[Chris@codemybimmer]

So if anyone here has the base stereo system (4 speakers no center no subs) you will notice your speakers are absolute garbage. IMO the bass is lacking, the mids are acceptable and the highs are overpowered.

The learning process:
(Im writing this section because i've spent the past week diagnosing whats wrong with my system so maybe it will answer some of your questions too if you encounter problems during install)

So i've wired up subs and amps into stock head units before and it is always very straightforward. Tap into one of the speaker outputs (or two if you have a 2 channel amp) and drag that wire into an LOC and from that RCA into your amp and out to your sub. But for my F30 it wasnt that straight forward (it could have been my equipment since it was relatively cheap). When i wired it all up and turn on the system i found that the sub was not very loud, like its on but its very very weak (you had to turn the bass in idrive to max to even get it to audible levels). Everything looked like it was hooked up properly so i decided to take it into a car audio shop and have them check it out if i did anything wrong and they concluded everything was wired correctly but my amp was too weak (it was an old 100w amp and a 100w sub). So fine i went and bought a 300w amp with a 300w kicker sub, plugged it in......and it had the same problem.
I spent the next following days buying a whole bunch of stuff to try and make it work ie: rca pre amp line drivers, better amps and subs. no dice. Then i decided to get a crossover...AND IT WORKED!
i mean i dont know why it would make a difference (since my amp has a built in crossover) but adding this separate one makes the amp work like how it should be.

The install
Step 1:
Pry off the trim that goes on top of the climate control and there's two plugs behind it, pull it off.


Step 2:
fit your finger underneath the climate control at the bottom and gently push down, this panel will just unclip without much effort.


Step 3:
There are 4 screws, one at each corner of the climate controls (i cant remember the exact size but i just got an allan key that fits and used it).
Unplug the cable thats behind this panel (its very tough to get out the first time) This is a bad picture but iots the cable on the right.


Step 4:
There are 2 screws holding the head unit in place, unscrew them and pull it out. At the back of the head unit there is a big square-ish looking connecter, there's a latch holding it in, unlatch it and pull it out.
This is where you will be tapping the wires into.
White/Red and White/Brown (rear left +/-)
Grey/Red and Grey/Brown (rear right +/-)



Step 5:
Take all the wires and feed them through one of the many holes that goes towards the passenger glove box. To get to this wire, there are two 10mm hex bolts that hold the panel under the glove box. Take that off and you can reach all your wires. (i forgot to take a picture of this but this is what i have)


Step 6:
Wire it out towards the door and slip it under the weather strip w.e you call it and wire it along the side until you get to the back seats



Step 7:
Pull up on the bottom portion of the seat and you can feed the wire through to the trunk. I highly recommend you do not pull the entire seat out because i did this and getting the seat belt buckles to go through the holes is the biggest pain the the ass ever.

Step 8:
Get an amp kit from a local store (i got 8 gauge but 4 gauge is even better)
Wire the positive and negative straight to your battery and hide the wire under the carpet liner.



Step 9:
I wanted my amp to be out of sight so i put it in the compartment that goes underneath the trunk floor. I cut a little opening to feed all my cables through so the board sint raised on one side compared to other.


Step 10:
Wire everything up. This is how i wired mine up:
wires from head unit -> crossover -> rca input on the amp -> sub

for the "remote" input on the amp and crossover i tapped into the fuse box in the trunk since everything in there turns on when you unlock the doors.
I used something called add a circuit which looks like this:
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forum...estion-aac.jpg

Step 11: hook up the sub!
i wanted my sub as small as i could get so i didnt have to compromise much trunk space, this kicker sub i found was just what i was looking for, very thin but still has a lot of bass. i put it up against the back of my rear seats and used strings to keep it from falling backwards or sliding left and right when i corner (yes its shoelace im cheap until i find a better replacement haha




Thats it you're done!
adjust the bass on the amp/crossover as needed
for me im waiting for another amp and im going to use the high end frequency of the crossover and wire it to oem speakers.

[Chris@codemybimmer]

Some notes

The cabin is very insulated so the sub in the trunk is very quiet. the gain on my sub is set to the max and you have to set the bass pretty high on your idrive to hear it.
the problem with this is that your speakers will most likely drown out the bass coming from the trunk so thats the reason i got the crossover.
Im going to get a second amp to wire the rest of my speakers to so i can limit the bass coming from them in order to hear the bass coming from the trunk.

[Technic]

FYI... it is easier and safer to tap the underseat woofers than removing the iDrive unit. Less chance of scratches and damage to the Quadralock/CIC connectors.

[Chris@codemybimmer]

Originally Posted by Technic

FYI... it is easier and safer to tap the underseat woofers than removing the iDrive unit. Less chance of scratches and damage to the Quadralock/CIC connectors.

bmw "stereo" doesnt have subs, only 4 speakers, one on each door. i checked under the seat, no wire exists there
bmw "Hi-Fi" and HK/L7 have subs

[Technic]

Originally Posted by 1lyfe

bmw "stereo" doesnt have subs, only 4 speakers, one on each door. i checked under the seat, no wire exists there
bmw "Hi-Fi" and HK/L7 have subs

In Canada, your Stereo system has 6 speakers (for 2014 only the 320i has that system standard in your country). The two woofers are under your seats below a plastic grill cover.

[Chris@codemybimmer]

Originally Posted by Technic

In Canada, your Stereo system has 6 speakers (for 2014 only the 320i has that system standard in your country). The two woofers are under your seats below a plastic grill cover.

I can guarantee you I have no subs or tweeters.
I have a classic line 328
which is essentially a 320spec with 328 motor

[caposes]

Originally Posted by 1lyfe

I can guarantee you I have no subs or tweeters.
I have a classic line 328
which is essentially a 320spec with 328 motor

Odd, as I have a 2012 320 and it does not have tweeters, but it definitely has subs under the seat. Underpowered, flabby sounding subs, but they are there.

Thanks OP, great thread!

[Technic]

Originally Posted by 1lyfe

I can guarantee you I have no subs or tweeters.
I have a classic line 328
which is essentially a 320spec with 328 motor

They are there, under a plastic grill...unbolt the seats, tilt them and you will see them.

Regardless, it is too late now for you. This information is for anybody else that wants to do the same thing...

[henryeeex]

Silly question... but I'm having trouble unplugging one of the plugs from the center trim. (1st pic; the plug with the date "01.08.2012")

Is there a trick to it...?

[Chris@codemybimmer]

Originally Posted by HenryX

Silly question... but I'm having trouble unplugging one of the plugs from the center trim. (1st pic; the plug with the date "01.08.2012")

Is there a trick to it...?

there is a piece of that pkug that is clipped into the trim. just twist it to unclip it so you have a larger base to hold onto while you pull the other end

[Mite2111]

I have the base 4 speaker system as well. Would it help to replace the underseat subs by 'DM PSS' with some better JBL ones help?

[Chris@codemybimmer]

Originally Posted by Mite2111

I have the base 4 speaker system as well. Would it help to replace the underseat subs by 'DM PSS' with some better JBL ones help?

you could
but the problem is finding one that will fit there, the box is very shallow so you got to find a low profile sub.

[addm]

Originally Posted by 1lyfe

you could
but the problem is finding one that will fit there, the box is very shallow so you got to find a low profile sub.

Earthquake sws-8xi can be installed underseat in place of factory sub. There are lot of E90 forums discussing the installation with premade spacers.
However I am not sure installation in F30 would be same.
I have HK and little skeptical about upgrade in performance with these subwoofer.

[Mite2111]

Thanks for the help guys.

[Bmwespendn]

Hello. I have the same problem as u, F30 with 4 speakers. And i have installed a 2 channel amp and a Hi/low adapter through the back doors. And NO bass in the subwoofers. I have 2x10" Lighting Audio subwoofers.
And now i need a EQ to get some more bass. Do you u know if the Rockford Fostgate 3sixty.1 is any god? And will i get some more power? Becouse right now its crappy.
This is the 3 Sixty
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/rf-bld

Will it do the same work as your Prossesor?

[gomichaelkgo]

I'm just gonna leave this here...

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/

:-)

[Bmwespendn]

Nobody ?

[Derkconnor]

I have the base stereo, 4 speakers 2 under seat subs. I looked in the truck under the left side well and there is no amp.

I'm looking to add a 10" sub and amp. Where is the best place to tap into to add a LOC so I can get RCA for the amp?
Also is there a remote turn on wire somewhere that is easy to tap into?

Thanks in advance for the info

Derk

[mightycrown]

Originally Posted by Bmwespendn

Hello. I have the same problem as u, F30 with 4 speakers. And i have installed a 2 channel amp and a Hi/low adapter through the back doors. And NO bass in the subwoofers. I have 2x10" Lighting Audio subwoofers.
And now i need a EQ to get some more bass. Do you u know if the Rockford Fostgate 3sixty.1 is any god? And will i get some more power? Becouse right now its crappy.
This is the 3 Sixty
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/details/rf-bld

Will it do the same work as your Prossesor?

Well, first of all you didn't get to the right place to route the signal. You should route it from the underseat harness. because the signal from the backdoor is not full range. Plus you will need to filter the balanced signal to flat unbalanced.
Hope that helps.

[Vtrac1]

Hi 1lyfe,

Could you please share of a picture of the fuse box or location from which you've tapped the remote turn on using 'add a circuit'?

I tested the fuse slots with a multimeter and it seemed live...does it mean this is hard wired to the battery? In which case my amp will stay on all the time?

Please help.

[Chris@codemybimmer]

Originally Posted by Vtrac1

Hi 1lyfe,

Could you please share of a picture of the fuse box or location from which you've tapped the remote turn on using 'add a circuit'?

I tested the fuse slots with a multimeter and it seemed live...does it mean this is hard wired to the battery? In which case my amp will stay on all the time?

Please help.

All fuses in the trunk turn on when you unlock your doors.
all power is cut when your car goes to sleep.
usually after 5 minutes.

The Fuse box under your hood is on 24/7

[qamvti]

Will the speaker wire colours been the same for the f34 as I am trying to do the same thing. But I want to use the front speakers. What's the colour code for these thanks in advanced. Searched but cannot find the info I have no amps or subs under the seats.