Materials to Maintain Your ZHP IIIII Hand Protection IIIII Tools to Maintain Your ZHP
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  1. #31
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    VA/DC
    Posts
    14,445

  2. #32
    Just to confirm, there are no subs in your system? The bass is provided by the mid-bass speakers in the front doors and rear deck?

    I'm asking because I'd like to upgrade the stock HK system in my coupe, but am not interested in a sub taking up space in the trunk. Looking for sound quality over thumping bass, but I still want it to sound full. Was hoping I could find something to put in the rear deck that would do the trick.

    Are you happy with the sound quality of what you went with?

  3. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by jonnyd330 View Post
    This is what I ended up doing:


    Mid-range: Peerless by Tymphany NE65W-04 2″ Full Range Woofer
    Brand: Peerless
    Model: NE65W-04
    Part#: 264-1046
    Sweet!

    I'm using the same exact mid for the front doors as you.

    This install has been a PITA for me. I haven't worked on a BMW in quite a while and I had forgotten all the techniques for removing panels and stuff. I was close to finishing everything last week and had modified the bracket for the original HK amp to accomodate the new amp and cables, had everything installed and then realized that I would be needing to access the amp occasionally and didn't want to remove the rear left trim panel every time i needed access. Also, it was a really tight fit and the wires and cables were getting all jammed together, so I tore everything out and started over on Monday. Should have everything in by this weekend so I'll post some pics.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    231
    Quote Originally Posted by Gmas View Post
    Just to confirm, there are no subs in your system? The bass is provided by the mid-bass speakers in the front doors and rear deck?

    I'm asking because I'd like to upgrade the stock HK system in my coupe, but am not interested in a sub taking up space in the trunk. Looking for sound quality over thumping bass, but I still want it to sound full. Was hoping I could find something to put in the rear deck that would do the trick.

    Are you happy with the sound quality of what you went with?
    For the money it is good quality using the OEM amp. I did upgrade the trunk sub speakers with different ones it was not easy to do. But the bass out of the new subs is much better.
    2004 330i ZHP Imola/Alcantara 6MT

  5. #35

    Update with Photos!

    Okay, so I started this whole thing a little over a month ago and finally completed everything yesterday. It could have gone more quickly if it wasn't for me changing my mind so much, sending stuff back, ordering new stuff, etc. It's definitely been a learning process and it's definitely not something I would recommend to someone without a decent mechanical and electrical skill set...but I did it anyway...ha! At one point, I stood in my garage totally stupefied as I stared at the carnage before me. I had ripped out almost all of my entire interior. The seats were lying on one part of the floor, door panels, carpet panels, under dash panels, brackets, connectors, nuts and bolts were scattered everywhere. At that moment, I recall an overwhelming sense of panic setting in as surveyed the pile of crap on the floor before me and realized there were parts scattered about that I didn't even remember removing, much less where they were supposed to be reinstalled. At this point, my hands were raw and bleeding, my neck and back were in spasms from putting my body in positions it's never been in before so I decided to step back for a while and allow my body and mind a well deserved break.

    A few days later I returned refreshed, and ready to wrap things up. I'm anal and a perfectionist, so I get a little manic every time I start a project like this, so I have to constantly remind myself that like with past projects, it will be finished and it will be right...eventually. That day finally arrived. Everything is back in place and remarkably working as it was intended to do. I didn't take any pics of the carnage, only the completed work. My tender ego wouldn't allow for that! Anyway, take a look. I'm not going to go into much detail about this project, because I know that most of you here are well versed when it comes to the ins and outs of working on these cars and already have the skills needed to handle projects like this, but if you want more detail, just send me a note.

    I began the project with the idea of keeping everything dead stock, but eventually had to make certain compromises in order to achieve what I wanted and have access to things like amplifiers and crossovers. At first, I decided to locate the amp in the original location behind the upholstered panel on left rear quarter panel side of the interior, so I made modifications to the OEM amp bracket. It was a perfect fit, but it proved to be too cramped and hard to get to, so I moved the amp and crossovers to the rear ski pass area. I was going to run all new speaker wire, but getting new wire to the front doors was a pain, so I patched into the factory wires running from the original HK amp using a 12 circuit terminal block I got at Lowe's. (https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Q...tors/999953966)

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    I removed all the plastic stuff from the ski pass that once held the OEM subwoofer, and mounted the amp and crossovers on a hinged piece of 3/8" plywood covered in black speaker carpet. Behind the amp, you can see where I mounted an enclosed 8" Pioneer subwoofer. I bought this little speaker with the intention of using it as my primary subwoofer, but it just didn't have enough bass response, so with the aid of the Helix software program, I'm now using it as a "low" rear center speaker. It works great because all the sound it produces is passed through the open area between the rear seats and the trunk and is filtered out along the vented plastic trim panel running along the top of the rear seats beneath the head rests. Now, access to the amp and crossovers is a breeze.

    The woofers I bought for the rear passenger area had a greater install depth than the factory speakers and wouldn't fit, so I made new speaker brackets out of 1/2" plywood in order to push the new speakers closer to the rear trim panels. I coated the plywood brackets with black spray can Plasti-Dip stuff to cut down on any possible vibrations, but mainly because it looks better. In order to fit the tweeters, I had to Dremel out the interior of the factory tweeter housings and secured the new tweeters using exterior grade 2-sided tape.

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    I wanted much more bass response than the little 8" Pioneer could handle, so I installed a 12" enclosed subwoofer from JL Audio. I then installed a 550w mono amplifier from JBL to handle the 400w rated JL Audio sub. To avoid losing all my trunk space, I attached feet to the sub made from rubber door knob stops and installed it firing downwards into the spare tire recess. I removed the plastic jack holder from the plastic spare tire cover, covered it in black speaker carpet and installed the subwoofer with it's little feet resting on top of the spare tire cover. I then cut a rectangular hole out of the trunks carpet covered mat to match the size of the sub, so instead of the sub taking up 6" of space above the trunk matt, now it only takes up about 2". In the event of a flat tire, removing the sub is easy so it won't be a problem. I mounted the subwoofer amp on a small piece of carpet covered plywood I secured to the bracket of the factory CD rack. I also had to make mods to the little plastic tray located in front of the amp to get it to fit.

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    Well, that's about it. There's a lot of stuff I'm glossing over, so if you have any questions just let me know. The new system sounds phenomenal but I still need to make final adjustments with using the Helix software and a microphone.

    Fitting a double din in the E46 is fun...NOT! The display on the OEM head unit is angled upward and the options available to do the same with a new head unit are zip. After searching online, I decided to go it on my own, so I gutted my OEM head unit and modified the mounting bracket to fit the Pioneer AVIC 8201. Result, perfect fit!

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    I had a couple of full range 3.5" JL Audio speakers I was going to use in the upper part of the front doors, but they didn't fit. I then removed the 8" sub from it's enclosure behind the ski pass and installed them converting the enclosure from sealed to ported. The two 4 ohm speakers are wired in parallel so together they only draw 2 ohms and actually sound pretty amazing!

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    Last edited by Bludsport; 06-10-2017 at 03:59 AM.

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Liberty Township, OH
    Posts
    37,935
    Excellent work.

    :Respect

    Sent from my S8+
    Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim

  7. #37
    Thanks Dane.

    After driving top down a couple of days, I decided to replace the brand new Dynavin N6 unit I just bought with a Pioneer unit. The Dynavin is a great head unit, but you can't see the screen with the top down. Hopefully the Pioneer will be a little brighter. I thought it would be an easy swap, but nope...had to cut out a portion of the plastic heater box in the dash and fabricate a new cover for it. I'll post pic's later of this after I finish with the install tomorrow. BTW, I'm going to post the Dynavin unit for sale here on the classifieds as well. Not recommended for convertibles, but should work great in a coupe or 4 door.

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Cary/Charlotte
    Posts
    118
    I think I'm gonna have to do this to my car eventually. I have always liked nice sounding music and in the past adding a sub was usually enough to make the entire system sound better. Unfortunately, e46s without fold down seats just muffle the sound too much from the sub and so I think I'm just gonna replace the speaker with nice component speakers and get a new amp. Thanks for this thread, should help me when it comes time to do mine

  9. #39
    Quote Originally Posted by jonnyd330 View Post
    This is what I ended up doing:

    Front Doors
    Tweeter: Dayton Audio ND20FB-4 Rear-Mount 3/4″ Soft Dome Neodymium Tweeter
    Brand: Dayton Audio
    Model: ND20FB-4
    Part#: 275-035

    Mid-range: Peerless by Tymphany NE65W-04 2″ Full Range Woofer
    Brand: Peerless
    Model: NE65W-04
    Part#: 264-1046

    Mid-bass: Dayton Audio ND140-4 5-1/4″ Aluminum Cone Midbass Driver 4 Ohm
    Brand: Dayton Audio
    Model: ND140-4
    Part#: 290-216

    Rear Door
    Mid-range: Peerless by Tymphany NE65W-04 2″ Full Range Woofer
    Brand: Peerless
    Model: NE65W-04
    Part#: 264-1046

    Rear Deck
    Mid-bass: Dayton Audio RS150P-4A 6″ Reference Paper Woofer 4 Ohm
    Brand: Dayton Audio
    Model: RS150P-4A
    Part#: 295-563

    Adapters Required
    (2) Pair’s of Scosche SABW525

    Additional Parts
    (6) 1/2 inch – 8/32 Philips head screws
    glue for affixing speakers to brackets


    Pictures are here if interested: http://jonathanmanning.com/2017/05/0...dan-1999-2005/
    How does the sound compare? Are you satisfied?

  10. #40
    After hearing the Harman Kardon system in the 2020 340i or whatever they have, I now want to upgrade -_-

    I don’t know anything about sound system installations. Car audio is not trivial. Balancing the speakers is not trivial.

    But dammit, I want an upgrade. A proper upgrade, but an upgrade that looks and feels 100% like stock. Something that would even make hood rats turn their heads.

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