[ncshooter]

My quick writeup on 6x8 speaker install on my 2012 today...for those thinking about doing it, DO IT. I chose a set of Ininity 180w - very good value for money, pretty cheap on Amazon

Tools required:
------------------
8mm socket
6mm socket
Torx T30 bit/driver
Small flatblade screwdriver

Parts:
-------
Speakers of your choice
Metra “turbo wire” install kit PN: 72-5600 (optional)


The front door panel removal is very easy on the mustang. This is a plane jane GT --- for those w/ the shaker setup you will also need to remove a trim ring around the bigger speaker on the bottom. The whole process is very easy and shouldn't take very long per side.

*Note: All the hardware on the panel is essentially hand tight from factory. Don’t over torque it putting it all back

Start out by removing all the trim bits to expose the mounting hardware:

Remove the power window switch plate by prying up lightly on the edge of the plate, it should pop right off. Disconnect the wire harness and put the assembly aside
Remove the cover plate behind the door handle assembly. Just pull the handle to the full open position then pry back slightly on the plate, it pops right off.
Remove the plate in the center of the armrest by lightly prying from the top. It pops right off
Remove the bezel around the door lock post. Pops right off
Remove the bezel for the mirror control assembly (triangular) at the front of the door. The drivers side will have a harness for the switch – disconnect it. Passenger side just pops off.

Hardware (red) and bits (blue) layout

Now it is time to unbolt stuff.
Remove 7 8mm bolts around the perimeter of the door panel. There are 2 along the inner edge (towards the front of the car), 3 on the bottom edge and 2 on the outer edge. The outer two are covered by small round plugs which easily pop up with light pressure via flathead.
Remove 1 8mm bolt from the window switch plate area (kinda hard to see, top edge

Remove 1 T30 torx flatheaded bolt from center armrest area

Remove 1 T30 torx flatheaded bolt from the center of door release handle area

Lightly pull up on the door panel once everything has been unbolted to free it from the self-latching system. Once it is free pull it forward slightly to expose the connections. Disconnect the harness pieces exposed (they are color coded and different sized…you can’t mess up J )

The door latch release cable can either be disconnected fully, or you can simply rotate the door panel out of the way. For the speaker install it is far easier to just move the panel out of the way rather than disconnect all the bits…

Once exposed you can see the inner vapor barrier and the speaker assembly. The speaker is held into the mounting bezel by 4 6mm bolts. Unbolt them and disconnect the 2-prong harness.

Installing the speaker is pretty painless. I had to modify the mounting area slightly – namely the lower “ring” of the factory mounting bezel hit the Infinity mounting hardware. All I did was make a small slice on the riser part of the plastic, then just sheer it off with pliers. It looks factory J

Mount the new speaker. I’d recommend you use foam tape around the
mounting surface to ensure there are no rattles. Now I did the quick n; easy route by spending the 10$ on a harness adaptor. You can splice the factory harness if you wish, but if you are not used to making electronic connections (or want to easily swap back to factory later) I’d say just drop the 10$ on the pair of harness wires.

Test the speakers real quick to ensure everything works as desired. If your tweeter rotates for directional output you may need to play with the best position.



Button everything up in pretty much reverse order (LOL…sounds like a Hayes manual). Overall extremely easy to swap out the factory ford 25w bits for something a little better with potential for future growth.

 

[Seventh]

Thanks, and nicely done. I may have to use this to take mine apart if Ford can't get their **** together and eliminate my car's rattles. I've taken my car in for these rattles 3 times now, without success. It would be way easier for me to iterate and try foam taping different things to see if I can get rid of rattles than to drop my car off at the dealership and go through the hassle and being without my car each time they try 1 thing. That or just buy all new parts and pay them to put them on.

 

[Mach1 EH]

great thread!!!

 

[scott_0]

great how-to!! :bigthumbsup Im gonna be tackling this soon, this will come in handy

 

[Black and Gold]

Great advice on the shaker upgrade

I'm a new owner of a 2012 Mustang GT Premium and have been happy with the car in general but was dissatisfied with the sound of the Shaker 500 system. Had plenty of bass, but nothing else. Went to a reputable car audio place here in town and they actually recommended the same Infinity speakers you mentioned so I knew they were one the right track. Got the speakers and install for $145 out the door. Made a world of difference. Thanks for the advice.

 

[blackcrow]

...same here, I went with a pair of Kenwoods, night and day is all I've got to say, thanks!

 

[Napoleon85]

I'm a new owner of a 2012 Mustang GT Premium and have been happy with the car in general but was dissatisfied with the sound of the Shaker 500 system. Had plenty of bass, but nothing else. Went to a reputable car audio place here in town and they actually recommended the same Infinity speakers you mentioned so I knew they were one the right track. Got the speakers and install for $145 out the door. Made a world of difference. Thanks for the advice.

The issue is that there are no tweeters, AND they didn't put a high-pass filter on the door speakers like they should have. It's a pretty shoddy design, and I wish mine would have just come with the standard stereo to save the weight, but I wanted leather seats so it was mandatory

This could also be a good guide for removing the speakers for weight reduction, which brings up my next question. How much did the stock speakers weigh? Do the replacements weigh more or less?

 

[aa1268]

@Napoleon85: There are tweeters in the stock speakers, they just happen to suck.

@ncshooter: Great write-up! Replacing the stock speakers, to me, was a night and day difference. Audio is one of my loves and I, for better or worse, caught that bug too!! Just as an FYI, don't bother replacing the 8" midbass speakers with the Shelby/Kicker replacements unless you intend on installing a sub. I was very disappointed to find out that they were much quieter than stock (single voice-coil, higher power requirements) with a negligible improvement in the bass depth.

 

[Black and Gold]

Speaker weight

Not sure what the Infinity speakers weigh but it's safe to say they are quite a bit heavier than the stock ones. I was amazed at how light and cheap feeling the stock ones are. The installer told me that the original 5 x 7 's on the upper part of the door actually do have a tweeter, they just aren't very good tweeters. I can find out the actual weight of the Infinity speakers if you need to know.

 

[TheYeti]

great right up. Might be doing this in the future. You said you had to slightly the mounting...do you think with 5x7s you wouldnt have to?

 

[Napoleon85]

I'm amazed that anything with a tweeter can manage to produce sound as muddy as the Shaker 500 system. Impressively terrible.

 

[dewyrussler]

I'm a new owner of a 2012 Mustang GT Premium and have been happy with the car in general but was dissatisfied with the sound of the Shaker 500 system. Had plenty of bass, but nothing else. Went to a reputable car audio place here in town and they actually recommended the same Infinity speakers you mentioned so I knew they were one the right track. Got the speakers and install for $145 out the door. Made a world of difference. Thanks for the advice.

Great how-to!

I have a Premium and haven't take apart anything yet. Does the Shaker 500 also have the same 6x8 speakers in the front?

 

[aa1268]

The speakers in the front and back differ in type (different power handling requirements), but not in size. They are both 5x7's.

 

[magnido45]

Please do a write up for the install of the rear speakers!!!

 

[Black and Gold]

@dewyrussler

AA1268 is exactly right. You've got 5 x 7 speakers in the front doors behind the perforated area of the door panel above the window switches in addition to the round 8 inch woofers on the lower part of the door. The front 5 x 7 front speakers are different than the rear 5 x 7 speakers. The 8 inch woofers are decent, but the system lacks, in my opinion, are that the tweeters on the front 5 x 7 speakers are horrible. The sound is flat, muddy, and all base. An inexpensive fix, that will give you a lot of bang for the buck, is to replace the front 5 x 7's with a pair of Infinity speakers or other brand that has some good tweeters. As I said, I was able to accomplish that for $145 including a professional install. It really makes a big difference, especially for me, because I like a lot of treble, as well as bass, when listening to music.

 

[dewyrussler]

@dewyrussler

AA1268 is exactly right. You've got 5 x 7 speakers in the front doors behind the perforated area of the door panel above the window switches in addition to the round 8 inch woofers on the lower part of the door. The front 5 x 7 front speakers are different than the rear 5 x 7 speakers. The 8 inch woofers are decent, but the system lacks, in my opinion, are that the tweeters on the front 5 x 7 speakers are horrible. The sound is flat, muddy, and all base. An inexpensive fix, that will give you a lot of bang for the buck, is to replace the front 5 x 7's with a pair of Infinity speakers or other brand that has some good tweeters. As I said, I was able to accomplish that for $145 including a professional install. It really makes a big difference, especially for me, because I like a lot of treble, as well as bass, when listening to music.

B&G...thanks. I recently developed a rattle in my passenger side door with every thump of the bass. I figured if I tear off the panel to fix the rattle...I may as well swap out the speakers with some that are a bit better but at a reasonable price while I'm in there. I'll check out the Infinity speakers you mentioned. Thanks again!

 

[emilram11]

Are these the ones you got? 40 bucks for a pair?! I'm worried why they're so cheap?!

Amazon.com: Infinity Reference 6832cf 6 x 8/5 x 7-Inch, 180-Watt High Performance Two-Way Loudspeaker (Pair): Car Electronics

 

[Black and Gold]

@emilram11

Yep, those are the ones. Model 6832f. I paid $99 for the pair. They were on sale. Regular price was $119. But of course, that was at a local audio/video store. $40 is a heck of a good price. The reviews seem good as well.

 

[emilram11]

@emilram11

Yep, those are the ones. Model 6832f. I paid $99 for the pair. They were on sale. Regular price was $119. But of course, that was at a local audio/video store. $40 is a heck of a good price. The reviews seem good as well.

Ok that's cool. I'm deciding between these and some that were in that other long speaker thread on here. There were some recommended Polks and CL speakers. But these seem really good for the price. Not sure I'd be able to tell the difference. I just want some really good reasonably priced speakers.

I mostly listen to rock.

 

[Black and Gold]

@emilram11

The reason I went with the Infinity speakers is because ncshooter, who started this thread, recommended them and then the installer independently recommended them as well. I'm sure there are better speakers out there, but if I understood the installer correctly, a higher end speaker would draw too much power from the amp, if that makes any sense. Anyway, my stereo is 100% improved with these speakers. Can't go wrong for 40 bucks. It's a shame that Ford didn't spend an extra $40 to improve the system. Hope this helps.