FTO AUSTRALIA

Hey guys ,

So i just picked up my first FTO on the weekend , and I must say , im a proud owner now

The things so stock its not funny ... its a 95 GPX , stock wheels , stock stereo , stock everything ... done 66k Klms .. But thats how i wanted it , my last car cost me a fortune in maintenance ...

Anyway to my point , the stereo is blown to pieces ... speakers are crunching , and its just dead in general...

Im going to replace the entire system , and iv begun buying gear ... So far iv got 2 x 350w Alpine VPower amps , which ill use for the 6x9's in the back and the door speakers , along with a sub in the boot ...

My question is though , can any of you guys give me some advice on a good setup ? ..

What size are the door speakers ? . Which door speakers should I buy ? .. and 6x9's ? .. I was looking at some Alpine 5cm Tweeters to replace the door tweeters near the window , is this just simply a cut&paste job ? .. Im guessing ill have to loose the standard stacker if I buy a new stereo right ? will there be a standard size for stackers that I can just replace it with another one with minimal effort ?

Just looking for some pointers from you FTO veterans before I start ripping stuff out ... I want to do this right ..

Cheers !

- Cheyne

all i know is the 6x9 are plug and play.. i did it to mine...

for the door speaker try 6" /13cm speaker they are a straight fit.

for info on how to remove the speakers go here

http://www.ftodiy.co.uk/

gazeek wrote: I was looking at some Alpine 5cm Tweeters to replace the door tweeters near the window ,

Those are big tweeters.

6.5 inch for front doors, 6x9 for the back.
cd stacker won't work with after market decks, so buy a new cd stacker if you wanna change the deck or keep the old deck and use a high level to low level converter to change the signal to an RCA output.

tweeters near the window are 1inch from memory.

how you wire up your stereo all depends on what equipment you get. If your planning to run your front stage through an amp then you'll have to re-wire your speakers. If your gonna run them off your deck then you can just plug and play.

read some guides on the net before you go cutting any wires or leave it to the pros cos you can get electricuted if you don't know what your doing.

Thanks for the replys

1inch ? .. Hmm .. i was looking at these --> http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Alpine-Tweeters- ... dZViewItem


Yea i might get a fitter to install it all , but ill buy all the gear first ...

Thinking ill just buy a new deck first , then buy a same brand stacker ..

otherwise , does anyone know what to do with the empty space under the center console once the stacker is gone ? .. where to get a replacement compartment ? ..

I'm running Alpine deck with IPod Adaptor (Give the IPod some consideration, I've had stackers and I'd NEVER go back to em now) 6.5" DLS Reference series splits in the front and Kenwood 70W RMS 6x9's in the rear, all powered by an Alpine V12 Amp. Got a 1 Farrad Cap for it too.
6.5's will fit in the doors quite easily, just need to make an adaptor plate out of MDF. Not hard. I would look at buying 2 way splits rather than the separate tweeters you mention. That way the sytem is matched, you won't have to worry about your crossover frequencies overlapping or having holes when you get the door speakers.
As mentioned above, 6x9's are a bolt in, but if u'r running subs too, look at setting a HPF on your amp so they don't cancel one another out. Lots of people recommend splits in the rear if u'r running subs, but might need a bit of custom work if u'r going that far. Oh, and expect to spend some time tracking down rattles and vibrations in the car if u'r installing good gear. My doors were shocking and I even had a bad vibration coming from the brake light cover in the back window!

U can get a recessed pocket or a blanking plate from mitsi's if you get a single DIN stereo, there are some blanking plates with the FTO logo on them available from the UK if u like that sorta thing too.

The site Ther mentions has a lot of good DIY info for other ICE stuff too, including how to change the deck and running cables for the amps. Check it out if u havn't already.

Hope this helps

thanks for the tips man ...

So your saying some 6.5 splits & tweeter package is the way ? .. sounds good , ill take a look around ..

Yea , JB Hifi has single DIN utility tray things , with a tray and a cup holder in 1 .. i might go one of them ...

Thanks for the advice , ill get to work on it now

figured i'd copy this from one of my other posts to help give you ideas...
most of my gear is from Jaycar... good value for money
you can pickup Jaycar gear cheaper on ebay
4 channel amp / 1 farad cap / 10" carbon fibre sub



head unit JVC EXAD KD-AV7008
dvd of the day - Linkin Park Live in Texas



the cd holder underneath was $20 from autobarn
if you're installing a single din head unit don't forget mounting brackets
they only cost about $20 from mitsubishi...
but if you're in melbourne i've got a spare set you can have

Do some measuring before you buy an expensive set of 6x9s. I tried to put a set in and they were too big. The 4 way speakers quickly got turned into 1 way to make them fit.

read some guides on the net before you go cutting any wires or leave it to the pros cos you can get electricuted if you don't know what your doing.

WTF? u will get electricuted, what, off 12 volts i dont think so sunshine.

First off defintitly go with something ipod compatible or at least that plays mp3's then u can load like a couple hundred songs on 1 cd. secondly go 6" split tweeter package i went kenwood and i wouldnt change it for the world. thirdly i went 7x10's in the rear but i redesigned my whole parcel tray so i wouldnt recommend this unless your handy with a jig saw so go 6x9's also kenwood. for the deck i went for a no mane brand that cost me $600 it was a 2 dinn (both slots) dvd head unit and it f**ken rocked. i ran these all through a kenwood amp. i dont recommend subs unless u want the wank value but it definitly doesnt need it. the acousticks in a fto are unreal and plus i like to take weight away not add it.

ps also with the head unit i can buy a gps unit for it, a camera, and hook up things like playstations etc through it

disconnect your battery if your scared of getting electrecuted

If you're buying 6x9's make sure they havent got those little tweeter bits in the middle sticking up too high.. not unless you wanna cut ya parcel tray / cover to makem fit..


notice the left side plastic has been cut out..


oh & the most you'll do if u dunno what youre doing is a blown fuse... cant get electrocuted whatsoever...

Actually not true, although not recommended if you feel like a demo get someone you don't like very much to put on a nice metal watch and then accidently touch the positive battery post and any part of the chassis at the same time. I admit you'd have to try pretty hard to hurt yourself but it can be done. Still common sense is enough in this scenario I think.

I got a few nice zaps putting in my footwell neons the other day. Proving that the $20 neons may not have the highest quality connectors. I would have disconnected the battery, but it's such a tiny jolt that it's not worth 30 seconds of my time. :p

I guess that's my point 99.99999% of the time you'll be fine but if you really try you can hurt yourself. Not so bad if you like the smell of burning flesh in the morning.

Wow , thanks for the help guys ...

Yea im thinking of going this for my setup ..

Alpine V-Power 350w Powering 6" in doors an 6x9's in Parcel tray

Kenwood 6x9's

Alpine 6" Splits w/ Tweeters replaced in doors

Alpine V-Power 250w Power Alpine S-Type 12" Sub in boot

Pioneer DEH-P9850BT Head unit w/ Bluetooth ..

Some utility yumcha tray for the remaining DIN ..


I had a DVD unit in my last car , and it went to waste , i never used it .. I had a playstation and all ... but i really only played CD's and DVD music on it ... It was more just a wank for when I had some girls in the car or something id flick on the DVD player ... wank it up haha ..

I have several mobile phone offenses coz im retarded at using my bluetooth headset .. so i think a BT head unit would be perfect for me ..

hot tip about the 6x9's aswell , thanks for that .. im sure i would of f*cked that up and bought the biggest ones i could find ...

Thanks guys