Teenage Dream

Was expecting pictures of Katy Perry. Ugh.

Today I started to do my Dynamat install. I ordered 36 square feet and I can say you don't need this much. I have 4 1/2 sheets left over from just doing the trunk so far. The trunk was all I really wanted to fill with Dynamat just to eliminate the rattles from my subwoofer. Since I had 18 square feet left over I started to double up the Dynamat. I started layering it and it helped reduce the vibrations even more. All I have left to do is out a single sheet on each of the doors and place a little bit on the right side of the trunk to reduce the sound a tad. All in all the product is great! I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a subwoofer in their trunk. It is no longer making the trunk vibrate and creating an irritating noise. I will think about uploading a video to show how effective the product is.

[IMG][/IMG]



For those who wanted to know a little more about how I am wiring my system here you go! I am running the power cables from the battery into the spare tire compartment and then coming out through a crack in the trunk near the left passenger seat. I held the wires in place with a trim adhesive.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG].[/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]



I cut the head output wires going to the OEM amplifier and soldered them to new 12 gauge wires, then led them to a LC2i. I would recommend the LC2i line out converter over any other cheap type of line our converter. You have a lot more control of the audio that comes out of it. You can adjust the bass as well as the signal strength that is then fed to your amplifier(s).

Helpful guide to e46 car audio: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=245914

Pin # 30 / Head output Front left - Brown / orange Pin #38 / Head output Front Left + Yellow / red

Pin # 29 / Head output Rear Left - Brown / orange Pin #37 / Head output Rear Left + Yellow / black

Pin # 9 / Head unit output Front Right + Blue / red Pin #17 / Head unit output Front Right - Brown / orange

Pin # 8 / Head unit output Rear Right + Blue / black Pin #16 / Head unit output Rear Right - Brown / orange

Pin # 10 / Switched +12v remote turn on White Pin #18 / no connection

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]



When attempting to pop the trunk off, all the little grey clips are a b*tch to take out without a trim panel remover. Lucky I found a small metal crow bar shaped tool in the basement that make this a lot easier than expected. I would say a clothes hanger would work as well for taking the clips out.

[IMG][/IMG]

With the clips securing the trunk panel to the trunk itself their are two fuzz covered screws that are holding the tool box in place.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]



Before attempting to lay down some Dynamat clean off your metal surfaces with rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover.

[IMG][/IMG]



When placing down the Dynamat push in firmly and then come in later with a roller or the blunt side of a flat head.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]



Repeat the same thing for under the rear deck and side panels of the car. (Helps to take out the plastic shield that covers the strut.)

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]



Remove the two screws that hold in the rear seat pull down lever and later screw it back in to fit Dynamat under it.

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]


Apply multiple layers of Dynamat as needed to reduce vibrations.


Now some BASS!

You have had a few cars and got bored...

Originally Posted by s3th

You have had a few cars and got bored...

How much fun can you have with Saab 9-5 and a Scion xB?

Just bought a set of Style 5's and here are a few snap shots. I will upload new pictures of the wheels once I receive them.

niceeee. get an acs front lip for that badboy

looking good bro. those rims are so sweet!

Today after work I picked up some more speaker wire, butt splices and RCA splitters to get finish up my front two door speakers.







First two things I started on today was cutting my soldered wire and then connecting them with butt splices. IMO I think going a non-soldered way of installing your audio comes out cleaner. But that could just be me, I am not the best at soldering in the first place. For the second tweak I did today was plugging in RCA splitters so I can get audio to my front two crossovers.

(Before)







I took the door panels off and went to work at placing a little bit of Dynamat on the front two doors. I have only done the passenger side so far and I will get to the other side tomorrow. I cut the Dynamat into small squares and placed it a little spaced out all around the door. I will put down a little more tomorrow but it already sounds a lot quieter just tapping on the door.









I uninstalled the stock Harmon & Kardon speakers and began modifying the new speakers into place. I dremeled off the midrange speaker magnets to fit the new tweeters in place. To go the extra step, I smoothed off the back of the midrange speaker housing. For the stock tweeters I left those their as they aren't going to be plugged in anyways and they are roughly half an inch across. I applied hot glue to the Polk Audio tweeter and the midrange speaker housing. It looks a little messy but it doesn't rattle at all and is impossible to tell that it has been glued in place from the front of the door panel. I tilted the tweeters up a little during the glue process as well to help angle the sound. I used a glue gun and placed the crossovers into the rear corners of the door panels.

















I will show more tomorrow as how I fit the 6 1/2" speakers into place without making a custom adapter or using the OEM speaker ring.









So far so good! No rattles from any of the speakers. Sounds great! Can't wait to finally have all my speakers installed. I have just been listening to the rear speakers and subwoofer. The only thing to do after this is to install a DICE kit so I can use my iPhone in my car.

All I have to do tomorrow to finish up my install is take out the kick panels and run speaker wire through the grommet/firewall that runs from the main chassis to the door.

Nice Project!

What are you going to do when your polk audio crossovers start rattling internally/against itself? In my experience putting the crossover in the door will cause this most of the time

Originally Posted by 325rider

What are you going to do when your polk audio crossovers start rattling internally/against itself? In my experience putting the crossover in the door will cause this most of the time

I didn't think about that. Do you think I can put Dynamat on the panel itself to reduce the rattle? How long did it last you unroll the crossover broke?

Finished installing all of my audio today and finished placing Dynamat on the driver side door and the door panels. I ended up using eight of the nine sheets of Dynamat. I'll try to find another spot to put the last sheet.









My Polk Audio speakers came with speaker adapters that matched the OEM speaker shape perfectly. For placing the speakers in the door panel without the speakers rubber touching I put in 4 nylon washers underneath and two chrome washers above the speaker adapter. I put some hot glue on the screw that are holding the speaker to the adapter so they don't vibrate and unscrew themselves even though I doubt they ever would.







All in all the speaker upgrade is great! I love it! Audio is so clear and crisp I can't get enough of it. Earlier today I placed my order for a "BSW Soundplicity BMW iPod / iPhone Integration Kit." So I should get that sometime next week.





I should be expecting my Style 5's to get on Friday! I am still on the hunt for a good paint shop around here that can paint the faces of the Style 5's. I plan on polishing the lips and bolts myself while the faces are off getting a fresh new coat of paint.

I can't decide if I want to go with a gold or silver finish. I'm leaning towards the silver, but let me know what you think!

(Some quick photo-shopping to get a rough idea.)

You are a beast for being 17 years old and doing such quality work like that. Most other 17 year olds would have already picked their car up at Best Buy Audio center with their sweet new head unit.

As far as the 5's go, I'm in favor of the silver. The gold is nice too, but I'd say you're safer going with silver.

Originally Posted by bostonsc4

You are a beast for being 17 years old and doing such quality work like that. Most other 17 year olds would have already picked their car up at Best Buy Audio center with their sweet new head unit.

As far as the 5's go, I'm in favor of the silver. The gold is nice too, but I'd say you're safer going with silver.

I am guilty of going to the Best Buy Audio Center to put in a Kenwood head unit when I had my first car.

It's funny to see how much I've changed regarding a cars appearance. I used to think black wheels, 5% tint and under glow was cool.

My Style 5's get here today so I will have more pictures later on. I also order some goodies today! Expect to see those sometime next week.

Only one wheel had a small bend on the lip. I don't think it will let any air out though so I should be good. The Fitment on the front is amazing! I don't plan on running any spacers up front as I sit just past a flush. fitment But I'll see how that goes after I drop the car. The rear is almost perfect. I plan on getting either a 3mm or 5mm spacer to give it some poke. I plan on polishing the wheels myself and maybe painting them? I don't know yet. I don't really want to take them some place and get them painted for 90 bucks a wheel. If I do end up painting them and it goes bad at least it would only cost me a fraction of getting it professionally done.


Anyways, hopefully I will get the polishing done this weekend and start painting sometime this week if I go down that road. As always look out for more pictures to come!































^I need to fix the rear bumper, it is sagging a little bit.