Jd1681

Have any of you replaced your factory shaker 500 speakers with aftermarket units? If so, which speakers have you replaced first? The shaker 500 in-door subs, front door speakers, or rear deck speakers? In my opinion the stereo lacks midrange, so it seems like the rear deck and front speakers would be the place to start. Any opinions?

CrazyAl

I haven't replaced mine yet. However, I agree. The factory weakness appears to be in the midrange, esp. vocals.

I would do the rear deck first, as I think the rear sounds a bit thin. Next would be the front door speakers. I am quite happy with the subs. Sure, they could be better but the hassle of finding and buying a replacement that performed well in the same volume enclosure would be more work than I would care to do, at least for the time being.

nbk13nw

There are some things to consider.

By replacing the old factory speakers with better quality components you will hear a noticeable increase in sound quality.

All the speakers can be replaced with good quality 5x7 / 6x8 speakers or with component sets. It is all dependant upon your ability to justify the expense.

The 8" subs in the door are dual voice coil shallow mount subs. They, like the others from the factory, are not very good quality but very efficient. The built in enclosure is actually very nice. If you replace these you need to know where your going in the future. Are you planning on getting a separate amp for the front / rear speakers? If not then you may want to invest in a dual voice coil sub for the front doors. If you are getting (recommended) a new amp, then run new wires and put what you want in there…

The HU sucks *****... There I said it.

I replaced the head unit with an Alpine 9847. It had all the qualities I was looking for in an HU.

I used Rockford Fosgate Punch Series 6x8's in the upper doors and rear deck.

Rockford Fosgate Punch 8" in the lower doors. Some modification was required but I did keep the factory enclosure intact.

Rockford Fosgate Punch 10" subs in the rear using a Q-Logic box.

Rockford Fosgate P3001 amp for the subs in the rear.

Rockford Fosgate P4004 amp for the front (upper and lower) and rear speakers.

Used Fatmat for sound deadening as well as what Dynamat I had left over. There is a noticeable difference when deadening / isolating the truck, rear deck and front doors. A very good idea!

Skrappy

I am putting Infinity Kappas in the doors along with Kicker SSmb8 8" mid bass speakers to replace the door subs. They are a slim mount sub so I am hoping to eliminate any modification to the door box, they also have blue carbon fiber cones and come with some sweet grills to accent the interior as well.

Good luck!

Skrappy

CrazyAl

Something to consider is that the various mechanical and electrical properties of a sub must be matched to the box that it is put in. I am assuming that even though the Ford door subs aren't the greatest quality, the enclosures are at least matched to the T/S parameters (Free Air resonance, Compliance, etc.) of the subs. If you put in different subs, even nice quality ones such as Kicker, JL, etc., it may very well sound WORSE if the properties of the new speaker aren't well suited to the enclosures. This is all covered in even the most basic books on speaker design and building. Does anyone know the exact specs of the Ford OEM subs? That would make it easier to find a good aftermarket replacement.

Jd1681

A lot of the 8" subs out there require .4-1.2 (approx.) sq. ft of space inside a sealed box. I'm sure the ford door falls in that range.

nbk13nw

I am looking for the tech article now, but I think that it was stated as .75 cubic feet in the enclosure. However, I do know that even with the replacements sound so much better than the stockers...

If your planning on adding an amp then any sub will do... if not try sticking to a dual voice coil in order to match up with the stock amps.

CheremisinoffPA

Im in the process of doing the same modifications. Currently I replaced my head unit with a computer monitor/FM tuner. I of course rewired the car speakers. I do not have the amps I need yet so everything is wired to the back of the radio. Of course since I disconnected my speakers, my 6X8s are wired and work fine, but my 8" subs are disconnected and dont work. I need bass. I want to replace all my speakers and get amps to run everything. My question is, do any of you know which subs will fit the 8" enclosure in the doors. If you dont know of any that fit perfect, can you tell me exactly what type of modifications I will need to make. I dont want to have to cut into the door panels in order to fit a speaker. If I can get a speaker that fits or comes very close, that would be awsome. Please help. Thanx.

JoeJP

From experience, the MTX 4500's fit with no modifications, the CDC EF-8's and Rockford Fosgate Punch 1's fit with only a slight heat gun adjustment to the upper side and back of the box. All are svc subs. If you really want bass, get a Scosche box and 12" sub for the trunk.