Fiat Punto 60 SX Speaker Upgrade

[Gazerdood]

Hi,

I have a 1998 Fiat Punto 60 SX.
I would like to upgrade the speaker system because at the moment it is rubbish with tiny speakers.

My problem is I do not know how to intergrate the new system into my cars interior.
I have a new headunit installed which is a JVC KD-R601.

The speaker system I am looking at purchasing is:

FUSION
Encounter 6x9” 3-Way Speakers
Encounter 5.25” Component Speakers
Encounter 4 Channel Amplifier

These speakers obv wouldn't go into the standard speaker holes. So where do i put them?

I had thought the rear's could go on the parcel shelf or side but what for front? Please help and advise to tell me somewhere where it's possible to install them? Thanks!

PICTURES OF CAR INTERIOR:

Front factory fitted speakers


Front driver door (no speaker bays)


Front passenger door


Rear factory fitted speakers


Rear side pannel


Thanks!

[Graeme*Kustom*]

Usually the done thing is to get the mids for the components into the doors and have the tweeters put in the dash mounts. There should already be a grommet to feed the wires between the door and dash on cars with electric windows, so it's easy enough to feed through there.

There's often a lot of empty space in the door and although the material on the door trim itself is not usually strong enough to hold a speaker, you could use a MDF wood section mounted behind a hole in trim and mount the speaker on that.

You're going to need to be fairly comfortable with removing and re-fitting bits of trim on the car, as rear speakers will need the cables to the back of the car under the carpet to keep it neat. If it all seems a bit much there's likely a reasonable car audio installer near you that can do it with their eyes closed so it may not be too pricey

[Gazerdood]

Ah yes i am comftable with that, its no harder than computers lol.

So for the rears on the parcel shelf and components in the door.

Do you think if i fitted the first adaptor on this page http://www.justkenwood.co.uk/install...odel.asp?id=74
to my door that would work?

Also what do you think about the speakers I am considering...they can be found here:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Thanks mate!

[Archaon]

Honestly? They're rubbish but better than stock, and for the money can't really complain.

Personally I'd forget the 6x9s and get a small subwoofer - say 8" or 10" - for a bit of low end punch without annoying the hell out of anyone nearby. A pair of components in the front door and a subwoofer is more than enough for a small 3 door car. But that's just me.

[Gazerdood]

Ah, so the 6x9's tend to just be for base? so its either 6x9's or sub?

I did want to add a sub too to the system at a later date...

If i had the components in the front and a sub in the back would the vocals and base be heared all around the vehicle clearly?

[Archaon]

6x9s do everything but they don't do sound as well as a decent set of components, and they don't do bass as well as a sub. If you're worried about sound in the back of the car, you could get a 3 channel amp that will run your front components and a sub and then run a pair of smaller set of speakers in the back from amp in the headunit.

Chances are you'll be able to fit a small pair of aftermarket speakers into the existing rear speaker mounting, and since there's already speakers there the wiring to the headunit will still be in place.

[Gazerdood]

Cheers mate, or just utilise the old ones already there just as a backup since ill have all the new speakers boosting it

I just have to work out how to install the component speakers in the front now without messing up the window mechanism.

[Archaon]

Well it doesn't look good but you can get speaker adaptors and bolt them to the outer side of the door cards, then put the speakers into them. Gives you an extra inch or two of clearance. Depends on how much you care about the interior appearance of your car. The adaptors for Vauxhalls are useful for it, it's what I did with my Tigra because my Vibe speakers fouled the window mechanism.

I used a set of these http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/vaux...-adaptors.html

Now they're meant to be fitted to the actual door of the car they're designed for, however if you look at them the speaker screws into the top, and there's 6 screw holes around the bottom (3 sets of 2, you can see one of the sets at the front) which as long as your door cards are a decent strength and you use decent bolts is plenty to hold a speaker against the door (I've got Vibe SEK-60s which are not light).

As I said it's not elegant but it does work, as long as you remember that the speakers won't be flush with the door panel and place them speakers somewhere that they're not going to hit the door frame or the seats.

No reason you can't paint them to match the car interior and use fancy bolts to make it less obvious.


Although bear in mind that the one I just linked to is for 6" speakers, but there's a load available for 5" ones depending how you want to go about it.

[Gazerdood]

Hmm i was considering this... as i do have space infront of the seat area on the car by the legs...

I dont mind to much and i could spray paint them the same colour like you said. Hmm I have found out that you can buy door cards with speaker pods built in which should fit my door...its just finding them lol.

[Archaon]

Yeah if memory serves the sporting models of the Mk1 Punto had door speakers? It's not always easy to find such things though, and probably won't match the trim in your SX either.

[Gazerdood]

yeh they did have speakers the MK1 GT/Sporting models. Depends what sacrafices i want to make, apolstry or bolts and stuff. I suppose i could always try and remove the old fabric from the old doors and put them on the new ones.

But that would be a difficult job with all that glue lol!

[Archaon]

Yeah I wouldn't suggest it lol.

It looks like the door cards are fairly flat so if the speakers are shallow enough you could do without the adaptors and have the speakers put straight into the cards, but it depends on how much space you've got to work with. You can get speakers that are designed for shallow mounts such as the JBL GTO-6528S which might be worth a look.

[Gazerdood]

Hmm yeh thats a point. I have found 2 people who in the near future will be selling the door cards for about 30 quid, but i am considering just buying adaptors n screwing them to the door...maybe spraying them the same colour.

What adaptors would you say are best for 5.25" (13cm) speakers with 54mm depth?

[Archaon]

If you can get 6" speakers then the ones I linked to are perfect. They're the only ones I've used since I did actually have a Vectra and bought the adapters for that, but it ended up on the scrap heap before I got around to it, so I jury rigged them to the door cards of my Tigra using the method we've been talking about - I've got pics around somewhere if you want.

Adapters for other Vauxhall models are probably very similar but take smaller speakers (e.g. these), but I can't guarantee it as I've not worked with them.

Obviously some adapters are basically just flat ones designed to take aftermarket speakers in a normal round hole (like the Vectra ones), whereas other adapters are more complex and designed to fit into a specific space on a specific model (like the dash speakers on your Punto) and so are useless for what you want. If you're not sure then your best bet might be to go down Halfords or similar and look through their stock so you can see what they're actually like.

I'd say you should be safe with Vauxhall and modern Ford ones (Focus onwards) but check - they ain't expensive, but £10 wasted is £10 less you can spend down the pub or whatever.