ALPINE IVA-W200 ?'s

Originally Posted by adood84

1. What functions exactly did you loose after the vent modification?

You don't loose any functionality at all just as long as you build the U bracket for the vent arm to allow for clearance. The W200 sticks too far back and the existing vent arm has to be reshaped.

2. There is a europian Alpine part that allows you to connect the the alpine W200 to the steering controls , would that fit the US version of the W200 .

I'm not sure if it's eurpoean or not, but what you will need is the PAC SWI-ALP. I bought mine off of ebay for pretty cheap. The SWI-ALP is made especially for Alpine head units and it allows you to program the steering wheel buttons to do whatever you want. Just make sure not to program the RT button because our cars send a signal to that button upon startup. I currently have it controlling the source and it's annoying because the source switches every time I start my car. Other than that, I can change tracks, volume, and mute.

3. My whole setup is factory and I don't have HK , which mean that I don't think I have a factory amp and the factory speakers are running from the factory HU . I'm not planning on changing the speakers now so would I be able to run the factory speakers of the HU ? as there an adpter to connect the BMW wire directly to the HU without cutting ...ect ?

The e46 stock system (non-hk) in the US still has a factory amp. The amp is located in the trunk behind the left wall. The best way to go about this is to completely bypass the stock amp since it sucks...lol. The W200 will have enough amplification for the stock speakers and it will sound better without the stock amp. You are going to need to run speaker wires from the W200 to the trunk and then tap into the amp's outputs. There is a sticky on the top of this forum that has a detailed description on how to do this.

I will be buying an amp and front compnets once my wallet recovers from the HU install first.

That is definitely a good idea.....that's what most of us are doing. With an amp, the install is more straighforward, but it can be done with the stock system.

Originally Posted by adood84

just ordered the BMW should be with me by satuerday , hopefully its the right on
Part number 51168230902 (For cars with NAVIGATION SYSTEM WITH ON-BOARD MONITOR & Smokers Package)
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...33&hg=51&fg=35


or should it be Number 12 part number 51167001410 ?

That looks like the right one. Basically, if your car only has the DSC button (in the button row between the sunglass holder and ashtray), than that is the right one. Some cars have other buttons....and that is what the other options are for.

Originally Posted by adood84

this is the interface Number KCE-864B(R2+)

found here
http://www.alpine-europe.com/content...sh/k29.BMW.htm

I'm not sure if that will work or not because I havn't tried it, but I have tried the PAC SWI-ALP and it has been proven to work well with the W200. If you have the U.S. version of the 3 series, than I would go with the SWI-ALP. If you have the UK version, than I would go with the one you posted in the link.

how easy is it going to be to connect the HU to the car , will it be plug and play thing? or is it going to need cutting wires ...ect

If you are going to retain the stock system, than you will need to extend the speaker wires comming off of the W200 so that they could reach the trunk. This is a matter of crimping or soldering (your choice) two wires together. On the trunk side, you will need to cut the factory wire comming out of the amplifier and crimp/solder it to the extended wire comming off the W200.

With my install, I used an aftermarket amp.....so I didn't have to run the speaker wires from the headunit to the trunk.....only from the amplifier to the speakers.

does the HU stop showing the DVD while moving ? if yes how can I make it work all the time?

Yes....it will stop showing the dvd unless you purchase the PAC TR-7. The TR-7 simulates the car being in park, so it will allow you to watch dvd's while driving.

I recommend going to the first page of this thread and reading through my install process....only because it sounds like you are in the exact same "planning" phase as I was on page 1. I listed everything that is needed to install the W200 in the e46 and many other posters have provided extremely helpful install pictures.

One more thing....you will also need to go to www.mybimmer.net and purchase a bezel for the W200. Make sure that you specify that you have an Alpine W200 when you purchase the bezel. He builds them specifically for each headunit.

the problem is I have a Europian version E46 thats way I'm trying to gather correct info for my car , as I have a 318 vert which doesn't come to the US . So I will have to make sure if my car has an amp or not (which I don't think it has) , if it doesn't have one that means the speakers are powred of the factory HU right? which should make wiring easier , right?

^^^

Yes, If you have the european version, than the speakers are powered by the head unit. This will make it easier since you won't have to run any wires to the trunk. You can tap directly into the speaker wires behind the head unit.

I think I'm all set , now all I need is a way to send a money order to a guy on Ebay to get the W200 , when we don't have this service in Saudi

^^^ No paypal?

No PayPal doesn't accept Saudi Credit cards , just discovred that my uncle is going to Hong Kong on monday , I've contacted the Alpine dealer over there to see if the version they sell is the W200 E which is the region free one , if so I'm just going to get it from there.

what exactly is the model number for the hvac ac relocation carrier? i have the one with the sport.. heated seat buttons.. etc. dsc.
man.. 23 pages.. is realy confusing lol..

Originally Posted by Timsta

what exactly is the model number for the hvac ac relocation carrier? i have the one with the sport.. heated seat buttons.. etc. dsc.
man.. 23 pages.. is realy confusing lol..

I'll PM you.

thx rich... i think i was pretty tired last night from reading all 23 pages.. plus the other threads. but i can't wait to put in my w200... everything is all set.. except for the hvac carrier. that i need to find.

I've just received my W202E , I've read this thread so many times the only part I'm not to sure about is what you guys call the double din cage ? do you buy this part or do you modify a current part ?