PinWoofer - Stern - Spike-2 - Expression Speaker Light Spacers

We've had some inquiries about speaker mounting with this OEM Light Kit, and mounting aftermarket speakers.

First, there is an important consideration for speakers other than the typical Limited Edition KFC speaker or those with similar design.

The maker's historical solution to the lack of an integrated sealing gasket on the KFC is to supply a foam gasket set #626-5113-00 to achieve a seal. This applies to a non-light kit LE. To varying degrees the KFC is not truly sealed without this foam gasket. No seal == lower sound quality and removing the gasket set may further thin out this already anemic sounding speaker. A different aftermarket speaker with similar design leads to the same outcome.

The new OEM light kit does not appear to include the foam gaskets, and we don't think the Jaws / Wick LE light kit come with or allow for it. If someone knows different, please contradict. There is a Jaws LE image below.

Next, the aftermarket speaker problem is that while the KFC mounts to this OEM light ring in situ but without a gasket set, a more common / better / different speaker will not easily install because they typically employ an integrated sealing gasket and mounting tabs a few mm behind the back of the gasket plane (image below). If you stack up an acrylic, the OEM Mount, and a more typical speaker upgrade as described, there is a lack of exposed thread to add a flat washer and locking nut to secure the speaker. Our position is that deforming the tabs to force the nut and washer onto the stud can change the speaker frame planarity which can affect sound quality.

Regardless, whether it is our PW label speaker, or almost any other middle to high end speaker with integrated gasket / frame geometry describe above, the tab setback behind the gasket is short 3mm+ of necessary stud thread behind the tab to accommodate a washer and a nut.

If you upgrade to the OEM Pro / Premium light kit you may be hemmed into your original factory 4in speakers without a future adapter path to get you to 5.25in. If you are upgrading to the LE kit with existing 5.25in speakers, or if you have aspirations to upgrade your speakers to what's been described, you may run into the short stud length problem.

This design restriction is not a surprise to us. We've been shipping a custom spacer set since Jaws LE release and it's been working great for both Jaws and Wick over many, many installs.

There is an option on our super kit order page to indicate that you've got the OEM speaker lights, and we'll ship you the necessary solution. If you need to obtain this separately now or later, we'll add our stand-alone kit to the website soon.

Below is a link to our instructional document:
https://pinwoofer.com/content/PW-Spike-2-Stern-Speaker-Light-Spacer-Instructions.pdf