# 2008 Mini Cooper



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

This is my 2nd revision of the stereo in this car. Previous stereo took too much power out of my small electrical system, and I put wayyy too much sound deadening material to try make the car quieter. For how much i used, there was always noise coming from somewhere... and i think i must have added 100lb+ too this car. NOT WORTH IT. But other then that it sounded fine, except for the few pops and whines it made lol. I am not a professional installer and only do this as a hobby. If you have any advice to what I am doing please feel free to jump in! 

New System Goals:
1)Cut down on weight
-remove sound deadening material and MLV
2)Boost Efficiency
-efficient amplification, fewer watts 
3)Improve SQ 
-imaging, distortion, pops, whines 

Gear:
Headunit- Stock
Processor- Alpine PXE-h650
AMP(s)- Kenwood Excelon xr-4s (120w x4 @4ohm) & xr-1s (700w x1 @2ohm)
Front Stage- CDT PSS-626i, w/ CDT ES-010 as image tweet, passive for now
Rear Fill: CDT M6+ as midbass 
Sub: Currently IDQ12v3d4 
Wire: All KnuKonceptz, 4g split into 8g power & ground to each amp. 16g speaker wire, Krystal RCA cables. 









The Ride:


----------



## cleung (Feb 11, 2010)

nice, how do you like that alpine processor?


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

havent stared the build yet!  will post pics and mini reviews as i go


----------



## Arthurk (Feb 10, 2009)

Here ya go!
Mini Cooper Wall Thread, Version 2 - The Forum


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

DAY 1: Tear Down
















































































Took at least 25lbs of mlv/deadener out of each door. very happy about that! The last pic of the door you can see what is left, i just did a single layer of bxtII. Didnt get pics of all the old gear, not that it matters.


----------



## ebrahim (Sep 21, 2009)

I just wanna know how does the car drive? I am curious and I was wondering if the car is worth what they retail for.

Thank you.



twosevennine said:


> This is my 2nd revision of the stereo in this car. Previous stereo took too much power out of my small electrical system, and I put wayyy too much sound deadening material to try make the car quieter. For how much i used, there was always noise coming from somewhere... and i think i must have added 100lb+ too this car. NOT WORTH IT. But other then that it sounded fine, except for the few pops and whines it made lol. I am not a professional installer and only do this as a hobby. If you have any advice to what I am doing please feel free to jump in!
> 
> New System Goals:
> 1)Cut down on weight
> ...


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

Well, its BMW engineering... hard to beat. I love the car. Hauls ass you would be surprised! Just remember the car was designed to be light weight, so its a little noisy compared to say an actual BMW.


----------



## ebrahim (Sep 21, 2009)

I wonder if this car can handle "Transporter" driving without loosing it. I am just curious because you never know I may get one later on in life.





twosevennine said:


> Well, its BMW engineering... hard to beat. I love the car. Hauls ass you would be surprised! Just remember the car was designed to be light weight, so its a little noisy compared to say an actual BMW.


----------



## sinister mob (Jan 11, 2010)

ebrahim said:


> I wonder if this car can handle "Transporter" driving without loosing it. I am just curious because you never know I may get one later on in life.


Rent _The Italian Job_. Enough said.

That garage looks fun to play in....


----------



## ebrahim (Sep 21, 2009)

Saw the movie and loved the driving scenes.



sinister mob said:


> Rent _The Italian Job_. Enough said.
> 
> That garage looks fun to play in....


----------



## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

ebrahim said:


> I just wanna know how does the car drive? I am curious and I was wondering if the car is worth what they retail for.
> 
> Thank you.


Mini's are great little cars. More suited to the lovely twisty roads of Europe Noisy, but you're grinning all the way!

In 2003 my friend and I AVERAGED 120mph in a trip from La Harve (north coast of France) to our hotel in the centre of Barcelona (North of Spain)-903miles of foot to the floor fun. That was in the standard S- I now have the Works S with an extra 50bhp on tap. For reference that's quicker than the Forumla 1 cars average the Hungaro Ring

I'm 6'4", weigh about 210lbs and have a bad back from playing Rugby (like American Football, but played by men) and when we got to Barcelona we almost got back into the car to see if we could beat the time back!


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

New setup: 

Headunit- Stock
Processor- Alpine PXE-h650 (potentially new H-660)
AMP(s)- Kenwood Excelon xr-4s (120w x4 @4ohm) & xr-1s (600w x1 @4ohm)
Front Stage- JBL GTi-660 (40th anniversary) Fully active. 
Rear Fill: Cadence CVLW69 (6x9) as midbass... Prob will yank these out they aren't even being powered in this setup. 
Sub: Ultra Subs LV12
Wire: Shok Industries 
Sound Deadener: Cascade


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

Installing the mids: Step 1
Mids need something more then plastic as far as support goes. This piece of wood will basically act as a support barrier, completing the round hole that Mini forgot too. The ring is 3/4" think bathed in resign.


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

Installing the mids: Step 2
The mids will be mounted on the outside of the door panels, so here i did a little cutting to fit the mids.


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

Installing mids: Step 3
Another ring on top, through bolted to the back ring. So all wood, metal and plastic door card are all sandwiched together nice and tight. I sealed all seams with clay, and finished off with a closed cell foam gasket on top, so theres no leaks between door panel and ring. Hopefully this will stop all rattles in these damned doors. Next step tweeter placement...


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

Tweeter Placement: 
I wanted to try 3 different spots to see what was best. A-pillar on axis, mid-door off axis, and bottom of door off axis with wave guide. After trying all 3 locations without any eq/ta, I found using the pillars worked best for me.


----------



## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

Very nice....what are the plans for the boot??


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

miniSQ said:


> Very nice....what are the plans for the boot??


 Im going to start fiberglassing monday night


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

Some ccf/mlv under both seats, Imprint under drivers seat.


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

Oh in that first picture that is the crossover that the GTi-660 set comes with. Its just one fat ass x/o lol. Wont be using it...


----------



## astrochex (Aug 7, 2009)

Great to see another MINI install.

But question about your issues with sound deadening material. Did you use a dedicated sound blocker materials or vibration dampers? The tear-down pics appear to show mostly vibration damper materials (foil). Just wondering 'cause I have heard of other MINIs with success at quieting outside noise.

Where in SoCal are you? I'd love to hear a quality MINI install. Thanks.


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

astrochex said:


> Great to see another MINI install.
> 
> But question about your issues with sound deadening material. Did you use a dedicated sound blocker materials or vibration dampers? The tear-down pics appear to show mostly vibration damper materials (foil). Just wondering 'cause I have heard of other MINIs with success at quieting outside noise.
> 
> Where in SoCal are you? I'd love to hear a quality MINI install. Thanks.


I used lots of damper, ccf, mlv, all of it man. Its not worth getting into. IMO, best noticeable results are to use MLV in the wheel wells, spray deadener on some of the thin sheet metal underneath, 1 layer of deadener on all panels (door card, plastics, ect.) And your good to go. Anything more then that isn't worth the effort or weight. 

I live in the Antelope Valley area, go to school in Santa Clarita, and work in Hollywood. So Im all over! Thanks for the comments, I would be happy to show her off when its competed.


----------



## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

twosevennine said:


> Tweeter Placement:
> I wanted to try 3 different spots to see what was best. A-pillar on axis, mid-door off axis, and bottom of door off axis with wave guide. After trying all 3 locations without any eq/ta, I found using the pillars worked best for me.


Are they just the sound up-grade pillars? 

And the tweeters sounded good in there? 

I would have thought higher up would sound better (above binacles) but you could save me some time/effort if the original trims work well!

Thanks in advance!


----------



## astrochex (Aug 7, 2009)

twosevennine said:


> I used lots of damper, ccf, mlv, all of it man. Its not worth getting into. IMO, best noticeable results are to use MLV in the wheel wells, spray deadener on some of the thin sheet metal underneath, 1 layer of deadener on all panels (door card, plastics, ect.) And your good to go. Anything more then that isn't worth the effort or weight.
> 
> I live in the Antelope Valley area, go to school in Santa Clarita, and work in Hollywood. So Im all over! Thanks for the comments, I would be happy to show her off when its competed.


OK, that answers my question. I'm still gonna give SS luxury liner products a shot though, since I have heard nothing but positive reviews.

I look forward to the road trip when you're ready.


----------



## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

twosevennine said:


> IMO, best noticeable results are to use MLV in the wheel wells, spray deadener on some of the thin sheet metal underneath, 1 layer of deadener on all panels (door card, plastics, ect.) And your good to go. Anything more then that isn't worth the effort or weight.


For the wheel wells, was that MLV on the outside? (underneath the felt?)
Road noise on the MCS with run-flats is definitely obnoxious.


----------



## chilisport (May 26, 2010)

splicer said:


> For the wheel wells, was that MLV on the outside? (underneath the felt?)
> Road noise on the MCS with run-flats is definitely obnoxious.


x2. My Mini is the noisiest car I've had to work in (road noise + internal rattles). For a while, I contemplated a high-end rig, but after further consideration, realized that it would all be for naught because there's simply no taming the noise, at least not without a HUGE investment of time and money ripping the whole car apart and installing multiple sound control elements all over. In the end, I decided to use lots of power and play it loudly 

That said, I have found that SS luxury liner pro on the floor and the doors has a positive effect. My doors are now pretty solid with two full layers of deadener and SSLLPro.

Love your car - Mini's are a blast!


----------



## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

chilisport said:


> x2. My Mini is the noisiest car I've had to work in (road noise + internal rattles). For a while, I contemplated a high-end rig, but after further consideration, realized that it would all be for naught because there's simply no taming the noise, at least not without a HUGE investment of time and money ripping the whole car apart and installing multiple sound control elements all over. In the end, I decided to use lots of power and play it loudly
> 
> That said, I have found that SS luxury liner pro on the floor and the doors has a positive effect. My doors are now pretty solid with two full layers of deadener and SSLLPro.
> 
> Love your car - Mini's are a blast!


I agree...i am trying to get mine to sound great at full volume with the windows down


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

The Baron Groog said:


> Are they just the sound up-grade pillars?
> 
> And the tweeters sounded good in there?
> 
> ...


lower in the a-pillars is best, if you put them higher up then you would have to use more T/A because the distances from left to right tweeter are greater to your ears. Lower in the pillars works fantastic, even without TA. They key to pillars is aiming.


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

splicer said:


> For the wheel wells, was that MLV on the outside? (underneath the felt?)
> Road noise on the MCS with run-flats is definitely obnoxious.[/QUOTE
> 
> Underneath the felt.


----------



## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Updates?


----------



## ebrahim (Sep 21, 2009)

My people in the UK told me they are a car for girls ONLY. In Florida if a guy drives this car people automatically think you are gay.



The Baron Groog said:


> Mini's are great little cars. More suited to the lovely twisty roads of Europe Noisy, but you're grinning all the way!
> 
> In 2003 my friend and I AVERAGED 120mph in a trip from La Harve (north coast of France) to our hotel in the centre of Barcelona (North of Spain)-903miles of foot to the floor fun. That was in the standard S- I now have the Works S with an extra 50bhp on tap. For reference that's quicker than the Forumla 1 cars average the Hungaro Ring
> 
> I'm 6'4", weigh about 210lbs and have a bad back from playing Rugby (like American Football, but played by men) and when we got to Barcelona we almost got back into the car to see if we could beat the time back!


----------



## el_chupo_ (May 27, 2007)

ebrahim said:


> My people in the UK told me they are a car for girls ONLY. In Florida if a guy drives this car people automatically think you are gay.


cool story, thanks for posting.


----------



## English audiophile (Sep 25, 2010)

I have to admit that I only know one male who drives one of these and that's my brother when he borrows his wifes car. I don't know why but it is seen as a womans car here, still would not stop me from getting one if I wanted to though but I would probably get a Fiat...The limited edition Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari

Back to the original thread.....looking forward to seeing the end result


----------



## The Baron Groog (Mar 15, 2010)

ebrahim said:


> My people in the UK told me they are a car for girls ONLY. In Florida if a guy drives this car people automatically think you are gay.



Your "people in the UK"-who are you-Tony Montana? 

In Florida that's because they've taken enough care of their body to fit in it-what do you drive? A Hummer? lol


----------



## derickveliz (May 15, 2009)

*Subscribed.*


----------



## twosevennine (Jun 30, 2009)

Sorry guys Ive been lagging on the updates. Pioneer avic-z130, new Hertz HDP amps, Audison bit10d, Ultra Subs lv12 soon to come!


----------



## Eastman474 (Jan 8, 2010)

twosevennine said:


> Sorry guys Ive been lagging on the updates. Pioneer avic-z130, new Hertz HDP amps, Audison bit10d, Ultra Subs lv12 soon to come!


Can't wait to see/hear it all


----------



## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Updates?


----------



## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Looking good so far! In for progress 



ebrahim said:


> My people in the UK told me they are a car for girls ONLY. In Florida if a guy drives this car people automatically think you are gay.


I must be Elton John then! Please don't tell my fiancee!


----------



## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

chilisport said:


> That said, I have found that SS luxury liner pro on the floor and the doors has a positive effect. My doors are now pretty solid with two full layers of deadener and SSLLPro.


Do you have the Luxury Liner Pro actually *inside the door*, or between the inner metal and the door card?


----------



## InjunV18 (Jun 16, 2008)

Anyone chime in that knows and correct me where I'm mistaken... 

Mini stock headunit sends a signal to factory amp

Factory amp to speakers

Question: Is the signal from the stock headunit balanced or unbalanced, high level or low level? 

twosevenine, I guess you're taking high level inputs to the Alpine piece? Just wondering about aftermarket to factory integration in this vehicle

Thanks!


----------



## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Do you have HK or not? If you have HK it's optical. If you have the standard it's balanced low-level. Just like newer BMWs. Factory integration with HK is a pain in the ass. With the standard audio it's a walk in the park.


----------



## CLK63DK (Nov 20, 2010)

quality_sound said:


> Do you have HK or not? If you have HK it's optical. If you have the standard it's balanced low-level. Just like newer BMWs. Factory integration with HK is a pain in the ass. With the standard audio it's a walk in the park.


IF it is HK it is MOST = you can use a Mobridge adaptor and get a 6 ch. lineout that is controllable from your headunit.

IF it is standard you can connect to the X9331 connector in the drivers footwell for a high level signal.

There are no low level signals in a new Mini.


----------



## InjunV18 (Jun 16, 2008)

Thanks... it's a 2011 Cooper S with standard audio, no HK. I wonder who's right here...


----------



## Brasil (Apr 3, 2009)

Here’s a link to R56(newer hatchback) speaker upgrades, same speakers as R55 (clubman):

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...nt-how-to.html

here’s a link to using processors in a MINI—see AaronMabe’s posts at the bottom: 
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...sible-now.html

here’s a link to a place with aftermarket harnesses(though I did not use these):

http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...uctshow&id=469


sound deadening in a MINI: see Shutterbug’s summary at the bottom of page 1:
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...-worth-it.html


----------



## CLK63DK (Nov 20, 2010)

Regarding MOST, check out the Dension Gateway 500 installation manual.
Your Mini is MOST (just as mine 2007 is)...


----------

