[Dancer-Davies]

Cheers mate will give it try when it turns up

[garybuk]

I did the Alpine upgrade in the summer, so so much better than the stock system, although BMW neglected to give me any foam inserts to dampen wind noise for behind the tweeters, used some upholstery foam instead.... make sure you ask them for the foam!

[montr]

FYI,
I did some measurements on the newest Alpine HiFi retofit kit (for E90 LCI) and the purpose of the switch on the amplifier. The results are in:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=461636

[jumpman23]

Can someone post a pic. of the amplifier installed. Where exactly in the boot. Thanks!

[ainal]

I've just installed hi-fi kit for e90 my2011 with professional radio. It's also coded at the dealer. The problem is that gong and pdc sounds is too low even they set the highest level. Any idea?

[Imperator]

I'm curious what amount of coding was required with the installation. I installed this in my 2010 without coding and find the gong sounds are too loud, even turned down all the way.

[malc1]

Regarding the replacement trim for the door tweeters.

My UK spec E91 330i seems to have a trim that goes right around the top of the door edge.The small triangular mounting for the new tweeter would therefore not be a separate part.

Is this full door trim with speaker grill available for the upgrade?

[richd]

Originally Posted by malc1

Is this full door trim with speaker grill available for the upgrade?

Yes, with the E90 and E91 you receive the whole door moulding, and need to replace the whole strip around the window. Easy enough to do though...

[malc1]

Thanks for the info

[jumpman23]

Originally Posted by jumpman23

Can someone post a pic. of the amplifier installed. Where exactly in the boot. Thanks!

Anyone care to share where they placed the Amp...thanks!

[script]

Its in the pdf on the very first page

[tyorll]

Originally Posted by jumpman23

Anyone care to share where they placed the Amp...thanks!

It goes in the bootwell. Plenty of photos of the amp in position in this thread.


Installed this kit on my 135i today. It has done wonders to improve my audio experience. My fingers aren't loving me though after all the work with panels and wires.

[mv57]

Hey all.

Would firstly like to say thank you to everyone that has posted up on this thread. Been reading most of the alpine upgrade discussions on the website and have bitten the bullet.

Today i have had fitted the upgrade kit. My car is a 2007 E92 320d m sport, professional nav system, dab radio with others that have less relevance to this oh yes and the ipod connection in the glove box.

Sound wise it is a huge improvement. The cabin is filled with sound whereas previously it was struggling. The stereo image is far better than the stock, percussion especially moves around the car now, I had a 2 hr journey and got to listen to many artists/songs.

Reactivate 9 (acid trance) bass was not tight it struggled a bit.
Faithless. Again bass was swamped a bit in the car. Nearly turned the low end down.
Foo fighters. Worked well and had a good balance.
Chopin. Clear with strings coming into the mix nicely.
Elton john was also a good sound. Body of music finally on the dash board and not in the footwell.
Bob dylan. abandoned love was a great track to play.
Dr. Dre and Eminem. Badly digitally compressed files i hope.

Anyway to stop waffling I am very happy. Dave at safe n sound, Croydon did the install for me, so the photos are of his work and not mine.

Oh yeah and the foam to stop the wind roar in the tweeters Dave cut out the original foam pads that were in the car into shape.

The boot floor is at its original hight.

Cheers again for all your input in the past. Tomorrow a 3 hr trip to liverpool. Sweet.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Okay, just read this entire thread and am STILL confused by one thing: there are two part numbers for this kit, one is "Pre 3/09" and one is "Post 3/09" but I'm unsure what that actually means.

If my car's build date is 2/10, do I have to use the Post 3/09 kit? Or can I use the Pre 3/09 kit, as long as I follow the Pre 3/09 instructions, which are slightly different (basically regarding amp switch position and whether or not the head unit needs recoding)?

To make matters more confusing, all of the vendors I've seen selling this kit seem to be advertising the OLD part number (Pre 3/09)...so I'm not sure where to even find the Post 3/09 kit (perhaps only dealers).


Part Numbers for Reference:

Pre 3/09: 65410445684
Post 3/09: 65412163268

[Em135eye]

So for the layman like me, can I order the parts and get my local ICE installer to fit it? Or can I get them to order direct?

Not into trying myself but quite keen on this. Mine is a late 06 335d Touring.

[mv57]

I think I read somewhere that the post 09 also involves a bit of software recoding. Will try and find the thread

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by mv57

I think I read somewhere that the post 09 also involves a bit of software recoding. Will try and find the thread

Yeah, I have the instructions for the later kit, and it does require recoding.

My question is more whether or not the newer kit must be used with newer vehicles, or if the newer vehicles can use the older kit as well. In other words, does the pre- or post-3/09 designation refer to the vehicle build date or the kit production date?

Looking more closely at the instructions, it says "BMW 1 Series built after 3/09," so I'm thinking one must use the newer kit with newer vehicles.

Anyone out there have a 3/09 or later build and older Alpine retrofit kit?

[the_rangdo]

It does indeed, I thought I'd make an enquiry at the local dealers about getting it fitted.

£400-ish for parts, 2 hours labour and 1 hour for re-coding. So about £850 all-in

Mine's a 2010 E91

[Imperator]

Originally Posted by Bimmer-Bob

Yeah, I have the instructions for the later kit, and it does require recoding.

My question is more whether or not the newer kit must be used with newer vehicles, or if the newer vehicles can use the older kit as well. In other words, does the pre- or post-3/09 designation refer to the vehicle build date or the kit production date?

Looking more closely at the instructions, it says "BMW 1 Series built after 3/09," so I'm thinking one must use the newer kit with newer vehicles.

Anyone out there have a 3/09 or later build and older Alpine retrofit kit?

I'm using the older-revision Alpine retrofit kit on a 12/09 build U.S. car with the stereo audio system. I'm under the impression that both part numbers use the same exact amplifier and speakers; the only significant difference is the use of a cut-and-splice harness on the older kit. The newer kit includes a plug-and-play harness specifically designed for 3/09+ build cars that can utilize the 4-pin branch audio connector under the seats.

I have not seen any requirement of coding to use this kit. If such a coding option is available, it might address speaker load sensing on the head unit or retune the EQ curve to provide better tonal balance with the addition of tweeters.

[mv57]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

So for the layman like me, can I order the parts and get my local ICE installer to fit it? Or can I get them to order direct?

Not into trying myself but quite keen on this. Mine is a late 06 335d Touring.

I got Dave to buy and install it for £460 ish.

[Bimmer-Bob]

Just ordered the new kit as my dealer quoted ~260 Euro (VAT inclusive) for the install. Not sure what the re-coding is all about, but if it eliminates the processing that the head unit is doing I figure that's a good thing. Plus the new wiring harness looks much simpler and is probably more compatible with the wiring of my car.

I figure the old kit is good for folks that can do their own installs as it won't require coding (or for those taking the car to an audio specialist for that matter) but since I'm taking the car to the dealer anyway, I figured there was no reason not to get the newer kit.

I just really wish they weren't so mysterious about why the car needs re-coding - I'd like to know exactly what they're doing to my car...

[Em135eye]

Originally Posted by mv57

I got Dave to buy and install it for £460 ish.

I'd be more than happy to pay that sort of money.

Sadly Dave is about 4 million miles from me.