Well, yesterday, I finally got my buddy to help me (I did more watching than anything, he owns Creative Car Stereo in Phx) install an amp and speakers. My question is, what are the "protectors" that are on the back side of the panel for? We removed them (only held in with 3 screws) because of the size of
the area it leaves in the door itself, and mounted the x-over to the door, where the "protector" resides. If I knew how to post pics I would, so you might understand it better, but for those who did their own install will know exactly what I am talking about.

If interested in what I installed, keep reading, if not, post a reply if you know what the protector is for. We installed a Punch 360
(90x2) with the Boston 5.5s. I didn't want to loose the dash control unit, so he used the the high level input on the amp, taped the factory harness and got everything running. I used the 5.5s as a coax so I wouldn't have to drill in the door panel, and thought of buying an additional "ambient" tweeter for the A pillar, but no need to. I can hear the highs very nice. I am not disappointed at all in regards to the way it sounds.
I know a lot of you may think that not using an aftermarket HU with RCAs and 2 gauge power and ground, and running speaker wire off the amp to the speakers sounds like $hit, but it does sound nice to me, and that's what's most important.

 

The protector just fills that hole that is in the door. I took mine off as well when we removed all speakers from my doors and dynomatted them. In regards to the tweeters in the a-pillars they make a HUGE difference. I live here in North Phoenix and have them custom built into my A-pillars. Let me know if you want to come by and hear them. You can also check out the 10" subs under the seats and the 2 sets of 6"'s in the kicks.

 

I'm not sure what they are for, however, I mounted my X-overs in them.

 

Why is there styrofoam popcorn when you ship stuff? I bet it just keeps the panel from getting dented by incidental contact from the driver, passengers, dogs, cargo, etc. It was a good place for me to install the crossovers without putting screw holes into the door sheet metal...just removed it, screwed the parts in, ran wires out the slits, and reinstalled it.

 

Congrats on your upgrade, sounds nice. While some may respond with negative comments on your choices, there are lots of people who went the same route, myself included.

I ran the stock HU with a 50Wx4 amp and upgraded door speakers for over a year and it sounded a lot better than the stock system. I used the rear channel from the stock HU to feed the extra 2 channels on the amp which were (are) connected to bass shakers mounted to the floor under the seats. Certainly not a 'killer' system by any means, but it sounds nice enough that some people think I have a small sub hidden somewhere.

I only changed the HU later because I wanted MP3 capability, and I must admit I'm glad I did. I don't think the Sony HU I chose is significantly better than the stock unit, but having 165 songs on a CD is pretty nice for long drives.

I'm currently working on a real sub to be installed in the passenger foot well. But with the weather turning nice, I'm not sure how much of my weekends will be spent in the garage, so the sub project may take a while.

 

Modifry, my buddy just completed a mold for a passenger side foot well for the NSX. It is for a 10' woofer that is almost a cubic foot of airspace. He wnats to do one for my car, but I will wait till I get another car (non convrt) to do another system. I still have a Punch 500 and 2 12.5s in the garage. They (Creative Car) made a killer "looking" box to fit in the well of the trunk that held a single 12, and it sounded like complete crap. The guy still paid for the box because of the time and effort used to make the box as the customer requested, but the customer did not have to pay for it if he didn't want to. They ended up raising the box a bit, and angled it towards the back of the trunk and it sounded much better. Thanks for the replies. Like I said, I removed the protector and mounted the xover to the door where the well is for the protector.