I put in my Polk db651s speakers today along with a pair of db1001 tweeters in the stock locations. They sound nice and are a definite improvement from the stock garbage, but I really miss the Infinities I had in my Tacoma. They sounded better, and their 2 ohm impedence got more juice from my amp. Crutchfield mentions they don't fit. When I asked why, this was the response:



According to this, there would be an interference issue when putting the door panel back on. They've been wrong before about the speaker size of my Miata, but I'm not sure how much of a real issue this might be. Anyone experimented with other speakers?

Measure the ones you've got, and measure the existing clearance. That'll tell you what you need to know.

 

The fact that non shallow Polk Db's fit with the rings included, should be a clue of crutchfield
Being off.

When you use a ring spacer thick enough almost any speaker will fit.

The standard Ridgeline ring spacers used are 1" in the front and 3/4" in the back. It has nothing to do with window clearance even when that helps, it's more about panel and speaker driver distance, the shorter the better it is since we want less sound lost or leaking between the door panel and the inner door.

Adhesive open cell foam on the area where the speaker mounting screws will help the sound even more to go in the cabin also.
The only fitting issues is when the magnet is wide since the holes on our doors are only 4-4.4" wide, maybe the Polk standard speakers had the terminals to close to the door and that is how they disapproved them or has to do with the rings/baffles they supply

Bottom line, it's more important to focus on the mounting hole size needed, the speaker's spec, and many times depending on the shape of the basket, putting a 3/4-1" ring will make them fit. Expensive drivers, will need a 5 1/4-5 1/2" mounting hole and cutting the door may be needed if the basket is wide, or the magnet is wide and deep.

Simply try it, visualize a 1" separating the speaker from the door, and you will know if it fits or not, and decide if cutting is needed. An old cd, or the cover of a 25-50 pack works great to trace a line before cutting, and using a jigsaw with a metal blade cuts it really easy

 

I put my 6.5 MB Quart components front and back, Didn't buy any adapters, rings etc. I took my factory speakers and gutted them, cut the surround at the ring and bam, there's my adapter plates. To adjust for the oversized magnet it was hammer time.. Just beat the metal out of my way and slipped them right in. the foam surrounds on the doors lined up perfect to seal it up nice. took me about 35 min a door.

 

The depth in question wasn't behind the speaker, it was in front. According to that, I'd actually have LESS clearance in how the speaker fits into the space if I were to add additional spacers. I would actually need to recess the speaker I think the fact that the speakers that fit are "shallow" is only a coincidence that their height is less than a standard speaker.

Not sure how to measure the distance between the top of the speaker (tweeter, surround) and the door panel as once the door panel is on, there's no place to measure. Trying to avoid trial and error.

Then again, I think we're only talking 8 thousandths...

 

measuring it is easy, the factory pod with the speaker in it is the distance from the metal of the door to the door skin. The factory speakers are the perfect width and fill the gap. that's why I used them. The I added a lil 3m foam tape on the door skin cause I was a lil worried about sealing it, but it pry wasn't necessary.

 

Best buy sells some speaker rings adapters that snap on just like the factory speakers, maybe just a couple of screws needed, It skips the centering by eye needed, the door panel grill is way over 6.5" in diameter, close to 7". On mine the plastic ring from the door panels presses on the outer area of the ring made for the speaker usually about 6 3/4-7" No gaps if a 1" spacer is used.

I used a 1/4" thick 7by7 square, cut the iD to match the ID from the 6.75" ring, glued them.
The square's corners are used to mount it to the door with 4 screws then just screw the speaker to the 3/4" rings, the 7"by7" square suprisinly is flushed to the door with no gaps.
You can put some OCF, caulk rope or duct seal just to feel better, but it is flushed well.

I've done this 2 times, and it has worked well using the 7"by7" 1/4" thick square as the base for the 3/4" ring, I recommend wood over mdf, using bed liner coat or a few coats of clear coat paint will protect it, Fiberglas resin is much better. HDPE plastic is expensive but it will outlast the life of the door probably, being water and moisture proof.