A subreddit for all those who have owned, driven, raced, admired, or had anything ever to do with a Mazda MX-5.
...and even though I'm broke, I bought them. (hey, $40 off and I'm gonna buy them (or something similar) anyway, might as well do it cheaply.)
I just installed the driver's door speakers about 30 minutes ago. Only had enough time with them to make sure they work, but the difference was noticeable. Everything seems so much crisper. Maybe it's just that I finally have tweeters. (err, 1 so far, anyway.)
The one thing I was not prepared for was the "sound module" or whatever they call it. It's a little black box with wires coming out of the bottom that you zip tie (i mean really?!) to the bar inside the door. Bit of a pain to get in there, and I have no idea how well those two little zip ties are going to keep this half pound electronics box from rattling around. One of the zip ties broke while I was tightening it, but that's no big, I've got spares. (Not on me--which is why I've only managed to install the driver's door.)
As I've followed all the directions (other side's the same) I'll go ahead and say the instructions are pretty nice, despite being slightly out of date (The tweeter install section says the tweeter wires should come from opposite ends of the speaker, when they come out right next to each other, for example--probably and older version of the hardware) and containing hard to see pictures (about 1" square, greyscale, with no labels.)
After I get the passenger side installed (hopefully later tonight,) and get a little bit of driving time to check for rattles I'll update with my findings.
Then all I've got left to do is change my transmission fluid, change all 3 shift boots, swap my diff oil (maybe,) strap down my borrowed bazooka tubes, change my fuel filter, get a new set of wheels, add a supercharger, change and align my suspension, THEN I can start work on cosmetic issues. lol. my wallet misses the days I drove an Accord and didn't car about my car.
Anyway, I found them on gomiata.com if anyone's interested. $200. incl. 8" door speakers and 1" tweeters and those custom crossover modules. And they claim it's all waterproof. <-- why I chose these
EDIT: I found a zip tie lying around the office. both sides are in! They sound awesome with the top down, and even better with the top up! Here's the best part-- I don't think I'll be needing my borrowed 6" bazooka tube subs anymore! HOORAY TRUNK SPACE! I CAN GO GROCERY SHOPPING AGAIN! And these won't fly around in my trunk like those did.
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Yes, there's a small inner one, a larger outer one, and the shift boot cover. You can find them all on Flyin Miata.
the small rubber one on top of the transmission, the large rubber one that seals off the cabin from the tunnel, and the leather one that looks nice. I know the leather one is ripped, and since I just hit 90k I figured I'd swap the rest with my transmission flush. and gomiata. or flyin miata.
Btw I would be very careful about dealing with GoMiata. Their customer service is amoung the worst in the Miata aftermarket. When you get the correct parts its fine, but when you've got to return or RMA is when they're bad.
Then I'll count myself lucky that the speakers were the last package from that order.
I've always thought that this Clearwater thing was complete bullshit like Bose. Nice to know they work but for the price but I'd rather do a track day or get frame rails.
Thanks for the review OP. Good luck on the rest of your job.
I couldn't find waterproof 8" woofers and a pair of 1" waterproof tweeters anywhere else. (or the awesome little wire they use to hold them in) and instead of a fancy 2800 (or 2900--somewhere in there) Hz crossover, I would have just soldiered the wires together.
and frame rails... I forgot about those. damn, another $400 on the list (If i do rails, I'm gonna do the full butterfly from FM.)
Why the butterfly? Its a pain to remove if you have to and is not worth the extra money. Every car I've driven with the butterfly isn't noticeably different vs. cars with just rails.
Does it not make that big a difference? Maybe I'll just go with the regular ones. But HOW can it not make a difference? It closes off the transmission tunnel.
Honestly, I can't see why I would want to remove it except to change the transmission-- and even then, I've got bigger problems.
And living in a town with roads as bad as my hometown, scrape protection is more important than a seatbelt. or tires.
If you just want underbody protection then the butterfly brace will do fine. The best add on for stiffening would be door bars and frog arms. There was a write up about it on clubroadster a while ago
Frog arms are better than frame rails?
If closing off the transmission tunnel is your goal then go for it. If chassis stiffness is the goal then the butterfly is a waste of money and time. The frame rails will give you everything you need and are considerably cheaper on their own. If you have a rollbar already then the rear will have good stiffness, and a shock tower brace in the front would compliment the chassis as well.
I bought the Polk DB651s speakers from amazon, and while they are much more clear, my 15w OEM non-Bose head unit doesn't have enough power to make much difference. Still waiting to put in the JL Audio amp that was a leftover from a friends old car.
I have a sony head unit that was in the car when I bought it. Works fine with the new speakers.
Ah, that explains it. I want to keep the original HU for security reasons. I don't lock my doors (to keep the top from being cut) so I want it to look as stock as possible. Still haven't decided if I will hook the amp up to the HU, or just a 3.5mm input for my MP3 player/phone.
Security is always a concern, but never to the point that I'd compromise enjoyment. A listenable stereo with 3.5mm audio in is a must. It's all I listen to--to the point that i removed the antenna.
That is why I am thinking just 3.5 jack -> amp rather than 3.5 -> cassette adapter -> stock HU -> amp (which is what I do now, minus the amp).
Not even sure if the radio works, and I think I have 1 CD in the car, so I don't really need the CD player.
make it look already stolen! who's going to break into a car with no stereo? Or if the empty hole look isn't your thing, put in a blanking plate or a couple little cubbies to put your phone / mp3 player in.
Those Clearwater speakers are awesome. I've got the door and headrest speakers installed as well as Pioneer tweeters in the doors. Next thing on the list is a sub & amp.
Honestly, if you're planning on putting the sub in the trunk, it's hard to notice. Those 5 or 6" bazooka tubes only make a tiny difference in the sound, and that's only when they're cranked.
Yeah I've heard that. My last car had a 10" JBL DVC sub and it was awesome, so I want to try and match the sound of that but its going to be near impossible with the tiny trunk, and the fact that you can't hear them well back there.
I'll give it a go anyway.