About to do some reconstruction in my car and I've been toying with the idea of putting in a pair of 8" free air speakers in the sailpanels crossed at lower midrange frequencies.

I've got 6.5" components in the kicks, a sub in the back, and I was thinking about some speakers in the sails for rear fill [let the debate rage on]. That's when I started wondering if it would be a good idea to use 8" subs there crossed over between the 6.5"s and the sub in the back. So the two 8's would be kind of a low to midrange bridge.

I know that it's better to have midrange speakers within about a foot-and-a-half of one another, but with the 8's crossed over at generally lower levels I thought it might stand a chance. Would this set-up work SQ-wise?

At this point, I'm just bouncing ideas off the wall before I proceed. Thanks in advance.

 

Ya i looked into using Kicker RMB8s or something like that. But i think i got negative responce from that Oh well 6.5 Coax's it is then!!!

 

I did an early system like that. If you've already got decent 6.5s, you're not going to find much benefit. In a case like mine where I've just got the 4x6 plates (i.e. 3.5" mids), it can be a big help.

 

I go with Jim's advice, with 6.5 kick panel mids, subs in the b-pillars would probably hurt more than help, besides being a lot of work to install correctly. I do strongly believe in using rear fill to help not so much SQ, but with image depth and stability. I would suggest a good 5 1/4"set of coaxials (I am using A/D/S 325im's with the tweets padded -3db). Get your front set sounding as good as you can, and then bring in the fill speakers. You should notice your soundstage get wider and seem to move further back on the dashboard, toward the front of the car. Now try the fill in mono, and see if it improves the imaging. Sometimes it does, sometimes not.

 

I'm not a fan of rear fill. If you're going to go 3-way with a tweeter, 5.25", and an 8" then put the 8 in a door pod and the others in kickpanels. This will give you the best imaging, with all noise comming from your fronts. You'd also need subs too becouse 8's cant usually pull too low. So....just like Jim said it probubly wont be worth it if you have good 6.5" in the front.

-Matt

 

Thanks for the replys

Yeah, I gave the door-mounting idea a bit of thought but decided to scrap it. At least for now. I'm just stepping into the world of modding and my current plan is gonna be a big enough test as it is. It's taking me long enough to finish my brother's car, and even that's more simple than what I have in store for my own. I just figured that since frequencies become less directional as they get lower that I could get away with the sails. Anyway.....

I'd like to think that I have a decent set of 6.5's lined up. Not what some people are running (ie. DJ and his Utopia's, etc.), but fair enough. So you guys may be right in saying that a pair of midrange 8's wouldn't be necessary. I just thought that I might be able to enhance them with a pair of speakers covering a different frequency range. I plan to isolate my sub at fairly low frequencies so that it's not over-worked trying to bridge a frequency gap.

And as much as it's knocked, I do still have a penchant for rear fill. As I've said before, that might change after everything's in (maybe I'll see the light and convert ), but I'm going to wait and see. If I find I don't need it, I'll sell the leftovers. That's why I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone (rear fill, frequency bridge).

So, given the choice, you guys think I should stick with the regular 5 1/4 or 6 1/2 inch rears rather than 8's? I have to admit, a large part of me is curious what it would sound like. But Jim, you said you've tried it and I'd take your advice on it before wasting my time.