Hey guys. I'm going to be installing some real speakers in my 98 civic LX to replace the pioneer coaxials that are currently occupying my doors (which I hate, they sound awful, even amped.) Many of the models I have looked at have a mounting depth of 3", which is much more than I'm thinking I will get with the way it is set up now. ALSO, the speaker mounts suck. I have to mount my speaker to this crummy piece of plastic in the door, in which it HARDLY fits. So:
I plan on adding spacers and mounting them to the door metal, where they SHOULD have been to begin with. What kind of modifications do I need to make to my doors to make this possible? Is there an easy way to remove the stock speaker "spacer" or do I need to chop it out with a cut off tool?

 

You will need to cut the speaker "housing" off the door panel, remove as much plastic as possible without removing panel mounting screw holes, [3 of them] and the holes for the grill clips.

If your good at modding, [fabrication] remove the compete pocket panel... http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...NT+DOOR+LINING and fab up a replacement using MDF and fiberglass.

The more mass the speaker is mounted to the better it will sound and wood is the best "mass" to mount a speaker to. 94

 

Thanks, that is exactly the answer I was looking for. The doors are getting deadened this weekend anyway but I wanted to mount to the door. I was going to use an MDF spacer, but you say wood is better? Any kind of wood in particular?

Also: I've read of people using clay, I'm assuming to prevent panel resonance. Would this be a good idea?

 

MDF = wood plus bonding agents, very dense so will work very well for speakers, it is also easy to work with, can be cut and sanded into just about any shape.

Keep in mind, MDF needs to be sealed to prevent it from socking up moisture, I use fiberglass resin, a good wood sealer will also work, once you have your panel/spacer made, cover all surfaces with a sealer. 94