need 6x9 converters

Post Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:16 pm

lookin to fit 6x9's to the exhisting speaker holes in the rear parcel shelf on me e30 2dr. Went into Halfrauds but they dont list em. Only option he said was to drill spacers into shelf which I dont like the sound of or to make up an mdf spacer that sits below to hold them in place. Surely there is a company that do offer a proper convertor so it all stays neat but also keeps them out of sight?
any help appreciated.

Post Sun Aug 09, 2009 11:15 am

hello, anybody there?

Post Tue Aug 11, 2009 4:22 pm

sorry to say it is not possible to use spacers to fit 6x9's in the rear parcel shelf and keep it out of sight as the magnet will hit the metal firewall. further the metal firewall (this is the metal sheet underneath the parcel shelf) has indentations designed for the 5 3/4 inch round speakers, this makes fitting 6x9's even more difficult as it is not reccomended to cut the metal.

what i did was position the speakers so the magnet sits best in the indentation, then i marked the centre of the speaker in this location on the parcel shelf. i then made some simple spacers out of plywood (12mm thick), As the speaker i was fitting were quite big and deep i also made a full length spacer to fit under the parcel shelf but above the metal firewall, this lifts the parcel shelf by 12mm b ut now crucially gives you enough clearance to fit the speakers so they do not hit the metal, and so they are look realtively well fitted. the full wooden spacer i bolted to the metal so it sits solid and the speakers are screwed into this. the sound is quite good.

I am in the porcess of writing a full how to guide, but you can see what i did from the pics. for the final fit i sprayed the spacers with black paint. all you need is a jigsaw, 12mm plywood, can of paint and some fixings. hope this helps.

Post Tue Aug 11, 2009 4:33 pm

Nice job mrLEE30!

I think you can buy acoustic shelves for the E30 but I'm not sure what size speakers they are for but they hide the speakers with raised platforms I think.

I once fitted some by cutting the metal out under the parcel shelf, fitting a flush grills on the shelf and recovering in acoustic transparent cloth to make them completely invisible.

Cutting into the metal is generally frowned upon though.

The other option is to fit standard size speakers (or leave the rear empty) and run a small sub in the boot.

Post Tue Aug 11, 2009 5:21 pm

Dont fit 6X9's they look naff

Post Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:59 am

anything positive to add?

No?

Go home.

Post Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:12 am

pac1982 wrote:Dont fit 6X9's they look naff

fit 6.5's that what i did

mind you they only just fit

what about 5x7's 6x8s ????

Post Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:17 am

http://www.bassjunkies.com/audio/autoleads-sak-1204

Post Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:29 am

i suppose if you cut the metal out neatly, yes it will weaken it but it looks good when done, i personally would not do it

although the previous owner of my 316i did the hammer, molegrips and hacksaw approach.

the car was council anyway

Post Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:31 am

mrLEE30 wrote:anything positive to add?

No?

Go home.

That comment doesn’t sound too positive to me! Kettle calling the pot black

But as I said before don’t fit 6X9's a lot of people think these are the best kind of speaker for the rear but in reality they look and more often than not sound naff a good set of 6x5's will look and sound much better.

It’s a common misconception by audio novices that 6x9's are the best speaker to go for

Main problem with 6x9s is that the sound quality is quite poor but because the have a large surface area on the speaker cone they can move a lot of air and produce a lot of noise/volume so you end up with a very unbalanced system.

Bear in mind unless you fitting ice in a limo you want the majority of your sound to be aimed at the driver so to get a really well balanced system you want to have the majority of sound coming from the front speakers with some nice rears to compliment the fronts IMO 6X9 drown out the front speakers and make the whole system sound off balance

Post Sat Aug 22, 2009 4:43 pm

cheers for suggestions guys. may change idea but already have 6x9s so gonna give it a go some how.

Post Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:50 pm

You can get MDF rings on ebay for 6x9s

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6x9-6-x-9-6-x9-18 ... 286.c0.m14

Spray them black or cover them cloth, as above for example, and you're away.

Or you could mount the 6x9s in MDF boxes in the boot and take the ski hatch out as those with subs do.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-SPEAKER-BOX-E ... 286.c0.m14

Or fit them in the doors

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-e30-door-spea ... 3001r17099