Stephen's DD & AutoX ZHP

[stephenkirsh]

So last weekend I had a bunch of work done. Here's a few photos.

Work completed:
CCV (was still in working condition, but the lower hose that connects to the dip stick tube was very close to cracking)
Z4M control arm bushings
finished up my cooling system
Oil filter housing gasket
found my upper intake boot was new, but my lower intake boot was not
found two vacuum plugs were completely cracked. Had no idea these even existed.





Filled up an entire garbage can with junk!



Crotch shot of my mechanic friend who helped out/did most of the work :P
(suspicious patroleum jelly in the corner)


Attachment 11885
lower intake boot cracked in the typical spot.



comparison of cheap aftermarket bushings from the PO and the new Z4M solid rubber bushings. As you can see, both of them came off in pieces. I'll do a review on them once I get some "fun" miles on them instead of my normal commute.

[stephenkirsh]

Oh, and I got my DICE MediaBride installed yesterday. Again, a review will come when I've had a little more time on it. So far, it's a thumbs up.

[ELCID86]

Nice progress.


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[derbo]

great progress. How much of a caster change does the Z4M bushings add?

[stephenkirsh]

great progress. How much of a caster change does the Z4M bushings add?

Enough that you can see it from standing beside the car. I'm getting an alignment next week. I'll do a write up on the Z4M bushings once I get some "fun" miles on them.

[derbo]

Sounds good Stephen!

[stephenkirsh]

So I've had my DICE MediaBridge installed for a week or so now. Here's how/where I installed, and what I think of it.


I bought it from ECS Tuning during their holiday sale for $170, normally $200. It took OVER THREE WEEKS TO DELIVER!!! First they split up my order without telling me. When I asked why they said it was direct ship from DICE's warehouse. Ok fine, what ever. Then the delivery time updated after it was supposed to be delivered. They never told me until I asked. Pretty bad customer service for this order.

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INSTALLATION
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So my goal was to put the MediaBridge in the little storage bin in the trunk where the CD changer would be. This would keep the MediaBridge out of the cabin and help me avoid having to run cables through the cabin.

Here's the installation area. I forgot to take a photo once I finished installing everything, and I didn't feel like pulling the carpet back out. So here's a photo off the internet that I modified.

The unit itself (not pictured) is in the storage slot. The cable it comes with is quite long, so I had to figure out where to store it all; it's coiled up and stored underneath.





To get the cable to the unit I had to drill a hole through the storage piece. It's flimsy plastic; it wasn't too hard. I figure if I mess it up, it can't be too expensive to replace.

I drilled 1 small starter hole with the unit still mounted in the car so that I could make sure I put the hole in the right spot. After that, there's 4 small bolts holding it in. Take them out w/ a socket wrench and it's pretty easy to drill the hole from there.





From there, it's pretty easy to just hook it all up. A 3-pin connector and a 6-pin connector connect it to where the CD changer would be plugged in.

When I first installed it, I had a USB drive as my source of music.





To secure the unit so it didn't flop around in the storage bin, I used a small velcro strip.

Done!




It took me two hours cuz I made some mistakes but if you avoid my bone-head mistakes, it could probably done in 30-45 min easy.


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REVIEW OF UNIT
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User Interface
Slow. Slow. Slow. Loading of songs after a song has finished is instant, but going through play lists or folders is slow.

There's also a stupid voice that announces things in what sounds like a British accent. I think there's a way to turn it off, but it's not easy. For example, it'll announce when it's in "USB Mode" or when it's in "Folder Mode."

USB Drive
So initially I used the USB drive as my source of music. I had music on the drive sorted in folders. This method didn't work too well. If you switched back to FM Radio, then back to the USB drive, it would start over as if turning the car on for the first time. "Random" would mix ALL the music from the entire drive, which was annoying. Ultimately I stopped using this method.

Bluetooth
Next I tried a Bluetooth connection with my iPhone. Music quality is just fine. You can control the music player through the car stereo which is great. The only bad thing is that you can't START the music through the car stereo. You have to pull out your phone (which I keep in my pocket) and hit play. You also CANNOT change playlists on the phone through the car stereo (or… I couldn't figure it out). It can only be done through the phone itself.

Once nice thing about bluetooth is if you have a passenger who wants to play their tunes, you can just pair up their phone and play through the car stereo.

iPod Input Through USB Connection
I almost never use my old 5th generation iPod, so I grabbed that and plugged it into the USB slot on the MediaBridge. This is my favorite method. It charges the iPod when driving. It starts playing music as soon as you switch to USB/iPod mode. You can move in and out of playlists through the car stereo.

Other
It also has Sirius and a direct 3.5mm jack connection which I have not used. I imagine they're the same as the other 3 methods I've used.

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OVERALL
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Installation ease: 4.5/5 (BMW is who made it difficult)
Price: 4/5 on sale or 3/5 off sale
Flexibility/options: 5/5
Sound quality: 4.5/5
User interface: 1.5/5

OVERALL: 19.5 / 25 or 78%
Would I recommend it?: Yes

[stephenkirsh]

Got my DISA valve swapped out. Hopefully this is the end of lean codes.

[derbo]

Look at that brand new gasket! Hopefully it does solve it man.

[stephenkirsh]

I really hope so. My F connector is looking stressed. That'll be next probably.