[ace72ace]

With basic tools and a little patience, you can accomplish this job in 60-90 minutes. I would like to mention that depending on 'how much' stereo you want (sound quality improvement and/or raw power upgrade) should factor into your speaker choice. The amplifier in the factory head unit is barely adequate to power even after market brand name speakers. Consider replacing the factory speakers with the 5x7s/6x8s of your choice knowing that you will probably want more power by means of an after market head unit or amplifier using a line out adapter.

I was hoping that the stock head unit would have enough power to keep me happy until next year when I can afford a full blown upgrade with high end components, alas it was not to be. Now I am taking the extra step to install an amp I already had to power the JL Audio 6x8 coaxials now in the car.

FWIW, don't bother with the hassle of replacing the rear speakers unless you are adding more power. The factory head unit seems to bias the power output at least 75% to the front, with the rear only providing the lowest sound levels.

Start by pulling off the triangular trim piece at the top corner of the door. A small flat blade screw driver does the job, but you can get a hard plastic trim removal tool from Amazon if you are paranoid about scratching the plastic.

Pop off the power window switch trim panel.

Pop off the door handle trim piece.

Pop off the door lock post trim piece.

Now get your torx bit in your ratcheting screwdriver and remove the bolt from behind the door handle.

Pop off the window switch panel to give access to the hidden 4mm bolt.

Pry out the trim panel to the right of the window switch panel in the middle of the door panel to access the 2nd bolt, and remove it with the same bit as the door handle bolt.

There are 8 hex head bolts, I think they are 4mm, sorry can't recall exactly, 2 on the side of the door near the door hinges, 3 on the bottom of the panel, and the 2 on the end of the door near the door latch under 2 plastic covers.

So that's only 7 bolts, where is #8? Behind the window switch, I couldn't see it at first and couldn't figure out why after removing all the other bolts why it didn't just pop right off with a little upward pressure? I have an old back seat bottom from a '77 Tbird that I use for working on cars in my drive what that I used to supporth the panel once I got it off. No need to unhook the cables for the door latch mechanism.

Now you can finally see the stock 6x8's and remove them. Replacements will bolt right in, no need to replace the stock spacer on the door. I only had to remove the mounting tab that was on the very end of one side of my coaxials, the 4 bolts to hold the speaker in align in the standard locations. Do not over torque the bolts when replacing your speakers!!

Do yourself a favor and order the Metra speaker harness adapter from Amazon, it's *exactly* what you need and make the job easy.

Make sure you test your speakers before bolting the panel back on.

The process is the same for the driver's side except there is an electrical harness connection for the power mirror control switch.

And that's all there is to it, except of course realizing that even after all that work you really need more power! I will cover my amplifier installation in another thread.

 

[g8rh8r]

Thanks for the info. I will be replacing mine sometime here soon. Can't wait for the amp install pics.

 

[2013_SterlingGT]

This is quite high on my list of improvements to my Base. The Base car I drove had a terrible stereo system in it, much worse than the stock Bose system in my RSX-s. I am not an audiophile by any means, but the stock GT stereo definitely needs help. I plan on replacing all 4 speakers as well run by a 4 ch amp and a subwoofer as well. I look forward to your amp install on the '13 to help me when mine arrives (should be this week!). Thanks for taking the time to do this write-up!

 

[jdnull68]

EXCELLENT write-up! I had to go through these steps to replace a beat up door shell recently, along with window, locks, etc. OP nailed it on getting to the speakers.:bigthumbsup JD
BTW, my base speakers suck, too. I would like to replace mine...how much extra HP did those get ya?:gringreen

 

[Nick F]

Same procedure as the older cars. I plan to replace my '07's Shaker speakers.

The speakers in the rear deck are a real PIA. So make sure you really want to change them.

 

[Joenpb]

Excellent photos to go with your instructions. :bigthumbsup

I did similar, & was looking at 4 channel amps when a buddy talked me into an 8" sub & 5 channel amp (Basically for a few hundred more the sound would be much better).

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/foru...ums/2011-v6-mustang-tech/299843-speaker-swap-out-suggestions-2.html#post2610234

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/foru...ums/2011-v6-mustang-tech/299843-speaker-swap-out-suggestions-2.html#post2610903

JL Audio XD700/5 (XD700-5) 5-Channel Class D XD Series Power Car Amplifier/Amp | eBay

CP108LG-W3v3 - Car Audio - Subwoofer Systems - FlatWedge

It sounds great, even going 70 mph on the hwy with the windows down.

 

[gs462]

This is about the only complaint I have with my standard the stereo SUX. I will be upgrading things. How would one hook an amp to the stock sterero?

 

[mcesarey]

Thanks for this write-up. How do you like the sound of the JLs?

 

[ace72ace]

Sound quality is hard to gauge with such a weak stock amp. I have a slightly higher model in the front door of my '97 Marquis, but that is driven by the amp in my Pioneer, so it sounds great.

I will post a couple of clips that will show that the amp is really on capable of a bright mid-range, some highs, and a teeny tiny amount of bass.

You should see this old monster of an amp I have, talk about old school. Hell in another few years you could classify it as an antique. As my son would say, it's vintage. Yamaha YPA-1020, circa 1991.

 

[mcesarey]

I think some of this is skewed by the fact that it's a base stereo. The Shaker in mine has the 8" door subs which actually sound pretty good. So when I change door speakers, I don't care to get any bass from them. In fact, I'll probably put a cap on them that crosses at about 300 or 400Hz, since I believe that's what the door subs cross at. I'm actually impressed with the factory amp in the standard Shaker for 2013.

 

[burke985]

Thanks for this write up ill be doing this soon , I called best buy and got a price on all four speakers and an 4 channel AMP install and total with speakers and amp was over 800 bucks. Ill be doing the speakers myself now

 

[jdnull68]

Thanks for this write up ill be doing this soon , I called best buy and got a price on all four speakers and an 4 channel AMP install and total with speakers and amp was over 800 bucks. Ill be doing the speakers myself now

mg::shocked:
Thank God for common sense and "can-do" attitude!

 

[solidhadriel]

I had a base model '11 and the stereo in the car was literally the worst sounding stock stereo system ever.

It took me my entire weekend to redo the entire audio system in my car from start to finish. That included:

All new speaker wiring, sub, amp, sound processor and all new speakers.

The effort was definitely worth it...

 

[ace72ace]

I think some of this is skewed by the fact that it's a base stereo. The Shaker in mine has the 8" door subs which actually sound pretty good. So when I change door speakers, I don't care to get any bass from them. In fact, I'll probably put a cap on them that crosses at about 300 or 400Hz, since I believe that's what the door subs cross at. I'm actually impressed with the factory amp in the standard Shaker for 2013.

I'm well aware of the Shaker 500 has to offer, it's in my wife's loaded 5.0 6MT GT. I bought GT door panels for my Boss so that when my budget allows, I'll be able to put some major sound in my Mustang. :gringreen

As another poster mentioned, the best way to go for a bang for the buck audio upgrade is to get a 5ch amp with 4x whatever for the door and deck locations, and a mono subwoofer channel for the 8's up front or a single enclosure in the trunk.

 

[Compact]

awesome write up plenty of pics, sticky worthy. Needed this thread I have to transfer my sound system out of my car all into the mustang when it comes in and this keeps me from paying someone thanks

 

[doofoo]

So, what was the issue with installing the speakers with the stock amp? Did it give you any improvement over the stock speakers?

I really don't feel like dealing with installing an amp, etc at this point but if I could get some improvement over the stock suck ass speakers - I would replace them immediately.

Thoughts?

 

[solidhadriel]

So, what was the issue with installing the speakers with the stock amp? Did it give you any improvement over the stock speakers?

I really don't feel like dealing with installing an amp, etc at this point but if I could get some improvement over the stock suck ass speakers - I would replace them immediately.

Thoughts?

The issue is the head unit will be mostly under powered. So, unless you buy speakers specifically designed for low running RMS (which also means they won't be as loud for clarity), you won't be gaining much in the way of sound.

Not only that, but good amps are known for removing unwanted noise out of the sound signals that are being sent to the speakers.

An additional and (important to me) fact about the stock headunits in just about any car is that they naturally reduce bass (typically as you turn the volume knob up) so as to not damage their flimsy cheap speakers.

So now, even if you have high quality speakers that can handle more bass, they won't receive it and they may start to sound off as you raise the volume. That's where a sound processor comes in (or a new head unit.)

Finally, stock speaker wiring is thin and bound to introduce noise and/or reduce the overall quality of the signal being sent to your speakers, further reducing the sound quality (regardless of how expensive your speakers are.)

 

[Tuffstuff]

So if I have a mono channel amp laying around would I need a 5 channel amp still or just a 4 channel. I am going to try and survive on the shaker stereo for awhile but I know I will change out the stereo eventually.

 

[solidhadriel]

So if I have a mono channel amp laying around would I need a 5 channel amp still or just a 4 channel. I am going to try and survive on the shaker stereo for awhile but I know I will change out the stereo eventually.

You can use your mono amp in conjuction with a 4-channel amp to get the power that you desire.

Most common folk go for 5 channel amps as it reduces complexity and overhead. It typically makes things easier.

 

[Nick F]

So if I have a mono channel amp laying around would I need a 5 channel amp still or just a 4 channel. I am going to try and survive on the shaker stereo for awhile but I know I will change out the stereo eventually.

Sure.

Just run one 4ga wire to your trunk and a 4ga ground, and use a distribution block and run 8ga wire to the amps.

Wiring may need to be bigger. But most 3-500 rms watt amps are fine on 8ga.