Hi,

Just received word that my Focal 165K2P's are in. Now time for the install.
I would like to use the factory locations for the mid bass drivers except I am looking to fully mat the doors and have the drivers mounted so they are firing directly into the cabin, rather than mount them behind the plastic grill on the door panel. This is a fairly involved process as a series of adaptor plates have to be built to get the driver in that location.
Now, the tweeters...I'd like to have them mounted in the A pillers but the installer is worried about the Airbags at the top of the pillars and is trying to convince me to surface mount them on top of the sail panel.

Comments?
Should I force them to install in the A pillar? Any other recommendations overall?

My system:

Clarion DRZ 9255
JL 300/4 Bi-amped
JL 500/1
JL 10W3v2 Sub in a 1 cu/ft sealed.
Focal 165K2P components running active off the HU.

 

I'd listen to your installer regarding the tweeters, but not just due to the airbags but also due to seperation, running the tweeter up in the a-pillars in a 2-way set will kill the imaging, it's just two far away from the midrange unless you're crossing these over REAL high which would lead to other problems.
Also try to get the speaker out as much as you can, not only will the grill/panel muffle the speaker but also cause a good amount of resonance. Install is as important as the speakers you use, don't muffle up a nice set behind restrictive factory grills.

Good luck

 

Chris placed 2nd in the world for SQ with a 2005 Passat. He placed his tweeters on the top of the door, to preserve the "A" pillar airbags.

 

Thanks to both of you for the feedback.
Ross, if I don't mount in the A pillar then I either have to put them in the sail panel or the top of the doors. My issue with the sail panel is that the A pillar partially covers (10 percent cover) the sail panel.
And for top of the doors, my only issue is that Focal list that as the third place to consider for install.
They also recommend installing the mid bass driver high up in the doors (which would go back to Ross' concerns regarding separation and help that), which is impossible on the Passat.
So who is Chris and are there any pictures available?
As for the A pillars, I was thinking of putting them fairly low on the pillars, which would have them about 24 inches away from the mid bass.
Also, the crossover point on the tweets is 3.8K which is quite high.

Decisions, decisions......

 

My advice is to mount the mids where you want them and then experiment with tweeter locations until you find a place that works best for you.