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      05-25-2009, 10:24 AM   #23
nickpapa
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you dont have to pop off the door panels (even though it's extremely simple). you can tap into the wiring that is behind the floor speaker (both the tweeter and door speaker have the wiring going through there).

why not just get a set of components that come with a crossover instead of going with a 3 way. crossovers are also not expensive. there are expensive crossovers but there are also cheap crossovers out there. the more expensive ones have more that you can adjust such as tweeter db, slopes etc. where as the cheaper ones have only 1 setting that you cant adjust. also remember, the amp you are connecting them to will have some sort of crossover adjustments which you can play with as well.

in my opinion, forget about the 3 ways, 3 ways are only good if you get some highend ones which allow you some detailed adjustments as 3 ways are the toughest to image correctly. get a set of 2 ways (woofer, tweeter, crossover) and run the door speakers (not the tweeter) off of the new headunit. actually my headunit allows me to shut off the speakers that are not hooked up to the amp and just run the floor speakers and it sounds A LOT better like that.

depending on your budget, you have a lot of choices.
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      05-25-2009, 11:27 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nickpapa View Post
you dont have to pop off the door panels (even though it's extremely simple). you can tap into the wiring that is behind the floor speaker (both the tweeter and door speaker have the wiring going through there).

why not just get a set of components that come with a crossover instead of going with a 3 way. crossovers are also not expensive. there are expensive crossovers but there are also cheap crossovers out there. the more expensive ones have more that you can adjust such as tweeter db, slopes etc. where as the cheaper ones have only 1 setting that you cant adjust. also remember, the amp you are connecting them to will have some sort of crossover adjustments which you can play with as well.

in my opinion, forget about the 3 ways, 3 ways are only good if you get some highend ones which allow you some detailed adjustments as 3 ways are the toughest to image correctly. get a set of 2 ways (woofer, tweeter, crossover) and run the door speakers (not the tweeter) off of the new headunit. actually my headunit allows me to shut off the speakers that are not hooked up to the amp and just run the floor speakers and it sounds A LOT better like that.

depending on your budget, you have a lot of choices.
What if i wanted to wire everything to a 5 channel amp for instance.. is it easy to "pull" the wire from the floor speaker area to say to the back without removing panels?

2 ways will work perfectly like you suggested, great idea since I don't care about the "bass" from the front anyways. I thought I read from earlier that the 2way choices are limited based on the sizing. And if i replace the 2 speakers up front, i'm assuming i defintely have to pop open the panels (i hate this part since i always either break clips or it never aligns right to me..).

I don't need anything fancy, 2 ways will work ok for me and I feel the car has plenty of "bass" as I always have to lower it otherwise the it gets annoying to me. I just want to make sure the 2 ways "fit" without having to drill. This sounds like a fun project.. I haven't done this stuff for almost 10 years now and definitely don't remember it being this complex for a standard 4 speaker system =)
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      05-25-2009, 01:31 PM   #25
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You are going to regret not having "bass" from the front. The majority of your bass in a roadster is going to come from the front, ESPECIALLY when your top is down. Trust me, i tried.. a 2 way aint going to work in this car.
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      05-25-2009, 08:54 PM   #26
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when i was talking about 2 ways or 3 ways i wasnt referring to anything that had to do with bass. by 2 way i meant 2 6 1/2's 2 tweeters and 2 crossovers. by 3 way i meant the same as a 2 way but also including a 3" or 4" mid (2 obviously). not sure if you confused what i said.

bass from the front all depends on the speaker you use and the install. if you just pop out the speakers and put the new ones in i can gaurentee you it will not have as much bass then if you actually deadened the area and sealed it off. the install can make the most expensive speakers sound like crap. i have rainbow germaniums on the floor and before i added the sub i was stunned at how much bass they put out. i also deadened the whole area with dynamat xtreme. regardless of what you do (to answer your question), you will need to remove some panels to run wiring to the amp. there is no way around it. but believe me, it's very simple. most of it just clips right off.

my opinion, stick with the 2 way setup in front and get an 8 inch sub. thats what i have currently and am extremely impressed with the output top up and top down.
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      05-25-2009, 11:02 PM   #27
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sorry i might of misled, i'm with nickpapa in the sense that i think it's understood that the fronts are components. When i meant 3 way, i meant 3 way components (3 sets of speakers for the front).

I think i might go with the "simplest" approach and wire the stock speakers per nick's suggestion (wire 2 mid fronts and 2 rears to the aftermarket headunit and the remaining 6 speakers to the amp). When I feel more adventurous i'll replace the tweeter and lowend speaker with 2ways. I'd like to not have to add more speakers..so at most i'll replace the subs with 6w0's in a free air config..

I'll definitely document everything with pictures and videos since I have my trusty tripod. After reading everything like 10x's i finally understand what Nick is suggesting (I'm pretty noob at all this stuff..most i ever did was replace my headunit before and change out speakers). I just ordered my torx bits and I'll invest in some panel/trim poppers.
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      05-25-2009, 11:12 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prophetx2 View Post
sorry i might of misled, i'm with nickpapa in the sense that i think it's understood that the fronts are components. When i meant 3 way, i meant 3 way components (3 sets of speakers for the front).

I think i might go with the "simplest" approach and wire the stock speakers per nick's suggestion (wire 2 mid fronts and 2 rears to the aftermarket headunit and the remaining 6 speakers to the amp). When I feel more adventurous i'll replace the tweeter and lowend speaker with 2ways. I'd like to not have to add more speakers..so at most i'll replace the subs with 6w0's in a free air config..

I'll definitely document everything with pictures and videos since I have my trusty tripod. After reading everything like 10x's i finally understand what Nick is suggesting (I'm pretty noob at all this stuff..most i ever did was replace my headunit before and change out speakers). I just ordered my torx bits and I'll invest in some panel/trim poppers.
sweet, would like to see...i'm actually gonna show this thread to the installers to help them out since i doubt they see this alot...i'm like you..want the simplest approach and I don't want to change out any speakers, period...so all i'll be purchasing is an amp...i heard the steering wheel application is actually the most complicated...i have the nav, bluetooth, ipod adapter and thinking about getting the rear view camera, but that just might be overkill...proph, what HU are using..the 819?
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      05-25-2009, 11:25 PM   #29
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I went with the kenwood kvt-514. I have the bluetooth, navi, and even traffic thing ordered. The headunit install looks VERYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY straight forward. You literally just need to buy a harness and splice into it and use the antennae adapter. The hardest part about the head unit it seems is to have to run all the wires to the kenwood components.

The speaker wiring is also very straight forward it seems. Apparently you can even use the wiring from the stock amp (according to "Reach"). It's been stated that you have to unclip the speaker wires from the stock amp anyways other wise you will have popping noises. The thing is you still need to keep the stock amp to keep the antennae functioning i believe.

My plan of attack will be:

1.) to run rca cables/remote line from stock head unit to amp,
2.) hook up amp to the battery
3.) run the lines from front mids to the head unit, run lines from rear mids to head unit. 4.) Unclip all the speaker wires from the rear amp harness, and tap the remaining 6 to the amp (tape up the 4 front/rear speaker wires that i ran new lines to).
5.) profit?

It's simple in theory, but if you look at your car, there's not much space lol. Hiding the wires and taping up everything will probably take the most time. Reach said it took him about 15 hours total and it was his first time doing it...

I'm not sure about the steering wheel controls. I honestly haven't looked into it, but as I get closer I will. That might be stage 2 for me along with replacing speakers if it annoys me enough. Has anyone documented the wires for the steering wheel wiring yet?
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      05-26-2009, 07:46 AM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prophetx2 View Post
The headunit install looks VERYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY straight forward. You literally just need to buy a harness and splice into it and use the antennae adapter. The hardest part about the head unit it seems is to have to run all the wires to the kenwood components.

The speaker wiring is also very straight forward it seems. Apparently you can even use the wiring from the stock amp (according to "Reach"). It's been stated that you have to unclip the speaker wires from the stock amp anyways other wise you will have popping noises. The thing is you still need to keep the stock amp to keep the antennae functioning i believe.
just wanted to clarify and also give you a heads up. when i spliced in the harness, there was no constant power available (yellow wire) so i had to run the constant wire directly to an open spot on the fuse box. the constant power wire keeps the memory for the headunit i.e. time, radio settings etc. the yellow wire was there on the harness i purchased, but where it connected to on the BMW harness, it was not constant power.

also, if you plan to run the headunit wiring down to the stock wiring behind the floor speakers, you dont need to disconnect the harness at the back. since you will be cutting that connection anyway to connect the new wiring for the speakers.

another heads up, some headunits have a power antenna wire purposely for cars like ours that need power for it. but some headunits dont. if you dont have a power antenna wire coming from the headunit, connect the power antenna wire from the harness kit you purchased to the remote turn on wire from the headunit.
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      05-26-2009, 12:13 PM   #31
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thanks for the heads up. Have you wired your steering wheel controls by chance? I haven't seen anyone document or talk about it and was wondering whether it was because it was a pain in the butt or just not worth it.
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      05-26-2009, 12:23 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prophetx2 View Post
thanks for the heads up. Have you wired your steering wheel controls by chance? I haven't seen anyone document or talk about it and was wondering whether it was because it was a pain in the butt or just not worth it.
not sure on the steering wheel controls as i dont have them in my car
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      05-26-2009, 11:05 PM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prophetx2 View Post
thanks for the heads up. Have you wired your steering wheel controls by chance? I haven't seen anyone document or talk about it and was wondering whether it was because it was a pain in the butt or just not worth it.
here's the instructions on using the swi-jack interface ..not sure if this was what you were looking for

http://www.pac-audio.com/instructions/swi-jack.pdf

i think there are diff versions of the swi-jack though...

FYI, i have an extra kenwood ipod interface if you guys need one..willing to give it for free since all the help/info y'all have given on here...i have the 300 and 500...let me know if one of you guys that have helped on here need it...
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      05-26-2009, 11:18 PM   #34
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hmmm the pdf you linked says that bmw's are incompatible... Either way I'll keep everyone updated..it'll take me 2 weeks or so before I can start this project due to vacation and work...can't wait.

I think I'm going to go with the Alpine PDX-5 and try to stick it either under the seat or behind the passenger seat...

I'll make a list of all components etc as soon as I commit more..
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      05-26-2009, 11:33 PM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prophetx2 View Post
hmmm the pdf you linked says that bmw's are incompatible... Either way I'll keep everyone updated..it'll take me 2 weeks or so before I can start this project due to vacation and work...can't wait.

I think I'm going to go with the Alpine PDX-5 and try to stick it either under the seat or behind the passenger seat...

I'll make a list of all components etc as soon as I commit more..
I recently got the SWI-JACK to work in my 05. As the instructions state, you MUST pull the wire from the steering column. It is located on a green connector under the steering column shroud (around 6 o'clock w/respect to the wheel). Good luck!
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      05-26-2009, 11:34 PM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prophetx2 View Post
hmmm the pdf you linked says that bmw's are incompatible... Either way I'll keep everyone updated..it'll take me 2 weeks or so before I can start this project due to vacation and work...can't wait.

I think I'm going to go with the Alpine PDX-5 and try to stick it either under the seat or behind the passenger seat...

I'll make a list of all components etc as soon as I commit more..
missed that, ordered from amazon and it didn't state non-compatability..i will email the manufacturer and see how they respond
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      05-27-2009, 12:03 AM   #37
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on the website it states its not bmw compatible with bmw's that have the 5-volt SWC data wire at the steering column....not sure if z4's have that...
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      05-28-2009, 07:47 PM   #38
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on the website it states its not bmw compatible with bmw's that have the 5-volt SWC data wire at the steering column....not sure if z4's have that...
did you figure if it'll work?

OneR2Tees says it will. Think I'm going to order it and see how it goes =)
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      05-28-2009, 10:12 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prophetx2 View Post
did you figure if it'll work?

OneR2Tees says it will. Think I'm going to order it and see how it goes =)
here's their reply:

"Please review the included link. It is possible that the SWI-JACK is compatible. You will have to confirm that you have the specified wire for interface. It could be that we have not had the chance to get a later model Z4 ion other than the 2004. If you don't find the correct wire at the steering column contact me again and I'll do some research.

Regards

Clifton

http://www.pac-audio.com/swixprogram...ehicles&ID=396
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      06-22-2009, 05:49 PM   #40
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how are you guys running wires to the back by chance? I have a LOT of space inside the headunit area after you pull stock out, but it still is really cramped. I can see how it takes a lot of time to route wires to the back.

I'm assuming I have to take the glove box off, please tell me i don't have to take that airbag out too. Looks painful to remove..sigh.

Basically once I can get the wires from the head unit area to the passenger foot rest area..i think i know how to go through..but how are you guys pulling the rca cables through neatly?
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      06-22-2009, 07:51 PM   #41
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yeah glove box and that under panel has to come out. its like 3 screws for the panel and the glove box just clips out. real simple. dont have to do anything with the airbag.

just use a stiff wire or hanger and route it from the headunit down through the opening. then just hook the wires you need to run to the hanger and pull the hanger out. the wires will now be down and ready to run to the back. do the same for the rcas. there is more than enough room to fit everything through
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      06-22-2009, 11:52 PM   #42
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Are you taking photos? It would be nice to have a photos for a future DIY thread. I am looking at upgrading my stereo and speakers. Definitely want a DVD but all your issues have made me sort of gun shy. I might have to pay a pro to to it for me.
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      06-23-2009, 01:40 AM   #43
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i'm videoing the entire process. I did some investigation today and got the head unit in and wired with no issues, just took a while to get the hang of things and having to buy an "add a circuit/fuse".

To take that panel off below the a/c, where are the screws hidden by chance? I'll see if i can figure it out tommorow morning but I briefly looked this afternoon and didn't see an easy way to do it, it was all smooth. Do i just pry it open?
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      06-23-2009, 08:02 AM   #44
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you cant miss the screws. if you look under or even put your hand under you'll feel them. they're more towards the front of the panel (not towards the engine).
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