Hey everyone,

I have done a lot of reading this past week gathering what I can in regards to upgrading my HiFi Speaker system in my '08 Clubman S. There is a LOT of information, but not a whole lot on the clubman specifically, and there are some inconsistencies I would like cleared up if anyone knows the answers.

First my car:

08' Clubman S w/ Conv, Sport, Comfort Packages. No SAT Radio.


What I am looking to upgrade:

I plan on replacing the lower doors with Hybrid Audio's Imagine i61-2.

http://www.hybrid-audio.com/products/02-imagine.html - OEM Site

http://store.12velectronics.com/imag...l-speaker-set/ - Online Retailer


This is where my first question comes in. I have read that the lower doors are 6.5 but also have read they are 5.25. The mounting specs for the HAT speakers are:

Overall Diameter: 6 1/2"
Mounting Diameter: 5 9/16"
Mounting Depth: 2 3/4"

I have read that the mounting depth for the lowers are 3.125" so assuming they are 6.5" factory mounts, these should clear correct?

I will most likely remove the tweeter and move them up to the A-pillar and replace the stock tweets.


The next plan is to replace the stock 6x9 in the rear with the Hybrid Audio's i69-2.

http://store.12velectronics.com/prod...eaker-Set.html

This may not happen at the same time though. I may push this off to the summer.

Right now I have no intention of replacing the mids in the front, and will most likely take them out of the mix all together. I plan to purchase a 4-ch Amp to power the 6.5 in the front and the 6x9 in the rears. IF I ever decide to add a sub, it will be a low-profile sub underneath the false floor. I may find that adding the Hybrid 6x9's in the rear may give me enough bass to make me happy. I've had an infinity Basslink in my previous Mazda3 and it was more than enough for me, so if I go that route in the Mini, I think it will be just as good.

So onto some more questions:

Does anyone else have a similar setup where they have taken factory mid out of the mix and went with a good 6.5 and tweet in the front? I have heard these speakers in an Audi S4 and they were amazing and I didn't feel like it need more midrange.

Where would be the best position to place the 4ch amp with my setup? Since I do not plan to power a rear sub or anything, my thought were underneath a front seat, assuming the amp will fit there. Would that be your recommendation? Anyone know the footprint of that area?

Do you think I NEED to move the tweeter up to the A-Pillar? Will the sound floor be too low if I don't?

How are the mids wired in line with the other door speakers? I just assume run all new wires from the amp to the speakers unless there is a benefit to tapping into the factory wiring.


Let me know what you think. I appreciate you time.

-z

 

Sounds like your car and mine are very similar but i do have the cold weather package as well.

Now as for the Clubman vs other models. The R55, R56 and R57 are all the same except for the R57 has 6.5" speakers in the rear where the R55 and R56 have 6x9's

There was a major change in the 2011 model year to the stereo systems so anyone with those years and above you can disregard the information is different.


Here is the definitive answer on the speaker sizes.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...470-post1.html

Now with that said the actual hole size in the metal door panel is 5.551" (141mm) in diameter. This will fit most 6.5" speakers. The speakers you have picked require a 5.551" (141mm) hole. So they will fit nicely.

The speakers Ia m running have the same physical size for the woofer and they fit great.

There is a problem with removing the tweeters on these. It will leave a whole in the middle of the Woofer and that can cause sound problems. If you were to make a dust cover for the hole in the woofer and glue it on it would help but that would also change the weight and sound of the woofer cone.

It is not recommended to take tweeters out of coax speakers and place them somewhere else.


good choice

With the HiFi system in your car the front speakers are driven as follows

Mid and tweeter on one channel
Woofer on a second channel

This means that you can disconnect the mid by just pulling the wires off the mid and taping them up within the door so they don't float around.


Again it is not recommended to remove the tweeter from the woofer and place it somewhere else.


Depending on the acatual size of the amp it may fit under the passenger seat. That is where the SAT Receiver is normally but if you don't have it then small amps fit nicely.



It may split your sound stage to much but that would be something you would have to listen to.


See above


Running new wires is VERY VERY difficult in these cars. especially to the doors. I have linked to a thread below on my install and in there some where is an explanation of what I had to do to get new wires to the doors.



BTW here is a link to the thread about my install.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-upgrades.html

 

These speakers have a "plug" that installs in place of the tweeter to make them component. Take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNXH4JYhZp0

With that said, do you think this is the route I should go?

-z

 

That is pretty cool, i have never before seen a manufacturer make such a nice system.

Good luck with your install.

 

A number of companies have been making speakers that can be mounted as components or coaxes since the mid-90s. It makes life a lot easier.

Running new wires into the doors is a bigger PITA than it needs to be but realistically, if you take your time, it's not too bad. The biggest roadblock is the foam block in the inner door jamb. I didn't find out that those are EASILY removable until I was just about done with the second side. It has a slit pre-cut in it so you pop it out, run the wire then slide the wire into the slot with the other OEM wires then pop it back into place. Easy peasy. Just make sure you use wires that don't have thick jackets. My JL 16 gauge wouldn't work but some generic wire I had did. I did verify that the wire diameter was correct so I didn't lose any current carrying ability. These wires are terminated in the kick panel where they'll mate up with the JL wire I'm using for the rest of the install.

If you're going to use the Hybrid passives I would mount the tweeter in the OEM midrange location or preferably, install the set in coax mode. You'll have MUCH better phase coherency at the crossover point this way. And no, it won't sound like they're playing into your ankles. Now, if you can cross the set over actively then I would mount the tweeters up high, simply for the improvement in dynamics.

 

Thanks for the response.

Yes I think my plan right now is to install them as coaxial and see what it sounds like. HAT has a good write-up in the manual for the speakers that talks about how they were designed to be coaxial with a passive x-over for a reason, but they are giving you the ability to actively cross them in a component system. Seeing as how I hadn't planned to run an electronic crossover for the system, I had thought to just tap into the passive off the midbass and run the tweeters in the A-Pillar. But after thinking about it and having heard them play as coax in my friends' Audi, I thought I would go that route first and see how it sounds.

Hopefully fishing the wires won't be an issue. I have seen a lot of people do different things in regards to getting them into the doors, from drilling out the unused connectors, to tapping into the connectors, to going around the whole thing. I haven't made that decision yet, and most likely won't until I see what I am dealing with.

What I haven't sen is an image of the factory amp. Maybe I have seen an image and if I remember correctly, the Input and Output connector for the amp is the same connector. So if I wanted to disconnect the factory 3.5" and tweeters from the factory amp, what is my best route to do this while keeping the amp connected for serviceability? I thought there would be a harness connecting to the amp that is the out to all the speakers and I could just disconnect that, but I am not certain that is the case. Any thoughts? I was hoping to not have to disconnect them from the speakers if I didn't have to or if there was an easier place to do this.

Thanks,

-Z

 

There are two large connectors to the OEM amp adn both are (if i remeber correctly) about 40 wires in each and very tightly packed very small gauge wires. Many people have broken a wire tryign to remove one or two. The easiest way to disconnect speakers is right at the driver them selves the plugs are completely covered so there is not need to tape the wires etc. just need to find a way to keep them form rattling.