# BMW 540i e39 install



## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

Hello all,

I actually did this install about 6 months ago and I'm finally getting around to posting the pictures of the install!

Here's the list of equipment:

Alpine PDX-4.150
Alpine PDX-1.1000
Alpine SWX-1043D
Alpine SPX-17PRO
Alpine PXA-H650

Yes, all Alpine. I work at a stereo shop and Alpine was nice enough to sell me the stuff for less than dealer cost!

First, here's the car:










2001 540i 6-speed with the sport package

Anyway, lets start with the amp and processor install.

Before:









Took out the factory amp and made an amprack from 16g steel:









Painted:









with the h650 and starting the wiring:









with the amps and some old crossovers that i used for the factory speakers. It actually sounded pretty good like this:











I don't have a picture but it all fits behind the factory panel. Thats it for the amps. Next will be the speakers.


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

So for the speakers i wanted to use a 6.5" to get some decent midbass (although the speaker choice limited that, but more on that later).

For those of you who know this car, the factory 5.25 sits in a plastic speakerpod that quite frankly sucks, so i decided to ditch that and make a panel to seal up the door.

First some dynamat:









then I cut an MDF panel in the shape of the factory pod and taped it up for some fiberglass.









after some fiberglass:









then some dynamat:









then the speaker:









I also molded the huge tweeter into the panel here... sorry no pictures of the process.


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## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

Looking nice, any complaints about the noise floor on the PDX's?


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

The PDX amps are great for what they are: small and very powerful. However they are not HiFi amps, they have some noise and they aren't the most dynamic. The power is perhaps a little overrated as well. Anyway, nothing else can fit in that spot that is significantly better, so I used them and I'm pretty happy with the sound overall.


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

cool install, well integrated and I bet hardly anyone can tell its had work done! Stealth plus.


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

ok so now for the sub box.

used the factory passenger side panel for a mold:









6 layers of fiberglass and some trimming









Again. i got lazy and didn't take process pictures but there is the finished product:


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## Digital 300 (Aug 10, 2009)

Very good job on your door, I like it!


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## Riken (Mar 19, 2006)

very nice!


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## Ghosterix (Jan 24, 2009)

nice work


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## Dooby357 (Feb 2, 2009)

Man I miss my E39, way better than my rover


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## Goindef154 (Apr 26, 2008)

I love those A-pillars and the enclosure in the trunk.


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## rotator (May 2, 2009)

Any alternator whine? I can't seem to get rid of mine - 2001 e39 M5. Tried about 7 different ground locations. Moved the amp from above the spare tire well to beneath the parcel shelf. I like the sub box idea - same as bimmerbox. Unfortunately there are a few items where that recess makes sense.


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

rotator said:


> Any alternator whine?


Every once in a while I catch the faintest sound of alternator whine, but nothing that I can hear on a regular basis. I've installed a few of these H650s and I've never gotten whine from them, they do a pretty good job at noise isolation. FWIW the ground on the H650 is the factory amp ground and the amps are grounded on one of the bols that hold the rear bumper on...


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## DATCAT (Aug 3, 2009)

Are you planning to wrap the sub box? Looks good.


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## tim85 (May 27, 2009)

nice work !


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

Thank you for all the good comments!

So while the system sounds good, I'm just not 100% happy with it. Not quite loud enough, not much room to tweak with the h650. I just need more everything, so it looks like i'll be taking everything out and starting over again. here's a sneak peak of the new equipment:










Any guesses what else I'm putting in?


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## d5sc (Aug 14, 2007)

That's a very nice and clean install! It sounds like the second version of (re)install be even better...

I have the same car (year) but it's boring titanium silver and a slushbox. There are other E39 owners on here, too, with some really nice systems.


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## d5sc (Aug 14, 2007)

That's a very nice and clean install! It sounds like the second version the (re)install will be even better...

I have the same car (year) but it's boring titanium silver and a slushbox. There are other E39 owners on here, too, with some really nice systems like yours.


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## bafukie (Nov 23, 2007)

focal be coming?


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

"clean & understated" looking amps for a "clean & understated" car... nice match up.


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

So I got a little work done this weekend. The new equipment is all Focal...

The list:

Focal FP Dual Monitor
Focal FP 1.800
Focal FP 2.75
Focal 165KRX3
Focal 130KR
Focal 33KX

For the last few weeks I've been trying some locations for the tweeter and the mid, and i decided to put them on the A-Pillar. Focal Gives you some really nice mid and tweet pods that make it super easy to put them somewhere custom.

Grille cloth and some resin:

















Marglass and some lightweight filler.









In the car no grill









With grill









The midbass for the krx3 were about a 1/2" deeper than the alpines... had to remake the baffle and cut the door panel to fit them:

old vs new inner door:

















The ugly, cut door panel. I really need to make some new grills.










I still am trying to decide where to put the huge focal amps. The new install will not be nearly as stealth as the old one that for sure. BTW everything from the old setup is for sale. I'm going to post it in the classifieds as soon as i get to 50 posts, but if you want anything before then, PM me.


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## E60M5Straw (Aug 9, 2009)

E39,
Very nice install. I have an E60 M5 and want to upgrade the audio system. Did you use the OEM head unit or install a new unit? Are you using a processor to take the high level outputs from the factiry amp and then convert them to RCA's? I'm thinking of using the Focal 165KRX2's for the front stage, and I'm thinking of installing them in a Kick panel, professionally installed, any advice wold be appreciated. Or do you prefer a door mount for the mid bass? Two 10 inch subs in a sealed box placed in the trunk. Did you vent the subs in the trunk to the main cabin?

JDS


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## thegeedwun (Jan 21, 2010)

lbc240 said:


> The ugly, cut door panel. I really need to make some new grills.


lbc - do you have any finished pictures with the door grills? trying to decide what to do with my classic mbq 3 way components.

tia!


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## vwtoby (Oct 28, 2005)

so the big question is......do you like the new gear better??


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## roysav (May 21, 2008)

looks well smart.any progress with doors??


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## thegeedwun (Jan 21, 2010)

i really would love to see the end pix. in the meantime, here is what i decided to do with my old skool MBQ's. tweets are in the old mid spot


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Very nice job, good integration. My little brother has an '01 540 sport package and sometime this year we're going to do something to it though I'm not sure what yet...


Jeremy


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## dwaynecherokee (Feb 19, 2010)

Looking good. Can't wait to start on mine!


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

thegeedwun said:


> i really would love to see the end pix. in the meantime, here is what i decided to do with my old skool MBQ's. tweets are in the old mid spot


cant get more stock looking than that,great job


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## roysav (May 21, 2008)

like them doors mate,did you bond rings in for the speakers or mount to the fibre??


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## thegeedwun (Jan 21, 2010)

thanks folks 

to answer the q - i made a one-piece mounting plate, .25" backing board and .5" trim piece. cut holes in the trim exact size of factory grills and ground them out until the grills fit. 

pix of the trunk:


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## guisar (Nov 20, 2007)

I started to dig into my E39 540 last weekend and found it very difficult to work in- the dash and door wiring in particular seemed to demand the car be gutted before wires could be snaked. 

How did you handle the wiring for the door speakers? There's a small OEM wiring boot which is to small to run any decent wires and didn't seem to be any convenient way to run new wires. Getting to the OEM boot seems to require actually removing the door. Did you drill new holes from inside the kickpanels and run wires through a new boot or just use the OEM wiring?

Space in the dash was also VERY cramped and difficult to snake, impossible from what I could see on the driver's side without removing the steering wheel and dash. How did you handle this?

Great log btw-


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## timmay77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Any updates on this? I am working on my E39 M5, would like some ideas.....


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## jvr826 (Jan 8, 2010)

ganesht said:


> are you guys using pin #2 (the white wire) for the remote turn on? im having some issues with my setup...
> 
> Amp Install - Remote Turn On - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum


I had a '99 528i that I added an amp to. I don't recall it being on all the time, but then again I'd say 100% of the time I rolled with the tunes on. My '99 was just standard audio, no navi.

I do know that nav equipped E39's and E46's (have one now) do power on the amp all the time as the instructions from the nav are piped thru the audio system. You don't have navi do you?

I know there was a change to the system between '99 and '02 as I had an '02 530i as well. In the '99 the front mid-bass drivers were DVC. One was used for sound system duty, the other was for cell phone duty. In '02, at least with my navi equipped '02, the mid-bass were SVC and the cell phone audio went thru the audio system. 

The white wire is the correct wire in the 12-pin connector for non-DSP equipped cars. I'm not familiar with the DSP version as both of my E39's were ordered specifically with the standard sound system because I knew I'd upgrade them and wanted to keep it simple.


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## ganesht (Oct 13, 2008)

jvr826 said:


> I had a '99 528i that I added an amp to. I don't recall it being on all the time, but then again I'd say 100% of the time I rolled with the tunes on. My '99 was just standard audio, no navi.
> 
> I do know that nav equipped E39's and E46's (have one now) do power on the amp all the time as the instructions from the nav are piped thru the audio system. You don't have navi do you?
> 
> ...


it was my cd53 that was bad =/

my cars front left mid bass was also dvc, car was prewired for the cellphone..


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## w211_ryda (Sep 13, 2011)

Awesome job on the door panels! Looks stock!


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## thegeedwun (Jan 21, 2010)

timmay77 said:


> Any updates on this? I am working on my E39 M5, would like some ideas.....


sorry for the late response. you are correct. I ended up sacrificing on the wiring and using the OEM stuff (as small as it is). My x-overs are in the trunk behind the driver's side sub box. active x-over is there also.

about running the wires - if you do run wires, I would suggest running via the door jams and behind the back seat. You would have to remove the seat but this is easy. Otherwise you could try under the center console. I did this for my signal wires but regretted it since the space is tight and good RCA cables are bulky. It did all fit in the end and you cannot see them under the carpet since it is so rigid.

PS - i just finished the drivers side door a few weeks ago - and it looks even better :-D. I did a better job so that the face of the box is more flush with the door instead of recessed. I will probably build up the face on the one you see in the pix for the same more uniform profile.


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## jpeezy (Feb 5, 2012)

rotator said:


> Any alternator whine? I can't seem to get rid of mine - 2001 e39 M5. Tried about 7 different ground locations. Moved the amp from above the spare tire well to beneath the parcel shelf. I like the sub box idea - same as bimmerbox. Unfortunately there are a few items where that recess makes sense.


Is it coming from all speakers or ones that you are not using? Did same body style many years ago and did not use factory rear fill(rear doors?)anyway,traced noise to a factory tweeter in left rear door,that wasn't even connected! The twister wire was acting just like a microphone pickup,I just shorted the wires together and noise was all gone. Good luck


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## jpeezy (Feb 5, 2012)

Very nice job on one of my absolute favorite body styles,I posted an m5 I did some time ago,the customer was very strident about not seeing a whole lot inside, but the trunk is another story. I think it was under test,m5 or something like that.anyway really nice work!


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## jpeezy (Feb 5, 2012)

Test: M5,didn't use factory head


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## robdridan (Oct 31, 2010)

lbc240 said:


> So I got a little work done this weekend. The new equipment is all Focal...
> 
> The list:
> 
> ...


Did you have any issues with the fibreglass sticking to the focal pods- mine have a rubber coating on the plastic and not sure if i need to remove that somehow? I'm going ot do a pillar with the pods also


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

Sorry everyone for abandoning this thread. It was about another year before I actually finished it, and by then I forgot about this. Here are some final pictures of the new system:










































One of the reasons I'm back on here is that I'm selling the car and so I'll have all of the equipment for sale too.


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

robdridan said:


> Did you have any issues with the fibreglass sticking to the focal pods- mine have a rubber coating on the plastic and not sure if i need to remove that somehow? I'm going ot do a pillar with the pods also


Since I wrapped the cloth around the front, it was sandwiched in between the pod and the front panel for the pod. That means it doesn't really have to stick to the pod to remain sealed


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

So what is going to replace this, and will there also be a system installed ?


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

Coppertone said:


> So what is going to replace this, and will there also be a system installed ?


A-pillars back to stock, put the type-x components back in the front with a cheap clarion 4 channel to power them, and some spare coaxials in the rear. It's actually still way better than factory


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## jpeezy (Feb 5, 2012)

diggin the old school MB Quart, havent seen a three way in ages! love the car, really nice work. I still prefer the older 5's with the midbass in the kick. but your body style is my favorite.thanks for sharing.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Lol, I'm sorry I meant what are you going to replace the. BMW with...


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

How is the midbass in such configuration?
Also, did you close your eyes on those A pillar air bags?

Thanks.


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## lbc240 (Mar 1, 2008)

Coppertone said:


> Lol, I'm sorry I meant what are you going to replace the. BMW with...


I'm thinking a 2005+ Xterra, but i'm still not 100% sure



Mless5 said:


> How is the midbass in such configuration?
> Also, did you close your eyes on those A pillar air bags?


 The angle that the airbag comes out is towards the side window, so I convinced myself that the speaks in that location wouldn't interfere with the airbag in any meaningful way. The midbass was good, but only because I went overkill. It is certainly not an optimal position, but it was more convenient than any alternatives I could think of.


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