6x9 to 8 inch

[Pimenteljoe]

Hey guys well I’m curious if it’s possible, is it even doable to put in 8 inch speakers into the area of the 2019 Dodge Ram Limited.

The speakers I’ll use are Hertz SPL mids or woofers.

Now the both have a mounting depth of 2.5 to 3.3

I also know that I’ll need to use a custom bracket. But I just wanted to know if it’s even possible? Please let me know

So my real question is, is there enough room from the door panel that will not interfere with the speaker and have enough space for modifications.

 

[Pimenteljoe]

 

[RichInMN]

Possible, doable, done it . Plenty of space in there both in front and behind the speaker, and very easy to trim the panels up; they're like soft pvc. I would say mounting depth is just under 3.75" (that's with a 3/8" speaker plate). The speaker plates had to be a very specific shape to work, but that part was not too bad, I just used a paper template.

 

[Pimenteljoe]

Possible, doable, done it . Plenty of space in there both in front and behind the speaker, and very easy to trim the panels up; they're like soft pvc. I would say mounting depth is just under 3.75" (that's with a 3/8" speaker plate). The speaker plates had to be a very specific shape to work, but that part was not too bad, I just used a paper template.

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did you install 8 inch speakers in yours ?

 

[RichInMN]

did you install 8 inch speakers in yours ?

Those are the 8's in my pic... also in my sig

 

[Pimenteljoe]

Those are the 8's in my pic... also in my sig

how much of the door did you have to modify and did you have to modify the door panel, cause i would like to be able to retain everything factory and not have to hack up door panels and door trim and all.

 

[RichInMN]

how much of the door did you have to modify and did you have to modify the door panel, cause i would like to be able to retain everything factory and not have to hack up door panels and door trim and all.

You can't fit a 8" circle into a 6x9" hole without cutting the panels - why did you even start this conversation?

You want to keep everything stock? Buy 6x9's or downsize to 6" or 5.25" rounds.

 

[Pimenteljoe]

You can't fit a 8" circle into a 6x9" hole without cutting the panels - why did you even start this conversation?

You want to keep everything stock? Buy 6x9's or downsize to 6" or 5.25" rounds.

I was only curious about how much you had to modify the door, in order to fit it. cause your picture which is very helpful does not show how much was modified. and just a side note. did you do anything to the door panel?
just in my build, I want to keep everything stealth and not reveal anything.

 

[RichInMN]

I was only curious about how much you had to modify the door, in order to fit it. cause your picture which is very helpful does not show how much was modified. and just a side note. did you do anything to the door panel?
just in my build, I want to keep everything stealth and not reveal anything.

The outer door panel doesn't need any alteration so long as the speaker and speaker plate are shaped and placed precisely - there's no indication to a casual observer that the speakers have been upgraded underneath. The inner panels will all need quite a bit cut out of them (see pic for an example).

With something like this, you have to ask yourself whether you are willing and have the confidence to make irreversible changes / cut apart your vehicle. For me it isn't a big deal to do this type of thing, and I'll have this truck for a long time - but everyone's different. Good luck to you.

 

[Pimenteljoe]

The outer door panel doesn't need any alteration so long as the speaker and speaker plate are shaped and placed precisely - there's no indication to a casual observer that the speakers have been upgraded underneath. The inner panels will all need quite a bit cut out of them (see pic for an example).

With something like this, you have to ask yourself whether you are willing and have the confidence to make irreversible changes / cut apart your vehicle. For me it isn't a big deal to do this type of thing, and I'll have this truck for a long time - but everyone's different. Good luck to you.

View attachment 148769

Perfect thanks dude, this is what I was wanting to see, and I have no problems doing any type of modification to my truck. As at some
Point I’ll just make 6x9 plates to put back in the factory speakers.

On that note, did you run all new wires or did you get a t harness and get speaker adapters to install the 8 inch speakers?

 

[RichInMN]

Perfect thanks dude, this is what I was wanting to see, and I have no problems doing any type of modification to my truck. As at some
Point I’ll just make 6x9 plates to put back in the factory speakers.

On that note, did you run all new wires or did you get a t harness and get speaker adapters to install the 8 inch speakers?

I ran 10 gauge OFC to all the doors, and let me tell you - it was a major pain, the rubber sleeves connecting the door to the body are TIGHT - there was a lot of swearing involved! In the end, took over an hour just to pull the wires out to the doors. In addition, had to drill out the wire plugs where they clip in to the body of the truck. If you're running high power amps and premium speakers it's probably worth the effort though!

 

[Pimenteljoe]

I ran 10 gauge OFC to all the doors, and let me tell you - it was a major pain, the rubber sleeves connecting the door to the body are TIGHT - there was a lot of swearing involved! In the end, took over an hour just to pull the wires out to the doors. In addition, had to drill out the wire plugs where they clip in to the body of the truck. If you're running high power amps and premium speakers it's probably worth the effort though!

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awsome very helpful, are you using the Pac AmpPRO

 

[RichInMN]

awsome very helpful, are you using the Pac AmpPRO

I'm using the Dayton DSP-408 and I like it a lot - lots of folks seem to like the Pac as well as some of the other options.

 

[Mkna0693]

Has anyone done rear 8 inch as well?

 

[Alter Ego Trip]

Rear will be same as front. The pic posted above actually appears to be a rear door, unless they changed the design for 24 cause mine don't look like that in the front.

I'm literally in the process of installing a TM8 in my front doors as we speak. I'll provide some additional info for fit and design as I progress. I'm pulling 16 gauge (10 ga is as overkill as you get lol) so should go a bit easier. I'm running a couple hundred a channel, but 16 should still be sufficient for the run length we are working with. I run 12 ga in my dedicated theater with 500 wpc on the mains and have zero issues, and that's 5x's the length as our trucks are.

 

[rick619]

Definitely up to you. I just figure if you're going to do subs, they should be in a box under the rear seat. Though with up to a 3.5" in the dash, you could do components all up front and maybe small 8" subs in the rear doors.

Since the 6X9's are good for mid bass, I might do a single 10" or 12" in a box under the rear seat. For now, I just ordered Infinity reference 6X9 for the doors and 3.5" for the dash. All are 3ohm from Crutchfield, arriving this week. No amp for now. MIght add an amp and sub later.

 

[Alter Ego Trip]

Definitely up to you. I just figure if you're going to do subs, they should be in a box under the rear seat. Though with up to a 3.5" in the dash, you could do components all up front and maybe small 8" subs in the rear doors.

Since the 6X9's are good for mid bass, I might do a single 10" or 12" in a box under the rear seat. For now, I just ordered Infinity reference 6X9 for the doors and 3.5" for the dash. All are 3ohm from Crutchfield, arriving this week. No amp for now. MIght add an amp and sub later.

Subs do not belong in a door. Worst spot for them. You'd have to somehow build a sealed enclosure inside the door (an 8" sub isn't really designed to work IB, which a door is. You'd then have to take into account the 8 million rattles that will most likely occur from everything resonating inside the panel.

6x9's have almost the exact same surface area as an 8", so you are not gaining much cone area by switching. If you are running a 2 way front, you want to avoid an 8" altogether due to beaming issues. A 3 way will allow you to cross the 8 low enough that's not an issue. 6x9's shine here, due to their orientation. In our doors where they are mounted almost on the vertical axis; you get the beaming characteristics of a much smaller driver, with the cone area of a larger one. The only issue with 6x9's, IMO, is there really isn't a really high quality option on the table. If ultimate SQ isn't a priority however; most any 6x9 will be a huge upgrade over factory.