I have an E46 M3 and I am trying to decide between the JL stealthbox and the deck mounted box from Bavarian Soundwerkes. Has anyone installed either of these? I like that the bass from the stealthbox is inside the cabin, but losing the 6x9's? does that sound bad? any info on either of these boxes would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

Id ditch the 6x9's even if you get the bavsound enclosure. It will allow more bass into the cabin and the only speakers that really matter are the front ones.
I personally would go with the bavsound enclosure over the jl stealthbox. the stealthbox would sound pretty good but it is not going to get loud or shake the car very much, which is something I know we all want every once in awhile. On the other hand a decently powered pair of 10's in the bavsound enclosure can provide more than enough bass for most and still sound awesome. I have a pair of 10's in a sealed enclosure that is only slightly larger than the bavsound one and they can play loud enough to make every mirror in the car worthless, but then when I want to listen to some rock the sq is amazing.

I think the question revolves around how much you want to spend vs how much powerful bass you want.

The Stealthboxes are a good value (~$350-$400) and perform well. They take up little room and are not very heavy. But there's no way they're going to compete with 2 10" subs. I think the Bavsound product looks good, but remember that you have to buy the enclouse AND the subs.

I like the idea of the stealthbox design because it is the smaller of the two, but I agree with you that the power is going to be much better with the Bav soundwerkes design. Does the fact that the two subs are in the trunk really muffle the bass? Or is it pretty much standard to take the 6x9's out to port the trunk and allow the sound to enter the cab?

I don't have an M3 but I have a 2000 e46 sedan without a ski passthrough, and I took out my rear 6.5 inch speakers. I only have one 10 inch Infinity sub in the trunk, but the sound is MUCH better with the rear speakers out. The bass is much cleaner and I don't have to resort to using bass boost. Also, it got rid of the rattling I had in my rear deck, which I suppose was due to the pressure that built up in the trunk.

Nice I think I'm going to do that, Does anyone out there have the JL stealth boxes installed? Do they really have the power to set off car alarms when you get the urge to blast it every once in a while?

Nice I think I'm going to do that, Does anyone out there have the JL stealth boxes installed? Do they really have the power to set off car alarms when you get the urge to blast it every once in a while?
There is no way a jl stealth box could set off a car alarm unless it was once of those super sensitive ones like two feet away from you with the trunk open lol. They are supposed to be pretty good for what they are, but afterall they are only a pair of 8's, which isnt much. They will have awesome sq and greatly add to the overall sound of your system but if you want something to set off a car alarm look elsewhere.

There is no way a jl stealth box could set off a car alarm unless it was once of those super sensitive ones like two feet away from you with the trunk open lol. They are supposed to be pretty good for what they are, but afterall they are only a pair of 8's, which isnt much. They will have awesome sq and greatly add to the overall sound of your system but if you want something to set off a car alarm look elsewhere.
GREAT ANSWER.

i have a set i just bought and haven't yet installed...currently have a 10 JL sub in a custom box. my goal is to gain back 100% of my trunk space since i actually use my car...but i'm wondering if i could run BOTH the stealth boxes AND my 10" sub without cancelling anything out?!

by the way, the installer cut a 4" port into the center of my decklid for a bass pass. worked like a charm for the 10" sub.

If I remove the 6x5's or 6x9's hmm whichever they are? (I havn't gotten in the back of the car with a ruler haha) what about the wires that used to run to the speakers? should they be capped off, twisted together? Should I even attempt this removal on my own? I am good with home audio equipment setup, but not sure about leaving exposed wiring in the car.

Removing the stock rear speakers is very easy. If you know how to use a screw driver, you can do this.

As far as the existing speaker wires, if you stillhave power running to them you should probably tape off the ends.

When you install the Stealthboxes, it really will make things a lot easier if you have a helper. While it can be done by yourself (especially if you have really long arms), two people is the way to go - one person in the trunk and one in the back seat. Generally takes about 10-15 minutes.

Removing the stock speakers in my e46 was incredibly easy. There was a speaker grill over them which popped right off, and then there were 3 8mm bolts to remove, I used a socket wrench. The factory speaker wiring had special plastic connectors that plugged into the speakers, I don't think the connection part of them could touch, so your probably safe just leaving the wiring where it was.

GREAT ANSWER.

i have a set i just bought and haven't yet installed...currently have a 10 JL sub in a custom box. my goal is to gain back 100% of my trunk space since i actually use my car...but i'm wondering if i could run BOTH the stealth boxes AND my 10" sub without cancelling anything out?!

by the way, the installer cut a 4" port into the center of my decklid for a bass pass. worked like a charm for the 10" sub.
I wouldnt recommend running stealthboxes and a 10" sub in the same setup. You will most likely get nasty cancellation and the sound will be different. I guess it could work if you had a different amp for the stealthboxes and the 10 you could I suppose crossover the two so that the stealthboxes play 40hz or so and up and then have the 10 play 40 hz and below although I have no idea if this would work or if there would be any gain whatsoever. I am just assuming the stealthboxes have no low end and the 10 has at least decent low end. The best way though is probably to just run one or the other. Running both and crossing them over so there is no cancellation was just a crazy idea of mine. I have never heard of anyone doing it and have no idea if it would work although it might be fun to try if you have an extra amp.