Aftermarket speakers?

[TheLondonBroiler]

Factory radios will do 4-8 ohms, no problem. Infinity makes some 2 ohm speakers (that read 3 on a meter), and they're usually no problem either. It wasn't uncommon in the past for GM to use 10 ohm speakers.

I don't think you'll have any problem at all, unless you decide to take the radio out to see if the amplifier is hot. Taking the radio out is a PITA.

Just remembered, I'm running non factory, 4 ohm, front speakers, and have been for 4 months. Zero issues, but then again, I'm mostly listening to podcasts..... at less than halfway (under 20).

[EBinStoon]

Factory radios will do 4-8 ohms, no problem. Infinity makes some 2 ohm speakers (that read 3 on a meter), and they're usually no problem either. It wasn't uncommon in the past for GM to use 10 ohm speakers.

I don't think you'll have any problem at all, unless you decide to take the radio out to see if the amplifier is hot. Taking the radio out is a PITA.

Just remembered, I'm running non factory, 4 ohm, front speakers, and have been for 4 months. Zero issues, but then again, I'm mostly listening to podcasts..... at less than halfway (under 20).

Great. Thanks for the reply.

[hishnika]

I installed the front Alpine 4-ohm speakers referenced earlier in the thread and they sound great. I ended up just moving the balance to the rear some and left the stock speakers in the back. They produce decent enough low end for me with some EQ tweaking. I don't think the speakers or the stereo are struggling with warming or any issues... I guess it depends on how much you blast the volume. For me the two fronts is the absolute minimum necessary improvement, but it got me most of what I wanted, and for only ~$50.

I hope to 3d print the 5x7 brackets later on and put alpines in the back also, when I can splurge a bit.

[SparkieV]

If anyone is looking for an even more affordable way to give the audio a boost, I have been pretty happy with my (cheap) setup. I used "bassblocker" capacitors on the front and rear speakers to reduce distortion and installed a small 8 inch powered subwoofer in a cast aluminum enclosure from Rockville Audio. The powered sub was $90 brand new including installation kit direct from the company. Picked up an add-a-fuse harness and some heat-shrink tubing and had everything I needed for the install. Modified the foam in the trunk with my Dremel to house the setup without using any cargo space and staying hidden. Did the whole thing for about $130 including shipping and sounds pretty good!

[NORTON]

.... installed a small 8 inch powered subwoofer in a cast aluminum enclosure from Rockville Audio. .... Modified the foam in the trunk with my Dremel to house the setup without using any cargo space and staying hidden. Did the whole thing for about $130 including shipping and sounds pretty good!

Sounds like a great way to get 'LOW', but how does it sound without a direct path for the speaker to shake the air in the cabin?
What value of caps did you use?
There are signal generator/ Real Time analyzer apps, some with a dedicated mic. The transition from sub to main speaker and having a close to flat curve is important to me and not just the 'Thump'.

[JeremyWinter]

Just finished my setup with

Front: Hertz Dieci DCX 100.3 4" 2-way Speakers 4 ohm (stock are 8 ohm)
Rear: HERTZ HCX 165 6.5" 2-Way Hi-Energy Coaxial Speakers HCX165
Rear: Bbox 6.5PR Speaker Enclosure - Pair - 6 1/2"
Amp: Rockford Fosgate PM100X1K Punch Marine 100 Watt Full-Range Mono Amplifier (very cool for EV's)

Cons:
Expensive for a good sounding system that still lacks that full component with sub sound.
Not a lot of low end bass. My stock 2002 lexus IS300 has better bass, but less mid and highs clarity.

Pros:
No modifications to stock system, can unplug adapters and be stock immediately. (resale value)
Front speakers are fine at 4 ohms, sound good.
System is loud, mids are powerful.
No tapping into 12v system. The PM100X1K system draws power from the head unit and stores it in a battery which then sends 60-70 watts RMS to the speakers. Cool tech that will not draw from the Spark EV main battery.

Maybe I should have gone with the Hertz 6X9's and got better low end response. I'm happy overall as it's night and day compared to the stock system. I installed the front speakers and was immediately happy with the results. Next I put the 6.5" speakers into boxes and plugged in off stock head unit power. I was immediately disappointed, but not surprised. Tinny mids, absolutely no lows and these speakers can pound.

Did some research and found the Rockford Fosgate Pm100x1's and although was skeptical at first, decided to give them a try.

They work. Getting 70 watts out of them and that's just drawing off the power of the stock head unit. Really a marvel of technology in my opinion. By utilizing all of the power that the head unit sends, which is usually lost and sent to ground because the speaker doesn't use it, the amps are able to send 60 watts plus RMS to the speakers.

Won't replace a sub wired into the 12v system, but sounds way better than not.

[NORTON]

"Front: Hertz Dieci DCX 100.3 4" 2-way Speakers 4 ohm (stock are 8 ohm)"

Did you use the stock speaker enclosures or are they just 'Free Air' mounted?

Are they louder due to the 4 ohm? Could this harm the head unit at high power levels?

[JeremyWinter]

Did you use the stock speaker enclosures or are they just 'Free Air' mounted?

They are free air mounted. Let's be honest, these are tweeters with 4 inches of rubber for aesthetics. Adding a baffle makes a unnatural sound in my opinion, as did the original stock speaker enclosure.

Are they louder due to the 4 ohm?

I would say yes a bit, maybe, nothing drastic.

Could this harm the head unit at high power levels?

Doubtful. Everyone else on here seems to be fine running them.

Other factors, the non EV spark calls for 4 ohm speakers, most likely uses the same amp. The backs are 4 ohm and producing a amp that handles 8 ohms on 2 channels and 4 ohms on the other 2 would be very odd engineering. Why would you do that? Design a new amp for the EV just to make it have 8 ohm front speakers instead of 4 ohm?

None of these scenarios makes (especially cheap) engineering sense to me. Really we need a service manual or service tech to answer these questions, but in absent of those, I'm going to assume that the GM engineers have some common sense when designing.

[JPL]

Holy cow the Rockford Fosgate PM100X1K cost almost $800 bucks here!

I also installed the following:

Front: Alpine 4" Type-S Coaxial Car Speakers (SPS410)

Back : Alpine 5X7" Type S Coaxial 2-Way Car Speakers (SPS517)

I used a 3D printed adaptor for the back speakers

[JeremyWinter]

Wow $800, that's ~$540 in USD. Here you can get them for $200 USD on Amazon or Crutchfield. They are expensive even at $200 in my opinion, so really can't recommend at that price.

Have a friend in Bellingham?