Help with modifying vz factory stereo

[300kwsv8]

Hey all, I am wantin a couple of pointers please as i am unsure of a few things. I am currently do my sound system up in my vz sv8, I replaced my back factory speakers with 6inch 2-way 160W pioneers and im now lookin at puttin 6x9s in the parcel tray. I still runnin my factory headunit (which I wanna keep due to use of steering wheel controls) Now my Questions are

1- With the help of a hi/lo convertor(tapped into fronts) I have purchased do I run the RCAs to a 4ch amp and then it runs the 6x9s and the fronts( which are still factory but have heard they run good of a amp) and then just run the back doors off the headunit?.

2- What power amp should I look at? as I will replace fronts in the future aswell.

3- What is the best 6x9s to look at for bass output ie 2way 3way etc?


And yes I know about Phreddys mod but being in NZ makes that abit hard especially wit funds and sendin headunit over etc.

Thanks for any help all

[Luke0011]

You can do that yes, as long as its a 4 channel converter, and most speakers will sound better of an amplifier. I would personall not bother with running the rear door speakers, but since you have already installed some new ones, then may as well see how they sound with the 6x9's. YOu can always disconnect them if you want.
any amp that is rated at 50 wrms per channell will be enough

2 way and 3 way just refers to how many more smaller speaker ie tweeters are mounted onto the 6x9 basket. Pioneer yellow cones, alpine type r, and soundstream tarantulas all have a decent bass ouptut. price range around 200 - 300.

[danja]

I'd never recommend 6x9s in a Commodore - they just don't sound good with the acoustics of the car. Get some decent speakers in the doors and you'll have alright bass. If you want proper base you'll need a subwoofer anyway, at which point you'd be chucking those 6x9s anyway.

Put decent stuff in the doors, and if you're not happy look into subs. 6x9s complete waste of money in these cars IMO.

[Luke0011]

i wouldnt say they are a complete waste of money. The acoustics of a vz commodore are really good. Ive installed heaps of 6x9's in these cars with great result. Personally i wouldnt have a 6x9 in my car because i believe 5inch speakers give the most natural sound, but i end up putting in 6 and a half inch to get more bass.

[300kwsv8]

You can do that yes, as long as its a 4 channel converter, and most speakers will sound better of an amplifier. I would personall not bother with running the rear door speakers, but since you have already installed some new ones, then may as well see how they sound with the 6x9's. YOu can always disconnect them if you want.
any amp that is rated at 50 wrms per channell will be enough

2 way and 3 way just refers to how many more smaller speaker ie tweeters are mounted onto the 6x9 basket. Pioneer yellow cones, alpine type r, and soundstream tarantulas all have a decent bass ouptut. price range around 200 - 300.

Cool thanks for that info

[300kwsv8]

I'd never recommend 6x9s in a Commodore - they just don't sound good with the acoustics of the car. Get some decent speakers in the doors and you'll have alright bass. If you want proper base you'll need a subwoofer anyway, at which point you'd be chucking those 6x9s anyway.

Put decent stuff in the doors, and if you're not happy look into subs. 6x9s complete waste of money in these cars IMO.

Oh ok. Do you know if there is a size sub that would fit the holes in parcel tray?

[300kwsv8]

i wouldnt say they are a complete waste of money. The acoustics of a vz commodore are really good. Ive installed heaps of 6x9's in these cars with great result. Personally i wouldnt have a 6x9 in my car because i believe 5inch speakers give the most natural sound, but i end up putting in 6 and a half inch to get more bass.

cheers for that mate

[Hropic]

Oh ok. Do you know if there is a size sub that would fit the holes in parcel tray?

Hey mate,
Standard vz calais' have two 8 inch subs in the parcel shelf!
So yes, 8 inch subs will fit. But you may need to buy the specific holder for the subs to fit into the parcel shelf...
Im not 100% about that though.

Luke

[danja]

Hey mate,
Standard vz calais' have two 8 inch subs in the parcel shelf!
So yes, 8 inch subs will fit. But you may need to buy the specific holder for the subs to fit into the parcel shelf...
Im not 100% about that though.

Are you sure? I was always under the impression the Calais "subs" were just amplified (and possibly LPF'd) 6x9s? But then again you own one so I'm happy to be corrected

i wouldnt say they are a complete waste of money. The acoustics of a vz commodore are really good. Ive installed heaps of 6x9's in these cars with great result. Personally i wouldnt have a 6x9 in my car because i believe 5inch speakers give the most natural sound, but i end up putting in 6 and a half inch to get more bass.

Well, depends on how you'd define "complete" I say I'd never recommend them because I'm a bit of an SQ nazi and I find 6x9s, especially in these cars just muddies the sound. You can get some bass out of them, but it's not as punchy in a large car, and so basically you're getting half-arsed bass and bugger all treble/mid-range (at least not in any quality). If you want quality bass, you get a sub, if you want quality mid-range/treble, you get some decent splits. 6x9s are a middle ground where you're not really getting the best of either world.

A good split setup will give enough bass for a lot of people, and good SQ to boot - it also means if down the track you want to upgrade your bass, you hook up a sub and nothing is wasted. Most people wouldn't want to run 6x9s alongside a sub though, there just isn't much point.

If you start with the doors, and still want more then you can look at 6x9s/subs, but doors are definitely the place to start.

[beaker]

Hey mate,
Standard vz calais' have two 8 inch subs in the parcel shelf!
So yes, 8 inch subs will fit. But you may need to buy the specific holder for the subs to fit into the parcel shelf...
Im not 100% about that though.

Yeah, the VX Calais is the same, mine had 2, 8 inch speakers in raised mounts on the rear parcel tray. you can get the mounts from Drury Car Parts. NZ. they had stacks of them last time i was there.

if you go for 8 inch subs using those mounts, you'll need a free air type of sub (not boxed), and a slim fit (shallow depth), i'd looked at doing the same but ran into a few problems, the subs i had needed to be boxed, and the magnet and overall depth clashed with the parcel tray.

A good split setup will give enough bass for a lot of people, and good SQ to boot - it also means if down the track you want to upgrade your bass, you hook up a sub and nothing is wasted. Most people wouldn't want to run 6x9s alongside a sub though, there just isn't much point

i agree, starting with good quality front splits is good bang for buck, and easy to add amps/subs to later.

[keewee74]

not sure what you think, but you can get some good quality 8in base drivers designed for home audio that would do the trick. morel MW266 drivers have a shallow depth and come in both 4ohm and 8ohm. these drivers have an fs of 29 hz and are designed for large! sealed boxes. they are a bit pricey though, 120 $us. The Madisound Speaker Components Store

[Phreddy]

300kwsv8 - if you're intereseted there is a somewhat less costly way to get your unit modded.... I can give you instructions on how to separate the base section from the rest of the HU and you can send just that part over. (smaller, lighter, cheaper to post, and less likelihood of the CD mechanism or facia being damaged!)

It does require that you do the cutting of the slot in the steel cradle and mount the external cable assembly - but if you have a Dremel tool and are generally handy on the tools, then that should be fairly easy. The hard bits with all the soldering and stuff - I can take care of. (if you don't have these kind of tools, talk to a mate who's into model making and stuff - probably have all the tools handy, and working on models one develops a nice steady hand!)

Just something to think about....