Z4 E89 audio upgrade
Discussion
Hello, i currently have an sdrive28 as my main car and despite it having a lot of options including the professional satnav it has or at least i think it has the bog standard stereo.
I love listening to music and find the current system to be worse than the one in my elise! Is there any way of upgrading these stereos? I have seen a german company which will send me a kit but would prefer a UK based company to provide and install.
Also i dont tend to hold onto cars for too long so the cheaper the option the better, as in could i just upgrade the speakers.
I am not wanting loud, i am wanting clarity.
Thanks for reading any advice greatly appreciated
I love listening to music and find the current system to be worse than the one in my elise! Is there any way of upgrading these stereos? I have seen a german company which will send me a kit but would prefer a UK based company to provide and install.
Also i dont tend to hold onto cars for too long so the cheaper the option the better, as in could i just upgrade the speakers.
I am not wanting loud, i am wanting clarity.
Thanks for reading any advice greatly appreciated
Upgrading the audio on BMW's is possible but it is not often cheap.
The main issues is that they are all inter spliced into the can bus systems in later cars, and often have compressors, and eq settings built in which sound naff if you simply replace speakers. Therefore you may need to install a digital sound processor. They also have low powered amplifiers and adding amplification is difficult due to the wiring being fibre optic. The other factor is that sound is not full range but split between 6,8 or 10 speakers.
I would suggest you google your most local 4masters stereo installer. They will be able to advice.
Personally I use a place called Brian Car Sounds in Cousldon. They are very good. However I doubt you can gain clarity which is harder to achieve then volume without looking at a system controller, speakers and amplification. Then you are going to be well into £1000 plus
The main issues is that they are all inter spliced into the can bus systems in later cars, and often have compressors, and eq settings built in which sound naff if you simply replace speakers. Therefore you may need to install a digital sound processor. They also have low powered amplifiers and adding amplification is difficult due to the wiring being fibre optic. The other factor is that sound is not full range but split between 6,8 or 10 speakers.
I would suggest you google your most local 4masters stereo installer. They will be able to advice.
Personally I use a place called Brian Car Sounds in Cousldon. They are very good. However I doubt you can gain clarity which is harder to achieve then volume without looking at a system controller, speakers and amplification. Then you are going to be well into £1000 plus
Get yourself here http://www.z4-forum.com/ should get plenty of advice
If you're reasonably local to me, (you don't give a location) you're more than welcome to come listen to mine, or I'll come meet you - still using any excuse to use the new car! 
I had the basic 6 speaker setup, but added tweeters to the mirror locations, and changed the door mid-range from the standard bmw part to a more substantial one.
This freshened up the sound considerably, but for even better sound, moved the sub units from the footwell kickpanels to the panel behind the seats. All told, this sounds (to me at least) more than good enough to not warrant further exploration of aftermarket equipment.
BMW tweeter part no. B65.13.9.220.750. (I actually have 2 of these spare - brand-new, boxed). Approx. £50 from dealer.
BMW (MINI) mid part no. A65.13.3.428.196. Approx. £100 from dealer.
Fitment of tweeter/mid takes around 1.5hrs total. Subs are substantially more involved (sorry, couldn't resist), reckon on about 8 hours total.
I had the basic 6 speaker setup, but added tweeters to the mirror locations, and changed the door mid-range from the standard bmw part to a more substantial one.
This freshened up the sound considerably, but for even better sound, moved the sub units from the footwell kickpanels to the panel behind the seats. All told, this sounds (to me at least) more than good enough to not warrant further exploration of aftermarket equipment.
BMW tweeter part no. B65.13.9.220.750. (I actually have 2 of these spare - brand-new, boxed). Approx. £50 from dealer.
BMW (MINI) mid part no. A65.13.3.428.196. Approx. £100 from dealer.
Fitment of tweeter/mid takes around 1.5hrs total. Subs are substantially more involved (sorry, couldn't resist), reckon on about 8 hours total.
Gassing Station | BMW General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff