Speaker Install Q's?

[ssjones]

Major Tech info: The stock Nissan system is 2 ohm. DON'T use 4 ohm speakers!!!

Folks:I want to put my Kenwood 6x9 and 6.5" speakers in my new Altima. The 6x9's look like they drop right in.I ordered the mounting bracket for the front speakers from Crutchfield, but they tell me the speaker connections aren't yet available for that car. I'll wire them myself and the guy gave me the wire colors for the '07 thinking they would be the same. Can anyone confirm the color scheme is the same or if you have any speaker install tips, that would be appreciated.Here's the colors Crutchfield told me:Front Left:+ White- Black

Front Right:+ Green/White stripe- Brown

Rear Left:+ Orange/Black stripe- White/Red stripe

Rear Right:+ Blue- Black/White Stripe
Modified by ssjones at 12:07 PM 12/8/2007

[generic808]

Wow, it has been months since I installed mine, so I don't remember the color schematics. Sorry I can't help you in that department.

Yes, the 6x9's will drop right in. I'm running 6.5" up front, but just a heads up, the speakers won't fit. The OEM speakers are 6.5", but they are sealed in their own bracket which is much wider than 6.5. What I did was use dynamat as an insulator and drilled my own holes using self-tapping screws. Unless of course you got a bracket from Crutchfield. When I ordered my speakers about 6 months ago, none were available. Did you get some?

[ssjones]

I did order the Crutchfield brackets for the front door speakers, they are now avaialable.Tried to get an AUX cable for my SkiFi2, but no luck.

[generic808]

Sucka! I had to drill holes into my brand new baby If at all possible, could you take pics of the install and do a short installation write-up to help others out? I'm sure Tyler will give you a custom title to your name if you did

[ssjones]

Sure, I'll snap some pix. Any surprises pulling off the door panels? It looks like there are screws behind the chrome door pull, under the plastic cover and in the armrest. I have the door panel tool to pull the other fasteners.

Here's a shot of my XM install. I made it exactly 60 miles without my XM. Came home and popped this in. In m Accord, the unit fit into the cubby, neatly hidden. On the Altima, it also fits but the door completely obstructs the display. I decided to mount it with mounting tape to the front of the door. I can still lift the door up with the unit in place.

The cubby was surprisingly easy to remove, but the shifter plate doesn't give you much wiggle room. If I could have removed the shift knob, that would have made for easy access. I drilled a hole in the side of the cubby to run the antenna. The 12V plug in the back makes power a snap. I run the FM modulator, which has served me fine. I called MyRadioStore.com today but confirmed there is no AUX cable that works with the '07 and up Altima. This will do for now.

[generic808]

The door panels are held in place by a bunch of snap fasteners. I believe there was about 6 on the bottom portion of the door. Start by pulling down and outward and they'll pop out. Along the sides there are a bunch more snaps. And the hardest part is behind the armrest; there's these really irritating fasteners that have to be worked and wedged every which way to remove. After removing the fasteners, pull door up and outward. You don't have to totally remove the entire panel, just pull out enough so you have room to work with.

[ssjones]

The door panels are held in place by a bunch of snap fasteners. I believe there was about 6 on the bottom portion of the door. Start by pulling down and outward and they'll pop out. Along the sides there are a bunch more snaps. And the hardest part is behind the armrest; there's these really irritating fasteners that have to be worked and wedged every which way to remove. After removing the fasteners, pull door up and outward. You don't have to totally remove the entire panel, just pull out enough so you have room to work with.

Thanks. I used this tool to pull the fasteners without breaking them in the Accord. Hopefully they are similarly shaped. My front brackets probably won't get here till Monday, so I'm just doing the 6x9's today.

[generic808]

You won't need the tool for the clips, they snap on and off very easily. Well, maybe it'll come in handy for the one behind the armrest area. Good luck with the installation! And if you can, don't forget to take pics for the others. Thanks.

[ssjones]

Removal of the front cubby for my XM was far too easy, now I'm paying the price. The rear speakers appear to be a bear. The whole rear shelf cover has to come off to access the speakers. I called Crutchfield and they described it as "pretty involved". They don't have a master sheet yet for this car but are sending me their drafts. Wish me luck.My front brackets should come by FedEx today, might tackle them first...

[ssjones]

Here's the details from Crutchfield, doesn't look too bad. I'm going in and will take some pix. Didn't find anything on a search for this advice, so hopefully this helps someone in the future.

[ssjones]

All done, jeez took me seven hours. Not very difficult, but time consuming. I took some pix, will post tomorrow, I'm bushed.The adaptor ring Crutchfield sent didn't begin to fit and I ended up drilling holes anyway.No need to remove the whole rear seat as detailed in their directions.Not happy with my hands-free phone mount, might have to redo that tomorrow.

[ssjones]

Here are the pix of the install. Don't bother with the Crutchfield front speaker rings. They just send you Scion XB rings which require drilling anway.I'd skip pulling the rear seat cushion and removing the seat back. If you pull the six bolts holding the seatback in place, that will allow you to pull the rear deck cover.http://rides.webshots.com/myph...HGHHw

[generic808]

Don't bother with the Crutchfield front speaker rings. They just send you Scion XB rings which require drilling anway.

I could've told you that! When you told me you got the adapter, I thought they finally made one for the Altima's, but I guess not. They sent me that stupid Scoche brand xB adapter which won't fit. Isn't it painful drilling into a new car?

What speakers are you running? I wanted to keep the factory look, so I didn't change out my head-unit. I initially installed Polk db series speakers all the way around, but the volume level was too low because they were 4ohm load speakers, as opposed to the factory Blaupunkt's which are a 2ohm load. I returned them to Crutchfield for the Reference Infinity's because they were 2ohmers.

BTW, thanks for the pics. I'm sure it'll help some people out.

[ssjones]

Oh-oh, I'm about to get pissed. I put in these Kenwoods from my Accord, and according to their specs on the Crutchfield, they are 4 ohms. I don't have the Bose system, would that be a point of difference?Here's what I put in, both 6x9 and 6.5":http://www.crutchfield.com/App...specs

I could've told you that! When you told me you got the adapter, I thought they finally made one for the Altima's, but I guess not. They sent me that stupid Scoche brand xB adapter which won't fit. Isn't it painful drilling into a new car?

What speakers are you running? I wanted to keep the factory look, so I didn't change out my head-unit. I initially installed Polk db series speakers all the way around, but the volume level was too low because they were 4ohm load speakers, as opposed to the factory Blaupunkt's which are a 2ohm load. I returned them to Crutchfield for the Reference Infinity's because they were 2ohmers.

BTW, thanks for the pics. I'm sure it'll help some people out.

Oh

[generic808]

There's no problem running 4ohm speakers, except your volume level will be significantly lower than the stocks. Have you noticed that you have to crank up the volume more to get the same sound as your old speakers? I'm running my sub off of an amp and didn't want to use a second amp for my fronts and backs so I just went with 2ohmers.

[ssjones]

No, volume is the same. I called Crutchfield. They said the 4 ohm speakers should be fine with the base head unit (no Bose). I don't think I have an amp, but not certain. They sound pretty good at any rate, which is real good because they're not coming out for a long while!

[generic808]

Are you serious? When I installed mine, I ran the two different brands, one on each side, and the Polk's were much better sounding than the OEM's, but the volume was about 4-5 notches lower on the dial. Well, glad to hear you like how they sound.

[ssjones]

Do you have the standard sound system?

I'll find out tomorrow, heading to Poughkeepsie NY for a 600 mile round-trip.

[generic808]

Yup, standard sound system.

[ssjones]

Yup, standard sound system.

Crap, we'll heading out now, I'll either love or hate them.

[ssjones]

Saw your K&N filter reply, I'll take it if still available.Al

Yup, standard sound system.

[ssjones]

Eric:You are correct - I have no volume.

I'm PO'd at Crutchfield for telling me these Kenwoods would work, but that won't solve the problem. I did find some Infinity Kappa speakers that are two ohm. I had Infinity Kappa's in my previous Nissan with good results. Heres the two models I ordered this afternoon. The price for both pairs were less than those SOB's at Crutchfield wanted for the 6x9's. Plus, when I called Crutchfield today, they told me no 2 ohm speakers were available.

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com...15368

And in 6.5":http://www.onlinecarstereo.com...15357

[generic808]

Both the Kappa and newer model Reference speakers are 2ohm loads. Crutchfield carries both, well at least 6 months ago they did. Sorry to hear about the situation. You'll like the Infinity's much better than the Kenwood.

[ssjones]

o

Both the Kappa and newer model Reference speakers are 2ohm loads. Crutchfield carries both, well at least 6 months ago they did. Sorry to hear about the situation. You'll like the Infinity's much better than the Kenwood.

The cuts on my hands should be healed by the time the Infinity's arrive from CA!

[generic808]

So did you receive the speakers and have you installed them yet?

[ssjones]

The speakers showed up yesterday. Bad news is I broke my foot on Thursday PM. Crutches/cast made things a bit more challenging. I used my mechanics seat to scoot around the garage. The job took four times as long, but I'm done.Those Infinity speakers are nice! Separate crossover, so it wasn't a direct swap. They also didn't fit into the Crutchfield supplied mounting rings, but they came with two different styles. Had to drill yet again.They sound great - I can now keep the volume at 10 for normal tunes whereas the 4 ohm Kenwoods required the volume to be at 20. Sold my two pair of Kenwoods to a guy on my old Accord forum. I'll have to drive beyond my neighborhood but my odd static on my XM vai the FM modulator seems to have disappeared as well. Any chance the 4 ohm was causing an issue? (That would be nice)

Install notes:- I confirmed the rear seat does not need to come out, just remove the six seat-back screws and the rear deck cover pops off.- Be careful popping the front armrests off, the two top plastic mount tabs break easily, but they still fit snugly

Thanks for your help!

Here's a link to the speakers I bought, the 6x9'. Same model 6.5"http://www.onlinecarstereo.com...15368

[generic808]

Wow, sorry to hear about the foot. Same thing happened to me a few years back while playing ball. I was in a cast for only 6 weeks though because I took the cast off against the ortho's recomendation

$109 for the Kap's are cheap!! Glad you like the sound. As far as the static is concerned, I don't think it was the actual speaker itself. May have been a bad connection, but if it was the speaker, then good for you

Like I said, those armrest clips were a b***h, weren't they?

[ssjones]

I need to be in HA for a few weeks with the cast! Winter in MD and a foot cast is not a good combination....

I ran the garage propane heater for a while to warm up all the plastic bits. You don't want to be prying/pulling on cold plastic.

[rjdmmfl1]

Sure, I'll snap some pix. Any surprises pulling off the door panels? It looks like there are screws behind the chrome door pull, under the plastic cover and in the armrest. I have the door panel tool to pull the other fasteners.

Here's a shot of my XM install. I made it exactly 60 miles without my XM. Came home and popped this in. In m Accord, the unit fit into the cubby, neatly hidden. On the Altima, it also fits but the door completely obstructs the display. I decided to mount it with mounting tape to the front of the door. I can still lift the door up with the unit in place.

The cubby was surprisingly easy to remove, but the shifter plate doesn't give you much wiggle room. If I could have removed the shift knob, that would have made for easy access. I drilled a hole in the side of the cubby to run the antenna. The 12V plug in the back makes power a snap. I run the FM modulator, which has served me fine. I called MyRadioStore.com today but confirmed there is no AUX cable that works with the '07 and up Altima. This will do for now.

SSjones, I have a question, for one of my projects I will need to pull out the cubby.. could you explain how to do this... does it just pop out, snap out, are there any hidden srews? I just don't want to break it.... thanks!

[ssjones]

Dr Feelgood:To get out the cubby:Pull the shifter plate up and c*** it to the side. The cubby just pulls out, no screws to remove. You have to be careful not to scratch the top of the shifter plate with the bottom of the cubby. I put a towel over the plate to protect it. There is just enough room to pull out the cubby, mine popped right out (keep door closed). IF you could pull off the shift knob and remove the plate completely, than it would be very easy but I couldn't figure out how to remove that shift knob. If you have a manual transmission, that might be easier, betting that knob just unscrews off but could also be glued in place. If I had to remove mine again, I'd probably cover things with painters tape to keep it from getting scratched.If someone knows how to remove the automatic shift knob - shout out!

SSjones, I have a question, for one of my projects I will need to pull out the cubby.. could you explain how to do this... does it just pop out, snap out, are there any hidden srews? I just don't want to break it.... thanks!