6x9's in back of LB

[wsladaritz]

I tried searching for some pics or anything of someone installing some 6x9's in the rear. Can't find anything.... I just did but I'm curious how other people might have done it. Anybody got a hidden thread or maybe some info?

[Spades]

well, i would say it isnt worth it. and the reason is because you want all of your sound comming from the front, if anything, rear speakers should only be used for fill, and most audiophiles agree that the only reason rear speakers were ever put in cars was to make up for not enough volume or because of bad imaging or cheap speakers, ect.

to that end, alot of high end audio systems dont even use rear speakers, and even when they do, a pair of 3.5" two ways is more than enough.

a 6x9 has more cone surface than a 6.5 round speaker, but because of the oval shape it will distort more than a round speaker at higher volume. however, because it has more cone surface, the more air it moves and the more bass it will produce untill it distorts.

the only reason you would want 6x9's is if you never plan to add a subwoofer and you want a bit more midbass for cheap in your sound system.

to that end, you would be better off with a cheap pair of roadmaster 6.5's and setting your fader almost all the way to the front, then buying a modest 8" or 10" subwoofer and a decent set of $75+ two way component speakers for the front.

[IllusionX]

Even if you want to have more mid-bass, 8" mid-bass will fit perfectly in the place of the 6x9 (on a sedan)

with a bit of imagination and crafting, i'm sure you can fit a pretty big round speaker in the rear.

[Spades]

yeah, but, if you are modifying the rear deck of a sedan, you might as well hack the deck up and run 4 tang band 6.5" subwoofers and a pair of 3.5" infinity referance 2-ways.

[wsladaritz]

Well I've already got Infinity reference components in front and 3 JL 10's in the back... I agree that back speakers are mostly for fill in. I can't really hear them over the components. But I can tell a difference when there is nothing playing on the rear speakers. Mostly, I enjoy modding, I got a good deal on these, and they look pretty bad ass. They wouldn't mount behind the side panel on the metal so I opted to chop a hole in my panel and mount it to the plastic. I mostly just like the looks of it and these have proven the past few days to be able to handle quite alot without distorting at all. And I crank my music... fyi Pioneer TS-A6973R

[dccurrent]

How difficult would it be to install 6x9's in the back doors of the 4dr liftback? Is it even possible? I am interested in doing such an install job and wonder what barriers I might face.

[IllusionX]

6.5" in the back.

[dccurrent]

6.5" in the back.

I don't mind cutting metal I just want to know if I would run into the door's plastic shell that would go over the speaker.

[Spades]

just keep in mind that while 6x9's offer more bass at lower volumes than 6.5" speakers when you are dealing with cheaper products, the only reason is because the 6x9 has more cone surface. at louder volumes, the cone will be more prone to distortion as the cone flexes because the speaker is not round.

with that being said, i am a fan of running a cheap free air 6" subwoofer in place of the factory speakers and instead of a 6x9 and then buying a set of quality components for the front. you want your sound comming from the front and not the back in the case of higher frequencies, low bass doesnt matter.

with that being said, bang for buck, if you are broke and have very little money and want more midbass, i suppose hacking a 6x9 into the back of a car is not a bad idea, but personally, i would spend my money on a couple good woofers or subwoofers in the 5" to 7" range and a set of cheap low pass filters and source any remaining funds to some half decent components for the front.

[dccurrent]

just keep in mind that while 6x9's offer more bass at lower volumes than 6.5" speakers when you are dealing with cheaper products, the only reason is because the 6x9 has more cone surface. at louder volumes, the cone will be more prone to distortion as the cone flexes because the speaker is not round.

with that being said, i am a fan of running a cheap free air 6" subwoofer in place of the factory speakers and instead of a 6x9 and then buying a set of quality components for the front. you want your sound comming from the front and not the back in the case of higher frequencies, low bass doesnt matter.

with that being said, bang for buck, if you are broke and have very little money and want more midbass, i suppose hacking a 6x9 into the back of a car is not a bad idea, but personally, i would spend my money on a couple good woofers or subwoofers in the 5" to 7" range and a set of cheap low pass filters and source any remaining funds to some half decent components for the front.

I already installed pretty good 6.5's in the front. I just know from experience that 6x9's tend to put out a decent amount of bass all things considered. So a decent pair should be able to relegate distortion to a higher volume and bring in some good bass at the same time. I plan on putting in a sub at some point but for now I need a little more bass than even my quality 6.5's are putting out in the front. The mids and highs sound incredible in the front so all I want is a little bit of a kick coming from the back doors. It will be a fun project so I am also looking forward to that!

[wsladaritz]

I did it! I'll get some picks for ya if u want. Had to cut a little metal off the top of the stock mount location. It was rubbing the magnet. And I ended up mounting on the plastic, cutting out a hole for them cause they're way too big to fit in the stock mount location. Could've cut that hole piece of sheet metal out but then wouldn't have anything to mount the speaker to :( So it's on the plastic. No going back now, but I think it looks really nice.

[dccurrent]

I did it! I'll get some picks for ya if u want. Had to cut a little metal off the top of the stock mount location. It was rubbing the magnet. And I ended up mounting on the plastic, cutting out a hole for them cause they're way too big to fit in the stock mount location. Could've cut that hole piece of sheet metal out but then wouldn't have anything to mount the speaker to :( So it's on the plastic. No going back now, but I think it looks really nice.

Oh man please post pics! I want to see how you did it. I noticed that the bottle holder opening in the plastic molding of the door may interfere with a 6x9 properly fitting on the back doors so I would love to see exactly how you mounted it!

[IllusionX]

yeah, but, if you are modifying the rear deck of a sedan, you might as well hack the deck up and run 4 tang band 6.5" subwoofers and a pair of 3.5" infinity referance 2-ways.

a bit old, but hey.. 8" = more bass alright? :thumbup:

I'm thinking of actually hacking the rear doors, and install my ADS 345CS.

seriously, i'm not really a fan of having any speakers on the rear deck, it's too close to the ears when sitting in the back.

[wsladaritz]

I'm at church right now, leaving for lufkin in a few hours... I'll try to take out the back tomorrow evening and get some good pics of everything I did. I want to put some more fatmat back there anyways.

[IllusionX]

I'm at church right now, leaving for lufkin in a few hours... I'll try to take out the back tomorrow evening and get some good pics of everything I did. I want to put some more fatmat back there anyways.

you have a 3doors... it's a whole lot different than doing it on a 5doors....

[dccurrent]

you have a 3doors... it's a whole lot different than doing it on a 5doors....

Can you explain why you think doing it on a 5dr is not a good way to go? Do you think it would be better if I wired them to the rear lifting deck and place them on there? I know of someone that has done that on an Alfa Romeo with a hatch style trunk and it sounded good but the Yaris has a huge gaping hole between that lifting deck and the back seats of the liftback, and I fear that the bass will be compromised. What do you think?

[IllusionX]

i've had oversized 6.5" in the hatch lid. it was a very bad idea. vibration galore!


it is possible in a 3doors, because you have much more space to work with. It is not possible to make 9" fit one way or the other in the doors, the plastic will get in the way. Also, it is not very possible to fit them from the outside (screw them on the plastic like wsladaritz did). You would really have to do a complete custom job.

[dccurrent]

i've had oversized 6.5" in the hatch lid. it was a very bad idea. vibration galore!


it is possible in a 3doors, because you have much more space to work with. It is not possible to make 9" fit one way or the other in the doors, the plastic will get in the way. Also, it is not very possible to fit them from the outside (screw them on the plastic like wsladaritz did). You would really have to do a complete custom job.

I took apart one of my back doors. There is just enough space to anchor a 6x9 on to the metal part of the door, provided that you pop out the bottle holder which is a separate piece of plastic that is melted on at three tiny locations. The rest of the plastic clears the speaker by an inch, if of course you have a thin spacer as well, not more than a half inch thickness. It also clears the window. I will take pics on the progress of the installation which will be done over the next couple days.

[IllusionX]

well.. by popping off the bottle holder, you have a nice sweet HOLE in there! ^_____^

[dccurrent]

well.. by popping off the bottle holder, you have a nice sweet HOLE in there! ^_____^

Lol it's not as bad as I described. The bottle holder portion of the plastic is only the inside part of the curve, which would found in the inside part of the door, the part that would get in the way of the 6x9. The exterior part of the curve is part of the overall plastic mold so the only hole I'll need to seal will be the actual opening the bottle would have passed through; in other words, the lid portion of the holder. Here's a quick pic (the best I could find) of what I mean:

http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/0/I/i/1/ag_09yaris_backdoor.jpg

And despite there being a hole, even if I decided not to close it up, it wouldn't affect the bass since the speaker will be mounted on the metal frame of the door, not the plastic. If it doesn't rain tomorrow I am going to go to work on it. I'll take pics and post them here.

[wsladaritz]

Sorry it took me so long, but here's a few quick pics of the 6x9. But ya, mine is a 3 dr. Gonna be a lot different in a 5dr hatch :confused:

Best of luck to ya though!

[dccurrent]

It's been raining the last couple of days and it has really hampered my ability to do the project. Today was finally sunny so I managed to cut the hole for my rear left door. Here are a couple of pics:

[wsladaritz]

nice man! That looks alot better than what I could have done on the 3dr. Not nearly as much metal for mounting the speaker. That'll be a nice setup!

[dccurrent]

Thanks dude. I finished the left door and I am waiting for the rain to stop (yet again) so I can work on the right door.

Here is the door finished with the deadener on and the small hole that I need to seal up due to the modifications I made to the plastic:

[dccurrent]

Just to update this project: I finished (finally) all four doors with custom fit 6x9's in the back doors. Wow do they really put out the bass! It's incredible how much they actually put out. It's no substitute for a sub (although for many people out there I can see it being enough), but it can definitely tie you over until you decide to put one in or don't think you have the money to install one to begin with. So 5dr liftback owners it's possible to do and it sounds great!

[Bob Dog]

I built a deck with an acoustic suspension box: 5 way 250 watt 6x9s on 50 watt peak power. The bass is strong and the 5 ways are great for music dynamics, but the deck is a bit of a pain with day to day cargo. Total cost the system with Pioneer base model deck, 280 watt 3 way 6.5s front, 5 way 480 watt 6x9s back and carpet to cover deck built from scrap: $250.

[wsladaritz]

wow! that's pretty sweet man! at least u can get cargo back there though, All i can fit is a 6 pack bottles on the left and right my box :P