Speaker wiring

[kezbo]

I want to fit some speakers in the rear parcel shelf in my girlfriends mk3 golf 5 door. What is the best / easiest way of running the speaker cables (concealed) from the headunit? Or am i better curring into the wiring feeding the speakers in the rear doors and somehow taking it from there?

Thanks

[BobProperty]

Leaving aside the question why, there are a whole list of things you need to consider first:
1. What is the head unit? Chances are it has outputs for 2 pairs of speakers.
2. What existing speakers do you have? Basic Mk3s I think have 2 in the dashboard. Some have door speakers, a few might have speakers in all the doors. But, just because it has grills in the doors doesn't mean it has either the speakers or the wiring in place for them. (Our Mk3 has grills in all 4 doors for 6.5" speakers and grills for a pair of tweeters in the front. No speakers, no wiring.)
3. Back to 1. what output does the head unit give, what impedance speakers does it expect to run and what impedance speakers do you already have and want to add? For example, 2 pairs of 4 ohm speakers.

Now I've got past the heavy technical stuff, the most likely answer is ignore the rear door speakers, use that output for the new rear speakers and run the wiring down the passenger side, either along the sill or down the centre. If you have to work on getting the wires to the head unit, taking the shelf and glove box out will give you lots more access. Also, do be aware that the parcel shelf isn't much more than thick cardboard so by the time you've cut two holes in it for a pair of 6 x 9s and run them for a while it could start to sag. That's one reason why people make mdf shelves. Another being that it provides a firmer mounting for the speaker.

[STEWY L]

up here,speakers in the rear parcel shelf often result in broken windows.
they are just so easy to rip out!!!
regards,
stewy.

[kezbo]

Leaving aside the question why, there are a whole list of things you need to consider first:
1. What is the head unit? Chances are it has outputs for 2 pairs of speakers.
2. What existing speakers do you have? Basic Mk3s I think have 2 in the dashboard. Some have door speakers, a few might have speakers in all the doors. But, just because it has grills in the doors doesn't mean it has either the speakers or the wiring in place for them. (Our Mk3 has grills in all 4 doors for 6.5" speakers and grills for a pair of tweeters in the front. No speakers, no wiring.)
3. Back to 1. what output does the head unit give, what impedance speakers does it expect to run and what impedance speakers do you already have and want to add? For example, 2 pairs of 4 ohm speakers.

Now I've got past the heavy technical stuff, the most likely answer is ignore the rear door speakers, use that output for the new rear speakers and run the wiring down the passenger side, either along the sill or down the centre. If you have to work on getting the wires to the head unit, taking the shelf and glove box out will give you lots more access. Also, do be aware that the parcel shelf isn't much more than thick cardboard so by the time you've cut two holes in it for a pair of 6 x 9s and run them for a while it could start to sag. That's one reason why people make mdf shelves. Another being that it provides a firmer mounting for the speaker.

Thanks for your reply. Dont worry speakers and stereo are all sorted, as is the parcel shelf. All I am trying to find out is if anyone knows the easiest way to run the cabling through the car from the head unit to the stereo. Which are the easiest trim panels / carpets to get off to get the cables behind?

[Miss-VW]

My cables run down the drivers side of my car, under the carpet and underneath the plastic kick plate which is easily removed, took the rear seats and did it like that - you can't see any wires.

If you're having a bootbuild though, don't run all the cables down the same side of the car.