Finally tore into my front speakers tonight. Been procrastinating for a LONG time about replacing them. After opening up the passenger door panel, I realized that the entire affair was probably unnecessary, as there were Orion 6.5" coax in there. Still, I have my speakers and it seemed like a shame not to just put them in (I was intending to match all 4 to the same type).
6.75" is a VERY snug fit in the stock mount. The baffle on the back makes contact with the inside edge of the speaker surround--and it's slightly more pronounced than how the Orion's were. I could tell they already cut/broke out the rear of the surround to fit the magnet on the Orion's. I had to cut even more out to fit the Pioneers. I also had to diagonally mount the screws to bolt the speaker into the factory surround, and I ended up breaking off the speaker tab extensions so it would fit better behind the door panel. I already had a couple tabs broken on the door panel, so until/unless I replace them, I won't be able to verify if the panel closes 100%...but it does appear to.
The good news about that is that the the depth isn't the problem, it's the width that is. But there simply isn't any other surround that will offer the requisite protrusion from the door to accommodate factory depth limitations and the space to the door grille.
In retrospect, component speakers up front might have been a better alternative, given the door triangle tweeters (mine are OEM), but maybe someday later. I can tell a small improvement over the Orion's, but probably not really enough to justify the upgrade/hassle over existing aftermarket speakers. Tomorrow I'll try tackling the driver's side. Then the part I'm dreading...replacing the blown rear speakers.
If anyone wants a free set of nice condition 6.5" orions, hit me up. You pay shipping or just come pick them up.
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