Harman Kardon in a CSL?

[///Mike]

[Flame suit on]

Has anyone ever retrofitted the E46 HK soundsystem into a CSL? Are the wiring looms in the car ready for plug and play connectivity?

Many thanks

[///Mike]

thatsprettyshady said:

I've seen it on a car I saw when I was buying mine, so I'm guessing it can be done. Car is/was for sale at Nick Johnson motor co

Ah good, he was the chap that told me it could be done when I called him to discuss a car. I just wanted to know how much of a potential ball ache it would be and what sort of costs might be involved. Its one of the massive negative points in swapping from my current car into a CSL so want to know if I can address it to help justify the purchase to myself.

I can't stop looking at CSLs in the classifieds, its like a bloody disease..

[///Mike]

Thanks peeps. I totally get where you are all coming from but it wouldn't be a weekend car, it would be an everyday car and not every drive is a sunny windows down apex clipping b road hoon. There are times when I am sat on the motorway when I love my hifi in the car, and my armrests! Haha

I used to do 30k a year, now I do 15 and I do have access to my girlfriends Boxter so I am thinking it ought be time to own my dream car. I haven't driven one but I have done lots of pax laps around the ring and having driven a few e46 m3s I know that I want a CSL badly.

Essentially i will be trading in my 135i which I have had from new which has £9k of options on it so it's loaded. I could keep it for another 3 years as I love it but this CSL scratch needs to be itched! It doesn't seem like a sensible thing to do, to swap a modern car I love for something much older with absolutely no comforts and probably 50k on the clock. Hopefully you can see why I am dillying around with the decision, it's a big jump.

Thanks for the info on HK vs off the shelf, that might have to be looked at

[///Mike]

Yanto said:

EFA

Race or street/sport ?

;-)

[///Mike]

Thanks for the responses.

Sorely tempted to bite the bullet soon whilst there are some cars out there with low enough mileage to use as my primary transport. I have thought about it long and hard and the excitement of owning one seems to be outweighing the practicality issues I have around chopping in my current steed which is still undoubtedly better suited to my needs. I have been a huge BMW fan from an early age with my last 7 cars being BMW, 3 of them being M3's, one of which I still have in track car form. Owning a CSL would seem like the completion of a long journey to the top. I need to get some paintwork issues sorted out on my 1er before I give it back to the dealer but then I am free to start the search. Ideally I would like to find a sub 50K example with a BBK already sorted and extended warranty for about £25K rather than spending the extra £5K for a sub 40k mile example as I am saving for a house at the moment.

Thanks for the advice, I have enough to go on now.

[///Mike]

I hear you, gives me the opportunity to get involved in some more bangernomics. I had an e34 525i tourer in the past when I was between M3s and I loved it. That said, with the track M3, Girlfriends Boxter S and a CSL I think a shed would be a step too far and I would struggle for the parking space.

Anyone know of any good speaker upgrade options for a 987 Porsche...............

[///Mike]

LOL Thanks, wonder if its been removed with the same care and attention taken to photograph it?!?!

According to peeps in this thread its not all that anyway. The LOGIC7 I have in my 135 is superb. I jumped to the conclusion that the high end factory e46 hifi would be good too. Not sure why. I had HK systems in my E36s M3s and they were pants too.

[///Mike]

I find your post a bit misjudged tbh shim. You don't know me, so why make that assumption?

Given that I would like to use the car a couple of times a week to travel down the M4 to work there are often times where a decent sound system really means a lot to me. I have been spoilt with my current car and can give up all the toys and comforts but not sure I want to give up the ability to listen to music in reasonable quality. I work in a pressured job and find music a release at the end of a long day. A CSL might sound great at 7000rpm but it doesn't when its idling in bumper to bumper traffic.

[///Mike]

I accept what you are both saying and you might all be correct. After driving one I might not need better sounds. Just trying to justify the purcashe to myself at the moment and the sounds is the one thing I don't think I could live without for now.

Just didn't appreciate the "You'll probably buy some Nangkangs for it next as you spent all the £££ on 'sounds'"

Agree with you on the brakes front. We recently upgraded to new set of AP's on our track M3 and the difference was brilliant. Ideally I would be looking for a car with a BBK conversion done if possible. I have 6 pots on my current road car so its another thing on the list with the sounds

[///Mike]

KentChris said:

If you are really intrested in buying a CSL then my strongest recommendation would be to visit www.CSLRegister.com and ask away the people (not me!) are all know their stuff in mods etc and also the history of the cars. They are very helpful it was through that site and PH I managed to get the CSL I have now and it was worth every sec of the research.

Also there is a Buy/Sell section so you can get some good guides etc as it seems most CSL are stripped of Mods before reselling etc.

PS you do have to mind some of the tongue in cheek replys but all seem to be good chaps (and ladies)

Thanks Chris, already registered and already talking about specific examples where members have PM'd me with useful information about said examples.

Thanks for the heads up though

[///Mike]

manand38 said:

Many times, the 1st thing to do is upgrade the unit and see if that improves the sound. BMWs tend to come with cr*p headunits, the speakers are usualy good.

On the subject of HK, I have it installed on my Z3M Coupe and it sounds great.

I guess this is a very subjective point isn't it. What one person thinks sounds great another thinks is truly awful. I would say that the HK system in my E36s was truly aweful in comparison to the current LOGIC7/HK systems in the modern cars.

I also subscribe to the view that keeping the OEM HU in place and changing the speakers for better ones that don't require any modding to the car is my prefered route. I always thought the standard paper cone speakers that BMW put in were absolute tosh tbh

[///Mike]

shim said:

Woops

[///Mike]

Thanks Chris, no amp and no additional bass components then?

Does it sound an awful lot better for the money you spent?

I agree that whilst there would be many more times in a CSL where you would be happy to switch of the radio and listen to that glorious intake noise than most other cars, there are still going to be long journeys where you might not feel like driving and just want some music to help the journey pass.