Door Speakers & Subwoofers in my Leaf

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Randy said:
Some older mp3s on my stick have lower average volume levels and the volume in the car might be a little higher, but I would still say 50-70% on most music gives pretty decent volume.
Click to expand...
I have found MP3Gain to do a decent job at fixing the problem that recording levels are all over the map. It does so by adjusting the block scaling factors in the MP3 file, without re-encoding, so there's no quality loss. I've been using MP3Gain to adjust my files to a "86 dB" level.
 
tps said:
I have found MP3Gain to do a decent job at fixing the problem that recording levels are all over the map. It does so by adjusting the block scaling factors in the MP3 file, without re-encoding, so there's no quality loss. I've been using MP3Gain to adjust my files to a "86 dB" level.
Click to expand...
Interesting... Does it work with AAC files too, or just MP3?
 
Quick note - alternative for speakers I just stumbled across:
Polk MM651

They're 2.7 ohm (so slightly higher impedence), but they have a major advantage in that they use neodymium magnets like the stock speakers, leading to much lighter speakers. Amazon has them for about $100.

Oh, neat, I was just looking at the documentation on them, they have a pretty nice external passive crossover (most coaxials just have a cheap capacitor on the tweeter).
 
defiancecp said:
Quick note - alternative for speakers I just stumbled across:
Polk MM651

They're 2.7 ohm (so slightly higher impedence), but they have a major advantage in that they use neodymium magnets like the stock speakers, leading to much lighter speakers. Amazon has them for about $100.

Oh, neat, I was just looking at the documentation on them, they have a pretty nice external passive crossover (most coaxials just have a cheap capacitor on the tweeter).
Click to expand...



How is the fit in the door?
 
Randy said:
If you have a copy of the Service Manual, it will be helpful to print out pages INT13 - INT18 (Body Interior). This information can be used to remove the two pieces on the door so you can get to the screws underneath and ultimately remove the door panel. I followed the directions in the INT manual. You really need a thin tool for the bottom piece. One you get the two pieces off, then disconnect the wiring connector for the door lock / power window. Then remove the two screws.
Click to expand...


Any possibility you might scan those pages and post them for us? :roll:
 
Rather than just looking at a few pages, for $19.99, you can get a one day subscription from Nissan and download and save all the pdf files for the service manual at the link below.

http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/product.aspx?dept_id=18&sku=online1

Definitely worth it...

Randy
 
awiegel said:
defiancecp said:
Quick note - alternative for speakers I just stumbled across:
Polk MM651

They're 2.7 ohm (so slightly higher impedence), but they have a major advantage in that they use neodymium magnets like the stock speakers, leading to much lighter speakers. Amazon has them for about $100.

Oh, neat, I was just looking at the documentation on them, they have a pretty nice external passive crossover (most coaxials just have a cheap capacitor on the tweeter).
Click to expand...



How is the fit in the door?
Click to expand...

I'll let you know in a few weeks :)
 
Can some one suggest if http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DXF990/ref=wms_ohs_product_T2 OR http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OSZA44/ref=wms_ohs_product_T2 fit under the seat or any other place in front or rear seating area?
 
I bought a similiar product from Crutchfield for another vehicle. It works, but it is definitely a compromise. The bass is not what you would call "deep" in frequency, but is more "mid-range". I looked at those Boss boxes from Amazon, but the negative reviews and failures scared me off, and that's why I went with the Sound Ordinance B-8PT model from Crutchfield.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_777B8PT/Sound-Ordnance-B-8PT.html?tp=114&nvpair=FFBrand%7cSound+Ordnance

After installing the Bazookas in the Leaf and the Sound Ordinance in our other car, I'm glad I chose the Bazookas for the Leaf. The sound is much better...

It does make for a tight fit under the seat in the other car, so I'm not sure if the Boss unit would fit under the seat on the Leaf....

Randy
 
defiancecp said:
awiegel said:
defiancecp said:
Quick note - alternative for speakers I just stumbled across:
Polk MM651

They're 2.7 ohm (so slightly higher impedence), but they have a major advantage in that they use neodymium magnets like the stock speakers, leading to much lighter speakers. Amazon has them for about $100.

Oh, neat, I was just looking at the documentation on them, they have a pretty nice external passive crossover (most coaxials just have a cheap capacitor on the tweeter).
Click to expand...



How is the fit in the door?
Click to expand...

I'll let you know in a few weeks :)
Click to expand...


I'm also interested in upgrading my Leaf speakers. Please let me know if these Polk MM651 work. They've gotten good reviews and the price is right, but it's not clear if this is for a pair of speakers or just one? http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-AA2651-6-5-Inch-Speaker/dp/B001C3P6FI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1308374957&sr=8-1

Also, the little compatibility app on Amazon claims these won't work with the Leaf???

Any other models can you recommend?
 
Does it make any sense to apply Dynamat or an equivalent whilst performing this mod? I assume that the Dynamat will greatly enhance the acoustics.

I know that our Leafs are already quiet but once you crank up the music in your Leaf, it certainly will be heard more prominently from outside the car.
 
Page AV-13 and AV -14 of the service manual describe the signal being sent to the front door speakers as low and mid range only, while the rear door is said to get low, mid and high and the tweeters (obviously) get high range signal. This appears to indicate a built in crossover in the head unit and the fact that coax speakers may not be appropriate for the front doors. No?

It doesn't look that hard to get those covers off the windshield pillars to replace the tweeters.....
 
The wiring harness at the head unit is a standard '07+ nissan harness - meaning it only has front left and front right outputs (as well as the same rear set) - no connections available for crossed over outputs. However, there could be a passive crossover somewhere in the wiring that would be a problem - but only if it can't be found.

I've got my polks in now, they're nice and light. There's no reason they shouldn't fit in the front or rear doors physically, but I'll confirm as soon as my work in the garage is finished (probably another week or so). I'll see if I can track down crossovers as well. Having said that, a common factory configuration is a simple capacitor on the tweeter and open connection to a midrange that is simply not very responsive to high frequencies, so it may still be fine as long as the tweet is disconnected.

I'll be putting them in the rear, though; the front doors will only be getting the midbass from my PC3.65c component set (mids and highs will go in custom fiberglass pods I'm building and installing in the tiny front window areas).



As an additional note on the wiring harness - I plan to use an Alpine imprint factory integration unit, so I need speaker-level inputs - but I don't want to cut any wires. So, I got two wiring harnesses - one factory replacement style, the other the standard type for connecting an aftermarket head unit, then chained them together to make a short plug that connects between the harness and head unit. Now I can cut *those* wires all I want without any impact to the factory original wires. The only problem I had was that the aftermarket unit style didn't have 4 of the wires (related to steering wheel controls and other things that wouldn't relate to an aftermarket unit normally), so I got two of the aftermarket harnesses, then used a small pin to pop the harnness pins out of the second one. I then used those wires I pulled from the secondary to fill in the missing pins in the real harness.

The part numbers are metra 70-7552 (connects to factory harness, need two of these to get the extra pins) and 71-7552 (to connect to the radio).
 
awiegel said:
Page AV-13 and AV -14 of the service manual describe the signal being sent to the front door speakers as low and mid range only, while the rear door is said to get low, mid and high and the tweeters (obviously) get high range signal. This appears to indicate a built in crossover in the head unit and the fact that coax speakers may not be appropriate for the front doors. No?

It doesn't look that hard to get those covers off the windshield pillars to replace the tweeters.....
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure that's not accurate. Or, if it is, it was being filtered at the speaker itself. I've disabled the pillar tweeters and am using the coaxial speakers in both front and rear doors. I do not notice ANY lack of high frequencies with this arrangement.
 
That is good news, since I already bought my speakers!

Out of curiousity, why disconnect the ones in the pillars?
 
defiancecp said:
the front doors will only be getting the midbass from my PC3.65c component set (mids and highs will go in custom fiberglass pods I'm building and installing in the tiny front window areas).


I commute through San Francisco and go through those intersections you saw in "Bullet." If it wasn't for that tiny window on the passenger side you would have a blind spot big enough to completely hide a car approaching from the right as you enter the intersection going uphill. I'd urge you to be really careful about blocking that window.
Click to expand...
 
Really? From my seating position, I can't see anything of value whatsoever from them - they look out at the ground about 6-8ft from the car.... I guess it depends on where you position your seat?
 
defiancecp said:
Really? From my seating position, I can't see anything of value whatsoever from them - they look out at the ground about 6-8ft from the car.... I guess it depends on where you position your seat?
Click to expand...


Well, yes. I am sure that is the case. I am over 6' tall and my seat is shoved back. If you are closer to the windshield you wouldn't have blind spots from the pillars.

Andrew
 

Similar threads

C
HOW-TO: 2018 Leaf ZE1 OEM headunit replacement (7" -> 8")
4 5 6
Replies
103
Views
29K
deadphill
D
N
Gen 1 DC/DC Converter and HV Junction Box
Replies
6
Views
8K
nlspace
N
S
Findings with my new 2022 SV Plus and Carplay and Crackling sounds
2 3
Replies
42
Views
16K
KevintheLeafGuy
K
K
Upgraded the Head Unit for my 2015 LEAF S
Replies
6
Views
8K
fopoku2k2
F
C
[GUIDE] LED light bar installation on LED headlight Leaf ZE1
Replies
7
Views
5K
CeladonCityNPC
C

Latest posts

Back
Top