QuestionQUESTION: My factory speakers were sounding rather ragged, bottomed out bass rattling all over the place. Front speakers sound ok. So, I decided to replace the rear ones with Eclipse SE8495 6x9s thinking that it would be a relatively easy install. I didn't really look at the original speakers, so I didn't notice that they just sit under the rear deck and there doesn't even seem to be a hole cut out of the 1/8" particle board for them. I'm wondering if that's going to interfere with the sound that I get from the new speakers.
I also need a little guidance to get that deck off so I can get at the speakers and I have absolutely no idea how to connect them. The original speakers seem to have this weird sort of plug on the one side of the speaker and then two wires on the other side of the speaker. The new speakers just have these two tabs that look like you connect the wire to and they did come with their own wire (lots of it) so I'm not sure I know what to do now. I looked these speakers up on Crutchfield and it said they are compatible with my car. I have never installed speakers before but I'm pretty sure I can do this with a little guidance. Any advice is welcome!
Thanks!
Val
ANSWER: This will be a great upgrade, Val. If you remove the existing speakers, you will notice that the rear deck above the speakers is actually perforated and covered in acoustically transparent material. Unless the factory speakers are top loaded (most of the GM's are bottom loaded) you should not have to remove the rear deck to get the speakers in. If you decide you want to take it out anyway, you'll need to let me know if you have the 60/40 split rear seat or the fixed rear seat before I can tell you how to get them out.
After removing the factory rear speakers, I usually crawl into the trunk, carefully line up the new 6x9 under the factory hole and mark the 4 screw holes with an awl. Then carefully drill 4 - 1/8" holes where you've made the marks and repeat the process for the other speaker. Be careful not to drill up through the rear deck cover and be EXTRA careful you don't drill into the rear window edge.. (don't laugh, I watched one of my installers do this once... It was a $400 touch to replace the window, made a big mess, and I was the one that had to sheepishly explain what happened to the rather annoyed customer..)
Once both speakers are mounted, I cut the factory GM speaker ends off and solder the connections directly to the speaker as this is the most reliable connection method. (check your Eclipse speaker manual.. there are a few speaker manufactures out there who say soldering on speaker leads may void warranty.. make sure Eclipse isn't one of them.. if there is any doubt, call the store that sold them to you to confirm.)
The color coding should be standard GM, Left rear - is yellow, left rear + is brown, right rear - is light blue, right rear + is dark blue.
Good luck!
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QUESTION: WOW, thanks! That's a lot of info. They are top load speakers and the whole seat folds down.
I'll look at the instructions about the wires. Maybe what I could do is solder the ends of the wire that came with the speaker to the existing wire? I bought the speakers on eBay but I'm sure they'll answer questions so I'll ask them if it's unclear.
Believe me, I wouldn't laugh about drilling into the window. It's exactly the sort of silly nonsense that can be expected of a geek like me.
What about foam baffles? Will that help improve my sound? Will these speakers actually be louder than the original ones or will I need some kind of amplifier?
AnswerThe seat comes out in two steps, first if you run your hands under the front edge of back seat, there are two bolts that are holding it in...remove those bolts and slightly tilt the seat up at the front while pulling forward.. it should come out with little persuasion. The back part of the seat is a bit more tricky.. the bolts that hold that in are likely also the bolts that are holding the outside seatbelts in place. They are a large torx drive and will be a bit nasty to get out (I use a short extension and an impact wrench for this 'cause I'm too lazy to do it manually) The once the bolts are cleared, you will have to push the seat straight up and then pull out... there are several "hooks" that hold the seat top in and you will have to clear those hooks before it will come out clean... the flip down seats can be on the heavy side so save your paint job and have someone help you remove it from the car. (I am a big, strapping fellow and I still have someone help me with that... cheaper than a new paint job) Once the seat is cleared you will see you can lift up the rear deck in the middle to clear it from the sides. Careful here... don't break it.
It would be okay to solder on the wires that came with the speakers... the little slide on connectors that come with the speakers aren't the best way to hook up, but they will definitely work for you.
Don't bother with the foam baffles, they will actually degrade the sound in this application.. the Eclipse speakers are designed to hang in a big open area like a trunk. They will sound just fine without any foam.
I don't have the specs on those Eclipse speakers but I'm fairly confident you will be quite pleased with the sound improvement from the factory speakers. An amplifier is always a good idea if you are planning to crank this thing up a lot. The real trick is to PAY ATTENTION to how loud you crank it. If you are cranking to the point of distortion often, then you should step up and get some more power. Nothing will KILL a speaker faster than distortion. (yes, you can easily "blow up" a 250 watt 6x9 with measly 22w deck power.. it's all about CLEAN power)
Let me know how it sounds when you're all done!!!
