2003 M&T HU & Speaker upgrade advice needed

[scottstoked]

Ok, so I've already replaced the HU with a JVC KD-R820BT deck (4x50W). Everything is working, but I'm worried the speakers might go if I push it too loud.I was thinking of upgrading the front first with the Polk 651s low profile speakers and the rear later on with the the same (non-shallow). So I've read a lot of posts on here and these speakers seem to get a lot of love. I guess I jsut want to clarify a few things based on what I've read here.- Do I have to bypass the amp? I'd rather not because I'm pretty new to audio installs and the less I have to mess with, the better But will leaving it connected cause any issues?- Any issues with keeping the rear factory speakers for now? Like, will it all run together smoothly? Polks + Stock Amp + Stock Rear speaker?- Is it true the stock tweeters will stop working? I'm totally ok with them not working.- If I keep the front mounting rings, do I need the shallow mount speakers, or could I use any 6.5" pair?Thanks so much, guys!

[scottstoked]

BUMP & UPDATE: One of the rear stock speakers just blew today. So it looks like I'll be doing all four speakers now. If I replace the rears with 5 1/4" speakers, I don't have to drill out the speaker mount rivets, do I? Or should I just pull them and fit 6.5" in there?The rear speakers don't need to be shallow mount do they?Thanks . . .hope someone can help.

[Serj22]

What I did was I carefully -Note I say carefully, because this part is very important -took a knife... and stabbed the hell out of the speaker till it became nothingness, then I took some pliers and carefully wrenched on the back of the supports till the speaker mount was destroyed and ripped out. All that is left is the surround, which I screwed the new speaker to. Keep in mind that the rear doors for some reason touch the door panel if you're not careful about filing down the old speaker surround. The fronts didn't really have that problem. I have since removed the honeycombing on the door and just mounted my nice Diamonds on the outside...

[scottstoked]

Thanks for the reply! So you put 5 1/4" speakers in the rear? Did you swap out the fronts as well? Did you have to use low profile speakers in the front if keeping the original mounts?Thanks!

[scottstoked]

Another quick bump . . . Haven't bought speakers yet, but hoping someone could answer:- Do I have to bypass the factory amp when installing new speakers to the aftermarket HU? I'd rather not because I'm pretty new to audio installs and the less I have to mess with, the better But will leaving it connected cause any issues?- Is it true the stock tweeters will stop working? I'm totally ok with them not working.- If I keep the front mounting rings, do I need the shallow mount speakers, or could I use any 6.5" pair?Thanks so much, guys!

[LeRoy]

I installed a set of four Polk 651s. Bought from Crutchfield at a great sale price per pair plus the second pair at half that. The package included wire harness adapters, speaker mount adapter rings, instructions, etc. Everything was delivered to my doorstep for under $100. The moral of the story: Watch for sales at Crutchfield.All four speakers were identical (6 1/4", I think) and all four were standard depth. None of the speakers or doors required any special modifications other than drilling out the stock speaker rivets and drilling new holes for the new mounting screws. If you use a combination of the Polk speakers and the brackets that Crutchfield supplies. it will all fit together with no depth or clearance issues.The sound (with the standard HU) is excellent, although a bit more bass would be nice. But then again, I don't have M&T.Here's one more point, and it's a freebie. As I mentioned in a post in the For Sale/Wanted topic, I have a set of all four stock speakers. If you need one, it's yours for the cost of postage.

[scottstoked]

Thanks, Leroy!So you didn't re-use the speaker mounts?I'll be replacing all four speakers as well, but I appreciate your generous offer!I'm considering going with Kicker DS60, but not sure about clearance issues.

[LeRoy]

Right, I did not use the original speakers as speaker mounts. Instead, the additional speaker mounting rings supplied by Crutchfield were enough to space the speakers out and there was plenty of clearance behind them.

[scottstoked]

Awesome, thanks for the info. I'll be ordering from Crutchfield as well.