plastic water guards on stock speakers
 

did n e one take the plastic water guards off their stock speakers and put them on their new speakers? is this nessarary?

i was looking at this site:

http://www.astolfo.com/p5/p5install.asp

and the person there did it....

im just wondering if water will get on the speaker ???

naw, as long as the cone and the speaker isnt paper (like the stock speakers in all er most cars are) then they can get a tad bit wet.

if your goin to dynomat ur doors, dynomat the back of the speaker (thats like puttin the water sheilds back on em).

I never did anything to mine, they are jus in the doors.

I would DEFINITLEY use the guards, or something to protect the speakers, and here is why:

I recently opened my door panels back up to remove my speakers in preperation for a new install. I just left the door panel in the back seat, and drove around like that for the day, because I was installing the next day. I also had no speaker in the door.

Well, later that day, it rained, and - you guessed it - the water that came into the door was dripping DIRECTLY over the speaker location. When the car was parked, I could see the water drip through the speaker hole. An unprotected speaker would DEFINITELY be wet. And paper or not, water is no good for speakers.

So I'd say re-use the plastic drip-shields, or get a set of XTC foam baffles from Crotch-field. I used the baffles, and I believe they help my mid-bass, too. I ordered the 5x7 size, but they didn't have the shallow ones in stock, so I got the deeper ones. I did have to cut them down - I just used scissors to cut the bottom off (closed end), and put it inside the remaining portion of the baffle, secured with some double-sided foam tape and wrapped in elecrical tape for extra protection. This effectively reduced the depth of the baffles. Worked out just fine.

hihoslva is right, peel them off the old speakers, and use them on the new, or fabricate some to fit what ever size you are using. Poly cones will resist water, but not the spiders or the speaker surrounds. If a window is down in a protege and there is water, then it goes right down to the speakers. This is not a case of Japanese over engineering, but a clever solution to a problem Mazda found. Also note the drip holes in the bottom of the door edge, Mazda intends for water to come though there, and this is their method of protecting the speakers.
The covers are easy enough to get off, use a little heat and a flat head, and do not be bashful about force. The only trick is to use some more silicone to seal the edge on the new speaker. Don't use glue and let them dry in a well ventlated area, the surronds of speakers can be damaged be acetone and fumes really easily.
I have used XTC baffles, and they work alright. Most of the time they are designed to have enough air space in them to at least not set up a bad harmonic, and they can make for a tighter mid bass. The same effect can be had from use of deadening material right around the speaker, and using deflex pads behind them and that is my method of choice. Baffles have a few problems of their own, they can be also be damaged by weather, they can rot out, and if torn up by the path of windows or window drives, they can fill up with water and not let it out! Deadening and Deflex get you pretty close without the interfering with exsisting structures.
What ever you do- cover you investment, at least the backs of them, from the elements!

Heres what i did, its kinda hard to peel em apart, just use brute force. Really, your not hurting anything. I got a flat head screwdriver and went at it. Once you start to get an edge its just a matter of pulling. Also, as a bonus. i used the glue that was just like stuck on the plastic protector shields to make them stick to the inside the door so i didnt bother with screwing or glueing. jsut pushed hard and they sticked really well.