Hi,

Well I finished my install in my 99 E39 540i touring. I put a 8" sub box in the stock sub location. Now I need to cut a hole in the rear trim cover and I want to put in a grill that looks very factory. I have the sand-beige interior.

Right now I am looking at putting one of the same grills that are in the rear roof speakers in the side panel. The only issue is I would like it to be a bit larger. Anyone know if the newer wagons have 6.5" speakers and if they may have similar grills that could be used? If I can get a beige grill for a 6.5" that I can snap in that would sure be ideal. The current rear upper grill would work though. I just want it to look factory.

Final install ended up being:

Front - MB quart PCE 213 components (tweeters in the pillars)
Back - Rockford Fosgate P2 8" sub in a .25 qu ft box in the stock sub location.
Amp - Rockford Fosgate 400x4.

I used the stock wiring and a line converter. Install was pretty simple really. Everything is in the stock locations. The sound improvement was dramatic. I am very happy. Just need to get a grill for that back panel :)

THANKS!!!

Eric

pics of the install?

I would use this one and wrap the mesh insert in grille cloth that looks right in your interior:

http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?cart_id=9614462.19505&pid=1309

That grill may work and I have looked at doing something like that. Issue is that I would prefer if it was flat against the side panel and looked more stock. A factory grill would be best but I would like larger than what my rears for the 5.25" speakers offer. THANKS very much for the suggestion and it is still an option.

I would sure like to post pics but it seems I can not post URL, IMG, or anything else that would allow me to post them. Searching it looks like I need 20 or more posts to allow me to do that. Seems odd as every thread is answered back with "do a search" but you need to post many times to put up any links. Oh well.

I will try to put up some more posts so I can put up pics. I have been reading a ton over the last few weeks but have not really posted.

thanks,

Eric

We've used that one in an X5 side panel and with the right cloth you would think it OEM.

Cool, thanks a lot El. I see a few cloth options at different places. Just need to chose. I think I will order that one and take a look at it.

The 8" sub seems to be working out well and fit pretty easy. The sound is better than I expected really.

Color matching paint on the ring and grill could be an option as well...

Finished up my install... almost :)

I ordered and finally got a stock grill from Germany. Cutting it into my Touring rear panel was pretty easy and it looks very good. I only wish I would have mounted the sub about 1.5" farther up as my "splash" mat in back rubs a bit on the new grill. I will mod the mat later as it is minor.

I am not up to enough posts to put up links so I will take some good pics of the install for anyone interested in a E39 touring install.

I was not happy at all with my old Rockford amp so I picked up a couple MTX amps from a friend. I also did not like the MB Quart tweets up in the pillars so I installed a set of Bostons I had and ended up using the Boston 6.5 drivers for rear fill. Here is where I ended up.

MTX 4 channel TC3404 (front and rear fill)
MTX mono TC3001 (sub)
Front: MB Quart 5.25 PWE130 drivers, Boston tweets and passive crossovers.
Rear: Boston 6.5" drivers in the roof locations (fit just fine with very slight modifications).
Sub: Rockford Fosgate P28S4 in a .25 cuft sealed box in the stock sub location.

Everything appears factory. I ended up mounting the amps under the rear sliding shelf just above the spare tire. There is a LOT of room on the shelf and the sliding rear shelf in the touring does not require any bottom support. The only add to the naked eye looking inside is the factory grill in the non factory location :)

Sound... well about 1000X better than stock. I am still tuning a bit and still need to wire up the remote sub gain (will mount in ash tray). I am pretty darn happy though.

PM me the links to your hosted pics and I will gladly post em for you... matter of fact pnm em to me anyway so I can add 'em to my collection of inspirational work

Any links to pics yet?

no yet I got an email from him saying he'd be sending `em my way soon.

Ok I finally emailed off the pic links.

I still need to finish a few minor things. The sub box is not done as it needs painted and a few finishing touches including a better mount bolt. The amps need the wiring routed a bit nicer. Also I need to vacuum and de-lint!

I drove it for 800 miles this weekend and am pretty darn happy. I am still undecided with the tweets in the pillars. I did not like the MB quarts there so I put in a Boston set I have and they are much better but still maybe a bit bright. I may try the door location. I am also considering ordering a set of A/D/S 345cs components as you can pick them up for a song and I like the way they sounded in a friends ride. I am a bit concerned with the door enclosure volume for them though. The MB Quart reference 5.25 drivers work pretty darn well.

I think I will also order a Elemental designs 9KV.2 sub in dual 4 ohm and run the amp at 2 ohms to get 300 watts RMS. We will see if there is a noticeable change. I don't mind experimenting a bit. I went with the Rockford as they play very well in small sealed enclosures. The ED claims it will work in the same volume though.

Either way it is still 1000X better than factory!

Eric

Posted on EricRC1's behalf:





http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/133acd37dc2ff2ccd7c5de85e8e8381d.jpg

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/ae95311c4fe80583e533d8e4cbc76df7.jpg

http://www.helifreak.com/album_mod/upload/dd945d68df7084a6d0d66d5ab2aa71a9.jpg



Eric:
very nice work!

Grille looks great, Eric. How did you order it?

Thanks Attack Eagle!

I just swung by the BMW dealer and he was able to get it for me from Germany. It took 1 week but that was not bad at all. Cost like $25 or so.

They have a nice guy that works in the parts dept. and he has gotten a few 1 off pieces special ordered for me.

If you need the PN I am sure I have it for all 3 avail colors.

It is for the stock 5.25" but if you remove the foam that comes on the inside of it (baffle to fit the 5.25") then the grill fits the 8" perfect.

Eric

Well now I have some decisions..

A buddy of mine into audio got me in on a deal for a Precision Power DCX-730 processor ($200) That should help me tweak the front sound stage a bit using the stock speaker locations. I think I will need to ditch my mono amp and put in another 4 channel so I can run tweets, drivers, rear fill, and sub all separate. The DCX-730 is 6 channel so I can compensate everything but the sub which will not need it anyway.

El. Do you have any opinions on good tweeters? I am still at a loss for what to do there. The 5.25 MB quart reference drivers sound pretty darn good to me but I am not sure if I am happy with my tweeters. The DCX-730 should help the locations issues. My buddy has a few sets that I may try.

Yeah, I'd like that PN, thanks!

EricRC1,

As someone getting ready to tackle the same job in my touring, could you take pictures of the enclosure itself? If you want you can email them to me at oekundar at gmail dot com. I am also very interested in the part numbers for the grills.

Many Thanks!

:O:

ok, was at work for a couple days.

PN 51-44-8-222-128 LDSPKR COVER $29.55 at the local BMW shop. Fits a 8" sub perfect and is easy to install.

For pics of the box, well I sill can not post links. This is a Very off forum!

The box is NOT done.. still need to paint. I am thinking of changing a few minor things and getting a little bit more volume. I have like .23 cu ft now and think I may want to try an ED sub and will go up to about .30 cuft. There is room, just need to build a different box. No big deal. I also hung it by the stock mounts on the left and used flat metal to make hinges. Looks and works pretty well. The right side is at the stock mount point also, but I need the correct bolt to finish it.

I am very happy with what I have so far, but now that it is working well I want more. I have a PPI DSC coming and will be changing a few things around to try make it better yet. Heck I love the car, may as well be happy with the sound. Just another hobby.

Think you need 20 posts...

Eric,

Thanks for the picture...my ED sub arrived and I am in the process of putting things together.

more to come soon....

Thanks Eagle. Working on it. Mostly searching as I have already seen the replies that tell people to search.

Oekundar, let me know how it goes. I am really looking at the ED sub but it is a harder decision as my Rockford is working well and sounds decent. It also depends on my final amp decisions.

Recent purchases:

2 - Alpine MRV-F345 75 watts x 4 @ 4 ohm
PPI DCX-730 Digital Signal Processor

I thing I will run one amp for mids and rear bridged for the sub at 300 watts rms. The other I will use for tweets and rear fill. I can run the DCX-730 on the mids, tweets, and rear fill. The only thing I don't like about the Alpine amps is no remote base gain. I am considering picking up a single amp for my sub so I can run remote gain, but it just may not be a big deal.

I don't want to hack anything in my dash up so the DCX-730 control will have to go in back or the glove box... I don't think it is a fiddle with it unit anyway.

Eric

Here is my enclosure:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7830516&posted=1#post7830516

Thanks Eagle. Working on it. Mostly searching as I have already seen the replies that tell people to search.

Oekundar, let me know how it goes. I am really looking at the ED sub but it is a harder decision as my Rockford is working well and sounds decent. It also depends on my final amp decisions.

Recent purchases:

2 - Alpine MRV-F345 75 watts x 4 @ 4 ohm
PPI DCX-730 Digital Signal Processor

I thing I will run one amp for mids and rear bridged for the sub at 300 watts rms. The other I will use for tweets and rear fill. I can run the DCX-730 on the mids, tweets, and rear fill. The only thing I don't like about the Alpine amps is no remote base gain. I am considering picking up a single amp for my sub so I can run remote gain, but it just may not be a big deal.

I don't want to hack anything in my dash up so the DCX-730 control will have to go in back or the glove box... I don't think it is a fiddle with it unit anyway.

Eric

Eric your system looks nice.......Got any pics of the alpine set up? I just worked on a Toyata for a guy with a PPI DCX730 I was suprised at it's capabilites for the price. I'm a big ALPINE PXAH701, ZAPCO DSP6 user. If you ever need access to an AUDIO CONTROL RTA or O-scope to help tune your system let me know we have all that at my shop.