TKEUofM

Ok, I'm an audio freak and was looking into replacing the factory speakers. I got in touch with Crutchfield and they sent back the following email. Has some interesting facts about the front door subs and the rear deck speakers.


Hi Ryan,

Thanks for your e-mail, and for shopping the Crutchfield web site.

I will be happy to help with your question on replacing the speakers in your 2005 Mustang. According to my database, the Kenwood eXcelon KFC-X688C speakers are recommended fits for both the front doors and rear deck in the vehicle:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/P...p?i=113kfcx688

Replacing the front speakers should not be a problem. However, the factory rear speakers are subwoofers and receive only bass frequencies from the factory amplifier. If you install aftermarket speakers, the aftermarket speakers will only reproduce bass.

As for the subwoofers, our database states that the factory subwoofer is an 8-inch dual voice coil woofer, with 1.2 ohm voice coils. If you replace the factory subwoofer with an aftermarket sub with dual 4-ohm or dual 2-ohm voice coils, the output from the factory amplifier will be lower. In addition, the factory speaker has a trim ring that will probably not work on aftermarket subs resulting in fairly poor cosmetics. I'm sorry I don't have better news for you there.

The depth in the factory subwoofer location is just over 3 1/2 inches and the magnet diameter is limited to 3-3/4 inches. All our 8-inch woofers require more depth to install. The only exceptions are the Kicker SSMB8 midbass speakers:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/P...sp?i=2064ssmb8

However, these are single voice coil woofers, and the factory system has dual voice coil woofers. We don't have any 8-inch dual voice coil woofers. If you want to replace the factory woofers, I suggest you consult a professional installer.

You will need to remove the car door panels in order to access the front speaker locations. To make this easier, I recommend using a door panel removal tool, which you will find on our web site at:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/P...asp?i=18187650

When you’re ready to make a purchase, just visit our web site at www.crutchfield.com. Virtually all in stock items, unless otherwise noted, are delivered to all 50 states in 2-3 business days.

Thanks again for your e-mail. Please let me know whenever you need anything else!


Happy Holidays!

Ann

Crutchfield Product Advisor

WBstangGT

but if you replace the rear speakers with a new amp, take out the factory amp with the factory speakers, you should be good to go right?

SurfnSoCal

yeah. and the 8" woofers aren't in the REAR...they are in the doors. wtf? am I missing something? Does the Shaker 500 have rear subs as well? And I thouht the front 8" woofers were woofers....not subs.....

TKEUofM

Correct, the 8" speakers are in the front door along with a 5x7 / 6x8. The rear deck has another set of 5x7 / 6x8 speakers.

I have no idea why they would be set up to receive bass only, doesn't make any sense to me. I want to replace all the speakers but it looks like the 8" in the front door may give some problems.

Also subs vs woofers may just be a regional dialect difference. In the Detroit area anything 8" or bigger is considered a "sub".

I don't want to replace the factory head unit because I love the 6-disc MP3 player.

I'm checking to see if there is a way to re-wire/re-program the head unit to get a full signal to the rear deck speakers. My dad is a F-Series prototype manager at Ford and has connections in the Mustang department.

I'll let you know if I am able to dig something up.

SurfnSoCal

someone put Jl 8w0's up front and wired them to work. he had to have custome fiberglass enclosures made though.

Darn...I want to still use those 8" woofers in the doors when I replace everything.....grrrrr.....I planned to hook them up to a 4 channel amp along with a set of components in the doors down the line...

steve19970

That was me. I have 8W0's in the front, but you're right...they had to do some fiberglass work to make the magnets fit (the Shaker's magnets are tiny). However, I also got a new amp (and head unit), so my setup was significantly different.

Here's the topic where my pics are...I got grilles on the subs since then (they had to order them).

here

SurfnSoCal

Hey Steve, how much fiberglass was needed? Could it be done with wood or some other material inserts? thanks!!

steve19970

Unfortunately I don't know....all of the work was done while I was at work, and I didn't get to see much of it. If you want, you could get in touch with Richie at Car Toys 720 981-0300. He was the installer and could probably give you further insight.

Eric B

You may want to read the other topic about the Shaker door woofers and their enclose. Visteon proudly stated that the impedance of the shaker speaker components has been greatly reduced to suffice with lower power amps. The Shaker is a typical example of a custom tuned keep costs down to a minimum setup that is completely INcompatible with aftermarket speakers or amps. If you just replace the speakers you will probably end up with very low sound levels, as the amps will not be able to drive them properly. Replace just the amps and you'll blow the factory speakers. So when you want to change anything you will at least have to change amps and speakers all together. If you want to keep the headunit you will first have to find out how to extract a decent line signal out of it, since it has no cinch connectors like a normal aftermarket unit does.

Moral of this story... Shaker: either don't mess with it or replace the whole system: headunit, amps and speakers like Steve had done.

SurfnSoCal

yeah, thats what I am doing bro. thanks.

Maverstang

Actually it gets more complicated when it comes to the door mounted subwoofers.

These are mounted in a very complicated 12 litre moulded enclosure that runs amost the full length of the door. There is another post that provides a great picture of the inside door panel from a trade magazine.

This enclosure has a second purpose, specifically it was engineered to provide the required door panel impact protection for side body injuries thus reducing parts and costs.

It's a very impressive bit of engineering which is why it was featured in the design magazine. It also means you need to think twice before considering replacement.

Any replacement speaker is likely not to fit the moulded opening/depth/contour and will probably not match well to a closed 12 litre enclosure. If you remove the enclosure the replacement woofer will shake the door components to the point where there will be plenty of buzzing and rattles. Plus you loose the safey aspect.

If you really need to go aftermarket (and I really question the need with the performance of the Shaker package) then you should either find a way to use the factory woofer/amplifier package, or put the new sub woofers somewhere else (in the back) and simply leave the factory installed door sub woofers unused where they sit.

Eric B

Well it can be done. Actually a JL Audio 8W3v2 will play perfectly in a 12 litre enclose. But like Steve already stated it's no plug and play. You will have to modify the enclose to provide enough mounting depth. Having that done though you will have one of the most advanced mid bass solutions available.

But it's indeed not your average shade tree install, that's for sure.

oatmeal

Hey steve, what was the cost of your custom install? I am looking to doing something very similar, and have no clue how much custom fiberglass work would cost.

bpmurr

Custom fiberglass and car audio = $$$$

steve19970

I don't have the invoice in front of me, but the fiberglass work only added about $40 bucks on top of the cost of the regular subwoofer install. So it was in the $150 dollar range for both subs with fiberglass work. Since I had it all done at once, I don't remember the itemized prices exactly, but that should be in the right ballpark.

blowndeadline

If you had an amp that could handle 2 ohms you could wire the door subs in series, 2.4 ohms total which would be safe for the subs and amp. You might lose a tiny bit of output but not that noticeable. If you plan on adding a sub in the trunk there really isn't any reason why you couldn't just cross them over as midbass speakers, maybe between 250 -500. Just an idea! Good luck with the install!

karman

Good info but...
OR MAYBE 2004 ??
As a new member, you now know it is a good idea to check post dates.

blowndeadline

or, you could just screw yourself, either way we both are happy

karman

You appear to have some trouble with a good-natured ribbing.
My apologies as no slight was intended.

blowndeadline

alls good, didn't even notice the date