kingkarl

That's a really good analogy. Terrifying video

@QUBE - I don't think I'll do clears all round - for now anyway. I'm very happy with how it looks (minus front height) so don't feel the need. Because I can't help myself here's some more pictures. Excuse the filters - my phone camera isn't too sharp in low light and they clear up the quality a lot. I managed to blow the sub on Saturday night (don't run a 500W sub off a 600W channel ). Nevermind, supercheap had $50 off a $150 pioneer replacement and it goes better than the rockford anyway. Thrust arm bushings have arrived. I was thinking about installing them myself but I don't have the tools at my disposal anymore and it doesn't seem like a very time consuming job so I'll probably just pay someone to do it. I'm so glad to be driving this car . It sounds patronizing but I feel genuinely sorry for the majority who have to get in their japboxes every day haha

damn! I'm guessing that m50's had a bit of work done on the internals then Pretty sure I've only seen turbos that big on 600kw plus skylines etc

I've done this and it sounds awesome. If set up this way does that mean frequencies between 50 and 100/120hz are not played? Just curious... Still sounds great either way

I had similar objectives for my recent install. http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....showtopic=44247 A lot of that thread is set up questions but essentially I went for the following: AMP: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car...Series/GM-D8604 SUB: http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/pr...x?itemid=120402 Components: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_5812_B...ustics-S50.html Sub box: http://www.jonvy.co.nz/index.php?route=pro...;product_id=168 HU: http://www.sony.co.nz/product/cdx-gt320mp Total cost was +/- $1100. I installed it myself so saved a bit of money there. The money I saved was at a huge expense of time however. I imagine the e39 is a much more complicated install. On that note I image you're sticking with the standard head unit. If that's the case it may be tricky (expensive) because the standard system will be run off the factory amp. I don't know how good it is in the e39 but my e34 standard amp was total garbage. If your factory amp is not satisfactory then wiring will probably be tricky as far as running an aftermarket system through your factory headunit. Without a doubt it can be done and in truth it's probably not that hard but I think if you are to do it you can forget your $1500 budget. The boston speakers are fantastic. I'm told they retailed for $500 NZ a pair a couple years back and I landed two sets for $310NZ from ebay. Definitely the best part of my system and certainly where you wanna be spending your money. I don't think you will get any better speakers for the dollars. Have a look for some bargains in the higher end of their range if your budget allows. The reason the speakers were so cut price is Boston is dropping their car audio line to focus solely on home stuff so obviously the old sh*t is on fire sale. I'm pretty indifferent with subs (they all seem pretty doof doof to me) and on your budget I don't think you can be too picky. In any case I think it's wise to scrimp on the sub and buy better speakers instead. I'm very pleased with my cheap rockford 12". My sub box is quite large and takes up a good chunk of the boot. Fortuitously it's the exact size recommended by RF on their website for my sub but if you have a family/cart lots of sh*t around in the boot I'd think about getting a slimline box or something similar (not cheap however). Perhaps you can knock one up out of MDF or know someone who has the tools? The amp I got is very good. Nice and compact, seems like good quality and has very good heat dissipation. It could do with a touch more power (when I'm being a tool cranking the sub to the max it cuts on very bass heavy songs but I emphasize that is on very loud settings - if you're happy to listen to music like a normal person you'll be more than satisfied) I would definitely encourage you to import your gear. Cross your fingers it slips through untaxed! Make sure you buy the correct sized speakers for your factory locations. I hate doing any irrepairable damage to my interior seen or unseen and the fact mine fit perfectly in the factory spots is what I'm most pleased about. Also the correct sized speakers will save a lot of labour costs for your install. Get a quote to install your desired gear then whatever's left of your budget will essentially dictate what stuff you will be able to stretch to. I love driving my car even more now the stereo is good. Occasionally I'll sit in it with a beer and crank it for an hour or so haha. I'll never own a car with a shitty stereo again. Good luck and you wont regret spending the dollars

The white/gold colour combo is so nice. I havent seen that before - holy sh*t I'm impressed. New front tyres will have it perfect

Awesome thanks mate. Once I'm settled in my new place I'll have a go at replacing those bushings. What are they worth new out of interest? Got the numberplate today, so stoked with it. thanks again Thanks Brent! I'm not too fond of those and I don't have the cash anyway but I'll keep a keen eye on what else you get your hands on in the next few months.

Looks 10x better, thanks Andy

What bits have you got to fix the shimmy at 80-100k? I've got the same problem Car looks great btw

I'll definitely keep my eye out. I think Ray has some bilsteins on TM. I'm tempted but will have to wait a month or two as I'm moving up to Auckland for work and that's going to drain the bank balance a bit. How hard does yours ride? Ideally I'd want a 2" drop but not too great of an increase in stiffness. If it was a 540 I'd go all out and get stiff springs/shocks but the 525 will only ever be a cruiser and I don't want to ruin that. New wheels are definitely in the pipeline at some point. M Pars would be ideal Or style 5's... but I imagine they cost the earth. Thanks, good call. This week I got the stereo all upgraded, very pleased with it. Quick post on it here I got the clear indicators in, massive improvement I reckon. Euro plates should arrive tomorrow too! Clear v amber

She's all installed and sounds just as I had hoped. Total time to get it all finished was around 13 hours. Most of that time was spent scratching my head and trying to figure the best way to get it all put together. These must the easiest cars in the world to wire up. Battery in the rear seat makes it incredibly easy and there is already a perfectly sized hole in the back seat panel for all the wires. All the crossovers sit under the rear seat and the amp is in the boot. The 5.25" components all fit perfectly into the factory spots (hallelujah). The front tweeters also sit in the factory location on the dash and the rear ones sit next to the mids in the factory panels. The head unit looks nice and fits well with the interior design/dash lights. It's not as simple to use as I had hoped but on the plus side the tweaks you can make to the settings are endless. The components sound incredible (to my untrained ears anyway). They are too powerful for the sub as it will cut well before they sound even close to distorting. The gear in the boot is far from tidy but I wasn't interested in spending much more time on it. It serves a purpose its not as if that space is a showpiece anyway. Heres some shitty photos taken in low light: Rear components... Dusty, I know. Rear components with cover ( flash makes it look way worse than it is) Sub and amp. The sub sits the otherway round, I turned it around for the photo. amp Total cost: Headunit: $179 Sub (shipped): $140 Amp (shipped): $340 Wiring: $70 Compents (shipped) $310 Sub box (shipped) $55 Total: $1094 Thanks to everyone who offered advice. You've saved me lots of time/money

cool stuff mate. love the sub box.

LOL

Wow, love it

This. X3s are so fugly and $20k still seems kinda pricey considering the Ks IMO. I'd be interested to know how the modern diesels last at high kms. OT: It blows my mind the N57S churns 280KW out of a 3.0 diesel. That thing must be a hand grenade with the pin pulled. Or is this just BMW redefining the laws of physics... again. 30 odd PSI is what I read somewhere they're running through it. How often does that need to be serviced? The only ~3.0 petrol that makes more power is the new M3 donk.

Judging by what other e30s are worth it doesn't seem too bad a price. The tail lights knock around $2000 off the price though lol

tints have made a massive difference, a bargain @ $180. still waiting on clear indicators for the front, hopefully they are an improvement. Sub and amp is installed. Can't wait for speakers to arrive from the states. Pictures of the set up to follow. Big thanks to Julian @ BM autobahn for tightening up the steering, flushing the coolant and brake fluid and fixing the drivers door trim for an outstanding price. All the minor issues are basically sorted now, next step may be new springs. If anyone has recommendations for a brand that will give a 1-2" drop in the front but still keep the ride nice I'd love to hear it. Julian says the rear springs are sagging so replacing those should help level its stance out a bit. also thanks to Andy, euro plates are on the way!

Hataitai/roseneath/evans bay is good, close to town but feels like its removed from the hustle and bustle. Mt Vic is also nice. Even closer to town and with lots of sun. You'll be lucky to have a backyard or a garage though. If you don't mind living a bit further out I always thought Karori was nice - Much more suburban and very good value. Newtown is cheap. OK in spots but a ghetto/open air mental asylum for the most part. Personally I'd avoid kelburn/Northland having lived there. A lot of it is of students in dumpy houses who have no respect for neighbours ( I was one of them) and really nice properties which are horrendously expensive. If you chose the latter you run the risk of former. It really depends on what you plan on doing for transport. If you get a carpark with work or plan to pay for one ($60+/week) then I'd say move further out, Johnsonville, Mirarmar, karori, Ngaio, even the Hutt etc. If you will be using the bus, stay closer in. I almost only lived in the CBD and it would have been nice to have escaped that madness each night when I went home. I don't have any experience with the trains but that's another option if you want to be even further removed.

http://vimeo.com/44666145

Best til last:

Isn't that what the bits in green are saying though? I'm not sure it'd be a general wiring diagram when it was found in my amp's specific manual. That'd be like including a guide to caring for the clutch in a car with an auto box. This specific amp is 1 ohm stable unbridged (4x 1 ohm) so then if you were to bridge it within its bounds you must double the impedance (min 2x 2ohm) so as not to double the average power per channel being drawn from it.

The diagram above labelled as 'proper' has 2x 4 ohm speakers wired in parallel. From what I can gather, a 4ohm DVC with voice coils wired in parallel is the same as the 2x 4 ohm speakers in parallel, shown in the manual (2 ohm impedance). If these effectively are the same circuit and generate the same impedance where is my issue? Does the line "To properly install or used a bridge mode and achieve a 2ohm load, wire two 4 ohm speakers in parallel...." Replace 'speakers' with voice coils and is the answer obvious. Excuse me if this makes no sense/is off hand... 1am on a Sunday

haha! You could have lots of fun with huge amounts of money. My occupation will become professional prank artist if I ever get there. Job one, pay for full ad breaks of on TV1.