Those Speakers not fitting into the R33 Parcel Shelf?

[siu_loong_bao]

Hello All,

To all of you who are wanting to upgrade the standard factory speakers into better ones, be aware that the clearance from the parcel shelf and the boot is minimal.

So where is the next best position you ask? As per the thread titled 6" x 9", not too many audio stores will install speakers in the parcel shelf of R33's. This leaves only a select few options:

1. Replace the standard speakers with same size diameter - very restrictive in terms of sound!

2. Throw in a pair of splits? To be honest, for the $$$ you will pay for splits, I'd rather get 6x9's (cheaper).

Ok, so now you've decided to install 6 x 9's and the parcel shelf won't fit them without heavy modification. The next best place to put them is near the rear passenger side armrests! refer to pic.

I do not have a step by step picture tutorial to this install, however, it's simple!

1. Remove rear seat (top piece) held down by 2 bolts. These bolts ae sitting in between the bottom and the top seat sections. Just spread both pieces open and you'll know what I am talking about.

Lift the top piece upwards and out she comes! Then undo the two bolts on the bottom piece, These bolts are visible and attach themselves to the floor carpet. Then out she comes also!

2. Undo the screw behind the front seat seatbelt pillar mount. Then undo the bolt holding the seat belt guide rail below (where the end of the seat belt is attached).

3. slowly, from the parcel shelf end, slide your fingers into the armrest trim and pull. The piece should come out easily! Repeat for the other side.

4. Remove the parcel shelf (for my car, it is held down by 3 child restraint bolts). Then out she comes also!

5. Remove the speakers and disconnect them from the terminals, they are no use sitting there anyway! By doing this, you have just made room for future sub soundwaves to be able to come through via the parcel shelf. The 2 round openings act as a bass duct from the boot to the cabin. Notice how cheapy the factory speakers are! My ones were sun damaged and the papercone disintergrated when I touched it!

6. The 'hard' part!!!! cut out a speaker housing template (usually from the paperbox the speakers were packaged in). Using the template, orientate it onto the hollow void of the frame and panels (the area behind the armrest trim). Make sure the speakers are well clear of the armrest moulding on the trim and away from the reinforced steel pillar. Once you are happy with the template location, outline it and proceed to cut with an angle grinder or tin snips. The metal should be very easy to cut as they serve no structural purpose. You shouldn't need to cut out too much metal!

If you are using a grinder, have a vacuum cleaner handy and also cover up all your interior since the sparks will fly everywhere!

Clean up the area inside of the car and start on the wiring. This is straighforward. Just run some speaker wires from the parcel shelf speaker terminals and down towards the armrest location.

Use foam or duct tape and tape up all holes and crevices (except for the door trim fastener holes and the speaker hole you have just cut).

7. Now, using the same template, position it onto the armrest trim. Since my speakers were 7x10's, I couldn't fit them exactly into the carpeted area of the arm rest trim as I had to dodge the steel pillars. 6 x 9's should fit snugly within the carpeted area of the arm rest trim.

Trace the template, then dril a pilot hole big enough for the jigsaw bit. Now cut away with the jigsaw!

The speaker should sit tightly into the hole you just cut. Before attaching the speaker onto the trim, make sure you vacuum and clean all the debris.

Screw the speaker onto the armrest trim and re-attach the armrest trim to the car! Don't forget to wire her up! Repeat for the other side.

8. Re-attached and re-screw everything back. DONE!

The benefits of having the speaker in this location are:

1. 6x9's tend to give out good clean and tight bass (depending on brand and deck). To do this, you need a decent sealed enclosure. The void behind the armrest trim is the perfect sealed area for this!

2. The location of the 6x9's will benefit all occupants since they are close to the ear of the front occupants and rear passengers. Whereas, if the 6x9's went into the parcel shelf, then they will only benefit the rear passengers. If you don't believe me, sit on the drivers seat and lean back, your ears should be close to the rear armrest trim.

3. The back parcel shelf is made of the cheapy wood fibres and is thin, the only way to get decent bass is to mount speakers onto thicker wood (normally mdf). This means the parcel shelf needs to be replaced/modified. You could go for speaker spacers made of plastic, but they wont do a 'great' job and look ugly!!!

4. There is not enough clearance to mount your new speakers in the parcel shelf since the battery cell and HICAS chip are in the way! Having the speaker magnet near the battery cell is not advisable!

So there you have it, I hope I have justified 6x9's being in the rear armrest trim and helped some R33 owners out!

NOTE & CAUTIOn: DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! ONCE DONE, THERE IS NO TURNING BACK!!!!!!

************I WILL POST 2 PICS SHORTLY********************

[Fhrx]

Thanks for going to the trouble of writing all that that siu_loong_bao.

Now if only all posters were that thorough - it would be the end of inter-post confusion.

[sewid]

Interesting, would like to see the pics.

If you were willing to cut that much up why werent you wiling to relocate items in the boot to make room for the speakers on the parcel shelf?

[siu_loong_bao]

Interesting, would like to see the pics.

If you were willing to cut that much up why werent you wiling to relocate items in the boot to make room for the speakers on the parcel shelf?

1. The negative terminal battery wire (earthed to chassis) was too short, hence, could not move it over to dodge the speaker magnet.

2. Cutting the parcel shelf steel is not recommended as it is considered part of the car's structural frame. Whereas cutting the armrest void is 'safe'. The metal bits that were cut out were flexible - not part of the structural frame. Only about a few centimetres were cut out.

[sewid]

cool. those are the same reasons i didnt cut my own parcel shelf.

Also it was such a pain in the ass due to lack of space in the back there.

I just ended up putting two 6" in the stock holes.

[akeenan]

nice work , now lets hope none of your drunk friends put their elbows through them after a late night

[paulr33]

ive got 6" coaxials fitted in my parcel shelf by garys car radio, no problems at all.

they sound good and give good quality for price. i stay away from 6x9's as they sound crap and distort each other out due to speaker design. nice door trim mod though, thanks for the howto guide as well, may help other members

[Driver]

this is how i did my rear's

[gatty]

driver- you have to remove much shelf for that?

same idea as i was thinking

[Driver]

sure did - i spent the day putting them in

heh

[Mick]

Hey where are the pics ??

[Basti]

woah major thread dig up! very interesting idea though. id love to see the pics but i suspect that they have long since disappeared during a forum upgrade

[Robert Knight]

the boot is minimal.

So where is the next best position you ask? As per the thread titled 6" x 9", not too many audio stores will install speakers in the parcel shelf of R33's. This leaves only a select few options:

1. Replace the standard speakers with same size diameter - very restrictive in terms of sound!

2. Throw in a pair of splits? To be honest, for the $$$ you will pay for splits, I'd rather get 6x9's (cheaper).

Ok, so now you've decided to install 6 x 9's and the parcel shelf won't fit them without heavy modification. The next best place to put them is near the rear passenger side armrests! refer to pic.

I do not have a step by step picture tutorial to this install, however, it's simple!

1. Remove rear seat (top piece) held down by 2 bolts. These bolts ae sitting in between the bottom and the top seat sections. Just spread both pieces open and you'll know what I am talking about.

Lift the top piece upwards and out she comes! Then undo the two bolts on the bottom piece, These bolts are visible and attach themselves to the floor carpet. Then out she comes also!

2. Undo the screw behind the front seat seatbelt pillar mount. Then undo the bolt holding the seat belt guide rail below (where the end of the seat belt is attached).

3. slowly, from the parcel shelf end, slide your fingers into the armrest trim and pull. The piece should come out easily! Repeat for the other side.

4. Remove the parcel shelf (for my car, it is held down by 3 child restraint bolts). Then out she comes also!

5. Remove the speakers and disconnect them from the terminals, they are no use sitting there anyway! By doing this, you have just made room for future sub soundwaves to be able to come through via the parcel shelf. The 2 round openings act as a bass duct from the boot to the cabin. Notice how cheapy the factory speakers are! My ones were sun damaged and the papercone disintergrated when I touched it!

6. The 'hard' part!!!! cut out a speaker housing template (usually from the paperbox the speakers were packaged in). Using the template, orientate it onto the hollow void of the frame and panels (the area behind the armrest trim). Make sure the speakers are well clear of the armrest moulding on the trim and away from the reinforced steel pillar. Once you are happy with the template location, outline it and proceed to cut with an angle grinder or tin snips. The metal should be very easy to cut as they serve no structural purpose. You shouldn't need to cut out too much metal!

If you are using a grinder, have a vacuum cleaner handy and also cover up all your interior since the sparks will fly everywhere!

Clean up the area inside of the car and start on the wiring. This is straighforward. Just run some speaker wires from the parcel shelf speaker terminals and down towards the armrest location.

Use foam or duct tape and tape up all holes and crevices (except for the door trim fastener holes and the speaker hole you have just cut).

7. Now, using the same template, position it onto the armrest trim. Since my speakers were 7x10's, I couldn't fit them exactly into the carpeted area of the arm rest trim as I had to dodge the steel pillars. 6 x 9's should fit snugly within the carpeted area of the arm rest trim.

Trace the template, then dril a pilot hole big enough for the jigsaw bit. Now cut away with the jigsaw!

The speaker should sit tightly into the hole you just cut. Before attaching the speaker onto the trim, make sure you vacuum and clean all the debris.

Screw the speaker onto the armrest trim and re-attach the armrest trim to the car! Don't forget to wire her up! Repeat for the other side.

8. Re-attached and re-screw everything back. DONE!

The benefits of having the speaker in this location are:

1. 6x9's tend to give out good clean and tight bass (depending on brand and deck). To do this, you need a decent sealed enclosure. The void behind the armrest trim is the perfect sealed area for this!

2. The location of the 6x9's will benefit all occupants since they are close to the ear of the front occupants and rear passengers. Whereas, if the 6x9's went into the parcel shelf, then they will only benefit the rear passengers. If you don't believe me, sit on the drivers seat and lean back, your ears should be close to the rear armrest trim.

3. The back parcel shelf is made of the cheapy wood fibres and is thin, the only way to get decent bass is to mount speakers onto thicker wood (normally mdf). This means the parcel shelf needs to be replaced/modified. You could go for speaker spacers made of plastic, but they wont do a 'great' job and look ugly!!!

4. There is not enough clearance to mount your new speakers in the parcel shelf since the battery cell and HICAS chip are in the way! Having the speaker magnet near the battery cell is not advisable!

So there you have it, I hope I have justified 6x9's being in the rear armrest trim and helped some R33 owners out!

NOTE & CAUTIOn: DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! ONCE DONE, THERE IS NO TURNING BACK!!!!!!

************I WILL POST 2 PICS SHORTLY********************[/color]

[Robert Knight]

Hi All, Read this post with interest as all r33 gtr owners know the battery position is a problem, Any of you ever successfully moved the battery down or accross in the boot, if so I'd like to know what was involved, lengthening battery leads etc.Cheers gtrme

Hello All,

To all of you who are wanting to upgrade the standard factory speakers into better ones, be aware that the clearance from the parcel shelf and the boot is minimal.

So where is the next best position you ask? As per the thread titled 6" x 9", not too many audio stores will install speakers in the parcel shelf of R33's. This leaves only a select few options:

1. Replace the standard speakers with same size diameter - very restrictive in terms of sound!

2. Throw in a pair of splits? To be honest, for the $$$ you will pay for splits, I'd rather get 6x9's (cheaper).

Ok, so now you've decided to install 6 x 9's and the parcel shelf won't fit them without heavy modification. The next best place to put them is near the rear passenger side armrests! refer to pic.

I do not have a step by step picture tutorial to this install, however, it's simple!

1. Remove rear seat (top piece) held down by 2 bolts. These bolts ae sitting in between the bottom and the top seat sections. Just spread both pieces open and you'll know what I am talking about.

Lift the top piece upwards and out she comes! Then undo the two bolts on the bottom piece, These bolts are visible and attach themselves to the floor carpet. Then out she comes also!

2. Undo the screw behind the front seat seatbelt pillar mount. Then undo the bolt holding the seat belt guide rail below (where the end of the seat belt is attached).

3. slowly, from the parcel shelf end, slide your fingers into the armrest trim and pull. The piece should come out easily! Repeat for the other side.

4. Remove the parcel shelf (for my car, it is held down by 3 child restraint bolts). Then out she comes also!

5. Remove the speakers and disconnect them from the terminals, they are no use sitting there anyway! By doing this, you have just made room for future sub soundwaves to be able to come through via the parcel shelf. The 2 round openings act as a bass duct from the boot to the cabin. Notice how cheapy the factory speakers are! My ones were sun damaged and the papercone disintergrated when I touched it!

6. The 'hard' part!!!! cut out a speaker housing template (usually from the paperbox the speakers were packaged in). Using the template, orientate it onto the hollow void of the frame and panels (the area behind the armrest trim). Make sure the speakers are well clear of the armrest moulding on the trim and away from the reinforced steel pillar. Once you are happy with the template location, outline it and proceed to cut with an angle grinder or tin snips. The metal should be very easy to cut as they serve no structural purpose. You shouldn't need to cut out too much metal!

If you are using a grinder, have a vacuum cleaner handy and also cover up all your interior since the sparks will fly everywhere!

Clean up the area inside of the car and start on the wiring. This is straighforward. Just run some speaker wires from the parcel shelf speaker terminals and down towards the armrest location.

Use foam or duct tape and tape up all holes and crevices (except for the door trim fastener holes and the speaker hole you have just cut).

7. Now, using the same template, position it onto the armrest trim. Since my speakers were 7x10's, I couldn't fit them exactly into the carpeted area of the arm rest trim as I had to dodge the steel pillars. 6 x 9's should fit snugly within the carpeted area of the arm rest trim.

Trace the template, then dril a pilot hole big enough for the jigsaw bit. Now cut away with the jigsaw!

The speaker should sit tightly into the hole you just cut. Before attaching the speaker onto the trim, make sure you vacuum and clean all the debris.

Screw the speaker onto the armrest trim and re-attach the armrest trim to the car! Don't forget to wire her up! Repeat for the other side.

8. Re-attached and re-screw everything back. DONE!

The benefits of having the speaker in this location are:

1. 6x9's tend to give out good clean and tight bass (depending on brand and deck). To do this, you need a decent sealed enclosure. The void behind the armrest trim is the perfect sealed area for this!

2. The location of the 6x9's will benefit all occupants since they are close to the ear of the front occupants and rear passengers. Whereas, if the 6x9's went into the parcel shelf, then they will only benefit the rear passengers. If you don't believe me, sit on the drivers seat and lean back, your ears should be close to the rear armrest trim.

3. The back parcel shelf is made of the cheapy wood fibres and is thin, the only way to get decent bass is to mount speakers onto thicker wood (normally mdf). This means the parcel shelf needs to be replaced/modified. You could go for speaker spacers made of plastic, but they wont do a 'great' job and look ugly!!!

4. There is not enough clearance to mount your new speakers in the parcel shelf since the battery cell and HICAS chip are in the way! Having the speaker magnet near the battery cell is not advisable!

So there you have it, I hope I have justified 6x9's being in the rear armrest trim and helped some R33 owners out!

NOTE & CAUTIOn: DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! ONCE DONE, THERE IS NO TURNING BACK!!!!!!

************I WILL POST 2 PICS SHORTLY********************

[LatinR33]

wouldnt it be easier to make a new rear parcel shelf out of mdf and put some quality 6 x 9's in there on an angle so they fit and hey presto?? and then some splits up front and your sweet!!! Or just buy or make some spacers for some 6 x 9's??

Edited January 31, 2008 by LatinR33

[jrocket]

Yeah i have 6 x9's in my r33. they fit very easy if you use a mdf spacer. think my spacer was about 25mm thick. you only need enough to allow the speaker not to rub on the metal shelf. I put rubber between the speakers and the metal shelf also to stop any unwanted vibrations.

I also fitted teh 6x9's to the mdf parcel shelf first, outside of the car then install the shelf. It looked like the only easy option you could do, as it gets fairly tight in there.

[LatinR33]

Yeah i have 6 x9's in my r33. they fit very easy if you use a mdf spacer. think my spacer was about 25mm thick. you only need enough to allow the speaker not to rub on the metal shelf. I put rubber between the speakers and the metal shelf also to stop any unwanted vibrations.

I also fitted teh 6x9's to the mdf parcel shelf first, outside of the car then install the shelf. It looked like the only easy option you could do, as it gets fairly tight in there.

Yeah thats cool, I was thinking about using spacers but i get the feeling they would look ugly cause they would be sticking out heaps and not look smooth.

[Eug]

don't need spacers to run 6x9s in an r33 parcel shelf

a search here will show you how i did it

[NSA11N]

6 x 9's are for homo's lol...

I have - everyone get seated...

- Clarion splits up front with tweaters in foot wheels and in dash

- Custom parcel shelf with pioneer 6" 2way speakers and 4" 2way speakers

- Another set of tweeters mounted on inside C Pillar

- 15" Rockford Fosgate competition sub

AND I STILL HAVE WAY TOO MUCH BASS AND NOT ENOUGH TREBLE!!!

Hence why i don't use 6 x 9's