectors that went with it were already removed when I bought the car.

I did this and ended up going back to 5 1/4" components because I found the woofer surrounds on 3 different sets of 6.5" components were too tight against the grilles in the doors.

Mind mentioning the sets that didn't work for you?

6.5" Focal Polyglass components, Alpine SPR-60 and Boston Acoustics PRO60SE. I should clarify that in each case spacers were required to get the magnets to clear the power window mechanism and that caused the speaker surround to come in contact with the backside of the factory grilles. Right now I'm running Boston Acoustics PRO50SE's front & rear. They clear the window mechanism in the doors, but the midbass is weak. Thinking about going to an 6.5" woofer in the stock rear speaker location and just scrub the rear fill.

Is it really worth it to spend that much money on a set of speakers if you dont plan on using an amp?

I agree. You cannot the full potential of the upgrade without. Go with a small class D- from 50w per channel and up.

Today's decks drive speakers OK, but at high volumes and low frequencies they bog.
If you're getting anything more than basic coax speakers you definitely need a small amp.
Not much definition needed in the rear of the FD, so you could get away with a small 2 channel and drive the rears off the deck.

I just upgraded my speakers in my FD to Hertz coaxials as I didn't want to make cuts for separates. I had to get a mount built for clearance for the 6.5" door speakers. My subs are also 6.5" :)

Attachment 511969

I used 6.5" Alpine Type R coaxials in my door for a while. Then switched them for the type R splits and mounted the tweeter in my door (drilled). Both were run off a 100w head unit. Even without an amp, the tweeter setup sounds better IMO.

It is difficult to get a lot of definition in the high range with the tweeters mounted so low.
Pillar mounted tweeters are another common option for people averse to hacking up their door panels.

I have a bit of a noob question, along the same lines:

I recently purchased a head unit. My rear speakers are terribly blown, so I may as well replace the fronts and rears.

For now, I am not going to do an amp or sub. BUT i definitely will in the future.

will that make complications with coaxial (2-way) speakers ? basically, switching from head unit power to amp power.

Thanks.

p.s. incase it wasnt clear, i am very inexperienced with car audio.