Speakers for z3 door

[davidrbroder62]

I have a 1996 Z3. When I bought it there were no speakers in the door where there should at least have been a tweeter. I would like to install a good tweeter and midrange each able to handle 75 watts but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Does anyone have any suggestions where I can get what I need. One thing, whomever I buy them from needs to be able to ship to the Philippines.

 

[Rudyrov]

You can probably put a 5 1/4 to 6 inch door speaker in a Z3, but the car was not designed for it and therefore its a custom job.
I have wanted to do that for a long time but since the door panels are no longer available I hesitate to cut into it.
Use google or another search engine and do some research. You may even search this site, this has come up before.

If you have someone that is going to do the job, ask them to see what exactly will fit, otherwise stay with the stock location in the kick panels, top of the door and behind the seats.

 

[TriumphZ3]

I'd like to replace the speakers in the trim behind the seats, for slightly bigger and better. How do I remove those two speakers? I'd like to explore what room there is behind there for upgrades.

 

[davidrbroder62]

You can probably put a 5 1/4 to 6 inch door speaker in a Z3, but the car was not designed for it and therefore its a custom job.
I have wanted to do that for a long time but since the door panels are no longer available I hesitate to cut into it.
Use google or another search engine and do some research. You may even search this site, this has come up before.

If you have someone that is going to do the job, ask them to see what exactly will fit, otherwise stay with the stock location in the kick panels, top of the door and behind the seats.

Those would be too big the originals were only one inch. That's what I'm looking for but can't seem to find that can take 75watts rms. That's why I came here. I thought someone might know a brand that would fit size wise and wattage.

 

[Rudyrov]

Mine had springs behind them folded to secure the speaker in the hole

Those would be too big the originals were only one inch. That's what I'm looking for but can't seem to find that can take 75watts rms. That's why I came here. I thought someone might know a brand that would fit size wise and wattage.

Sorry, I thought you were talking about putting some larger speakers in the "front" of the door card or panel.
I replaced the tweeter in my panel with an old Pioneer soft dome many years ago and have never gotten around to replacing the midrange unit next to it, guess I just lost interest.
Happy Trails!

 

[davidrbroder62]

D

Mine had springs behind them folded to secure the speaker in the hole


Sorry, I thought you were talking about putting some larger speakers in the "front" of the door card or panel.
I replaced the tweeter in my panel with an old Pioneer soft dome many years ago and have never gotten around to replacing the midrange unit next to it, guess I just lost interest.
Happy Trails!

Do you have the model number of the pioneer?

 

[Rudyrov]

Pioneer TS-T15 would be the modern equivalent, mine are 20 years old.

 

[davidrbroder62]

I found TS-T15 speakers. They or 3/4 inch. Will they fit. The speakers that come with the car are 1 inch.

 

[Rudyrov]

I found TS-T15 speakers. They or 3/4 inch. Will they fit. The speakers that come with the car are 1 inch.

Well, they don't just replace the existing original speakers, they are aftermarket high end units and as such need to be made to fit.
I am not sure that you can find direct replacement speakers for the Z3, try looking on crutchfield.com and see what they recomend. It may be difficult to find a speaker that fits in the OEM opening without some modification or bracketry.
The T-15's are also designed for surface mounting, something I did not want so I made brackets to adapt the unit to the original opening. You may want to find a professional installer if you are not handy with tools and custom work.

 

[Pond]

I'd like to replace the speakers in the trim behind the seats, for slightly bigger and better. How do I remove those two speakers? I'd like to explore what room there is behind there for upgrades.

You will struggle to fit anything bigger without major surgery but anything will be better than the £1 4" items supplied with the car IMO.
The trims are just lots of screws and a few clips IIRC.
If you have the standard six speaker set up (2 in the footwells, 2 tweeters in the door cards and 2 in the mouldings behind the seats) there is little point in trying increase the 'power' of the rear speakers without a lot of work.
When I changed my interior, I removed the tweeters (as I couldn't use them) and replaced the 2 rear speakers with aftermarket 4" full range Pioneers from Halfrauds (they were not expensive). I needed to replace them as one had blown and was not working anyway.
The car's speaker wires are tiny (like old bell wire), so you will not improve the power, without replacing this, even if your amp can supply the power.
My car now has the original footwell speakers (one of which has the crossover unit attached to it) and two full range Pioneers in place of the original rears, all on the original wiring. My head unit is a cheap JVC with a 50 x 4 watt amp built-in and the sound is OK. It's not 4,000 speaker, modern H&K, or Bose good like in many newer cars, but it is acceptable IMO.

 

[davidrbroder62]

Well, they don't just replace the existing original speakers, they are aftermarket high end units and as such need to be made to fit.
I am not sure that you can find direct replacement speakers for the Z3, try looking on crutchfield.com and see what they recomend. It may be difficult to find a speaker that fits in the OEM opening without some modification or bracketry.
The T-15's are also designed for surface mounting, something I did not want so I made brackets to adapt the unit to the original opening. You may want to find a professional installer if you are not handy with tools and custom work.

I'll have to figure something out. I am an expat living in the Philippines and crutchfield doesn't ship here.

 

[davidrbroder62]

You will struggle to fit anything bigger without major surgery but anything will be better than the £1 4" items supplied with the car IMO.
The trims are just lots of screws and a few clips IIRC.
If you have the standard six speaker set up (2 in the footwells, 2 tweeters in the door cards and 2 in the mouldings behind the seats) there is little point in trying increase the 'power' of the rear speakers without a lot of work.
When I changed my interior, I removed the tweeters (as I couldn't use them) and replaced the 2 rear speakers with aftermarket 4" full range Pioneers from Halfrauds (they were not expensive). I needed to replace them as one had blown and was not working anyway.
The car's speaker wires are tiny (like old bell wire), so you will not improve the power, without replacing this, even if your amp can supply the power.
My car now has the original footwell speakers (one of which has the crossover unit attached to it) and two full range Pioneers in place of the original rears, all on the original wiring. My head unit is a cheap JVC with a 50 x 4 watt amp built-in and the sound is OK. It's not 4,000 speaker, modern H&K, or Bose good like in many newer cars, but it is acceptable IMO.

There was a not so great aftermarket pioneer stereo in it so I trashed that and replaced it with a Nakamichi. I also bought a Nakamichi underseat subwoofer but I don't think there is going to be room under the seat so maybe behind it would be better. I have yet to find replacements for the speakers in the rear lateral trim panels but I would rather get full dimensional speakers to replace them. In the footwells I have put two Pioneer 6 inch speakers and I'm also looking to add a Nakamichi 75watt RMS 4 channel amp just to boost a little power.
Any recommendations you might make would be appreciated. I used to do stereo work in all my cars but it's been alot of years since and I'm a bit rusty.
Thanks