GR86 Focal 2 way component OEM retrofit

Mounted a sub-woofer today. It's in the passenger footwell secured to the kick plate. Two bolts, with big washers on them, fed through from the back, a hole in the kick plate and carpet, allowed me to attach it where it is almost hidden from sight and doesn't bother a passenger too much.

The kick plate is a sheet of polystyrene with the carpet stuck on. It was very easy to make the holes. Getting the bolts fed through was more difficult as the kick plate will only tilt up a couple of inches before it hits the components (heater?) above. Like fitting the boot closing strap, dropping the bolt and washer would have been a real pain.

Next is tuning it with the Puzu DSP.

I fitted a Pioneer TSWX010A. It's small and can be powered from the fusebox so no need to run a power supply through the firewall bulkhead from the battery. I connected it to the DSP using a twin RCA/phono cable. It switches on and off automatically using the blue remote cable.

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If you are thinking of adding a sub, the the PUZU C31 is the DSP to use. As this unit gives a dedicated sub output with independent EQ control. If I remember correctly on the C7, the sub cannot be EQ'd independently and shares the output from the REAR channels. You can only adjust the gain.

It's been a while since I fitted a SUB (and a C31) to my other car, not sure if anything has changed since with the C7...

THEN AGAIN.... The rear speakers have filters on them, so I guess whatever low frequencies you adjust on the rear channel will get filtered out at the speakers and won't distort them so it 'should' work on the 86.
 
OldManMarkoos said:
While I had the head unit out, I disconnected the ASC speaker cable so I could hook it up to a HiLo converter and then plug it into the Aux socket and play fake engine noises through some decent speakers.

Unfortunately it still sounds like arse. There is a definite time delay, so it sounds a bit like reverb. Like if you've ever listened to the TV through a sound bar while the TV speakers are still active...

It does work however, so, give it a go if you want, some basic instructions below.


The ASC cable connector is white and pushes up into the beige connector which is firmly attached to the back of the black speaker box. So to disconnect, you have to squeeze the lower corners and push down. There's not a lot of room and it is quite stiff.

After disconnecting it you can push it back through to the glove compartment area.
View attachment 21783

Photo from top down.
View attachment 21784
Success!
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One of the spare speaker cable adaptors from the focal kit is a match for this connector type.
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Finally, I removed the spade connectors. And used a choccy block to connect the mono speaker signal into the stereo HiLo converter and then plugged that into the Aux connector in the armrest.
View attachment 21787

Had the result been better I would have connected all this properly, but my short test says it's probably not worth it.
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Great effort even if the results were disappointing. Thank you.
 
ninjin said:
If you are thinking of adding a sub, the the PUZU C31 is the DSP to use. As this unit gives a dedicated sub output with independent EQ control. If I remember correctly on the C7, the sub cannot be EQ'd independently and shares the output from the REAR channels. You can only adjust the gain.

It's been a while since I fitted a SUB (and a C31) to my other car, not sure if anything has changed since with the C7...

THEN AGAIN.... The rear speakers have filters on them, so I guess whatever low frequencies you adjust on the rear channel will get filtered out at the speakers and won't distort them so it 'should' work on the 86.
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I think the C7 has been updated. I have a sub RCA output and "sub" appears as a independent EQ in the software. I have seen a review video of the C7 which had only four channels.

Just looked at AliExpress again, it says "new version available now" in big red caps but doesn't say when the new version was released.

If that's not the case, then I have got the wrong one! But, it does sound alot better so I am happy.
 
TheRealMyodo said:
Hi all

Ok I've had a play around with time delays, remeasured and created a new set of filters which allow for the delays. I've also applied EQ to the rear speakers and adjusted the gain on these.

I've targeted the Harman curve, so this gives a pretty balanced tonality overall with a bit of a boost in the low end. If you're a real basshead, you might prefer a bit more in the bottom.

Puzu file, screenshots and the REW measurements, for those interested, all in the zip at the link attached. Enjoy

Car2.zip

PS The password is the model name of our favourite motor vehicle
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Thank you! Can I swap R and L in your presets to use in a left-hand drive car?
 
Dal3D said:
Next the woofers in the door..

First you need to get the door panel off the car. There's 2 screws behind a little access panel by the arm rest and another by the lock / door release handle.
View attachment 20348


View attachment 20349

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Undo those, then it's time for the brave bit.

I found it easier to grab the panel by the hinge and pull as you can get your fingers behind.. it does need a bit of a pull, but it just unclips. Then work your way around the left, bottom and right and pull it away. There are a couple in the middle at the front so make sure they're all popped.

You should then be able to pivot the door card from the top and just lift it off.

Then disconnect the plugs and door handle release ball / cable from it and put it somewhere safe.

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You can now get to the speaker. It's got a plug in the top which is easy to remove. Then unscrew the 3 screws and remove.

Oem left, Focal right
View attachment 20352


OEM weighs 180g, the Focal 950g as it's moving coil is much bigger.
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The mounting positions are exactly the same, as are the connectors so you don't need any adaptors of any sort here, even though the kit has loads. The Focal's come with a foam mount that looks better than the OEM
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I'd recommend fitting at least some sound deadening behind the speaker as it's out.
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Fit to the car using the original screws, plug it back in
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Then refit the door card - connect the cables back up (don't forget the light at the bottom of the door as I always do!) as well as the ball / cable bits for the door release & lock.
I found it went back on fine - maybe a little bit more jiggling as the woofer needs to get in the aperture in the door card, but once it was aligned it was a simple matter of popping the clips back into position and fitting the 3 screws and covers you took off at the start.
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Great write up. Why did you not put sound proofing on the inside of the door card?
 
UK GR86 said:
Great write up. Why did you not put sound proofing on the inside of the door card?
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Because it's plastic and doesn't resonate like sheet metal does.

Or do you mean where the door card attaches to? The metal bit? There's plenty of folds, ribs and changes in profile that it's probably quote stiff already.

The inside of the outer door skin is flat and acts like a drum skim if not deadened
 
Does anyone know if PUZU gets hot when powered on? I live in a hot climate and I'm slightly concerned about placing it in a tight space under the airbag.
 
Dal3D said:
Because it's plastic and doesn't resonate like sheet metal does.

Or do you mean where the door card attaches to? The metal bit? There's plenty of folds, ribs and changes in profile that it's probably quote stiff already.

The inside of the outer door skin is flat and acts like a drum skim if not deadened
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Ok I was thinking the inside of the plastic door card. I can feel it vibrating with the stock speakers. If it doesn't need it I'll save the weight 👍
 
Has anyone dont this without the amp? Is it still worth it?

I'm really not invested enough to tweak an amp but drop in speakers, maybe......
 
UK GR86 said:
Missed them... all gone now 😕 Thank you anyway
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I see this shop had the same 20% offer on their already discounted veritable Hertz Millie Pro MPK 165P.3 components... so have plumped for them on the basis that I'll be putting in an amplifier anyway... I know these will be a lot more hassle to fit but I found the speaker adapters and double checked the dimensions from the focal Toy 165 spec sheet🤞
 
Yeah you don't need the amp. More a nice to have. I'm just using presets. Life is too short to be constantly tweaking. Sounds fine with or without.
 
stigg10 said:
I fitted the focal speakers, then added a Focal 4.320 amp I picked up new on eBay for £100.
The amp JUST squeezes in to the gap above the glove box.View attachment 21218

To wire it in without faffing about, you will also need:

Focal IW-TOY-YISO
And
Focal IW-IMP-EXT150

View attachment 21219
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A few weeks on, how are you getting on with the focal amplifier? Are you happy with it? Did you wire straight from the battery? It's got some decent heft, has the crossovers but no dsp.
 
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