Re: Rear Speakers (long) (archive)

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In Reply to: Rear Speakers posted by Carl Richardson on March 02, 2002 at 23:32:43:

This is a very common issue with these 7's. The factory system uses a head unit (probably made by pioneer), a rear mounted amplifier (but we don't know the power). The speakers are 4 ohm components with 5 inch midbass drivers rear and in the kicks, 3 inch mids in the dash, 1" tweeters in the doors (some) and in the rear. I have not been able to determine the power rating on the factory amp from this board, but the components are rated for 40 watts, so if the amp is more than 20 watts rms I would be very surprised. The different things are the separate fader switch on the dash and the fact that the speaker crossovers are integral to the amplifier.

Soooo.. Its up to you and your wallet what to do next. I recommend 5" component systems from Pioneer, infinity or others, If you want to go WAY out you can use Infinity Kappa components or MB Quart components. Replacing the factory speakers and using the factory amp will improve the sound, if not the volume too. To add bass, Infinity makes a "plug and play" powered sub woofer you can put in the trunk with minimal intrusion into the factory system.

But.... If that doesn't work for you, you can replace the head unit, put in a 4 way amp and some crossovers, even run RCA cable from your new head unit to a separate amp and put some subs in!
Some patch into the factory speaker wires, others run new monster cable etc.

Me? I went all out, new Kenwood CD head unit, new MD quart components, Kenwood 1000 watt 4way amp in the trunk. 2x12" JBL subs in the trunk (mounted in a custom panel under the rear shelf).

You could go stepwise.. Change the speakers, see if you like the sound, maybe add a woofer next, if that doesent turn your crank enough, re-amp the system to power up.

PS.pry up the speaker covers in the rear shelf from the side, probably toward the back if you can
3 sides pry up but one side is fixed and hooked underthe shelf (in the front on my car). To remove the kick panels, on pass side, turn the fastners 90 degrees with a small flat screwdriver, pull the door gasket loose and it should come out. On the drivers side, its the same, except you have to also remove the hood release handle (10mm on mine). Dash speaker panels pry up from the front, Door tweets have a small phillips screw in the bottom, then pry out.

How do you remove the rear speakers on a 1988 735I? And what would you recommend to do if I wanted to enhance the power and sound quality of the system--subs/amps etc.? Also what is the better brand of speaker to use to replace the speakers with?

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