[qajteq]

Refreshing the topic,

Unfortunately, BRZs in highest trim in Europe, comes with 6 way speakers, bummer. Went ahead with what UK forum says and here we are:

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• qajteq
• Mar 16, 2024

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• Mar 16, 2024

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• qajteq
• Mar 16, 2024

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• Mar 16, 2024

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• Mar 16, 2024

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• Mar 16, 2024

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• Mar 16, 2024

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• qajteq
• Mar 16, 2024

https://www.gr-zoo.com/threads/focal-2-way-component-oem-retrofit.4770/page-1

Today I went to garage to play around.
Starting from my observations and inputs.

All spoken on this thread is valid and easily explained. The process is absurdly simple and there is nothing to break. Couple dummy plugs, screws and you are good to go. Tweeters are doable within 15 minutes, I'd recommend doing them "in spare moment" to not add additional time for the doors.

If you are still scared, watch this guy, he goes over the same procedure step by step.

NOTE, Focal tweeters don't need that much of a hassle, just pick adapter and you are good to go.

For people upgrading only audio, total spent time would be 1hr for whole car, it's dead simple. Others, myself included, if you are using mats to deaden the car, it's a little bit tricker. I did it first time and for passenger doors alone, it took me almost 4 hours.

The black glue, holding the plastic... It stretched like a fudge, cheese, sticks like hell but there is a good part as well. You can simply "pull" the glue, and then when it's on your gloves, just use it to get rest of the glue from the frame - you will create "snowball", or in this case, "glue ball" (see my pic with the glove). Afterwards, it's easy as hell, you don't need any tar remover as glue sticks more to itself than to the metal doors.

Take the plastic tools to extract any pins left from door shell, to the metal inside frame. Also watch out for silicone rubber grommets that are attached to the pins - you can easily drop them and miss em when assembling.

I've managed to do only passenger side so can't really tell much about the audio but first inputs - it's noticeable that right doors sounds better I'll wrap up driver side and give it a fly.

Lastly, as presented by other guy from UK, 2:29 moment.

If you don't want to add necessary weight to the car, just swap the speakers, I'd suggest buying thick PPF foil and just cover all of the holes. It will weight next to nothing, serve its purpose by stopping the water but you will mitigate the resonating sounds from the foil itself - think about it, you already disassembled the doors, it's one extra mile and it doesn't require anything fancy, scissors alone will do the trick.

Cheers,

 

[Ritter]

Nicely documented @qajteq. The stock door speakers look like a complete joke next to those Focals!

Do you think you don’t need the clear plastic water barrier now that you’ve sealed the door openings?

 

[qajteq]

Indeed, looks like OEM woofers are 170g, while Focals are 900g... It's no comparison between the two.

I'll keep an eye on that one as I know that it's there for a reason. Most of the pictures of other attempts for sound deadening on this car are without plastic vapour barrier, with all holes sealed. I suspect, if you replicate it to not allow water to enter the inner side, it will be fine. I plan to just retake the sides after a year to see if glue still holds up on the sheets I've put inside and make adjustments if needed. Hopefully by then, my car won't drown 🤣

 

[qajteq]

Tips from day two, driver doors.

Yesterday I had 15*C weather, today it was around 4 outside. Drawbacks? All plastics hardens and are harder to remove. I've broken one door clip, gladly it was in place where it meets front dashboard so won't be noticeable. I've left mats overnight in car trunk - they were hard as brick and glue was not sticking to anything. Had to make a trip to my home and warm them up with hairdresser. On plus note, the stock glue came easier than yesterday...

Moving on:
If you are all in, to remove the plastic vapour barrier, follow it in this manner - use a sharp knife, and cut out inside of the plastic sheet, leave the outer edges. In this way, it will be significantly less hassle to work on it, and you can pull this part like a rope and goes much easier.

No further pics, I've replicated what I did on passenger side.

Another key point, if you are covering door openings, the part, from where steel lines for locker and door opening comes out (black cable with foam).

Make a cut in mats, closer to rear of the car, rather than front. On driver side, they are obstructing with window mechanism, making funny noise at the begging of the pull downwards. I had to work this out without removing the mat, next time I'd be smarter.

Apart from that, nothing much, same as passenger.

The sound

Oh my gosh, finally this car has audible radio. My goodness. On stock OEM setup, my "threshold" of loudness and quality, was around 20-21 or 22 if going faster - anything further than that sounds absolutely garbage.

With Focals, at 19 it's insanely loud and you CANNOT HEAR THE CAR INSIDE! I was stoked. I'm running AWE Touring exhaust and speakers are louder than exhaust and car noises while cruising with engine below 2500 RPM.

The sound is on next level. Finally, finally... you can distinguish various instruments in the songs. In short summary. Highs are clearer, mids as well, bass is also more precise. Improvement at any level. Vocals are significantly better. The separation on mids and lows is there. It's not a single blur when listening but clear distinction from each sound - drums with beats? No problem. Not the cinema quality or good end hi-fi, but audio is not the weak point now. Highway runs at 140km/h (87mp/h) is doable as well, it's around 3800 RPM on 6th gear, you can hear the engine in background and between the songs, but finally your ears are not bleeding from turning it on.

My settings are following. Bass stays on 0, mids at +2, treble at -2. All other enhancements are off. The speed turn up volume is also off. When audio is at 19/20, and if it's set on low, at 140km/h it's way too loud for my taste. I prefer to have it off now.

Definitely worth the hassle. Wonder how it sounds without this simple deadening. I bought 1,5m^2 of material and I'm left with half of it untouched.

If you are bugging yourself, just don't, go for it.

For people wondering about plastic vapour barrier, it's available as a part from Subie website:

https://parts.grandsubaru.com/a/Sub...ubaru__BRZ/_54105_9408647/FRONT-DOOR-PANEL--REARSLIDEDOOR-PANEL/Z11-605-02.html

61244A and 61244B.