When my father ordered his '98 E38 740i, he opted for the $2200 "premium package." When the car arrived and I was able to test out the system, it was very disappointing. My Oldsmobile had more bass!!! Well, that's his car and he can do whatever he wants to it. When it was time to order my '99 E36 M3, I knew not to opt for the Harmon/Kardon option. The $900 I saved would go towards my aftermarket system.

After much research, listening to people's setups (thanks Ben), and going to an a/d/s/ sponsored audio tech session in Maryland, I decided on the following setup:

• a/d/s/ 335is.2 front separates. I consider these speakers top of the line. Only the PX series is higher but at a significant price premium. Also, the PX series only comes in a 6" diameter so it wouldn't fit the kick panel locations without some modifications. Also, keep in mind these are the newly released revision 2 series.

Figure 1 Here's a comparison between the stock speakers and the a/d/s/ replacements. The stock tweeters are .75" in diameters. The rest is fiberglass. The replacement tweeters are really hefty weighing about 4 times as much. The stock woofers are cheap paper. Check out the difference in magnet size!

• a/d/s/ P840.2 8-channel amplifier. a/d/s/ is well-known for the clear and accurate response.

• JL Audio stealth boxes in the rear. These fit the '93-'96 E36 sedan and the '93-'99 E36 coupe. I wanted to keep the trunk as stock looking as possible and I didn't want to lose a lot of space to a sub-woofer enclosure. The stealth boxes are 8" subs. They won't pack the punch of a 10" or 12", but I think I'll be happy with the 8 inchers..

This write-up will follow the flow of how I did it in real life. If you're using the stock wires, the project can be partitioned into two sub-projects: 1) replacing the front woofers and tweeters and 2) mounting and installing the amp and running wires (optional).

 

Replacing the Front Woofers

• Remove the driver's side kick panel. First, you need to remove the hood latch…a philips screw driver will do. There is also a plastic anchor of sorts. A slotted screw driver will do here. Next, slide the lip of the kick panel from under the strip that says M3 in my case (I know, real technical words). Now slide the kick panel forward.

• Undo the four bolts holding the factory speaker. I had to solder a new spade connector onto the negative lead because the factory one was too small. Place the gasket seal on the back of the speaker to ensure an airtight seal. Screw the speaker back into place. The green cardboard type insulation material had to be cut in order for the new speaker to fit. Heck, I forgot to put it back in on the passenger side. Hahaha.

Figure 2 You can see one receptacle for the kick panel. The other one was covered by the new speaker cover/grill. I ended up removing the cover/grill and mounting the speaker bare. I couldn't cover the kick panel mount point. Also, there is plenty of clearance between the kick panel and the new woofer…just make sure you tell a tech who might go back there to be careful and not f*ck the expensive woofer.

• Removal of the passenger side is pretty much the same.

Figure 3 Everything is back in place. Can't notice anything different. You can see the patch cable and the 8-conductor wire hanging out of the console. Check out the VDO gauges and the AA pedals. Very nice additions to the interior.

• To remove the tweeters, you have to pull the door panel off. To do this, use a butter knife to remove the two plastic covers behind the door pull. Also, remove the little black plastic cover that says, "Airbag." There are torx screws behind there. For the drivers, side, use a screw driver to push the door latch to fool the system into thinking the door is closed. Cut a butter knife at the lower edge of the door and twist. The whole door panel should pop off. Once one body clip comes off, they all seem to pop off! Be careful with the driver's door panel because there's still a connection to the mirror controls.

Figure 4 Don't forget to remove the torx screw behind the airbag cover. You'll be scratching your head wondering why your panel isn't coming off. Ask me how I know!

The tweeter is held in place with a lockring. Twist it off and pop out the factory one. You'll need to use a dremel and remove the plastic obstruction. Be careful not to go through the grill. Once that's off, you can use silicone sealant to hold the new tweeters in place. Don’t forget to get your Molex 2-conductor connector. I ended up using the cheesy radio shack versions…not as elegant.

 

Mounting and Installing the Amplifier

I spent many hours just looking for possible areas to mount the amp. Here were the possibilities:

1. Suspend it from the rear deck shelf.

2. Mount it to the back of one of the fold-down rear seats

3. Or come up with something clever.

I'm a masochist and opted for the third option. The idea of shooting holes into my sheet metal didn't sit well with me. Mounting the amp to the back seat was plausible, but not only are the seats curvy, where will you run all the ugly wires?

• First, you need to remove the left rear brake light cover housing by turning the retaining screw counterclockwise and pulling up and out.

• Next, you need to remove the left rear speaker. To remove the grill, push your thumbs against the front edge. Once you bend the grill sufficiently, you can push upwards. Next, remove the two screws holding the speakers in place. There should be (at least on mine) a metal clip holding the whole unit in place. Push this tab and the speaker will drop out.

• Now you can work the molded carpet on the side of the trunk outwards.

You will now see the factory amp. It's held in place by three 10mm bolts.

Figure 5 The amp is already removed. I put the bolts back in so I wouldn't lose them or the inserts they screw into. Eventually, I would have to remove the left-top one so that the crossovers would fit. Anyone know what that weird wire harness is? If you do, send mail to chester@hotpop.com.

I looked around and removed the black plastic trim left to the spare tire by removing the plastic nuts. I found what I though to be a perfect location. There were already holes in the sheet metal for me to secure a bracket to. I pestered my uncle for some 3/4" plywood stock--we are talking about a 15 pound metal object subjected to the extreme cornering forces of my M3--and fabricated a sturdy bracket.

Figure 6 Here's a perfect spot for the amp! If anyone has objections to me mounting an amp to these points, please e-mail me at chester@hotpop.com.

I used 2" 1/4" bolts with washers to secure the bracket in place. If you look, you'll see the area with the holes is lower than the rest points. I used a piece of scrap 3/4" plywood to make a shim. It works perfectly.

I cut the factory amp connectors off. I ended up following Bob Hazelwood's advice and ordered two (you'll probably need three…so I'm short a connector) 14-conductor mini-fit Molex connectors from http://www.digikey.com/. Definitely order the crimp tool while you're at it. It makes life so much easier and the crimps look real nice.

I wired up the crossovers into the factory wiring. Some people run new wires. Well, I looked at the gauge of the wires running to the front woofers. I think they are at least 16ga….good enough. Here's the end result:

Figure 7 The crossovers are velcro'ed into place. I originally had all the wires very long. After mounting everything into place, there were just too many wires. So I trimmed the wires going from the crossovers to the connectors. I reused the factory cable-tie and everything looks very neat. Click here for a close-up.

After running wires and soldering everything (oh, solder all crimp connections just in case!), roll back the carpet, place the brake light cover back, and install the amp bracket and amp. I had to cut 1/2" off the bottom of the molded carpet (a new one costs $45) so the bracket would fit easily. I was planning on lifting it and squishing the bracket underneath, but after all the wires were in place, there was really no room.

Figure 8 Ah…carpet rolled back to conceal the wires and crossovers, there she stands…the 8-channel amp. Where are the wires? Ha ha…they run through a slot on the bottom of the bracket. Actually, it was out of coincidence….a very tight squeeze indeed…I had to cut a slot out for the connectors and wires. The plywood with a radius will be replaced with a low profile aluminum piece so it won't get in the way. Then I'll be able to cut back the plastic trim and reinstall. Cut the bottom carpet and everything will be nice and tidy!

 

Running Wires

I decided to run a 4-conductor wire for my radar detector, 8-conductor wire for the bass control, and a patch cable for the new head unit. Time to run wires.

• First, remove the rear seat. This is accomplished by hovering over the seat as if you're about to sit on it. Grab right underneath the lip of the leather and pull up.

• Next, remove the side bolster next to the fold-down seat. The latch is on the top of the bolster. I guess you could simply grab and yank. I wedged my fingers at the bottom between the bolster and the side panel and ran my fingers upwards. Once there, I was able to get leverage to pop the clip off. The remaining anchor point is on the bottom where the seat hinges. Simply push in with your finger and the side bolster will come off.

• Next, remove the side panel. The body clips are located at the top. I put my hand at the rear and pulled. Pop…came right off. See the picture for the anchor points.

Figure 9 VOILA! You can see the factory wires running into the trunk. Reuse the factory cable ties to hold your bundle together. I ran the wires following the factory route until I hit the bottom of the left rear seat. From there, I went across and up the transmission tunnel. Putting everything back in place, you can't see anything or tell that anything is underneath.

You'll need to remove or at least loosen the center piece between the seats in order to run the wires. A picture is worth a thousand words:

Figure 10 After removing the ashtray and the two black plastic screws, stick your thumbs between the armrest mount and the rear piece. Pulling outwards, you can maneuver the piece out. There are three tabs on the back of the piece facing the rear of the car. Once that is removed, you can remove the front piece.

Pop the hazard light out using a butter knife covered with a cloth. It's easiest to pop out at the left side. There will be a screw there holding down the front of the center piece.

Once that's removed, the center piece will be loose. You can run wires now or if you're like me, you can actually remove everything. The armrest bracket is fastened to the chassis using three 13mm bolts. You'll need a swivel/universal socket to remove the front two. A box wrench will remove the rear bolt.

Put everything back.