Hello!
Quick question, want to upgrade my front speakers to something like this..

I want to show off the speaker's looks (the right one). Can I leave the
factory speaker grill off or will it leave an unsightly gap? Any potential
problems? Front speakers are 6-3/4", will installing 6.5" cause any problems?

Thanks for the quick advice... replaced my bose with a kenwood DNX7100

 

Keep your door panels as they are. Your going to need a spacer for the fronts. I just did an install and used a 1" Metra plastic spacer. I trimmed the door panel to get an almost flush fit.

 

one would wonder (me) how you got the panels off

 

I say leave it alone I think that will look awful, but that is my opinion you do what you gotta do

 

Hmm... well anyone have pics? I dont want to do it if it looks like ****.
Thanks for the info all!
Easein2itG, will most all shops have these spacers in stock? Is this somewhat of a custom job?

 

I'm sure there is a DIY on the door panel removal that will illustrate it but you have three screws to remove and the rest are normal door retainers.
1. remove the square plastic cover located by the door handle lever and remove the screw underneath.

2. Gently pry off the plastic cap cover on your door handle and remove the two screws.

3. pull on the perimeter of the door panel to pop the retainers.

4. once the panel loose, pull up on it to free it from the door frame.

5. disconnect the wiring harness to the windows

6. disconnect the cables attached to the door handle lever.




here's a pic of a Kappa speaker with a 1" spacer

 

Spacers are common and all shops should have them.

 

Looks nice to me, are those 6-1/2"? Do you have a pic with the poor panel on?
Thanks.

Also, I want to make sure I get better speakers than stock, what kind of specs should they meet/exceed?
Thanks for your info/pics, greatly appreciated!

 

The speakers in the pic are Infinity Kappa Perfects 6.1 and they are a 6.5" component speaker. They are a 4 ohm speaker but you can get the regular Kappa speaker in 2 ohm. Almost anything you get will be better than what is in there but you should consider an amp.

 

with the door panel, mine looks exactly like yours.

 

OP, you state that you replaced the Bose with the DDX7100, but are you still using the Bose amp with it? If so, you need 2 ohm speakers.

I don't recall if the stock grille separates from the door panel. You can pull the panel off and look. Unless you're going for a custom interior or a show car, you might want to leave the stock grille on.

 

Sean, I think you're right and I looked at that when I had the panels off. The OEM grille is molded into the door panel so it would have to be cut out. Much better to leave as is.

 

All questions answered. Thanks guys!