E39 NBT retrofit - who does it?

[Output Flange]

I’ve recently bought an E39 530i Sport Touring to replace my E250CDI estate. Because petrol > diesel, right?

Anywho, I’d really like to have NBT, or even better NBT Evo retrofitted. What I don’t have is the time to sort it all out myself.

Does anyone offer this as a complete service? I could probably manage to source the parts against a shopping list if that makes a difference.

Thanks

[Caddyshack]

I think you would be better off with an aftermarket double din.

[Output Flange]

I’d prefer an NBT setup. If I can get that as a service, then great. If not, then I’ll consider something else.

[d_a_n1979]

Fully agree, stick with a decent aftermarket double din set up like Kenwood/Alpine etc

Don’t forget, with yours being a touring, if it’s a UK car, you’ll have a BM54 amp in the boot that powers the speakers, so what ever you fit in the front needs to be connected to that BM54 (or another amp in its place, doing the same job) powering the speakers!

There are the usual suspects of crap Chinese head units (Eonon/Xtrons etc), personally I wouldn’t touch them and stick with a decent brand as already mentioned.

Any decent ICE install company local to you will be able to sort this, you just need to choose your head unit and fitting fascia etc

My recommendation would be to get a non-mech head unit, so it’s a shallow fit with no CDP etc

I’ve personally stuck with the OEM 16:9 head unit and the BM53 amp (mines a Jap import) but used a Grom Audio BT3 Bluetooth kit and it does me just right. If I want to use sat nav I use my Note 10+ etc

[Output Flange]

Thank you both for answering a question I haven’t asked

So, to reiterate, does anyone offer an NBT retrofit as a complete service?

[d_a_n1979]

Output Flange said:

Thank you both for answering a question I haven’t asked

So, to reiterate, does anyone offer an NBT retrofit as a complete service?

Never seen it done and haven’t seen it mentioned a lot either.

Have you looked on Google, bimmerforums.com etc?

Pop over and join the 5 forums if you’re not on there already and ask there also; the E39 section is the busiest in there and with a lot of folk with lots of knowledge.

All I’m saying is that it seems a lot of £££ to do an install in a car that at this age, could be a lot of faff as well.

However, your car/your £££

[d_a_n1979]

Info here:

https://www.m5board.com/threads/bimmer-retrofit-nb...

Not sure if you’ve seen that already

Another one on the 5 forums too albeit an older thread: https://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/115687-woah-f10-idr...

Ignore the user ‘Dennis’ toon as much as he is/comes across knowledgable, he’s a cockwomble too with an attitude of if you haven’t spent £thousands on your in-car stereo/alloy wheels then they’re ste etc...

Edited by d_a_n1979 on Sunday 15th March 08:35

[DennisCooper]

Hi

Output Flange - There's no one in the UK who advertise they're offering a full NBT retrofit as a service and who also supply all the required modules, emulator and hardware etc along with any fabrication work for creating a bezel for the monitor in the dash and the centre console area for mounting the controller. For this project, you'd perhaps either DIY everything or have certain aspects done by a specialist who will do those and perhaps another specialist for others/the remaining ones.

Speak to Phil at CPC in Amersham who has previously done an E39 NBT retrofit in a customers M5 a few years ago. The owner of the car mentioned as much as that he'd fitted the NBT but didn't provide more detail both if it was a full installation including the bezels etc or any ballpark labour charges etc. This all said, Phil and the team at CPC are always very busy with their core service of high end BMW mechanical services for M and Alpina engines/cars etc and don't usually do audio module swaps/installs.

You may want to speak to some of the UK's best and most reputable, experienced and knowledgeable car audio specialists and who are on a network called four masters - https://www.fourmasterscaraudio.co.uk/ Hopefully, one or more of these dealers will be able to do the full job for you including any fabrication work etc. If you perhaps have a read of the in depth NBT retrofit thread on bimmerforums in the USA, there's a number of very knowledgeable guys who've done the project and provide excellent tips. There's plenty of discussion about the problems and issues that have been experienced with attempts of fixes some of which have worked and others which haven't. Here's a link to it;

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?...

Given there's newer hardware modules - I think called 'EVO' the cost for that option along with all that's needed to do the job including fitting charges will see you at £2-2.5K+.

Hope this helps!

Cheers, Dennis!