Hopefully you guys have already seen my door panel/speaker installation thread. I will now go over how to replace the factory tweeters in the dash. This DIY lacks some pics for showing you exactly how the panels are removed but the removal is simple enough to explain with words only.
First of all you must remove the a-pillar panel. You can grab at the top of the plastic A-pillar panel and pull toward the center of the car. There are 2 or 3 clips that hold it on and it will simply pop off. There will be a plastic mechanism that holds it somewhat attached. This mechanism is to keep the panel from flying at your face should your side curtain air bag deploy. In order to remove this cable, twist it and slide it out through the groove on the a-pillar panel. There are two parts that hold it in so you will have to twist it slightly to get the second part out after the first part is removed. It will be rather self explanatory once you see it.
Now that the A-pillar is removed you need to remove the panel that covers the factory tweeter. This panel is tucked behind the vent underneath it. if you have a small pry tool you can usually fit it between the vent panel and the tweeter panel and pry the vent panel just slightly toward you. This will be just enough to pop the tweeter panel up and out from behind the vent panel. Once you've lifted this up, you pull the tweeter panel up and toward the back of the car. There are about 5 pins holding this on. The only one you really have to be careful with it the one closest to the center of the car. Sometimes it gets stuck and you will need a pry tool to carefully work it out of its retainer in order to keep from breaking it. Maybe this picture will help you visualize whats underneath the panels:
Once the panel is removed you will see the factory tweeter which is mounted by a metal bracket with a single screw. The pictures below begin after removing this factory tweeter and bracket. Due to the extremely large size of the Focal TN52 tweeter I am installing I had to do some modification. Keep in mind you could fit a larger tweeter and fire it straight up through the factory grill with no problems but it will not image as well at the center of the dash as what I'm about to show you.
Here is what we have after removing the factory tweeter:
Disregard the location of the Focal tweeter. I already had it wired up and originally had it firing directly up through the factory grill. In pursuit of perfection I began modifying this area to fit it at the proper angle. The gold part where the screw for the factory tweeter mounts will be cut out as shown:
Now you have plenty of room to drop the large tweeter down below the point where the factory tweeter mounted. This will give you the clearance needed to angle the tweeter toward the center of the dash and still be able to fit the panel back on over the top of it.
You can see the same thing was done to the other side of the dash:
Factory bracket cut out:
Final placement of tweeter:
I stuffed a small amount of thick carpet underneath the tweeter and used some 3M velco in order to hold the tweeter in place. After its mounted securely you can begin reinstalling the panels. Take the tweeter panel and slide it forward and down back into place. You will have to again pry the vent out slightly so that the panel tucks behind it and fits back in properly.
After doing this you can reinstall the Apillar panel. It will slide down the A pillar and into the dash then pop back onto the Apillar with the two pins that hold it on. Don't forget to re-attach the plastic cable that keeps this panel from being launched at you should an accident occur that deploys the side curtain airbags. At this point you can enjoy your sound stage which will be much improved over simply firing the tweeters straight up through the factory grills. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
First of all you must remove the a-pillar panel. You can grab at the top of the plastic A-pillar panel and pull toward the center of the car. There are 2 or 3 clips that hold it on and it will simply pop off. There will be a plastic mechanism that holds it somewhat attached. This mechanism is to keep the panel from flying at your face should your side curtain air bag deploy. In order to remove this cable, twist it and slide it out through the groove on the a-pillar panel. There are two parts that hold it in so you will have to twist it slightly to get the second part out after the first part is removed. It will be rather self explanatory once you see it.
Now that the A-pillar is removed you need to remove the panel that covers the factory tweeter. This panel is tucked behind the vent underneath it. if you have a small pry tool you can usually fit it between the vent panel and the tweeter panel and pry the vent panel just slightly toward you. This will be just enough to pop the tweeter panel up and out from behind the vent panel. Once you've lifted this up, you pull the tweeter panel up and toward the back of the car. There are about 5 pins holding this on. The only one you really have to be careful with it the one closest to the center of the car. Sometimes it gets stuck and you will need a pry tool to carefully work it out of its retainer in order to keep from breaking it. Maybe this picture will help you visualize whats underneath the panels:
Once the panel is removed you will see the factory tweeter which is mounted by a metal bracket with a single screw. The pictures below begin after removing this factory tweeter and bracket. Due to the extremely large size of the Focal TN52 tweeter I am installing I had to do some modification. Keep in mind you could fit a larger tweeter and fire it straight up through the factory grill with no problems but it will not image as well at the center of the dash as what I'm about to show you.
Here is what we have after removing the factory tweeter:
Disregard the location of the Focal tweeter. I already had it wired up and originally had it firing directly up through the factory grill. In pursuit of perfection I began modifying this area to fit it at the proper angle. The gold part where the screw for the factory tweeter mounts will be cut out as shown:
Now you have plenty of room to drop the large tweeter down below the point where the factory tweeter mounted. This will give you the clearance needed to angle the tweeter toward the center of the dash and still be able to fit the panel back on over the top of it.
You can see the same thing was done to the other side of the dash:
Factory bracket cut out:
Final placement of tweeter:
I stuffed a small amount of thick carpet underneath the tweeter and used some 3M velco in order to hold the tweeter in place. After its mounted securely you can begin reinstalling the panels. Take the tweeter panel and slide it forward and down back into place. You will have to again pry the vent out slightly so that the panel tucks behind it and fits back in properly.
After doing this you can reinstall the Apillar panel. It will slide down the A pillar and into the dash then pop back onto the Apillar with the two pins that hold it on. Don't forget to re-attach the plastic cable that keeps this panel from being launched at you should an accident occur that deploys the side curtain airbags. At this point you can enjoy your sound stage which will be much improved over simply firing the tweeters straight up through the factory grills. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!