Neal

Xtra in Wellington 11.9m Download .7m upload local 6.4m Download .57 upload international

Cool Project !

Cheers Rogan , Did notice the Soundstream rebadge of the latest PPI 3 ways. It sounds like PPI are no longer making speakers in the states to stay in business. Thanks for the offer of the subs. I was going for a Boston spg555 as it mimics the shape of the Ski Port (13x9 inch) I brough the passive radiator and was going to buy the sub , but her indoors put the brakes on spending for a while pending new / first child.

the great thing about the INTERNET is that people share there knowledge. Connecting into the factory E46 system is easy enough if you willing to make audio sacrificesis. The easy route would be to add the amp line outs into the speaker in on the amps. While the weak link in the factory system is the speakers I don't like the idea of having two amps in line before hearing the sound. Less is more ! Better to go closer to the source which in my case is the factory BM53 Tuner / mixer / pre-amp. (Pitty it wasn't the later dual tuner BM54) The BM53 Tuner has 4 channels out Front L/R & Rear L/R . It's a very cleaver piece of electronic engineering for it's time. It will mix in nav audio with you music interrupt audio if a phone call comes in, Will switch and take over video inputs and the like. However , BMW & Becker decided that the line audio would use differential balanced audio which is great for it noise canceling over long cable runs. Typically the sort of thing that used to be run between mixers and pa amps in studios and rock concerts. Problem is that most after market car audio amps don't accept these pre-amp outputs. You can buy Balanced to standard unbalanced audio converters but they can leave their signature in the sound Issues: Don't want to use speaker out inputs , don't want to use balanced / unbalanced convertors , my amps don't support balanced Answer: Add RCA outputs straight off the pre-amp opamp outputs before they are changed to balanced outputs. Photo one , The BM53 Tuner , Photo two , the NE4558's are the pre-out op amps. Solder RCA leads to the top capacitors. Note , use low heat as it's easy to have surface mounted components come off (Don't ask how I know ) I though about upgrading the opamps for better sound quality but decided I'd end up spending days on re-working the audio stages. The BM53 NE4558 op amps aren't too bad and have been used in a few analog studio mixing desks. They aren't the most transparent opamp but finding replacements that can take varying car voltage changes and the cold / heat range proved challenging.

Audio System It's largely a re-use of my old E36 system Speakers The e46 is currently running 6 inch mid basses in the doors and parcel shelf. Some larger 6.5's will fit but require mods to the factory mounts. Some people go as far as cutting holes in the door metal to give them a larger enclosuer. However , I believe this would make it too large and give boomy uncontroller midbass. I'm staying with 5 1/4's as replacements as the rear magnet will fit within the gap available. Speakers Componets A.D.S marketed a series of good sounding car component speakers in the mid 2000's . It turns out Percision Power was the OEM for these. For a while they made 5 1/4 speakers with smooth sounding silk tweeters and nicely built crossovers. They were PPI 355cs's with an NZ retail of around $1200. The first pair weren't far off this price , but as they are an old model they can be found on Ebay for around $400 NZD landed. I will be running these front and rear in passive mode. Sub Stage I I've had an old boston C110 for 12 years now. It's a small 10 inch box with a 10 inch passive radiator and rated for up to 850 watts. It has a nice tight sound is great on different styles of music. It won't make your ears bleed but can still do high 120 db's if cranked. I'll use this intially. Amps Soundstream is a brand thats been around for a while. A few year back they brought out the Stealth Series Amps which have a smaller footprint. They are designed for us older ones who don't want a boot full of audio and are unlikely to run them near maxium output where ideally you'd have larger heatskinks. Models chosen where the 600d (600rms on class D design) and the 680 (4x120 rms on class AB design) Plenty of power and control and have reasonable sound quality for the price.

Audio System Source / Control Going for Netbook rather than building in carpc , Andriod device, Tablet / Ipad Thinking behind this has come down to open source software that will communicate with BMW ibus system and easy to add 1 TB+ of disk as media collection grows. Easier to run windows derived software at this stage. Netbooks also have lower power consumption and you can manage the startup / sleep modes easier with having in built battery rather than timers and relays. Source Acer Netbook , Atom Procosser, 250 gig drive (will change to 750 gig when full) , wifi , 3g data via USB vodem Windows 7 & Winamp for audio playback Riderunner software with skin by "Reborn" http://www.mp3car.com/rr-released-skins/13...-5-17-12-a.html Isus USB Blu Ray player Jaycar VGA to Video Converter Bluetooth 2.1 (100 meter standard) dongle and bluetooth Keyboard Rolf Resler IBUS to USB adaptor and driver software ( http://reslers.de/ ) 7 port USB Hub 12 Volt 40w netbook power supply Will add freeview USB Tuner at later date (Looking to do BMW diversity Aerial intergration)

Sorry mate , was "Allan"

Thought I'd write up improving the factory E46 10 speaker audio system. I'm going down the intergation with the factory system route which is $$$ debatable when you consider what a Dynavin can do and how easy it be to put a couple of amps off the back. I'm doing this as a techincal challenge as I work in IT communications and for my sins Manage staff rather than do much of hands on these days. Project Objectives Entry level home hifi sound quality in E46 M3 Use Factory Nav system as system control as much as possible Use Netbook PC as System Source for multi media Control Ability to 7000 track lossess audio libaray including flac and 96khz/24 bit Audio files Keep factory look in interior Choose Audio componets for Sound Quality with an eye on value for money Have a usable boot that's not clutered amps / sub box Resist the tempation of using neon and led lighting. Learn about the e46 Ibus communications protocol Learn more about the componets that are in the factory nav system Do mods in a manner that car can be returned factory state later on CD / DVD / Bluray capable system The Factory system 6 inch Mid Bass in each front door. Tweeter & possbile midrange speaker top of doors 6 inch Mid Bass in rear pacel shelf , wider range tweeter in rear side pannel trip Factory 16:9 Wide Screen with built in MD player ( I suspect Alpine brand) Factory Alpine 6 CD changer (Analog out and Ibus controlled , but also look like it has SPDIF output) Factory Lear TV tuner (not freeview capable) Factory BM53 Tuner / preamp (Becker Brand) , System is pre MP3 firmware but supports basic RDS and maybe MD track tittle Retrofited Mk4 Nav computer Deleted JBit2 Telephone system (voice pre-wired with snap in box / mic etc)

It's just a stage 1 on mock at this stage . I suspect that small 10 inch C110 will cause it to rattle. Stage 2 will see it's big brother the spg555 which will no doubt shake the car if pushed. I'll more than likely remove the plastic flap and replace it with speaker cloth. The SPG555 is similar in shape to the ski port.

On the E46 swapped the left fold down rear seat for one with ski port through armrest. Transfered the leather seat cover and armrest from old to new. Thanks Allanw for pointing out that the sedan and coupe seats have same part numbers. Next job car stereo.

Tell me about it ! shows the affordability of BMW's At 20 years of age in 1987 I brought my first BMW an E21 323i with 90,000 kms for $22k The M3 was $130k at the time . Inflation adjusted thats $41k or enough good example E46 M3 price in todays terms. The dollar goes far these days. Would have been great to have an M3 when younger when my reaction times were quicker At 18 I had a 10 speed !

He's getting around ! seen again yesterday

I got the only one. Had to sell a bunch of sheep to get it. Joking aside we probably talking a couple of hundred. Your doing well to have had 3 BMWs by the age of 18 !

Was quite a fan of the EV02 a while back. Wife was lent a C180 a while back. Very comfie ride. http://www.supercars.net/Pics?v=y&s=c&...volutionII3.jpg

Cheers for the replies and will check out the toyo. I think Bridgstone missed the standard E36 trye size when going from GIII to Re001 to Re002 Wife is an accountant so replacing rims on her car isn't really an option. Would love to put a set of those LM copies on otherwise.

Was about to replace the wifes standard 328i tyres with re002's , but bridgstone NZ don't bring them in 205/60/16's. Was running GIII's before which were fine for grip / wear / wet weather. Being the family car I don't want crap tyres. What do you recommend ?

Can't be changed without considerable cost http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index....showtopic=18977

Yep , got this on a few parts imports for 1960's mini & car audio bits. Worst it seems to be with DHL where I even needed some special import thing when the value was over $1000 NZ. (Re-11's from tyrerack) Would have worked out far cheaper to source NZ if Bridgstone NZ carried E46 M3 sizes Tend to split orders up now. Better to have 3 items sent via 3 lots with individual items under $400 than trying to combine and save a few % on combined postage.

+1 Last saw that black 325i 4 sale at the local challenge garage a few years back

Video to help

Ever wonder how car wrapping is done ?

Still a higher spec than my orginal E21 323i. Some people may have dreamt about owning a new BMW all there life. Remember the days before Jap imports and how expensive new & second hand BMW's were ? I think this is similar to China at the moment. Just as well they don't import secondhand BMW's from Japan. Imagine what would happen here to prices if these dried up. edit , starting to sound like an old bugger eh

Used STP on E30 & E36 , biggest difference noticed on E30 323i. Would gain around 25 - 30 km on a tank of gas. Stats based on 600,000 km of commuting with av speed of 52.4 kmh (Sad ah). Commute was 64 km per day in varying driving. 100kmh to crawl so mainly low rpm. Bigger diff on unleaded petrol suggesting that the 95 octine had more crap in it compared to leaded. 98 seemed cleaner when that became available , didn't notice any diff running 98 after injector clean.

Try these guys http://www.jbinsurance.com/AonWeb/jsp/John...ntroduction.jsp They have our motorcycle insurance. Covered my Ducati which has about $20k of engine mods by the pervious owner. I spoke with John when I first got insurance. He was driving an M5 at the time.

He loves his BMW's like the rest of us. But yes a big hit. Mind you, how many 410kw cars of this age with 10,000 kms and this level of refinement could you get for the price he's asking ? Can't say I've been in a X5 , but I find the X6 has more room and sits higher than a 5 Series. If I wasn't married to an "expecting" accountant I'd be very tempted (and broke there after) Would make the ulitmate car in many respects, power , comfit , saftey. Anyway , have brought a lotto ticket, cross your fingers for me guys ! Otherwise , if your tempted , give him a call. He's one of the most fanantical petrol heads I know. The X6M is as new and he looks after new cars like no one else I've met.