Wayne Parham Messages: 18752 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
You can take the gasket off if you want, but if you do, be sure to scrape it off completely and clean the surface, like you would do on an engine rebuild. Start with a completely smooth and clean surface for the new gasket. Otherwise, you may not have a good seal.
I guess I don't see the benefit in doing this. If you are concerned with the height from the baffle, wouldn't it be better to route a recess for the woofer to sit in?
About the mounting holes, and the portion of the surround that partially covers them, simply foke through that. It's just an artifact of assembly. You can cut it with a razor, if you want. But you can just poke the mounting screw into the hole too. There's no harm if that bit of material bends or tears.