Adding rear deck speakers to base system. Help

Dan Ro

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I have the base Alpine system and would like to add speakers in the rear deck. I know some cars are wired for all options but just don't have them installed but I don't see wires tucked away in there just waiting to be hooked up to. So I am assuming the not all LS's have the wires already in there for the rear speakers. What do I need to wire into to pull this off? Does my harness have wires meant for those speakers waiting to be tapped into at all?

And I most definitely did a search and combed all the stereo install threads but couldn't find an answer.

Thank You in advance
 
Are you talking about adding rear subs? That's what the factory had in the rear deck, never full range speakers. You may or may not have the wiring. It you do, it runs to where the sub amp would be under the deck, not to where the subs would be. You'll also have to buy an amp for the subs and add that.
 
I have a set of factory subs and an amp for sale if you are interested. The factory subs sound very good considering they are factory.
 
I was considering component speakers. Maybe 6 1/2's and tweeters maybe in the pillars. What do you guys think? Or would it be better to do what they did stock with little subs in there?
 
I was considering component speakers. Maybe 6 1/2's and tweeters maybe in the pillars. What do you guys think? Or would it be better to do what they did stock with little subs in there?

well it depends on what you think will make it "sound better" to you.

adding subs will give you much deeper lows for fuller sound to what you have now.

adding 6.5" comps will not give you any more bass that what you have. they will give you much more definition to the mids and highs for anyone in the back seat. this doesn't really help the driver much as with the way your ears are shaped, the front speakers are so much more of what you hear.


in my opinion, for the best sound you should start with a great set of front speakers (quality components would be my choice) add some type of sub system to be able to get rich full sound that the factory door speakers cant handle. either by adding the OEM setup or a single real sub and amp.

if you go with the OEM setup, then replace the rears with a god quality coaxle. if you go with a true sub, remove the rear speakers from the door, reroute the sp wire to the OEM location, and install good speakers there instead.




in the end, you need to figure out what about the sound you have now do you not like, and what you need to get the kind of experience you are looking for. I cant tell you how many times i have had a customer disappointed after replacing just their speakers because they expected a lot more bass to come from them which just cant happen. and even though they thought they didn't want a subwoofer system, a small single sub made the exact change they were looking for.
 
yes, after you replace your radio with an aftermarket pioneer, it will have the outputs you need to hook up those two amps.

the alpine is a quality amp and will do a great job driving all of the door speakers.

you probably could use the kenwood to drive a pair of 6x9 woofers (if you can find them) or possibly even a pair of OEM's if set conservatively.

although, i would look for a deal on a matching alpine mono, around 500w RMS and a good sub to match for the best sound.
 
same here,
how do i remove the back deck?
and how would i drill the 6x9s in since the rear windshield?
 
same here,
how do i remove the back deck?
and how would i drill the 6x9s in since the rear windshield?

I think that we can install the screws up from the bottom as long as they aren't super long. I could be wrong though because I haven't attempted this yet.
 
To get to the factory deck speakers you have to remove the rear deck cover. IIRC you have to lay the seats down and remove the end pieces of the back seat rest. Then you can get to the screws holding the subs in. 7mm hex head IIRC.
 
Don't ask how I know, but you don't have to remove the rear deck cover....I was able to get my fingers in there to get the nuts/bolts all tightened up.

I put in the complete factory sub box, not just the speakers.

I don't recommend it.
 
Don't ask how I know, but you don't have to remove the rear deck cover....I was able to get my fingers in there to get the nuts/bolts all tightened up.

I put in the complete factory sub box, not just the speakers.

I don't recommend it.

Which part of what you said do you not recommend?
 
personally, i would mount them from the bottom if you didnt have to take the rear apart to remove subs.

that way, if they ever go bad or you want to change them out, you can do it right from the trunk.


to remove the rear deck, you start with the bottom cushion for the seat, there is a latch under the center of each side
then you need to pull the two end of the rear seat out, the top is held by a lever that need to either be slid up or down and a bolt at the bottom.
then remove the C pillars by pulling toward the center of the car.
then you can remove the rear deck.
 
personally, i would mount them from the bottom if you didnt have to take the rear apart to remove subs.

that way, if they ever go bad or you want to change them out, you can do it right from the trunk.


to remove the rear deck, you start with the bottom cushion for the seat, there is a latch under the center of each side
then you need to pull the two end of the rear seat out, the top is held by a lever that need to either be slid up or down and a bolt at the bottom.
then remove the C pillars by pulling toward the center of the car.
then you can remove the rear deck.

sounds like a pain but i will do it:)
you mean like put the speaker in the whole and drill the nut from the bottom to the top?
 
you mean like put the speaker in the whole and drill the nut from the bottom to the top?

i always recommend putting the whole speaker in, its kinda hard to assemble a speaker after it has been mounted into the hole... lol

no, I mean hold the speaker up from the bottom, then screw up into the rear deck to hold the speaker up from the bottom* **



* not all speakers should be mounted from the bottom, some have a spacer to keep the cone and surround from getting damaged

** be smart about how long of screws you use when doing this, hell, you may even be able to use the factory screw if the spacer on the speaker is not crazy deep.
 
no, I mean hold the speaker up from the bottom, then screw up into the rear deck to hold the speaker up from the bottom* **

I tried that. The rear deck material is thick enough to block the sound. I ended up cutting holes in the rear deck, dropping in the speakers, mounting them to the metal and covering the hole with fabric I got at an auto upholstery place. There wasn't enough room to mount the speaker grilles.
 
i always recommend putting the whole speaker in, its kinda hard to assemble a speaker after it has been mounted into the hole... lol

no, I mean hold the speaker up from the bottom, then screw up into the rear deck to hold the speaker up from the bottom* **



* not all speakers should be mounted from the bottom, some have a spacer to keep the cone and surround from getting damaged

** be smart about how long of screws you use when doing this, hell, you may even be able to use the factory screw if the spacer on the speaker is not crazy deep.


ima go ahead and try and put in the speaker from the top , need space for my subs.
ima mount 6x8 infinity ref with an adapter for the 6x9
 
if you have a 6x8, you might as well mount it in the door where it fits and then have even more room for the sub box to fit.
 
if you have a 6x8, you might as well mount it in the door where it fits and then have even more room for the sub box to fit.

i have 6.5 kappa components on all for doors
i just figured since i have these gathering dust might aswell put em in
 
Haven't been on in forever but saw your thread and figured I might be of some assistance because I have done this. Check out my old thread of some progress..http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=80211

I didn't provide new/finished/updated pics, but I currently have 2 6x8 speakers in the rear deck (mounted from the top and a smaller pioneer amp powering them (mounted upside down on the rear deck where the old stock amp used to be). I ran all the wires through the "channel" and it's a super clean install. It was my first full stereo install and I will say I was pretty damn proud of myself. It was a bit of a pain to mount the amp there and took some maneuvering and work, but it has been there for about a year and I've had no problems. If you want more pics or have questions, let me know.
 
i have 6.5 kappa components on all for doors
i just figured since i have these gathering dust might aswell put em in

i just dont see the point of adding more lower quality speakers to what you already have. if you have kappa's in the doors, i wouldn't expect to get much better sound out of adding them, since they are still full range speakers, your not going to get any deeper lows, and because of their placement, they will drown out the higher quality speakers in the oem location, if you want to better hear the rear speakers, you should just move the comps up to that location.

i also have a lot of extra equipment laying around, i dont bother putting them in anything because all the other cars already have better stuff in them and it wouldn't improve anything.

more doesn't always equal better, and more can actually equal less...
 

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