Inconspicuous MK3 ICE

[guyb]

I have just become the proud owner of a 95 mk3 1.4 3 door. Currently it only has dash speakers plus empty front door holes with solid grills. I have spent many hours already reading about car audio but still feel at a bit of a loss when it comes to applying this to my car.
I have a JVC kd-r611 headunit to put in and would like to supplement this with speakers to fit in the dash and/or the front doors plus a sub (possibly a slim under seat one?). I would like everything to be out of sight so I would need to find some oem door speaker grills with holes and speakers that would fit under them.
Can anyone recommend any speakers/amp/sub that would be suitable for my situation? Im thinking a budget of around 200 but i can stretch/adapt if this is not enough. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Guy

[mk3brick]

i found oem speaker grilles on ebay from a guy that has a mk3 graveyard they're easy enough to find.
i have a 5 door so the rear grilles were slightly harder to find. i run Alpine 17cm type e components in both front and rear doors and they hide behind the the factory grilles a treat and sound sweet.

as for incospicuous 'ICE' (sorry i hate that expression) in my honest opinion i dont like under seat subs they just dont offer up clear low freq bass as well as a sealed box in the hatch. i built a box in the passenger side rear wheel arch, it has the perfect capacity for my old skool JL W0x10 sub.

hope this helps a little

[guyb]

Thanks for your reply.
I was considering some type e's until i saw some 3-way components that in theory could be mounted with the woofers in the doors, mids in dash and dash surface mounted tweeters.
http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/10642.html
Any idea if this is possible/effective and if so I'd need an amp that could produce in the region of 80-120 watts per channel at 4 ohms?
Thanks
Guy

[mk3brick]

That would work a treat. You wouldn't need an amp just yet the internal amp on your deck should be enough to power just them.

The reason I didn't go for three way in the doors is because I just wanted clarity from the components and let the sub handle the low freq deep bass.

[guyb]

I think i'll go with the 3-way components. If at a later stage i want to add a sub, would i need to tone down the bass thats channelled to the components or something or just wire it up to the sub-out on the headunit?
Thanks
Guy

[berry9112]

Unless you planning on installing these really well, i wouldnt bother spending the money. Without sounding harsh or rude, all speakers regardless of cost will sound crap if not installed properly.
Buy a set of 2 way components and a 2 channel amp to start, then a sub and amp if you feel the need. An under seat sub wont fit under the seat of the mk3 i dont think, and like mk3brick said, they are not very good at all. All speakers need a sealed, or properly calculated ported box to work in and get the bass/mid bass quality you are looking for.
The doors on the mk3 are not very good for air tight enclosures either, ideally you want some sound deadening on the doors and a mdf baffle to mount the mid bass speaker onto.
http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/ipb/index.php/topic/324576-mk3-golf-install/page__st__20__p__3934055__hl__+mk3%20+golf%20+build#entry3934055
This is the build from my old mk3 for some inspiration, any questions fire away

[guyb]

i haven't shelled out for anything yet so thanks for the advice. Would you suggest an amount to spend on a set of 2 way components that would offer the best in terms of sound in an unmodified mounting position but also cost effective? the 17cm alpine e type's have cropped up a few times in my research. Also do you know of any places nearer the headunit where i could mount an amp as it would take a great deal of wiring if one was mounted in the boot wired to front speakers.
Thanks again
Guy

[berry9112]

The Alpine range are good and reliable, as are the slightly cheaper Focal's, JBL ect. As for an amp get a small 2 channel amp, JBL do some good value ones. As far as mounting positions possibly under thedash/in the dash somewhere, wait untill you get the amp or do some very precise measuring, start by taking the passenger side bottom cubby hole/glovebox off have a poke around. Or if you have a3 door, in te rear quarter panels theres a fair amount of space.
Get yourself over to Talkaudio forums, and have a browse on caraudiodirect aswell theres lots to learn from some of the top guys in the country for installations

[guyb]

The Alpine range are good and reliable, as are the slightly cheaper Focal's, JBL ect. As for an amp get a small 2 channel amp, JBL do some good value ones. As far as mounting positions possibly under thedash/in the dash somewhere, wait untill you get the amp or do some very precise measuring, start by taking the passenger side bottom cubby hole/glovebox off have a poke around. Or if you have a3 door, in te rear quarter panels theres a fair amount of space.
Get yourself over to Talkaudio forums, and have a browse on caraudiodirect aswell theres lots to learn from some of the top guys in the country for installations

Ok thanks, I'll take a look soon. Would i need to take into account ventilation for the amp or will it be ok for heat even tucked in behind a door card or in the dash?

Guy

[berry9112]

You should be ok, unless you have a black car in which case i wouldnt choose to put it in the rear quarter. The dash should be fine, the chances of you running a 2 channel amp so hard it over heats is hard, unless you set it up wrong!