nice_camel_toe

Thanks this is exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks to you too.

I don't think I will have a hard time getting sound into the cabin with 2 10"s and with the amp pushing ~200w each sub. It looks very easy considering everthing IS in the trunk. I will post pics once installed. I will go with the High to low level converter first since it is cheaper and seems to work fine for you guys.

rjcastr

good luck with your install in all honesty i cant even begin to imagine there would be no rattling in that trunk,and for bass waves to go through 2 gromets, the distortion from hitting all the pannels can't possibly make it a good quality sound, but its all about what makes us happy, perhaps im very picky about my sounds. SQ alll the way

tconner

Agree with all replies, LOC, Subs in Trunk, all on the right track, here is how I did it.
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=39135
Cheers, Ted

Kellywb

Oh ya well aware that the 6.5" is custom it get in the doors. I am at the point of fiberglass with some MDF it get a sealed enclosure and know it will come out but there is room. I spent a lot of time trying to fit kicks but with the dead pedal it just won't work. I worked with horns but still need a 7" in the doors. I am still looking for some one who has done the doors to see how far I have to come out.

Kelly

acribb

You can hear rattling of the side panels slightly from outside the car, but then again, my amp is only a 250W JL driving one 12.

KU530

Alright time for stereo 101.

First things first if you are using a sealed enclosure don't worry about the seats not folding down or having a ski pass. Now on the flip side if you choose to use a ported enclosure then you are gonna want to find a way to put sound in cabin. The first thing you need to consider is what type of system you are looking for. Are you a bass head or into SQ. Know most sq builders such as my self and countless others use a seal enclosure because of its accuracy. Ported enclosures clearly get louder thus why spl comepitors use them.

OK so you have decide you want and sq car. My first suggestion would be to find a sub that would work well with your application, budget and goal. Find an amp that will power said sub. The very first thing that you need to do before you install any sub in any trunk of any car is sound deading. Strip the trunk down. place sound deadedner on all metal surfaces. don't for get the back of your license plate. This will eliminate the rattle issue. I suggest that you put it on both sides of the parcel deck.

Now for those of you who still don't believe that the sound will travel into the cabin you can take the next step. Remove the rear speakers. The trunk is vented toward the seat you will see many triangle shaped holes. Now before you ask why would I wan to take out my rear speakers? Well it is very simple unless you are building a theater in your car no need for rears. Put it this way when you are at a concert the music does not come from behind you know does it? It is all about staging and imaging. The music should sound as if the band is on the middle of the hood.

The nice thing about the E60 is that BMW did find good speaker placement so that average joe can enjoy a great sound stage.

nice_camel_toe

Thanks for the info...i'm not new to the car audio scene but new to the bmw scene. My first experience with a bmw is my girlfriends at the time(wife now) had a E36 and we installed 2 MTX blue thunder 12's powered by a mtx 75BT in there with a Kenwood MASK head unit. Pretty cool cuz we won 5 place out of 16 people for our first DB competition. People thought we were cheating cuz the amp was soo small 11"x8" platform pushing 2 12's hitting like 139-141DB's(if I remember it was 7 years ago).

Anyways I just wanted to put my subs that I took out of my 05 STI and put in my 530i. I too like the sound of a sealed box; more accurate relative to vented and bandpass design and better power handling. I am not looking to win SQ comps or DB comps either...just wanted more low end when cruising. I don't think I will have a problem hearing them in the cabin without taking out my rear speakers as the subs are receiving ~200 watts each.

Thanks for the help everyone...they will be installed this Friday but here are some faux installed pics to share.

acribb

Here is the wiring harness diagram for the standard U,S. sound out of the puny amp in the trunk on the left. Just tap into this and you're good to go. I'm in the process of replacing the stock amp. I already have a JL 250/1 12w3 combo in the trunk. I'll post pics once complete.

remote turn on: white/violet stripe
left line level from head unit: negative(-) black/violet stripe postive(+) black/red stripe
right line level from head unit: negative(-) black/brown stripe postive(+) black/white stripe
left speaker level output from amp: negative(-) red/white stripe postive(+) brown/yellow stripe
right speaker level output from amp: negative(-) red/blue stripe postive(+) brown/white stripe
power: big red wire
ground: big brown wire

nice_camel_toe

Thanks acribb...couple of questions...just got it installed today and my buddy said when he tried to test the right speaker level output from the amp that the tweeters where making noise...so instead of tapping into the amp he tapped into the right rear speaker for the LOC did you have this problem?

Also the remote wire...when the car is turn off and 1 min passes by the car makes a noise like the locks actuate...does your amp turn back on? I believe the remote turn on "turns on" every time the "dome" light goes on. Did you notice this in your install?

acribb

I now have a 2 amp setup for the bass in my car. One amp drives the OEM subs under the front seats and one amp, the JL 250/1 drives a 12" sub in the trunk.

The amp, a cheap Profile AP600, 83 bucks shipped on eBay, 100w x 2 stereo, drives the OEM subs. I tapped into the wiring harness that was connected to the puny sub amplifier, having a size of about 4"W x 4"L x 2"D, on the left hand side of the trunk. I took the line level signals and fed them into the Profile. Hooked speaker wires from the output of the Profile to the speaker wires in the wiring harness feeding the factory subs. Passed the line level signal output of the Profile on to the JL.

The remote wire works great. It stays on a few minutes after you exit the car and then turns off. It also comes on if you open the trunk, unlock the doors, etc. Again, it shuts off in a few minutes, maybe 5 at the most. I've never had a dead battery. It works exactly the same as the factory sub amp did previously in regards to turning on and off. I split the remote wire to feed both amps.

Car sounds great now. Be careful with the factory subs. They will blow easy, i'm sure. I had to turn the gain way down on the Profile to keep them from popping. I will replace them eventually, but it's such a pain to remove the seats.