[skumar69]

I have a swift with the following budget ICE configuration:


Headunit - Sony mex bt3600u
6" speakers in front door - JBL gt5 650C
6" speakers in rear door - JBL gt5 652

I am not into hard metal type music, but listen to music such as bollywood, enrique, shakira etc.

Problem is that when some bass beats play, the front speaker, specially the driver side starts vibrating. I am not sure if its not able to handle the beats, is damaged, or its just the grill/plastics vibrating. What can I do to fix this on a budget?

I would like to say that I had chosen these speakers after getting expert advice from this forum, and have been quite content, but recently I heard music in a SKODA Fabia. It comes from factory with two front speakers, which sounded much better then my custom hand chosen 4 speakers :(

[DerAlte]

Err.. don't the speakers just have to vibrate? How will they produce sound otherwise?

No, what you are hearing as 'vibrations' is sound coming from other stuff around the speaker due to the low frequencies making them resonate.

Have you damped your doors? If not, that should be the first thing that you should get done. When the damping is being done,
- check and tighten the screws mounting the speakers
- check if any cable or wire is loose. If so, ask them to put some dabs of hot melt glue along the long lengths so that they are stayed down
- if the edges of the door pad show gaps, put narrow strips of double-sided tape below the edge to cover the gap

Edit: If you feel that the Skoda Fabia sounds better, don't be disheartened - the grass is *always* greener on the other side. Your system isn't any less, it is just that the vibrations etc. are really irritating you.

[skumar69]

Ok, sorry for not being able to explain better. It was the plastic door body which was vibrating on the bassy parts of the songs. Primarily, the plastic body just near to the speaker enclosure is vibrating. If I simply slightly press that door part with my hand, the vibration is gone.

Can I do something about this on a tight budget?

[DerAlte]

Apply damping on the door pad.

Which car do you have? Are the speakers mounted on the door metal or on the doorpad?

[valhallen.282]

@DA sir he says he has a swift. I remember going to skoda on st marks road to be shown the new laura. I sat down to audition it with my test discs and surprise surprise the doors were vibrating!

But skumar69 with DA sir you in good hands ciao!

[skumar69]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Apply damping on the door pad.

Which car do you have? Are the speakers mounted on the door metal or on the doorpad?

I am not VERY sure, but i think the speakers are mounted on the metal part. Will that make a difference?

[captrajesh]

Posting a picture or two would enable members better understanding of the problem.

[GT500]

Originally Posted by skumar69

Ok, sorry for not being able to explain better. It was the plastic door body which was vibrating on the bassy parts of the songs. Primarily, the plastic body just near to the speaker enclosure is vibrating. If I simply slightly press that door part with my hand, the vibration is gone.

Can I do something about this on a tight budget?

I was in the same exact situation as you are in now.

As DerAlte said, you need damping.

I went for Wurth, A pack set me back by 2200 which was sufficient for 2 front doors.
Got it installed for rs.100, though Its DIY possible if you know your way around.

Cheers

GT

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by valhallen.282

... he says he has a swift ...

I either need to change my specs, or read slowly!!! Thanks for pointing out.

Originally Posted by skumar69

I am not VERY sure, but i think the speakers are mounted on the metal part. Will that make a difference?

The inner metal it is, in a Swift.

DIY damping is not a difficult thing - you just have to know how to take out the door pad.

* Check in the Damping thread in Product Discussions. Someone posted where they got the Wuerth (Wurth) damping sheets (somewhere near Okhla IA, I think). There are other alternates (like Dynamat, Noise Kill etc.), but I am not sure you will get it in Ghaziabad
* Take down the door-pad carefully, noting which screw came from where. Clean the insides of the door pad, outer panel and inner panel thoroughly and make sure all the surfaces are dry
* Apply the damping sheet on the door outer metal panel first. Heating the damping sheet on the adhesive side makes it easier to handle. Make sure you press down on the sheet (with some waste cotton) so that the damping sheet adheres well
* Next, apply damping on the inner panel. You may need to cut holes wherever the buttons / screws are mounted, and cables come out
* Then comes the door pad surface. Wherever the pad feels flimsy (tap it: lower frequency = flimsy)
* Stay down any loose wires and connectors
* Put back the door pad making sure there are no gaps that might buzz later

[skumar69]

Thanks. Well, I have Swift LDI. I may try a DIY for dampening the door, though I have never opened the door panel, Will take help form this forum to do so.

One question, I am thinking of getting power windows added to my front doors. I guess I will need to take some precautions while putting in my damping material, to ensure I allow this power window installation in future?

[DerAlte]

If you want to add power windows sometime, leave out damping the inner door panel (on which the speaker is mounted. Once the installation of the power window winder is completed, damp the inner panel (they would have opened the door pad for installation ).

[Sam Kapasi]

Here's my simple opinion.

Check if the speakers are mounted on MDF or FRP rings. My guess is that this is a rush job.

Open the door panel and have rings mounted. The original hole for the swift has an FRP ring that does not accommodate a GT5-S650C. One is required to knock off the rivets on that ring and install a new one.

Often a cheap shortcut is to simply attach the speaker to the bare metal with 2 screws. I am guessing that could be a problem.

Another common problem is in fact poor mounting of the crossover unit. Often people either just leave them in the door to rattle or worse, tie then up to the speaker with cable tie, often leaving the cable tie ends free to vibrate against the speaker cone.

Remember only one door is rattling. If it was simply a question of door construction and the metal not being able to handle the sound pressure, the problem would exist on both doors.
Yes, damping is a HUGE plus point and will prevent rattles and improve the sound, but I do not think it is the lack of damping that causes the driver's side door to vibrate.

[DerAlte]

Good point, Sam. But, even the passenger side vibrates - all door pads do if there is a speaker mounted on or near large FRP expanses. The inner door metal is not suspect and, as you said, bad mounting practice causes most rattles as compared to the OE stuff.

I guess he has to take down the door pads anyhow to check the innards.

[skumar69]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Here's my simple opinion.

Check if the speakers are mounted on MDF or FRP rings. My guess is that this is a rush job.

Open the door panel and have rings mounted. The original hole for the swift has an FRP ring that does not accommodate a GT5-S650C. One is required to knock off the rivets on that ring and install a new one.

Often a cheap shortcut is to simply attach the speaker to the bare metal with 2 screws. I am guessing that could be a problem.

Another common problem is in fact poor mounting of the crossover unit. Often people either just leave them in the door to rattle or worse, tie then up to the speaker with cable tie, often leaving the cable tie ends free to vibrate against the speaker cone.

Remember only one door is rattling. If it was simply a question of door construction and the metal not being able to handle the sound pressure, the problem would exist on both doors.
Yes, damping is a HUGE plus point and will prevent rattles and improve the sound, but I do not think it is the lack of damping that causes the driver's side door to vibrate.

Hmm, I remember now that the speaker indeed had not fit the hole perfectly and I think the vendor has fixed it by just 2 screws just as you suggested. So ideally, this should have been fitted in a MDF ring there? Do we have any picture of what I should expect this time?

Also, by crossover, are you referring to the tweeters? The are installed on my dashboard, facing the roof/windscreen.

[DerAlte]

The cross-overs are the small boxes (with a large copper coil as the most prominent component) to which the mid-bass and the tweeters are connected.