Disco BASSSSS rear door speaker sub upgrade :-)

This may be of interest to some...

i upgraded the 4 internal speakers to apines last week, a very nice crisp clear sound

also got some 6.5" alpine speakers and put them in the rear door unit,and the sound wasnt good at all, they were 2 way, but i realised only bass goes through,so took them back and ordered 2 of these for £29 inc delivery...

125w RMS subwoofer cones 6.5"

1 x WOOFER 6.5" SPEAKER 250W WITH KEVLAR CONE 902.423 on eBay (end time 04-Feb-11 15:54:33 GMT)

they came today,and was totaly gutted the backs were way too big to fit in the door, and would of need cutting of the metal, so sat there a bit gutted i thought i wonder what they sound like, and started to wonder,i also had a complete spare unit and casing so had nothing to loose and started fiddling...

the amp screwed straight across the back of 1 of the holes with no need to modify at all so screwd the speakers in the wrong way





and i tested the sound--AMAZING !!! a hell of a difference form how it was, sat in the front and was all smiles and yessssssssssssss, it sounded brilliant for what it was and a very nice bass for the size of the subs, a proper bass, and worked lovely with the standard head unit and the alpines, im not sure if having them the other way round sort of uses the rear door as a "box" to amplify the sound or anything, but it sounds fantastic, sat in the front listening...youd think there was a sub box in there, and it fills the bass and sound out with great effect around the whole car, very happy with it !!

i thought you know what im gonna keep them in there

so got a hacksaw out...



cut up the spare mesh cover i had just to tidy it a little bit



sticks out maybe 3 inches, not a great deal, may further see what i can come up with in terms of casing it up proeprly somehow

Looks good without the box and mesh fitted IMO..... Did you just connect them to the original wiring or did you fit an amp?

Vex918 said:

Looks good without the box and mesh fitted IMO..... Did you just connect them to the original wiring or did you fit an amp?

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it covers the wires and connectors tho and a bit of a shield against being lent on, although theres room to further tinker and improve it all , need some proper connectors for the wiring anyway and just wrapped them together and taped them just a "get it working" thing

yes theres an amp thats already fitted as standard, it connects to the back of the speakers , but ive screwed it in over the front of one for now, going across the hole in front of the speaker, as it fitted perfectly, yes with original wiring !! all ive spent out is £100 , thats for 4xalpine speakers and 2 subs, plus £10 for the complete spare speaker unit/housing/amp , i took a punt on that was not tested, and it worked !!! the one i had in there wasnt working , so got the standard land rover head unit still,and its all sounding exellent for a ton

im just wondering...if the sound from these subs is a lot bigger/better than that of smaller ones that fit in the holes , or if its better

but very happy with the sound for sure

next job to get the multi changer out n see if i can get that working

looks good, I bet they're loud, I couldn't have anything like that in mine as the missues is aways telling me to turn it down

You could try reversing the polarity now the subs are facing the wrong way.

Looks well, I'd just be worried about damaging them when the boot is loaded.

Thanks for the info.... nice job :clap2:.... I may just have to copy you

PeteMoore said:

You could try reversing the polarity now the subs are facing the wrong way.

Looks well, I'd just be worried about damaging them when the boot is loaded.

Click to expand...

how do i do that ?? although does it really matter what way they are facing ? from what i gather when installed subs before, front facing gives a more punchy type sound, and rear facing gives a deeper sound , either way it sounds good, and maybe helped with the hole/cavity in the door being used as an enclosure type of thing maybe/filling the bass out around the whole rear, god knows im hardly an expert, but for £30 and hr tinkering,the sound is excellent !

im not a big user of the boot on a daily basis, just for the odd time i do have to have stuff in, but thats somethng i want to addres, see the screws that hold the mesh on..im thinking maybe some sort of custom thing that coveres the speakers and screws in to them, or maybe some sort of custom "bull bar" type things- metal of some sort n shape shaped n screwed in,that protects them, open to suggestions and ideas ??

Vex918 said:

Thanks for the info.... nice job :clap2:.... I may just have to copy you

Click to expand...

get it done mate, sub box sound without the box n aggro/space taking up

so long as you have the wiring there and your amp works,your away

let me know if you do it

Good installation but the sound is pushed into the door cavity, have look at this link for info Subwoofer Enclosures

polsta said:

This may be of interest to some...

i upgraded the 4 internal speakers to apines last week, a very nice crisp clear sound

also got some 6.5" alpine speakers and put them in the rear door unit,and the sound wasnt good at all, they were 2 way, but i realised only bass goes through,so took them back and ordered 2 of these for £29 inc delivery...

125w RMS subwoofer cones 6.5"

1 x WOOFER 6.5" SPEAKER 250W WITH KEVLAR CONE 902.423 on eBay (end time 04-Feb-11 15:54:33 GMT)

they came today,and was totaly gutted the backs were way too big to fit in the door, and would of need cutting of the metal, so sat there a bit gutted i thought i wonder what they sound like, and started to wonder,i also had a complete spare unit and casing so had nothing to loose and started fiddling...

the amp screwed straight across the back of 1 of the holes with no need to modify at all so screwd the speakers in the wrong way





and i tested the sound--AMAZING !!! a hell of a difference form how it was, sat in the front and was all smiles and yessssssssssssss, it sounded brilliant for what it was and a very nice bass for the size of the subs, a proper bass, and worked lovely with the standard head unit and the alpines, im not sure if having them the other way round sort of uses the rear door as a "box" to amplify the sound or anything, but it sounds fantastic, sat in the front listening...youd think there was a sub box in there, and it fills the bass and sound out with great effect around the whole car, very happy with it !!

i thought you know what im gonna keep them in there

so got a hacksaw out...



cut up the spare mesh cover i had just to tidy it a little bit



sticks out maybe 3 inches, not a great deal, may further see what i can come up with in terms of casing it up proeprly somehow

Click to expand...

This is a great thread but I have just one question - you said that you bought 2 of these speakers for £29 inc p&p, but using your link they are nearly £20 apiece. Have I misunderstood?

thebiglad said:

This is a great thread but I have just one question - you said that you bought 2 of these speakers for £29 inc p&p, but using your link they are nearly £20 apiece. Have I misunderstood?

Click to expand...

Try this link 2 x WOOFER 6.5" SPEAKERS 250W WITH KEVLAR CONE 902.423 on eBay (end time 23-Jan-11 16:25:36 GMT)

Don't reverse the polarity, the cones should punch into the box on a beat.

Reversing the subs gives a different sound, also rememeber with the mags out you have a greater enclosure volume, which can help with increasing the audible bass.

Looks like a good install mate

Need to make up some protection for them though!

discool said:

Good installation but the sound is pushed into the door cavity, have look at this link for info Subwoofer Enclosures

Click to expand...

whole point is mate,...i dont want to have a sub box taking up boot space, or much modifying, this is simple and realy improves a standard system with not much aggro and gives a great sound

maybe the sound going in to the rear door cavity is what gives it a nice sound as it uses it a bit like a sub box maybe

thebiglad said:

This is a great thread but I have just one question - you said that you bought 2 of these speakers for £29 inc p&p, but using your link they are nearly £20 apiece. Have I misunderstood?

Click to expand...

look at sellers other items, 2 for £29 inc delivery, they are quite heavy 2kg each sub, so not a bad deal at all

Mr Noisy said:

Don't reverse the polarity, the cones should punch into the box on a beat.

Reversing the subs gives a different sound, also rememeber with the mags out you have a greater enclosure volume, which can help with increasing the audible bass.

Looks like a good install mate

Need to make up some protection for them though!

Click to expand...

cheers mate

any idea of what sort of protection ? mate said last night maybe make it out of some sort of cage and screw in where the mesh is screwed in ?

Right I'm going to order my pair of subs today, but I'm thinking that if I can create some kind of spacer or frame to go between the door and the plastic speaker box, I could have the subs facing outwards.

Don't know for sure, I'll have a play when they arrive.

Excellent thread and idea.

I know my original subs are shot so I am thinking about doing this sort of thing. Can anyone recommend an amp to go with these speakers, just incase the orginal doesn't work?

thebiglad said:

Right I'm going to order my pair of subs today, but I'm thinking that if I can create some kind of spacer or frame to go between the door and the plastic speaker box, I could have the subs facing outwards.

Don't know for sure, I'll have a play when they arrive.

Excellent thread and idea.

Click to expand...

let me know how you get on mate, this is the mk1 version, so theres plenty of room to improve it

had the idea of a spacer type thing-but its then how to screw it all in ?

Richard Martin said:

I know my original subs are shot so I am thinking about doing this sort of thing. Can anyone recommend an amp to go with these speakers, just incase the orginal doesn't work?

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my original amp didnt work, but i got a repalcement one the same took a chance on it un tested and it worked, and works superbly with the mentioned subs

also ...with the subs facing the way i fitted them...in the hole in the door where the backs of the other subs normaly go....it means there is room for a bigger amp to be fitted nicely in that hole, you could either buy and fit a small amp same size (but id just find one from a breaker/ebay, and mesage all disco parts sellers, someone will have one)

or ,you could sourse the highest possible rms watt 6.5" subs you can find,and a bigger amp, and have a lot more sound ,in the same space, but as it is im very happy with the way it sounds

keep this thread updated lads with how you get on and ideas you have

polsta said:

whole point is mate,...i dont want to have a sub box taking up boot space, or much modifying, this is simple and realy improves a standard system with not much aggro and gives a great sound

maybe the sound going in to the rear door cavity is what gives it a nice sound as it uses it a bit like a sub box maybe

Click to expand...

Your not wrong a sub box does take up a bit of room and they are heavy aswell but then if I need my space then I just unplug the box and lift it out and then flick a switch to switch back to the original door bass speakers.

Sound is a subjective thing as every body hears sounds differently so as long as there's bass and better than the original, well done.