[GUIDE] Fitting rear speakers in C-pillar

[Andysmee]

EDIT: Marking this as a GUIDE but you'll need to refer to Thread '[GUIDE] Head unit removal and rear speaker wiring' [GUIDE] Head unit removal and rear speaker wiring for how to enable rear speakers on the head unit and wire them in.

Until this week I had temporarily fitted my old front speakers in the back, putting the old a-pillar tweeters in the c-pillar and the door speakers behind the rear quarter panel where the perforations are. This was good enough to appease they kids and sounded great in the front in support of my upgraded fronts.

Now the rear quarter panels will be carpeted in and I will need to relocate the speakers. While it is still a day van, why can't I fit both speakers, or a full range speaker, in the c-pillars?

Not finding any examples in google, probably because it doesn't work once the offside pillar is behind furniture. Any day vans owners tried this?

 

[Andysmee]

Hmmm... not a lot of replies to that, then!

Looking for 4inch speakers to make this work, after some childish brass rubbing...

 

[Andysmee]

So question to the car audio gurus, should I use these tweeters from the a-pillars with 4" component speakers or ditch them for 4" coaxials?

Something like Rockford Fosgate P142 - 10cm 60W 2-way Speakers

If the bass is nonexistent I'll add a bass or sub at the back later

 

[Texxaco]

We are all sheep compared to you @Andysmee. I have never seen speakers in the C pillar but no reason it won’t catch on if it works as planned.

 

[sparkzer]

Another sheep here. I don't have speakers in the back currently, but as i don't have all the side woodwork in my van, this might be a discrete option (I'm not a fan of the look of them in the side panels).

ill be here chewing grass and waiting with interest

 

[Andysmee]

Lol... it's obviously not an option for full conversion furniture or even day van style furnitire, but easy to relocate them later in the phase and it's right where they need to be right now. Frankly the sound in the back is not a priority but to stop the kids asking to turn it up to hear it from the front! My previous install was fine until we carpeted

 

[Andysmee]

Has anyone mounted a sub where the toolbox would go on the back of the california bench? That would be an install! No idea how the cabling would work with the rails

 

[Ads_Essex]

Has anyone mounted a sub where the toolbox would go on the back of the california bench? That would be an install! No idea how the cabling would work with the rails

How about the void beneath the nearside rear window??

 

[Skyliner33]

How about the void beneath the nearside rear window??

I am planning on moving my sub to the space where the Jack mounts. SCR do a moulded enclosure for there.

 

[Ads_Essex]

I am planning on moving my sub to the space where the Jack mounts. SCR do a moulded enclosure for there.

This one?
Tempted…

 

[Skyliner33]

This one?
Tempted…

Thats the offside. They do 2 different ones for the nearside.
One is MDF and the other is moulded.

 

[Andysmee]

Thats the offside. They do 2 different ones for the nearside.
One is MDF and the other is moulded.

It has a passenger option on that page. £300 is steep though

 

[Ads_Essex]

Subwoofer upgrades shows a different shape.

£300 is steep though

Agreed!

 

[Andysmee]

How about the void beneath the nearside rear window??

That's now carpeted in on my van, which is why I have to move the speakers. The old front door woofers were in that exact spot

 

[Andysmee]

One option is put a small sub-woofer behind the offside centre panel, never to be seen again. Would be good for the drivers audio imaging. I could just put the old woofers in there and close the panel, although pedestrians might hear it better than me!

 

[Andysmee]

Lol... there is space in my barn doors for the woofers...doh

Edit: No, there isn't, as the locking mechanism carrier on the nearside door is too wide

 

[Andysmee]

Well, this has worked a treat! The great thing about doing stuff yourself is that you don't have to explain to a bemused converter what your crazy plan is.

So I now have the old front a-pillar tweeters together with Boston S45 4" coaxial mid range speakers in the c-pillars, with the original front door bass woofers behind the panel behind the driver's seat. The panel is 6mm ply and so that acts as a nice bass crossover, no high frequency to be heard from them, just the thump that the 4" speakers are lacking.

To keep the head unit happy I went to the trouble of wiring the bass woofers into the left and the right respectively so that took an extra cable run from left to right, since both speakers are actually on the right (marked in purple on the second picture).




I've just cable tied the 4" Bostons for now, although I have a feeling I'll do the same when I cover them up with the finished ply panel, after I cut holes in it for the sound to get out. The suede covering should take the edge off the double tweeter setup.

Happy days! the Bostons cost £10 each, secondhand :-D

 

[Andysmee]

Finishing up... I hunted for some suitable speaker grill material to put over the hole, to stop the kiddies poking fingers through the suede, only to find an old Hammond organ speaker grill I had, so the van now has a hidden retro element.



The speakers are now stealth speakers, in the back. They sound like "repeaters" from the front stereo, rather than the big sound I get in the cab, and that suits me fine. If you wanted to listen to music in the back a lot then I would go with exposed speakers, examples here: Thread 'Show us your rear speakers!' Show us your rear speakers!