Component speaker pics

[rlollis]

Did a search and did'nt find much out there. Being a new 944S owner I'd like to upgrade my stereo. I found plenty of 4x6 upgrades but hardly anything that involved the use of kick panels or custom door panels. Does anybody have any pics of custom work that still keeps the Porsche integrity so I can get some ideas?

[pozican]

I put some infinity 6.5" in place of the rear 4x6's need a amp to power them, but after that it should sound just amazing

I'll let you know -- amp comes in this week

[rlollis]

What did you put up front? I know the rears are alot more flexible to accomdate larger speakers (or so I've read). I'd really like to find out if kick panels are feasible, looks like they might be kinda tight on the driver's side.

[Zero10]

Late 87+ cars are able to accept 6.5" speakers in the back or 4x6" speakers.
For the fronts if you want a drop-in replacement you will have to go with 4x6 speakers or 4" components mounted on a 4x6" plate.
If you like cutting and making panels then 6.5" speakers up front is quite possible. Many people cut back towards the arm rest and use spacer rings to bring the speaker out enough so it clears the window motor mechanism.
Another thing to consider is clearing the dash when the door closes. It's a tricky fit.

[Tezme]

Yep, I do. Take a look below.

[shikzachaser]

ADS 300i Plates in door location. SONY Subwoofer amp under passenger seat. Seat has to be shimmed up about 3/4" to clear the amp.



SONY AM-FM CD in stock location. Cig lighter eliminated and A/C fan control relocated there. Oil Pressure Gauge in old A/C location, Boost Gauge in old Clock location, Air / Fuel Gauge in old Oil Pressure Gauge location. Stock fader in the console replaced w/ a variable resistor to work the temperature control for the A/C.





Polk 6X9 woofers in sealed fiberglass 1.5 cubic ft enclosures in area behind wheelwells.



Carpet conceals the woofers.

I put 6X8 Polk coaxs from a Mada / Ford in the side locations behind the stock side panel. Rears are capped off @ 150Hz (passive sub crossover) and front doors are run full range. The SNY amp powers the subs and fronts. The sides are run off the internal 40W rear amp in the CD player. It doesn't have gangsta bass but sounds really good for a 944. The ADS plates have been in there since 1984. I will probably replace the door panels someday and stick in a couple 4X6 just to make it look more stock.



Steve

[Zero10]

A couple questions...
1.5ft^3 in each cubby hole? There can't be that much air back there. I built some large sub boxes that used the entire cubby on both sides and wrapped up towards the back seats, with the subs placed entirely in the hatch area and the boxes were only 1.75ft^3 on each side (I tested their volume with water)
Is the sunroof motor located differently in the early cars? Because I couldn't possibly fit a 6x9 in my driver's side cubby hole.

Also, why run the fronts full range? It will greatly increase the distortion produced by them, at least run them on a HPF set at 80 or 90 Hz to take the really low sounds out. The 6x8's and 6x9's be more than adequate.

[rlollis]

I found this kick panel in a 944...This would involve little or no cutting

[shikzachaser]

There is that much air back there. I measured the interior volume and glassed in the holes to make them air tight. The water and gas vent hoses are still in place and come out the bottom. The fronts are run full range as the ADS plates are essentially flat to 40Hz and I listen to no rap or hip-hop. The exagerated bass is not required for what I do. I am a Mechanical Engineer here in St Louis and own an Audio / Video consulting company mainly working with large venue reinforcement so I have at least had a bit of experience in this field.



Driver's side. Maybe mine is different than yours.

Steve

[Zero10]

Must have a smaller sunroof motor or something on the early 944's. I only measure 4 1/2", maybe 5" from the sunroof motor assembly to the lip on the edge of the hatch space.
For some reason I also only measured 0.75ft^3 in the passenger side cubby hole portion of that side's enclosure.
My enclosures were built to be removeable, but I didn't think that it made that much of a difference to the volume by tapering the inside edge.
How did you determine the volume in the cubby holes?

[shikzachaser]

Packing peanuts. Not exact but really close.

Steve

[Zero10]

Wow, I wonder what would cause such a difference. I designed my box to stay 2" from the bottom of the cubby for drainage from the sunroof and hatch latch, and other than that I fit it tightly to the outside, and tapered the inside down to the bottom to allow it to slip out. I didn't think I had lost more than 0.25ft^3.
Well I am designing a new box to replicate the old one, but it will be even better. Let's see if I can squeeze that much space out of my cubby holes. Did you fiberglass right down to the bottom and against the sides? If so, what if one of the drains gets plugged?....

[FRporsche]

Shikzachaser:

Absolutely excellent! I've been planning to do the AC controls just like you. I'd get a smaller knob too. But it's such a waste of limited console space the way it comes! I'm planning something for that retarded center speaker in the dashboard as well.

I'm of the school of thought that a sound system should only have 2 speakers. Also, I always knocked my feet against speakers that stuck out like that, but it was my mom's car so I couldn't do anything. When I get another 944, I plan on putting the speakers (5.25") in the map holders, since that works well in 968s.

[shikzachaser]

I useed the center speaker location for the radar detector speaker. I also hooked the output of the radar detector up to the phone mute on the radio. When the detector is on it will mute the stereo and send the alarm through the center speaker. I bought an extra little switch for the center console where the mirror selector is that I use to power up the detector. I put a third little switch there that will turn on the reverse lights when the ignition is on. I put in higher wattage reverse lights and it works great at night when some ahole comes up behind you with their brights on, You flip on the white lights in the back and it's right in their eyes. I did the same thing on our boat except that I use the depth finder to trigger the radio mute.

Steve

[shikzachaser]

Tezme:

Just curious but aren't some of your pictures from a 928?
The second and third ones? I have never seen a 944 that looked like that. The later 928 (1985 on) came w/ component speakers in the back from Porsche that were mounted on the outside of the panel. The first picture looks like it's from a 924 as it is an early car w/ no factory 4X6 and also has the script Turbo on the panel. I could be wrong. The panels are interchangeable from 924-944 on early (pre 85 1/2 944s) but Porsche never produced a 944 turbo for the US market until 1986 when they changed the interior.

Steve

[shikzachaser]

It has MSDS ceramic headers w/ a tiny aftermarket cat. Definately sounds good. I just put the Ford MAF system on yesterday. It still needs to be tuned w/ a wide band O2 sensor on a dyno to optomize the hot wire intake setup.

Steve

[AA_Ezra]

I got a few pics up, dunno where i put the originals so these will have to do. It was acutaly a fun project. And i'll probly make another set for a 3-way sytem. ( asuming i can find an upgrade to the stock alternator). All in all i was happy with the results one of the panels did curve a lil too much when i added extra resin to the fleece. Oh well it happens

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/569369/6

[Ericd94]

I helped do a build on my Uncle’s 1983 944. We did a 4” component set by Helix, Alpine cde149bt, alpine 4 channel amp, and pioneer 8” subwoofer attached to rear seat. Bass knob and USB port installed behind shifter. I made speaker adapters and wrapped them in a black vinyl similar to the interior door panels.

[PHillary]

Here is my setup on my 87 944S