Soon after getting my wife’s car back in 2014, I added a Bluetooth audio connection. It was cheap and reliable. Details here: http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showt...726#post387726

Fast forward 5 years and I decided to upgrade the stock radio to an aftermarket head unit that supported CarPlay. My budget for the project was $400-500. I really wanted to retain the OEM look but could not find a suitable radio from any of the major brands. Matter of fact I couldn’t find any CarPlay head units from the major companies like Alpine, Pioneer or Sony that fit without cutting up the factory HVAC airbox. Or at least that is what every major retailer said. So I took a chance with an Eonon unit with a CarPlay dongle. The Eonon units have mixed reviews and the same holds true for all the other Chinese brands regardless of price.

Well, my Eonon experience was terrible. The unit’s behavior was not consistent. It was buggy. The steering wheels controls did not work. The display cut of the top few pixels of the screen which was really annoying. Plus, it sounded horrible. I’m also an audio nerd and while I don’t generally upgrade my car stereos for sound quality (the car is too noise to really appreciate high quality audio), I know what a good system should sound like. I also have the tools to measure it. The Eonon was a joke. Way worse than stock. Not just to my ears but I took measurements to verify I wasn’t being biased because of overall experience. The built in EQ was a gimmick. No need to bash on the Eonon any further. It simply didn’t mee my needs and expecations. My short time with the Eonon highlighted the OEM look was purely aesthetic. The buttons and knobs on those Chinese brands are redundant and don’t have a German feel to them at all. Plus, all the functionality should be available via the steering wheel or on the touchscreen display. While Eonon’s support team was responsive, they couldn’t solve my issues, not even simple ones like why don’t the steering wheels controls work all the time. They suggested I return it. I was unwilling to try another unit as I only had a week left in the return window. So back it went. All of it. And back to researching options. I had a little over $400 into the radio and accessories.

Since this was for my wife’s car priority number 1 was it just needed to work all the time. I resigned myself to the fact that I may need to up my budget considerably to find a radio that fit from a major brand. However, with a lot more research I found there are some shallow double din radios from Alpine and Sony that do fit an E46 without cutting the HVAC airbox. However, none of the major websites, including the manufacturers themselves state that the radios fit in an E46. I decided to go with the Alpine iLX-W650. Once I chose a radio that fit, I looked for the supporting accessories. I wanted a dash kit that looked OE or as close as possible. And finally, steering wheel controls that works. This solution I identified is about $400. About the same price as most Chinese branded radios and accessories, assuming you can live with an aftermarket HVAC relocation panel. I found I didn’t like the aftermarket panels and decided to go for the BMW part. I had tried the Dynavin relocation panel that has 2 USB port. Good idea. Poor execution. This took my total to a little over $500. Part list and vendors below.

The install is pretty straight forward but there are a couple items that can cause some headaches. I worked through these by trial and error plus one call to Crutchfield on the Alpine. The wiring directions below will help you avoided the issues. I estimate a novice can do this install in under 3 hours. If you’re experienced, it is probably half that time. It took me less than 3 hours and I installed and removed the radio a couple times while working through the wiring hurdles.

OK, let’s get on with it.