The rear window shelf is the priority speaker location. You can replace a regular shelf with an acoustic shelf with holes for mounting in a couple of hours and using only an available tool.
The sound quality of the powerful loudspeakers recently installed in the car may not be as good as desired. There are many probable reasons for this, one of them is a thin or not tightly fitted rear window shelf. If the installation of the speakers is planned directly on the shelf itself, it must be replaced with a new one, more massive and rigid, upholstered with damper material. Such products are called acoustic shelves.
Removing a regular shelf
Depending on the car model, the way of fixing the shelf may be different. In any case, it will be necessary to fold the rear seats and find the attachment points of the shelf to the trunk cross-section. These can be latches, self-tapping screws are sometimes used. The shelf is attached to the sides of the trunk only in sedans. Hatchbacks and station wagons have a hinge or piano hinge to fold back the shelf. After detaching the shelf from the body, it is necessary to turn off the luggage compartment lighting if the lamp is installed on the inside of the bulkhead.
Installing the acoustic shelf
There are two types of acoustic shelves. A shelf with fixed side panels and a folding center section is installed in five-door vehicles. It has a tangible advantage: the middle part of the shelf does not enter into resonance when the speakers vibrate, and therefore there is no rattling or extraneous noise. There are also solid shelves, but their use is advisable only in sedans. Acoustic shelves, as a rule, are not installed on standard mounts: they are rigidly screwed to metal body elements with self-tapping screws.
For fastening, ordinary automotive screws are used, for which it is necessary to drill a hole of 3.6 mm. The shelf must be positioned at the installation site and the places for making the holes must be marked. After drilling, the shelf is reinstalled and pulled to the car body with self-tapping screws. In five-door cars, it may be possible to raise the shelf together with the opening of the trunk. To do this, you need to fasten the tapes or the closer tongue that come with the shelf to the tailgate. Also, in some models of acoustic shelves, it is possible to pass a seat belt through the eyelets.
Installing the speakers
The speakers can be installed on the speaker shelf either before or after installation. The shelf is usually solid upholstery with no cut-out holes, so you will need to make them yourself. This is done with a clerical knife, with an indent of about 1 - 1, 5 cm from the edge of the existing hole. Installation of speakers can be carried out both from inside the cabin and from the trunk side. The first method of fastening is more reliable, the second provides a more aesthetic appearance. In most cases, the speaker is attached to the shelf with wood screws, and if there are vents in the shelf, it is additionally sealed with silicone. The rear shelf installation is complete when the speaker wires are connected.
