Front speaker location?

[Senna27]

Where did you mounted your front speakers, other than in the doors? I'm replacing my my door panels and don't want to cut holes in them but I still want front speakers. Attach pics if you can.

Also what size speakers did you mount?

Thanks...

[Timmer]

On all of the 2002's I've owned that have had front speakers, and those that did, had them put in by a prior owner, they were under the dash area, typical spot for 2002's and they looked to be 5 1/4 " or 6" speakers or in that range.

Tim

'69 2000

[SteveJ]

I got two extra underdash panels that had already been cut for speakers. My uncut panels went into plastic bags and into storage. I used some Pioneer 4" 2-way speakers and covered them with E30 basic black wire mesh 4" speaker grilles. I cut out a sheet of 1/16" ABS plastic to use as a backing plate sandwiched inbetween the speaker and the underdash panel. Once all the screws were in place, it ended up being pretty stable.

The big thing is that unless you get down and look up under the dash, you would never see the speaker grills.

I thought I would loose all the highs as the speakers are pointed down. For the audiophiles out there, I'm sure I do loose a lot of the highs, but for my poor ears, I hear a lot of the mids and highs just pouring through the dash and vents.

There is a serious lack of lows(even by my poor standards), so I think I will get a 6x9 to put under the rear seat and just let the magnet hold it in place.

Myself, I was fine with the single speaker and AM/FM radio, but to entice my wife for the longer drives, the CD player was a must. Now I just need to redo the front seats and replace the seatbelts and she will be happy(ier).

[John_in_VA]

from Robert Hartman. Hopefully you can see them at his site. These are fiberglass (covered with vinyl), built out to accomodate speaker depth. Keeps the door panels unmolested!

http://web.archive.org/web/20040926025857/http://www.rccarcrafters.com/

[SteveJ]

Yes, the speakers from a 1980's vintage 533/535 are more shallow and use a rectangular grille. Marshall at Double 02 Salvage has them in the kick panels of his 02. Looks really good. I just needed something "invisible".

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions... I'll be installing new door panels and I don't want to cut holes in them!

[Benzito]

Either do what John in VA did with the fiberglass-type mount or just cut a hole in the kick panel. You can easily fit a 4" round in the space about one inch forward of the door jamb and about one inch higher than the ridge to the door sill. Good news - if you change your mind later, you can JB Weld a patch over it and cover it with new carpet and no one will ever know. A lot better than trying to hide a hole in the door panel!

Mike (in Portland)

[Inka02]

I had 4x6 put into the kicks with a BMW E21 style grill. Looks Factory although they never did this. Put the tweeters in the dash.

[Mike Self]

speakers, then took a couple of scrap pieces of 2x8, cut 'em out with a bandsaw to match the speaker covers, glued black vinyl over 'em, and surface mounted them. When removed they leave nearly invisible holes in the carpet. Just be sure and mount the left side one so it'll clear the hood release handle...

Kick panel mounts provide much better sound than speakers mounted in the cardboard underdash panels.

mike

[Mike A]

4" round speakers fit nicely in the factory hole. Seems strange the factory didn't utilize it for that purpose

[SydneyTii]

On 2/14/2006 at 8:34 AM, Senna27 said:

Where did you mounted your front speakers, other than in the doors? I'm replacing my my door panels and don't want to cut holes in them but I still want front speakers. Attach pics if you can.

Also what size speakers did you mount?

Thanks...

Damn I wish I could get the code to my e30 radio!

like the look in your console.

[SydneyTii]

13 minutes ago, Mike A said:

4" round speakers fit nicely in the factory hole. Seems strange the factory didn't utilize it for that purpose

I assume with a little careful metallurgy and or an offset spacer you could fit 6” speakers in the same place, after all it’s a fairly good spot and with new carpet you could cover the area if you change your mind.

[TG2k2]

Forrest makes a nice under dash set for speakers. A little pricey but probably costs about the same amount as replacing your old panels at this point!

http://www.kooglewerks.com/products/bmw-2002-speaker-pod-under-dash-panels

[Mike A]

56 minutes ago, SydneyTii said:

I assume with a little careful metallurgy and or an offset spacer you could fit 6” speakers in the same place, after all it’s a fairly good spot and with new carpet you could cover the area if you change your mind.

I placed a 6" speaker over the hole but it overlapped the carpet binding and door seal

[adawil2002]

Made lower dash panels out of aluminum to hold the 4"Rockford Fosgates.