How To Determine What Speakers Fit Your Car

You have several options to learn what speakers fit your car. As you may know, cars usually come equipped with several different speaker sizes depending on their location. Small speakers may be located under grills in the dash or front doors. Large speakers are usually placed near the rear of the car, such as those above the trunk. Every car model has a unique speaker setup that conforms to the needs of that particular car.

1. How are speakers measured?  Speakers are usually shaped in circles or ovals. A 6.5" speaker is a circular speaker that has an outside diameter of six and a half inches. A 6" x 9" speaker is an oval shaped speaker that is six inches in one direction and nine inches in the other direction. Other common speaker sizes are 5.25", 6", 6.25", 6.5", 6.75", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", and 4" x 10".

   Another important measurement is the speaker depth. Let's say your car has holes cut for 6.5" speakers, and you buy the best-priced speakers of that size. Then you try to install them and they won't fit because they are built too deep for the space behind the mounting holes. Avoid this problem by measuring the depth or by buying thin profile speakers.

2. The hard way. If you're a hands-on kind of person, then you might like doing this the hard way. Remove the speakers from their mounts and measure them with a tape measure. You can also measure the mounting holes. Don't forget to also measure the depth of the speaker mounts.
3. Online stores. Several online stores are devoted to electronics, and some provide excellent tools to help you figure out what size speakers are mounted in your car. My favorite is the "What speakers fit my car" utility on Crutchfield.com. All you have to do is select your car from a couple of dropdown menus, and it tells you the sizes of each of the speakers in your car. This is a very helpful tool, and you can buy your speakers from them, or look elsewhere for the correctly sized speakers.
4. Forums. Almost every car made today has a forum created and moderated by enthusiasts and owners of that model. Even cars that are no longer in production have forums devoted to modifications and improvements, racing, and repairs. If you do any work on your car, it's a good idea to search the forums pertaining to your car. Use Google to find the forum for your car and either post a question or find a previous post about the same question. Chances are, if you have a question, somebody else with the same car has already asked the same question.
5. Adapters. If you have your heart set on smaller speakers, or you want to use some that you already have available, you might want to consider using custom fit speaker size adapters. They are also called custom brackets. These are plastic rings that are made to fit the factory-made speaker slots, but they have an inner ring that accommodates alternative-sized speakers.