Front Door Speakers in a BMW 3 Series

ajdale · 07-31-2006, 09:26 PM

Has anyone changed the speakers and tweeters in the front doors of thier BMW 3 Series? Mine did not come with the Harmon/Kardon factory upgrade, so I'm looking to install some new speakers.

However my brands of choice are Rockford Fosgate or Alpine, BUT www.crutchfield.com says that neither RF or Alpine's 6-1/2" speakers will fit in the front doors of my car.

The only front speakers it says will fit are some Kicker speakers I've never heard of before. The only difference I can see between the Kicker speakers and the Alpine speakers are a top mount depth of 2" on the Kickers' and 2-1/4" on the Alpine type S ones.

Surely 1/4" is a small enough distance to allow the speakers to have a modified fit, but crutchfield doesn't even list any speakers that will have a modified fit for the car.

So I'm just asking if anyone has installed any aftermarket speakers in thier 3 Series (other than the Kickers which apparently fit)

Thanks

XC-C30 · 07-31-2006, 09:42 PM

what model 3-series are we talking about? and it's bull only kicker fits! all speakers with a normal euronorm chassis will fit. as for mountingdepth: take out your stockspeakers and measure up the hole. if you don't have anough mountingdepth, you could be thinking of putting an adapter on your existing speakerholes to mount them on.

ajdale · 07-31-2006, 10:43 PM

I've got a 2003 320i, I'll go try and figure out how to remove the door speakers.

Shadow · 08-01-2006, 07:45 AM

You've gotta take the door off. The speakers are attached to the door panel from behind.

3onDubs · 08-01-2006, 11:27 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by ajdale

Has anyone changed the speakers and tweeters in the front doors of thier BMW 3 Series? Mine did not come with the Harmon/Kardon factory upgrade, so I'm looking to install some new speakers.

However my brands of choice are Rockford Fosgate or Alpine, BUT www.crutchfield.com says that neither RF or Alpine's 6-1/2" speakers will fit in the front doors of my car.

The only front speakers it says will fit are some Kicker speakers I've never heard of before. The only difference I can see between the Kicker speakers and the Alpine speakers are a top mount depth of 2" on the Kickers' and 2-1/4" on the Alpine type S ones.

Surely 1/4" is a small enough distance to allow the speakers to have a modified fit, but crutchfield doesn't even list any speakers that will have a modified fit for the car.

So I'm just asking if anyone has installed any aftermarket speakers in thier 3 Series (other than the Kickers which apparently fit)

Thanks

I have an 04 3 series sedan and i've changed my speakers prolly around 4 or 5 times so far. Crutchfield is right....unless you are willing to cut holes in your door metal, you won't be able to fit 6.5" speakers in there. The largest drop in speaker that you can fit (and that i recommend) are the diamond hex's (S600's). It's a component set with 6" mids and these will be a direct replacement for your stock front speakers.

Other than those speakers, any 5.25" component set will fit in there.

I ended up cutting holes in my door metal and mounting some 6.5" woofers directly to my door and then dynamatting around them. The purpose of that was to fit a bigger speaker while maximizing midbass. There are many threads on this topic on http://forum.e46fanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22. You should be able to find all the bmw audio information you need by searching that page.

XC-C30 · 08-01-2006, 11:58 AM

I'm sorry but it REALY is a load of crap you're telling here! I've seen enough E46's with 16.5 without anything being cut out. just mount a 16.5 adapter o, your existing speaker-holes and you'll be fine! unless the American BMW's are that different from the European ones.

3onDubs · 08-01-2006, 05:57 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by IC-C30

I'm sorry but it REALY is a load of crap you're telling here! I've seen enough E46's with 16.5 without anything being cut out. just mount a 16.5 adapter o, your existing speaker-holes and you'll be fine! unless the American BMW's are that different from the European ones.

16.5 inches???????? That's a big freakin speaker bro...u'd be lucky to get it in the trunk.

Without modifying the mounting location, you won't be able to fit 6.5's. IF you get mounting rings and break the stock mounting prongs off (there are 3 large prongs...breaking them off is irreversable), then you can create a custom mounting location on the door panel that accomodate up to a 7" speaker depending on the speaker's depth. Most 6.5" speakers will be too deep to fit in that location without cutting a hole in the door metal. I have OZ audio matrix elites and their magnets would hit the door and not allow me to mount the door panel back on...i needed another 1.5" of clearance, so i cut holes in my doors.

XC-C30 · 08-01-2006, 06:02 PM

talking 'bout cm's..... not inches

3onDubs · 08-01-2006, 07:21 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by IC-C30

talking 'bout cm's..... not inches

Oops...ur right then. In my first install, i had 6.5" CDT CF-61's mounted to the doors with 6.5" mdf speaker rings bolted to the stock location. The magnet touched the door metal, but they barely fit.

I still recommend getting the Diamond hex's. They sound excellent and are a direct replacement for your stock speakers (the stock speakers in the e46 are 6" all the way around).

ajdale · 08-01-2006, 07:30 PM

I was mainly looking at Alpine because I have an Alpine head unit, and my friend put an entire Alpine system in his 1992 Acura Integra, for the sake of having all the same components by the same manufacturer, for consistency.

He gave me the impression that if you mix and match manufacturers, you won't get as great a sounding result as if you were to take speakers, subs and amps that were designed to work together.

Although who knows how much difference it really makes.

Quote: Originally Posted by 3onDubs

Most 6.5" speakers will be too deep to fit in that location without cutting a hole in the door metal. I have OZ audio matrix elites and their magnets would hit the door and not allow me to mount the door panel back on...i needed another 1.5" of clearance, so i cut holes in my doors.

It says that the kickers that will fit are a 6 1/2" speaker, so are the alpine ones I'm looking, but the Alpine ones are only 1/4" deeper than the kickers. I haven't looked at the door yet, but would I be easy to do it on my own without any sort of professional installation?

Or is there some sort of riser to bring the speaker out more so you don't have the modify the door frame? bring it like 1/4" closer to the drivers legs?

3onDubs · 08-01-2006, 07:41 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ajdale

I was mainly looking at Alpine because I have an Alpine head unit, and my friend put an entire Alpine system in his 1992 Acura Integra, for the sake of having all the same components by the same manufacturer, for consistency.

He gave me the impression that if you mix and match manufacturers, you won't get as great a sounding result as if you were to take speakers, subs and amps that were designed to work together.

Although who knows how much difference it really makes.

That is not true....having the same brand throughout your car does not make for better sound quality. They are audio components and they can't read. The only thing being transfered through the wires are voltages and signals. In the end, it is the build quality, efficiency, and install of the components that make up your system that count.

If you're dead set on getting Alpine products...check out the Alpine Type X components...they are very musical speakers and sound great right out of the box. I wouldn't go for alpine's lesser models.

3onDubs · 08-01-2006, 07:49 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ajdale

It says that the kickers that will fit are a 6 1/2" speaker, so are the alpine ones I'm looking, but the Alpine ones are only 1/4" deeper than the kickers. I haven't looked at the door yet, but would I be easy to do it on my own without any sort of professional installation?

Or is there some sort of riser to bring the speaker out more so you don't have the modify the door frame? bring it like 1/4" closer to the drivers legs?

You can't really bring the speaker closer because of the speaker grill and the fact that the circle opening in the door where the speaker grill sits is less than 6.5" in diameter.

You will have to take measurements of the speaker you want to get and see how much space you have behind the door to work with....i can't remember exactly how much room there is behind there.

You can definitely do it on your own....there is a diy sticky on the page that i linked you to in my first post. It walks through a speaker install in a 3 series step-by-step and is very detailed with pictures. It shows you how to remove the door panel and where to tap into the wiring, etc.

I've done it myself many times...the first time took the longest (trying to figure out how to take the door off and how to mount the speaker)...but every time after that was a breeze since i already knew how everything fit together.

To mount a 6.5" speaker, you will need mdf speaker rings and you will have to bolt them to your door panel. You will then bolt the speakers to that mdf ring and seal around the speaker with dynamat or with a foam insulation so that the airspace in front of the speaker is completely sealed off from the air space behind the speaker.

ajdale · 08-02-2006, 02:12 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by 3onDubs

If you're dead set on getting Alpine products...check out the Alpine Type X components...they are very musical speakers and sound great right out of the box. I wouldn't go for alpine's lesser models.

Thats interesting, I feel the Type X may be a tad too expensive, so if the lesser models arn't as good I'm still going to check out Rockford Fosgate, as my dads' 2006 Eclipse came with a factory installed one, and it sounds pretty good to me.

And thank you for the very informative posts on how to fit speakers, you guys did a great job at answering my question. I had a hunch I could get something in there that crutchfield says I can't.

Thanks a lot.

3onDubs · 08-02-2006, 04:42 PM

^^^ G'luck with your install and be sure to check forum.e46fanatics.com for any of your 3 series questions.....if you're trying to do something to your bimmer, chances are that someone has already tried it and can walk you through it.

ajdale · 08-03-2006, 09:52 PM

Ok so I yanked off the door panel, and measured the speaker. The whole thing measures almost 6.5 inches across, but I think the cone is only 5.75". Honestly I dont know a whole lot about car audio, I'm just starting. But I also measured how deep the speakers are, and they measured 2.5".

I'm thinking about just doing the same set up as my friend did. The Alpine Type-S SPS171A component speakers up front, and I think the Alpine Type-S SPS170A speakers in the rear deck. I'd go for thier higher end speakers, but a Type-X set up at least double what I'm looking to spend, and I'm not going for competition quality sound, just an upgrade over the factory.

According to crutchfield the SPS171A speakers have the same depth as the speakers I already have.
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-YV8YX1Z...Display=Alpine
Will I have to cut into my door metal? and if I do, whats the best way to go about this?

Another concern is the speakers in the rear deck, I hear they're the same size as the ones up front, but if the new ones don't fit I'm sure it's easier to make them fit since theres theoretically a lot more space to work with than in the door.

I registered over at the E46 fanatics forum, but my account hasn't been approved yet so I can't use the forum search :/

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