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How to install component speakers into a Golf.

Fhrx

New member
Location
Sydney
Hey there everyone,

If you’re a member of other car forums you might have seen our ‘how to’ threads regarding component speaker installation. Apparently a few of the members here certainly have because I’ve received quite a few emails recently asking if I could do one up here on installing three way component sets into the Golf. So without further ado; this is how to install components into Golf doors.

Step one: Take one original door complete from factory. Remove any residue left on the door in preparation for sound deadening.



Step two: Apply sound deadening to outer skin (although in the photo you can only see the deadening through the midbass hole you do need to do the entire outer skin – this often necessitates the removal of the inner / outer door skin and / or window mech entirely).



Step three: Add diffuser panels behind the midbass drivers. Your midranges in the top of the door will also require diffusers if they’re not sealed units (many smaller 2” & 3” midrange drivers are sealed units).



Step four: Attach aftermarket cables onto the three factory speaker wire pairs. The factory wires are a large enough gauge to handle up to around 100 watts continuous. Any more power than this and you’ll need to run new larger cable runs through into the doors. We tend to solder the aftermarket cables on about four inches back from where the plug would sit. This way when you sell the car you simply de-solder the aftermarket cables and solder the factory plugs right back in. Once soldered they should be heat shrunk, not taped! We also put a plug on the midrange driver too so the door trim can be removed if need be.





Step five: Make the baffles. These take a similar shape to the factory ones so they can screw into the factory screw holes (thus avoiding damaging the door). They're usually constructed from MDF but we've made them from perspex or even 6061 alloy depending on application. If they are MDF then they should be painted with polyester resin to avoid absorbing water. The midbass one will obviously be much thicker than the midrange one.





Step six: Sound deaden inner skin and remove all air bubbles. Make sure you leave enough clearance for door handle and lock control rods to move freely. Also leave a little deadening around the top of the speaker hole to act as a 'roof' against water when it rains.

 
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Fhrx

New member
Location
Sydney
Step seven: Screw the midbass baffle onto the door and seal it with gap filler against the sound deadening. We usually use netserts in the large holes left when the rivets are taken out. These inserts basically sit in the hole and provide a thread to bolt into.



Make sure you also install a gasket between the midbass driver and the spacers because air leaks out here (ever tried to run your car without a head gasket)?



Step eight: Screw the midrange baffles onto the door skin and seal them with foam against the plastic. Again make sure you install a gasket between the midrange driver and the spacers because air will leak through.



Step nine: When it comes to the tweeters we employ a silastic sealant to hold it in place. We do this to save damaging the factory tweeter cover. Remember the tweeter doesn’t actually vibrate that much so this is fastening method is more than acceptable. We also attach some foam to the rear of the tweeter and this is sandwiched between it and the door resisting vibration when in operation.



Step ten: Solder all the trimmed speaker wires onto the various speakers. Don't use crimp terminals because their two best traits are falling off and creating resistance.



Step eleven: Heat shrink around the terminals to protect them. Unlike electrical tape, heat shrink will not begin moving after a couple of months.



Step twelve: Sit back and enjoy your new found midbass. This is what the door looks like when complete:



So there you have it; Golf doors with components installed. Using this method you have about 80mm of mounting depth on the midbass and 40mm depth on the midrange (using varying thicknesses of baffle). If you go any deeper than that your speaker might impact the door trim during large excursions or the window at the rear end.
 
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Fhrx

New member
Location
Sydney
If you want to further enhance your listening experience (staging and imaging wise) then you'll probably want to make a set of a-pillars to mount your tweeters and and midranges on like this:





If you wish to read more about what sound deadening, diffuser panels and sealing does click here and click here.

If you wish to find out more about staging, imaging and how our ears relate to them both click here and click here.

I hope that helps you guys out.
 

Maverick

Go Kart Champion
Location
Brisbane
Top work! I love the A Pillars.

With the sound deadening on the outer door skins why don't you just remove the outer door skin? Would save having to remove other parts wouldn't it?
 

SR32

Ready to race!
Location
St Kilda, Melbourne
Car(s)
MY08 R32 5Dr 6Spd
Great stuff. If this is who I think it is (Marty) then thanks mate! Great DIY.
 

benno

AU section: 1 man band
Location
Brisbane
fMarty great write up mate.

BTW I was the guy who emailed you about my flooded Audison SRx2 that was only two weeks old - Phil at RM Audio is cutting me a deal on a replacement amp :)

I might be emailing you soon with an order for some HSK 163s and dynamat do do exactly what you've posted above in my new car (again!).

Thanks
Ben
 

Guliver_TwiSt

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Sydney
very nice quality work.
If i was in the market to add aftermarket audio to my golf you would definitely get my business..
thanks for the post.
 

Fhrx

New member
Location
Sydney
With the sound deadening on the outer door skins why don't you just remove the outer door skin? Would save having to remove other parts wouldn't it?

We've actually found that on many Golfs it's quicker to remove the inner skin and window mech (as they're not that hard to re-install once you're done). With Jetta's however we tend to remove the outer skin. :)
 

G-rig

Go Kart Champion
Location
Brisbane
Awesome write up Marty, good to see you on here. That Audison Jetta looks familiar, love the pods.

I've currently got the midrange and tweeter in the standard locations but a sound processor is almost necessary if you're going to do that.
 

Fhrx

New member
Location
Sydney
I've currently got the midrange and tweeter in the standard locations but a sound processor is almost necessary if you're going to do that.

Using a processor you can get damn good sound out of the factory locations though, especially if you’re running active and can time align each individual speaker.

Speaking of sound processing, we've discovered a somewhat intriguing phenomenon in the Golfs and Jettas (but not the Boras); that is that when we RTA them to check linearity they all tend to have a massive dip at 300-350Hz. I attribute this to a combination of speaker location (especially the midbass) and the frequencies absorbed naturally by both the interior materials and us when we’re sitting in the car. Getting rid of this dip usually necessitates a decent parametric processor. That Audison Thesis demo car had a whopping +12dB @ 315Hz (with a Q of 9)! :eyebulge:
 

G-rig

Go Kart Champion
Location
Brisbane
I've had good results so far with giving a bit more power to the midbass speakers, was running semi active so that they get their own channel (and mids+tweeters share a channel). My latest project is going fully active, and the midbass will receive 250W so should do the trick (however that is with 8" drivers, it may be an overkill for 6.5").

Interesting to note the mk6 has deviated from the 3-way setup and is now a 2-way again. Would have been much easier as I think the location of the midbass is a bit challenging as far as imaging, being located a fair way back (the sound fires into your hips somewhere).
 

Fhrx

New member
Location
Sydney
Yeah I'm not sure why they don't make cars more 'stereo friendly'. Designers are not silly people and they know which speaker locations sound the best. I can't see cost being much different depending on the location either so it has me a little puzzled why they keep putting them where they do. :)
 
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