Door card removal + speaker sizes

[tkflage]

Any more updates on this?, did you do the rears too and if so did the same kit fit ok? I'm about to order parts to do mine as my poor ears cant take it much longer.

Hi, I can confirm that this upgrade works for the rear doors also. Be advised that the rear tweeters are larger than the front ones, but other than that its the same. I also have installed a Blaupunkt 475 PnP amplifier, and this has transformed the sound completly, there is hardly need for a sub, even if the amplifier has a line out.

I would recomend this mod to everyone that has the standard speaker setup, but hurry, these speakers are discontinued so dealers is beginning to be sold out! On the positive side, they often also arw on sale

[Legin T]

More like Amstrad...................

I've just ordered some Pioneer 2 way components http://www.pioneer.eu/uk/products/25/131/201/TS-A170Ci/specs.html

50w RMS so nothing too over the top. They also come with an external passive crossover so it should get rid of the excessive brightness the current setup suffers from.

I was temped by the Infinity Kappa 2 ways BUT they have 2 Ohm voice coils, despite Infinity stating it is perfectly fine to run 2 Ohm speakers from a 4 Ohm head unit I decided it would be safer to stick with a 4 Ohm system.

Popping the amp in the Columbus would be an expensive mistake and I do like to crank the volume up on occasions which isn't safe when running 2 Ohm speakers

Watch this space....................

Really interesting thread. I too have been thinking of ways to improve the poor sound quality and vibrations coming from the door cards. I just want something that sounds great and befits the Superb Car. Did you change all the speakers in each door including the tweeters? If yes, did the Pioneer TS-A170Ci 17cm replace all existing door speakers, also what tweeters did you use. I have the 10 speaker upgrade system fitted.

Skoda have now recognized the vibration problems in the doors and have issued a fix with some additional clips. This of course does not improve the poor sound and bass handling problems.

[rabmurray121]

Does anybody know if the Bose sound system from Audi cars will fit the

superb

[tkflage]

Really interesting thread. I too have been thinking of ways to improve the poor sound quality and vibrations coming from the door cards. I just want something that sounds great and befits the Superb Car. Did you change all the speakers in each door including the tweeters? If yes, did the Pioneer TS-A170Ci 17cm replace all existing door speakers, also what tweeters did you use. I have the 10 speaker upgrade system fitted.

Skoda have now recognized the vibration problems in the doors and have issued a fix with some additional clips. This of course does not improve the poor sound and bass handling problems.

Sorry for the very late reply! The upgrade with the pioneer TS-A170Ci is only for the standard speaker setup. I think you have a 3-way seperates kit, and the pioneers are 2-way seperates. But, the tweeters and bass was fitted in the original "speakerholes" and the tweeters offers remarkable detail and convey parts of the medium range in a very good way also. In short, the sound has been transformed!

I first added the Blaupunkt amplifier with the original speakers, and really, it was a disappointment, the sound was slightly worse! Also, it was really difficult to compare with another Superb in my sellers showroom,, as I discovered that the original speakers is terribly sensetive to temperature. And that is a real problem here in Norway, with tempertures well below zero in winter. When I first tested the standard speakers with the new amplifier, the temperature was maybe 10 degrees celsius, and I really thought the sound was better. But in colder weather I noted a significant drop off in sound quality. That was confirmed when my dealer arranged a comparison between my car with cold speakers (between -5 and -10 degrees) and a Superb in his nice and warm showroom. The sound was really, really bad.

So, my advise to everyone with standard setup, and maybe also you with the 10 speaker option, change your speakers!

[JakeBlade]

I am thinking of replacing the factory 8 speakers with 2 sets (front and back) of Kicker's KS65.2 component speakers with cross-overs. Anyone got these installed?

They are 6.75" woofers and 1" tweeters. Sounds like from above posts that I may need the Golf plastic adaptor for the woofers, and the tweeters may need a bit of wadding to fit in the rears?

Woofer depth is reported as 5.4cm (2 1/8 inches). Is there enough room for them?

[Liebel]

I was struggling with the poor sound quality as well, particularly the choked bass and the door vibrations. Recently I was advised by a sound technician who examined the setup, that the main problem is the plastic grill in front of the speakers, he said that the holes are too tiny and don't allow enough air movement for the speaker to breath in and out, thus causing the bass to sound stifled and the door card to vibrate with the bass.

Upon his advice, I removed the door card, and with a modellers drill I slightly enlarged each and every hole in the grill, when I had done one door, I compared the finished grill to unfinished one against a light background and could really see that it allowed at least double the amount of light through!

The resulting improvement in the sound quality was VERY strongly noticeable, however I wouldn't pretend that it's now a Bang & Olufsen!

NB, if you do decide to do this yourself, you can probably use a hand 'poking' screwdriver tool, but the main thing is, do it patiently, and enlarge the holes from the inside of the door side towards the cabin side, so to keep it neat on the visible side.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

[JakeBlade]

Thanks Liebel. Don't suppose you could post a pic of your completed handiwork?

Door cards vibrating isn't a problem on mine (yet?!).

[Liebel]

Jake, I can post a picture, but it looks just the same as original... Wouldn't be of much use I'm afraid

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

[JakeBlade]

Presumably the holes in the grill just look a bit bigger...? Did you poke/drill them all the way through?

[Liebel]

Yes I did go all the way through, but you can't really see a difference, specially on a photograph

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2

[JakeBlade]

I'm going to attempt this at the weekend if I can, weather permitting. Can you remember if the speaker grille is replaceable? i.e. if I totally screw it up can I just replace the grille, or is it built into the door card?

It's still my plan to replace the speakers for components, but I would want to do this mod anyway to allow the speakers to breathe a bit more easily even with new speakers in.

[williamshatnerspants]

Door card removal:

(thanks to Ciaran for pointing me in the right direction)

Remove the plastic grille covering the tweeter and surrounding lock/unlock switch. It is held in with plastic clips and pops out fairly easily.

Once removed you'll see a T15 Torx screw behind the door release handle:

P1020290.JPG

Once this screw has been removed, go down to the bottom of the door card, there are 2 more T 15 Torx screws.

To remove the last 2 screws you need to remove the main door pull, it is held in with about 10 plastic clips and takes some effort to pull off:

P1020284.JPG

(at this point, I haven't removed the crap from the door pocket!!)

Once the door pull is free you need to remove 2 plugs - one for the mirror control and the other for window control.

P1020286.JPG

The last 2 screws are now exposed, they are T30 Torx screws:

P1020287.JPG

P1020288.JPG

Once removed, that is all of the fixings taken care of.

Next, you need to pull the door card away from the door, it is held in place by around half a dozen push clips, they are quite strong and I had to apply some welly to get the card off. I got started by removing the kerb/door open warning light. It simply pulls out, be careful with the plastic cover when removing. Once out, disconnect the plug in the back and use the hole in the door to get yourself started.

Work your way along the sides and bottom of the door card until it is free. The top of the card sits in a sill along the top and needs to be lifted upwards for removal.

P1020289.JPG

Once you've got this far you can lift the door card upwards to remove it from the door, be careful as there are quite a few wires still attached! Again, there is a fair amount of resistance but it will come free with a little effort.

Once lifted clear, rest the door card on something soft like a cushion or a dust sheet so you can disconnect the remaining wires:

Red door LED

White door handle recess LED

Door lock switch connector

Tweeter connector

Once removed, you will also need to push the door release handle out through the door card rather than attempt to disconnect the door release cable, again, it is held in with a number of plastic clips and comes out fairly easily. Now you can place the door card somewhere safe. You are now left with this:

P1020302.JPG

I gently wedged the door release assembly behind some wires to keep it out of the way.

Now you are left with the speaker - riveted in place with what looks like 3/16" aluminium pop rivets.

P1020293.JPG

The speaker connector is easy enough to remove, the rivets drill out with no problems.

Some of the rivet heads will fall into the door cavity and are very hard to retrieve

NOTE: drill out the rivets with the window UP for obvious reasons.

Once drilled out - hey presto, the speaker is out:

P1020295.JPG

To be frank, the speaker looks and feels cheap.

Two of the wires are from the head unit, the other two go to the tweeter:

Red: Tweeter positive

Red/Brown: Tweeter negative

Blue/Brown: Speaker positive from HU

Blue: Speaker negative from HU

The speaker cone looks like its 6.5" diameter, the overall speaker is around 7" diameter and the fixings are about 7.5" diameter but I need to take some better measurements later on.

Safe clearance at the back of the speaker is around 25mm from the mounting point of the speaker.

P1020296.JPG

P1020298.JPG

P1020297.JPG

Refitting the door card is the reversal of above ensuring all connectors are secure and re covered with their foam jackets where fitted.

As for the door clips, there is a number on there which looks like the part number: 6Q0 863 243 but I haven't verified it. The door clips tend to break if you aren't too careful. They go back ok but I suspect they won't a second time round.

 

I know this is an old post, but it would be great to see the photos. Thanks, Matt

[PaulBarls]

I am also interested as I would like to upgrade the speakers.

[Chris]

Bit of a thread revival but what speaker adaptors do I need? The OP appears to have got golf ones to work, but the link no longer works. I am assuming MK5 golf ones?

[scootie]

Bit of a thread revival but what speaker adaptors do I need? The OP appears to have got golf ones to work, but the link no longer works. I am assuming MK5 golf ones?

 

I think MK4 or MK5 would fit. Could you maybe hear with a car audio shop or maybe just buy a pair of each model and try it out? 

Edited 20 December, 2016 by scootie