rogan

And you wonder where the component suppliers /build houses for these UK, German and US speaker manufacturers are?? Hint - Korea. Not China, their QC isn't good enough, but Korea is one of the dominant audio companies. Pioneer head units are pretty good. The best deal recently was on the P80rs. Apparently there was a stuff up by Aussie and NZ got shipped the P80RSII which is slightly different from the P80rs. For some bizarre reason, Monaco dumped the P80rsII stock on the market at half the retail price of the original P80rs. Result is that it knocked out the 2nd hand value of the P80rs. Not sure about usb compatability through the pbus system, but the P80 has front/rear/sub pre out (can be changed to low/mid/high for 3 way use), time alignment and independant 16 band eq. Their ipod control isn't the best but otherwise they're right up there with the Alpine stuff and as mentioned earlier their BT is better. Don't touch Pioneer speakers (except maybe PRS) with a 4000ft barge pole. There's a hell of alot better out there for the same coin. DLS / Rainbow speakers are well worth looking into if you home theatre speakers don't work out. Out thing to note is that hone speakers have generally much smaller tolerances than car speakers. Home speakers aren't built to handle the vibration of cars and hence the different construction. As you're probably well aware, you speakers are only as good as the enclosure you're putting them in. Amps, I guess your limiting factor is class A/B. You won't find many class A amps and most are actually a class A/B with bias. There's alot of class D around which you won't want.

One of the inspectors told me. No idea what the legislation is on it.

Forget UK, most of the best stuff is made in Korea!! The only decent car audio Britsh company is Genesis but they're not over here and you'd have to import from the UK. In RHD, BM's are a bitch for front stage. The e34 has a bigger kick than most and you can get a 9" midbass in there Even so, they're not really big enough to angle midrange and tweeters so you're left with door/dash/A-pillar installing there. Only other option is horns. I use Image Dynamics CD2 pro horns in my e39 and having come from Focal Utopia components previously the CD2 are damn good. But at $1800 for a pair they ain't cheap. One of the easiest tweeter installs as well and gets round the path length problems with dash/a-pillar installs. Depending on budget, another option would be Brax Matrix, regarded as the second best components available. There was a pair for sale in Hamilton, not sure if they're sold or not. They're regarded as second to the Rainbow Platinums which retail somewhere round $22K for the pair. I think John was looking for $1500 for the Brax 2nd hand but they're in immaculate condition. Not for a few things that differ between home and car. Don't buy expensive speaker wire or expensive RCA. Complete and utter waste of time and money. If you're an audiophile, then doing your car system properly is gonna cost big dollars and it won't really compare against a home system of similar cost. You can get much better results at home for far less dollars. Before you get into this, have you thought about just having an averagely decent car system and instead indulge your ears at home. Disposable cash would determine this. For a headunit, have a look at the top of the Pioneer and Alpine ranges. Not sure which headunits will do BT and CF. Alpine have an add on Bluetooth module 300BT. I've been looking at it myself but from overseas reading it appears they don't work that well. Pionner seem to have better BT stuff. I suppose the big question is what's your budget for audio.

Not a WOF requirement. You can have a TV screen playing within view of the driver. Spoke to VTNZ about this last time I went thru. Due to navi, cellphones etc it was a pointless requirement.

For anyone that gives a damn. Got a wof from VTNZ with these plates on today.

Nope, no pre-cut for ski hatch, and no pre-cut for the 8"subs, but there is a pre-cut for some small holes where the 8"subs go.

What about e39s. Some came with a apir of 8"subs in the rear tray. The flat section is there but the holes arent cut. It's one of my options but I'll be speaking to a certifier before blade touches metal

That seller is North Shore Auto Sounds in Piermark Drive, Albany. If you're looking at those specific components then ring around the shops for a price comparison. I found Paul Money to always be cheaper than them, but haven't dealt with them for a long time.

I hear that BASS have closed down

ID announced them at CES but they're not due for release until 2nd quarter 2008 and to be frank ID havén't been great at keeping to release times. The mono does: 400rms at 4ohm, 800 at 2, and 1200 at 1 so should mate nicely with a single IDmax or a pair of IDQ. The other amps are a 75x4 and a 175x2 (from memory). Thinking a mono on the subs(s) and a mono for each midbass. Not sure what to do for rears and horns, probably just get a 75x4

FATGAS (for anyone that gives a sh!t) Have started my stereo install and have posted a thread on both Bimmerforums and NZice forums. In a nutshell, the whole factory system is being replaced: Headunit: Alpine IVA-W202 Shuttle: Alpine CHA-S624 (if I can get the damn thing to go!) Processor: Alpine PXA-H701 Amps: Image Dynamics Q series when they're released later this year. Currently hooked uo some Bostons. Front speakers: Image Dynamics CD2pro horns, Image Dynamics XS69 midbass Rears: Image Dynamics CTX5 Subs: Image Dynamics IDmax or IDQv3. Sound deadening: Dynamat Extreme Rushing to get it done before wife drops a sprog so will be a work in progress. Linky to Bimmerforums here http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=913748 PS. Ray - hurry up and find me some door cards fella

1/ Toss up between the Mini and the Beetle. Both sold sh1tloads and production lasted forever but I'm gonna take the beetle over the mini because of Herbie films. 2/ The classic Rangerover. Starter of the SUV craze and had an amazing amount of snobbery when you consider how crap they were. Makes it very easy to recognise the w@nkers on the road. 3/ Lotus seven. Balls out performance and handling that current supercars can barely compete with. If you own an e30 M3 then whatever you do don't drive one of these. 4/ Lambo Countach. Everything you could ever want stuck on a poster on your wall at age 10. Would pull serious growler too. 5/ The batmobile (original one please). I wanna car with rocket launchers and a flames that comes out the back. Forget big bores, it made the best noise in the world too. Godammit I want the cape and mask and I might even start wearing undies outside my trousers. There definitely wouldn't be a BM in my top 30 cars.

All sorted, for some reason battery has died and was only showing 10v when I multimetered it. Swapped it out and car going good again. Thanks anyway Hartage, spot on the ball

E46 318, 1998 NZ New, 120kmh fsh Turn the key and you get a clicking noise, bit like a flat abttery but louder. Turn the ignition a couple of times and she starts. Replaced the Battery a wee while back with an orbital blue top. Yesterday I doubled up the -ve to chassis and positive power leads in case there was a poor connection at the battery terminals. Battery has dual terminal so just ran extra 4guage leads as a precaution. Other weird thing is the headlights flash on as you try and start it. Any ideas or known issues??

They're 17x8, with 5x120 stud pattern. Standard BMW offset whatever that is?

Suppose it's love em or hate em with tri spokes. Was always in 2 minds whether to change them for something else and finally came across some mags I couldn't resist. Run true, no wobble issues Looking for offers $400+. Just the mags, no tyres. Located Nth Shore, Ak Any interest and I'll email close ups of each tyre

We'll settle on a charcoal Honda. I've heard the stereo in that car, one of the louder music bass systems around (not talking test tones). I know one guy who was physically sick after being in the back seat for a while. Not my kind of stereo system but the 3 piece sub box is a work of art. For everyone else we're talking about CSS on Wairau Rd. One of the few shops in Auckland I'd recommend I do a fair amount of business with them and I wouldn't go anywhere else. Their good sales guys know their stuff, don't feed you with marketing bs and they give sharp prices. Looks like International got the bad egg on a bad day. Rapid is a mystery to me. It has a great reputation and caters to the affluent market yet the brands they carry are decidedly average, I surprised they don't carry some of the high end brands like DLS and Focal to cater for their 'money is no object' customers. It's almost criminal what they put into $80K+ cars. Alpine stuff I can accept in those value cars, but Soundstream and Sony no way.

lol I know exactly who you're talking about.

Rapid is pretty expensive, and Mark's a very good salesman. I certainly wouldn't call Alpine Type E 'quality', I dislike them immensely, the tweeters are harsh and the mids aren't anything to write home about. $60 fitting sounds a bit steep but then I'm a diyer so I'm out of touch with fitting prices. The type R are OK but also have a listen to the Infinity speakers in that price range Another outfit to try is PK in Penrose, they have a very good reputation. Don't know what the E36 mounts are like but depth can be an issue for BMs. Certainly the E30 and E46 have depth issues, so it follows that the E36 should have some too. 20K is a sh!tload to have in a car, very few cars in NZ with that amount of gear. And it's easy to quote screaming retail prices rather than what the gear actually costs.

e39 parts wanted: Front driver and passenger door cards. Driver door must be suitable for the memory seat buttons (don't need the buttons themselves). Must be in black Centre console cover to replace the phone fitting one. Again in black. Be interested in angel eyes, clearside and rear lights depending on price.

Optical illusion but the exterior trim makes the rear wheel look way smaller than the front one. Gotta say chrome isn't my thing but should attract some decent attention.

If your front are anything like the e46 328 I had a nosey at, 5.25 don't actually fit. The originals are 5.25 but have a custom in built mount to fit into the factory points. You simply can straight swap a normal 5.25 into them. Rainbow make some speakers that will fit directly in and that's what BSW use on bimmerfest in their upgrade packages. Same with the rear, normal 5.25 won't drop in. How much upgrade the Rainbows give for the price? I have no idea and I understand that they're not cheap. Pauls Audio in Christchurch should be able to tell you over the phone (or email) what models will fit and give you some pricing. http://www.paulsaudio.co.nz/ The headunit swap isn't a straight in/out either unless yours is like my wife's where there's a normal h/u already in there. My mates 328 has an integrated h/u (like my 540) and they're a pain. To be honest I thing you're gonna have to spend a fair bit more than $1K to get a good upgrade and then the question begs is it important enough to you to be worth doing. Subwoofer wise, you're gonna need a decent amount of power and a decent amp to get the sound from boot to car - you could easily spent $1K+ on sub and amp alone. I doubt putting 300rms into a sub in the boot would make a huge difference (unless you've got the ski hatch) but I could be totally wrong on that as I've never heard a sub in an e46.

That's exactly what the girl at LTSA told me, but then she refered me to s.14 of the Transport (Vehicle and Driver Registration and Licensing) Act 1986. Nowhere does the act mention anything about where they have to be manufactured or issued by, just the stuff in subsection (1) paragraph (a), ie size, shape, font and visbility. I went through the ltsa website trying to find any stuff on it but couldn't find where the girl had got her info from. But at the end of the day, still sure they wouldn't be legal, but would you get a ticket for having them on your car - probably not, but you do run the risk

Jochen, what do you know about alternators. I've got the 120a one on my 540 and will need about 60a for the stereo at normal to high listening levels. I've read there's a watercooled 150a factory alternator but will I need it?? Battery is a din92 (or is it din 95 ? ), so that should be able to handle it and if not I'll find another battery solution. At 123a it would be 1,700 watts. 17,000 would be an absolute sh!te load of current draw

Got mine today, took about 9 days but included the long weekend. The mounting frames are very easy to use and well worth the extra coin. Lined up with the existing rear screw holes and went straight on. Re the legality, I asked around some and the law only specifies that rego plates must be of a certain size with lettering in an approved font. So it's probably a different font and so not legal but I can't see that the font is that much different to the genuine euro plates so can't see it being a big problem.