Kicker 6.5" Speaker Mod and Installation 2008 Honda Accord

Hello,

For my first instructable I will be showing you how to modify a pair of Kicker CS65 coaxial speakers and turn them into separate component speakers for installation into my 2008 Honda Accord.

*Please note*

The pictures I took show the installation hooking into the stock stereo. While the sound was OK, the speakers were severely underpowered and didn't show off their true potential. I have since ran new wires from my trunk amp to these and they are much happier on 80W RMS.

When I did the *new* install, I ran a separate pair of speaker wires from the 6.5" woofer directly into the tweeter so my amplifier sees the true 4OHM impedance of the speaker. This works much better, and I wish I had photos, however if you are capable of doing everything in this instructable than you can understand the new wiring I performed.

Step 1: Remove Top Sail Panel and Door Panel [1]

I only took a couple of photos of this procedure because a gentleman named Paul from paulstravelpictures.com took EXCELLENT step my step photos of removing the door panels. I wasn't even going to attempt to take all the detailed photos he took, so my thanks go out to him. I also didn't want to copy / paste his photos... because that's not cool.

Feel free to look at his information here if you want more thorough detail:

http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Honda-Accord-Interior-Door-Panel-Removal-Guide/

Step 2: Remove Door Panel [2]

I only took a couple of photos of this procedure because a gentleman named Paul from paulstravelpictures.com took EXCELLENT step my step photos of removing the door panels. I wasn't even going to attempt to take all the detailed photos he took, so my thanks go out to him. I also didn't want to copy / paste his photos... because that's not cool.

Feel free to look at his information here if you want more thorough detail: http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Honda-Accord-I...

After you get the door off and unhooked, proceed to step 3.

Step 3: Remove Stock Speaker and Use New Speaker As Template to Drill New Mounting Holes

Use a phillips head screwdriver to remove the old speaker.

Use the new speaker to mark and drill any new mounting holes you may need.

Step 4: Remove Stock Tweeter

Remove the stock tweeter from the sail panel.

Step 5: Disconnect Tweeter From Kicker Speaker

Here's where it gets fun...

Unsolder the Kicker tweeter, gently cut the rear sticker and remove the tweeter wire so it is free.

Step 6: Remove Tweeter From Kicker Speaker

Turn counterclockwise to unscrew the tweeter from the center of the woofer. It may be a little tough at first, but trust me it is just screwed into place.

Step 7: Cut Off Back Section of Kicker Tweeter

Use a dremel tool or something similar to cut the rear portion of the tweeter off.

I needed to do this to allow the new tweeter to fit into the sail panel in the door.

Remove any sharp edges, and [optional] screw the back portion back into the woofer to help add strength.

Step 8: Wire Up New 6.5" Woofer and Install

Install the modified woofer into the door.

When I did my original installation [shown] I used the wiring from the stock head unit. I have since run a new set of wires from those wire nuts up to the tweeters so I could power the speakers from an external amplifier and allow it to see the true 4 OHM impedance of the speaker set.

Step 9: Wire Up New Tweeter and Install Into Sail Panel

If you want to use the stock head unit, you can just tin the lead wires and install into the stock connecter as shown.

Otherwise, wire the tweeter leads back to the woofer with some longer extra speaker wire and route the wires so they will not be seen.

I used some hot glue to mount my new tweeter in the sail panel, it worked well.

Step 10: Install Door and Sail Panel

Put the door panel and tweeter sail panel back in place and enjoy!

The tweeter being up in the top makes the positional sound much better and the highs are much more crisp and clear.

Thanks for reading my first instructable. I'm sure it could have been more clear, but I hope it gives you enough information to perform this [or a similar] installation. Thanks! -Mike