# BMW 740i starting to get some audio love...:)



## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Given that the weather has not been cooperating for the last few days, and I have been swamped with work, I finally got a chance to get some work done on the AV install. Started with the trunk buildup.

The trunk will house an amp rack with 3 amps (Arc FD4150, Arc FD600.1 and a US Acoustics USB 4085). The DSP amp and the CD changer come out, and in their place, I'll be building some MDF contraptions to mount my CarPC, the RF 3Sixty.2, CDC Aux interface, the wireless router, RGsB adapter...and a couple of other things.

I need to house my Blue Sea fuse boxes, a couple of relays etc and these will go in the space "around" the spare tire. In that area you have two ABS plastic pieces that form the base around the spare tire, and the carpet fits into that. The two pieces have been junked, which gives me about 2" of space to work with. The whole trunk will be getting a new carpeted floor.

As it looks right now..




























All of that extra wiring hanging off to the side, while working..


















Ewww...dirty!



















Ahhh...nice and clean after a bit of Simple Green and a scrub..


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Now, I have spent HOURS knocking on all panels in the car (on the floor, doors, trunk etc) and while everything is SOLID, there's a few minor areas that could be improved. And that too only because the audio system now will have a lot more power than stock, so I wanted to make sure that things are dampened. Especially the trunk as it will be getting two 10" subs....









Lowes to the rescue! This is Frost King duct insulation from Lowes. It comes as a 12" x 15' roll for around $15. It's a closed cell foam substrate with a fairly thick aluminum foil backing, and is self adhesive. The adhesive is not that great, but since it's not going on any vertical surfaces (yet), I'm not too worried. I used aluminum tape where things might get a lil loose.



















That's about all I got done todat. 

The CDC is coming out. And so is the DSP amp. In place of the CDC goes the DF-BMW aux interface which has two aux inputs. One will be used for the CarPC, and the other will be hooked to the wiring in the cabin (wires already in place).

Still playing with the layout of the amp rack, but I think it's in my head now. These PPI passive crossovers won't be needed, now that I have the 3Sixty. And one MORE amp (for the rear doors) added to the mix. Will be running active for the front stage and subs, and potentially passive for the rear doors (but time aligned, delayed with the Haas effect, L-R and R-L summed signals).



















To be continued.....


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## bayer (Apr 29, 2009)

cant wait to see what gets done on this one.. BMW's have always given me a half chubby., so do car pc's. That duct insulation is pretty interesting stuff for the price...


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

well i dont say, you got a MIGHT BIG (and flat) spare tire well there


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> well i dont say, you got a MIGHT BIG (and flat) spare tire well there


lol...I know. I toyed with the idea of junking the spare for WEEKS, but in the end, I can't lose it. We take lots of long drives (just came back from a 6000 mile run cross country), and no spare could be VERY inconvenient...

The amp rack will basically be a flat box that will take up about half the trunk depth wise and span the whole width, and be about 3.5" high. That's the best I could come up with. 

This was the design I had originally come up with, but it has changed a bit now, as there's no crossovers there now, and a third amp will be added.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

btw Bing, your work is an INSPIRATION. Had to say it.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

what program did you use to model your diagram for the amprack and floor? i would like to get my hands on that too!


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

kapone said:


> lol...I know. I toyed with the idea of junking the spare for WEEKS, but in the end, I can't lose it. We take lots of long drives (just came back from a 6000 mile run cross country), and no spare could be VERY inconvenient...
> 
> The amp rack will basically be a flat box that will take up about half the trunk depth wise and span the whole width, and be about 3.5" high. That's the best I could come up with.
> 
> This was the design I had originally come up with, but it has changed a bit now, as there's no crossovers there now, and a third amp will be added.




Can i ask what program you used to make this?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

I needed to run a whole bunch of wiring because of all the extra stuff I'm putting in and this was done a few weeks ago when I swapped out my grey carpet for black. 

Since the carpet was out, it made it too easy. But it still took almost a day to measure, cut, wrap the wires and then route them along existing pathways in the car. Adding wiring in a 7 series is a snap! All of the existing wire channels/covers have notches on top for additional wiring.

And I ran everything along existing pathways AND under the existing wire covers, as I did not want to have any fitment issues when I start putting the carpet back.

Now, I only needed to run a few wires as such.....but since the carpet was out......







I ran a few additional, for future expansion/mods. I covered up the ends of unused wires with electrical tape and then foam over that to make sure nothing touches anything that's it's not supposed to.

The wires/harnesses that I "needed" to run:

- The paddle shfit harness (just needed to redo it and make it slightly prettier)
- A 15ft USB cable and a 2 wire power harness, behind the Nav for the DVD drive
- 10ft USB cable to the center console for the SpaceNavigator
- Subwoofer remote cable all the way next to the dimmer switch.
- 3 Wire harness to the steering wheel, for the RV camera toggle switch.

The harnesses that I added for future expansion:
- 1 Video and 2 Audio RCAs, +ve, -ve and turn on wires to the center console - For headrest monitors....if I ever decide to put them in.
- 2 Audio RCAs to the center console for Aux input
- 1 Video RCA and +ve, -ve all the way near the glovebox..for a ..front camera...just in case.








- 15ft USB, 2 wire power harness to the glovebox for the USB hub
- 1 CAT5-E to the glovebox, for a network drop.
- 2 CAT5-Es to the glovebox for switches. These will be the CarPC kill switches, and a couple of additional switches. All of these switches will basically be hooked to relays in the boot, so I'm not worried about the thin wires in the CAT-5 cables. The current running over them will be less than 250mA for any given wire, and they are rated for 1.25A at 12v.

I just used fabric/nylon tape to keep the wires in place (Hell, I aint going to IASCA or anything...  ). The carpet is so heavy that they shouldn't even budge once it's in place.










The camera toggle harness (3 wire brown) and you can see the paddle shift harness as well (yellow and purple)



















Center console area. Eevery thing was routed through the factory wire covers.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Glovebox










Harnesses and wires under the passnger seat area.










All going through the factory covers.



















Under the glovebox










Wire ties to secure things where no channels were available.










The subwoofer control cable crossing over to the center console.










All passed through the hole in the rear firewall, to the trunk area.










Trunk.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> what program did you use to model your diagram for the amprack and floor? i would like to get my hands on that too!


Google Sketchup.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Some shots after the carpet swap. Subtle two tone....





































Stock look:










After swapping in the black carpet and the new seat trims:


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Back when the carpet was swapped a few weeks ago, the stock Navigation screen was also modified. Stock, the screen has a cassette player  behind it. The cassette player was junked and the housing bent in a few strategic places to house a slot load DVD drive. The inner bezel was cut to bring the drive face out, just a tiny bit.

The cut in the Nav inner bezel, didn't quite come out right, ended up a lil bigger in a couple of places. My dremel must have been shaking. But I needed to test fit it to make sure that the opening mechanism wasn't getting snagged or anything (it doesn't. The screen opens and closes perfectly). Will take the screen out again and bondo/sand/paint that inner bezel again to fix the imperfections.



















The fabric tape is not what's holding it up...it's just for double protection. I bent the frame and drilled small holes to attach the drive. And it's a very tight friction fit to begin with, the screws and tape were probably overkill.










I even got the top cover on!







Had to bend the edges a lil bit.










The drive doesn't protrude out that much..




























This will be connected to the CarPC (obviously...). This took longer than I thought....lots of measuring and bending....


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

That interior looks so good with your color mods!!!


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## kota_sounds (Apr 21, 2008)

im really diggin the the black carpet and seat two tone, is that died or is it a new carpet?


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## diamondjoequimby (Jun 30, 2009)

I like the snow on the Lotus next to it!

Install is looking good.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

kapone said:


>


Were these done in SketchUp?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

kota_sounds said:


> im really diggin the the black carpet and seat two tone, is that died or is it a new carpet?


It's factory carpet, but had to buy it used. New is almost $1100.  I DID want the two tone, but not that much to blow $1100 on it. Got it from a car that was being parted out, for a princely sum of $75... 



diamondjoequimby said:


> I like the snow on the Lotus next to it!
> 
> Install is looking good.


lol..I know. The garage is overflowing with stuff right now, gotta clean it out and put it back in.



HondAudio said:


> Were these done in SketchUp?


Yup.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

i wish i had skills to put what i picture in my head into any kind of drawings after than a few squiggles in MSpaint lol 

keep up the good work 

b


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

I gotta learn how to use SketchUp then


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> i wish i had skills to put what i picture in my head into any kind of drawings after than a few squiggles in MSpaint lol
> 
> keep up the good work
> 
> b


Let's not talk about your "skills".... They are awesome. I only wish I could use a jigsaw a tenth as good as you. Computers, electronics, software...these all I can make em sing and dance, when it comes it jigsaws, dremel, router....I'm probably in the same league as a 5 year old.  But I'm learning. And I can oly get better... can't get much worse.

This is my everyday car and our family cruiser. Even if I screw up something during the install, I consider that "ok". I'll either fix it again, or live with some of the imperfections. This aint a competetion car.  I wish BMW would have put a slightly better audio system in a $85,000 car...


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Awww shucks...  Fitment issues. The amp rack at 24" deep won't allow the spare tire to come out (and go in) cleanly. I could wiggle it in with some finesse, but the amp rack is wood and that tire is close to 45 lbs....it could do some damage to the amp rack, if wiggled too much.

I'll have to rethink the amp rack. I can fit two of the shorter amps side by side with a board about 19.5" deep. The freakin huge FD4150 will probably need to be stacked on top of them. I measured it and the final height will end up around 5" with stacked amps... I guess that's not "too" bad, since the trunk is huge as such.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

The Yellow Car demands you bring it to me. 

Jay


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## akanoon (Aug 12, 2008)

Can wait to see the completed install. The E38 is one of my favorite cars and my favorite BMW!


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## chauss (Sep 20, 2009)

subscribed.
I want to see how this turns out.

Great job so far!
I even like the 2 tone interior (looks like my last MB) 
It does add some class to the interior. Nice touch!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

JayinMI said:


> The Yellow Car demands you bring it to me.
> 
> Jay


 That car will hopefully be getting some R&R this spring. I have had it for almost 3 years and it's been sitting in the garage ever since... Never found the time to work on it. This spring I'm hoping to give it a brakes and suspension makeover, interior makeover, minor audio system (hey it's a Lotus after all  weight counts, and with the engine behind your head, you can't hear much more as such...  ), a new exhaust and potentially a twin turbo (from the stock single turbo, right now).


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Got the amp rack layout sorted out.  Won't have to stack after all. Just had to get a bit creative, and ended up staggering the amps a bit, since only the FD4150 is the longest and the USB 4085 is the shortest.




























Right now, the side supports are 3.5" high. I need to trim them about half an inch, to reducte the overall height as such, while making sure that the amps have enough clearance and the 80mm fans can fit in the back. 3" will be perfect. All amp controls are at the front (where the removable front panel will be), so tuning/adjusting should never be a problem.


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## chauss (Sep 20, 2009)

Make sure you can still get to your spare before you get too far along..
Easy to forget when making everything fit just so.

Cheers!
Great job so far!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

chauss said:


> Make sure you can still get to your spare before you get too far along..
> Easy to forget when making everything fit just so.
> 
> Cheers!
> Great job so far!


That's exactly what I was doing today, and which is why the there's a cutout in the bottom plate of the amp rack and the amps are staggered. I had planned on a simple rectangular board, but when I test fitted in the car, the spare would not have come out. With the cutout in the board now, access to the spare is not an issue.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Here's the "planned" system diagram. 










Most everything is straight forward except for that damn rear fill signal. I'm thinking just a L-R signal, MONO, time delayed, attenuated and bandpassed, but fed to both rear fill sets should still be ok? As opposed to a stereo rear fill signal (as in L-R, and R-L), and if that's the case, can I just switch the phase of the right/left signal to make em stereo?


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## kcdonahue (Sep 27, 2008)

Sweet another BMW install in MD! Where ya at in MD? I'm up in Bel Air...

KC


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## Bmxnick101 (Dec 1, 2009)

Lookin good. Have you played with the 3sixty yet? I'm intrested in that (thinking of playing with 3 channel) I love this site. So much to learn.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Bmxnick101 said:


> Lookin good. Have you played with the 3sixty yet? I'm intrested in that (thinking of playing with 3 channel) I love this site. So much to learn.


Not yet.  Will start wiring in a couple of days.


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## DaPhenom07 (Dec 12, 2009)

DAT said:


> Can i ask what program you used to make this?


thats a pretty impressive layout you made. what program is that? i gotta get my hands on it haha


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Didn't get a whole lot done in the last two days, but test fitted the rack in the car today, and it fits perfectly. 




























I reused the little trim piece that goes around the spare tire (and normally supports the carpet), chopped it off a bit, and screwed it to the base of the amp rack. This gives the amp rack a solid base to rest on and now it can be screwed into factory holes in the trunk.










I'm hoping I can finish the amp rack by the middle of next week, gotta wrap up the wiring...I think I'm gonna have to build a smaller second "level" in the rear half of the rack, to house some additional equipment like the 3Sixty and the two crossovers (which are HUGE!). There's no way I can fit them anywhere else.

We'll see.


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## Zorasmiles (May 1, 2008)

I'll have to follow this build on here and bimmerforums. Wish you were in Texas, my 740i needs an audio make over lol Seriously, the build looks awesome.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Damn...been way too busy to get a whole lot done, but I did build myself a lil "black box". 

I needed a "clean" way to house some of the AV related things. Namely:

- The IBUS interface
- Connectors for the TV Tuner (Video IN, Audio IN, Video Out, Audio Out, RV Cam In)
- A couple of relays:
-- One relay to automatically ground Pin 17 of the TV tuner, for the Rear view camera (SPDT), when the car is in reverse
-- One relay (SPDT) to do the same if my manual switch in the steering wheel is enabled. This is a ON-OFF-ON toggle switch, that allows me to activate the rear view camera even when the car is moving. And it's all wired up, so that when I add a front camera, I can switch between the two).
-- One relay (DPDT) to switch the video output between the front and rear cameras, depending on the position of the toggle switch, and feed it to the rear view camera input on the TV tuner.
-- One relay for the remote turn on of the 3 amps and the RF 3Sixty. I didn't want to hook up all these straight to the remote turn of our stock head unit. This is an SPDT relay as well.

All of these relays have protection diodes built in for the back EMF and have fairly high impedences, so they draw very lil current.

Well...enough talk...picture time!



























Here's some of the inside and build pics.










BMW connectors....


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The USB connector from the IBUS interface










The A/V connectors










I/O connectors










Molex 12 pin connector










This lil "black box" has all the required incoming and outgoing wires to do the following:

- Connectors for Video In, Audio In, Video Out, Audio Out, all connected to the TV tuner
- Two Video connectors for front and rear cameras, that are run off of the DPDT relay and fed to the TV Tuner's RV Cam input.
- Two L/R audio connectors for Aux input (still working on solving one small problem with that...)
- Has remote in and remote out, remote in is from the head unit and is piped through the SPDT relay to generate a remote out, that will be used to turn on the 3Sixty and the amps.
- The TV tuner automatically switches over to the RV cam input, when the car is reversed.
- Toggling the switch on the steering wheel can bring up the rear or the front cameras, even while the car is moving, and without trigeering the reverse lights.
- A holding place for the IBUS interface.

The whole box is about 6"x3"x1.5"







Small enough. Now, I get to test this tomorrow...I'm gonna keep my fire extinguisher handy....


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Right on. Crafty to say the least.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The amp bypass harness...

BMW connectors...with stock radio pins at the end. Take off the existing ones from the radio, and plug these in. Plug and Play


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

On another note, after a lot of flip flopping back and forth, I decided against installing the subs under the rear deck. Will be baffling them against the ski pass. Still IB, but through the ski pass, instead of the rear deck.

This will allow me to use the stock rear deck enclosure for rear fill speakers, instead of building custom pods, and the ski pass opening is much more "free flowing" in terms of air, rather than the small holes in the rear deck.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Amp rack getting wired...


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## yellowcard (Mar 8, 2007)

Wow keep up the good job, I'm also looking for an e38 myself.


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## slomofo (Mar 30, 2009)

every time I drive an E38, I always look at the pockets in the rear of the front doors and think to myself how great it would be to have a 6.5 or 8 midbass there. great cars with lots of potential for sure.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Bench tested the 3Sixty, amps and the PPI speakers today. Oh my... 

First off, the 3Sixty is awesome. Not necassarily the BEST (that distinction is probably for the JBL MS8 or to a lesser degree the Audison BitOne), but WAY more than enough for what *I'm* looking for.

I have it set up so that the FL/FR drive the front left and right mids (via the FL and FR of the Arc FD4150), and the output of the 3Sixty on these channels is split, so that it also goes to RL and RR of the FD4150, and that drives the second set of mids for midbass duties only. The built in amp crossover cuts off all frequencies above ~200Hz for the second set of mids.

The tweeters are driven by the RL and RR of the 3Sixty and are hooked to Channels 1 & 2 of the USB 4085.

The sub out from the 3Sixty goes to the FD600.1.

I was testing this by hooking up the analog outs from my laptop.

Right now, with no proper enclosures for the mids and only a sealed 10" sub for testing, the whole shebang sounded GREAT and LOUD. Damn. With only about 90W to each mid (all 4 of them), and about 85w going to the tweets, I couldn't turn the system up more than 1/2 way on the laptop! I doubt the system is utilizing even half the power of the amps, and it is amazingly clear and loud. Anyone that says you need more than 75-80w of clean power, has his ears stuffed! I'd go deaf if I turned this up all the way!

I can't wait to finish the install and get the speakers in their proper positions and enclosures.  The subs will be running IB, the mids (all 4 of them) will be running IB in the doors, and the tweets...well they are always without enclosures to begin with.

Pictures to come shortly.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The test setup in the basement. (and yes, I'm getting yelled at BIG time by the wife....)



















A jumble of wires right now....










The "source".










100A Circuit breaker built into the amp rack. The wire from the circuit breaker to the battery block is already sized and is about 12"



















Distribution blocks built into the amp rack. The ground wire from the ground block to the chassis is about 8" long. Will be grounded to the rear firewall behind the rear seats, using a big bolt and washers.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

All speaker wiring done as such.










The culprits....










Test sub. (notice the quick disconnects from the amp wiring??







)










From one "DSP" (stock) to this....


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Rear fill "woofers" installed, using the stock woofer enclosure. This goes in the rear deck. Stock, this enclosure is actually vented to the trunk, I sealed up the underside of the enclosure to make it completely sealed. Another MDF panel will be sealed to the rear deck holes from the trunk side, to completely seal off the rear deck (since the subs will be IB through the ski pass).














































These are el cheapo (about $12 a piece) Goldwood 5.25" woofers I had lying around, but they should do fine as rear fill with a L-R signal, bandpassed to ~200-3000Hz. We'll see how they "sound"  They are 8 ohms each, so each side will be run in parallel using one channel of the USB 4085.

The specs as such are:

*Power handling: 70 watts RMS/130 watts max 
*VCdia: 1" 
*Le: .40 mH 
*Impedance: 8 ohms 
*Re: 7.0 ohms 
*Frequency range: 50-5,500 Hz 
*Fs: 81 Hz 
*SPL: 84.7 dB 2.83V/1m 
*Vas: .13 cu. ft. 
*Qms: 2.87 
*Qes: 1.18 
*Qts: .84 
*Xmax: 2.0 mm 
*Dimensions: Overall Diameter: 5-5/8", Cutout Diameter: 4-9/16", Mounting Depth: 2-1/2"


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## LegendJeff (Jun 28, 2009)

awesome work man, I like the plug and play wiring and little black box.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

*The "new" CarPC under contruction.*

I have had a CarPC in the car for close to a year. I had built the CarPC initially around the Intel D945GCLF2 motherboard with the built in dual core Atom 300, and while that was "adequate" as a CarPC, the speed and "responsiveness" of the system was nothing to write home about. Since I'm running Windows Media Center as a front end, and have over a TB of hard drive space in the car, the interface took a fair amount of time to move between different things.

The issue was that the Atom boards have an FSB of only 533. That's quite a bit on the low end, and they do not have dual channel memory either.

Here's the old one.




























While testing it...










So....I raided my server parts "bin" (It's actually a small warehouse that I lease







. I bought a failed telecom company about 2 years ago), and rummaged around till I found a few things I needed.

tada! Grabbed a removable motherboard tray from a 2U server chassis, to serve as the base for the CarPC.










Threw a Gigabyte P35-DS3L motherboard in there with a "proper" dual core CPU, an Intel E8400 Wolfdale 65w CPU that I had lying around. The best part about the motherboard is that it has an FSB of 1333MHz and supports dual channel RAM (up to 8GB), and has more than enough USB, audio and I/O ports than are needed for a CarPC. The CPU is a 65w CPU, and I'll probably underclock it a bit from it's 3GHz speed, to reduce the power consumption (although it should run fine as is, we'll see).

Server grade CPU cooler...







We'll see about quieting down this sucker.










PCI-E x16 riser card with an ATI x300 card. The x300 should be more than enough for the crappy 800x600 or lower resolution we need, and Windows 7 runs just fine on it.










VGA and S-video as video outs.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Enough USB and audio ports...










I'll probably end up cutting out part of this tray, after finding the right spots for the M2-ATX power supply and the two 2.5" HDDs. I'll probably also end up modifying the 2U chassis that this motherboard tray came from, to form the overall enclosure.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Love the custom Craftsman power supply links (screwdrivers) 

Keep it coming!


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## faberick (Feb 28, 2009)

im loving this, specially the carpc stuff, keep up the good work!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

More CarPC testing...

I dropped the idea of using that motherboard plate that I had initially chosen (need more PCI slots), grabbed a Coolermaster Elite 360 case (which is very compact and yet holds a full ATX motherboard with all 7 slots), and threw the basic hardware in there.

Started testing with Windows 7, powerstrip and and the magical 800x480 resolution. Here it is.









Test setup:










Using my handy dandy EBY701 touchscreen for testing. This is a native 800x480 LCD panel (though not RGsB, but that's a different set of tests).










Works great! (excuse the flash. My photography skills suck).

PERFECT pixel mapping...pixel to pixel, edge to edge


















And powerstrip works just great with the ATI x300 card (and so does Windows 7..with a minor hiccup, ATI drivers...had to use one version older than the current). If you see in the (blurry, fuzzy...because I suck at photography) picture below, the "interlaced" box is NOT greyed out







This means that the x300 is capable of interlaced resolution. So, 800x480 _interlaced_ should hopefully match the stock LCD, combined with my sync on green adapter (which basically does a VGA to RGB conversion with SOG).










Next step. Make the harness to connect this to the stock LCD screen, and do more testing...


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

nice work on the audio stuff!... hope you don't get any noise issues with the 360.
I have no idea about car pc's hence no comment, other than it looks like you know your stuff.


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## google123 (Jul 20, 2008)

I must say, awesome work so far. This has also always been my favorite Bimmer. I hope to find a 2001 Silver 740i in the near future and this thread will be a huge help..  Thanks so much.


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## Sptsmed (Jan 20, 2010)

Amazing stuff. I only wish I had the nauticals to try and tackle a major upgrade with my 750IL sport. I am going to see how I do with my M3 vert first and then maybe will venture over to the 7. I love the way everything stays OEM apperance although with a huge boost in sound. I saw the TV module, are you still able to receive analog, or is it a digital? Congrats on the work and cant wait to see the finished product. Also would love to know how the PPI components sound in there as they are for sure ones I would look at for mine if I do it fit wise.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Not a whole lot of progress...been sidetracked with writing the software for this. Having reviewed the popular "frontends" that can be run for a carpc, none of them feel right and don't fit my needs. So, gonna have to write my own.  

This is the beginnings of it....










"Atlas" is the code name of the project.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The RF 360.2 is gone as well.  I didn't like the approach, and didn't wanna be limited to 6 channels only. Got two M-Audio Delta 1010lt cards instead and will do the audio processing in software itself. 16 active channels... 

The updated system diagram.


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## remeolb (Nov 6, 2009)

What are you using to write your frontend?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

remeolb said:


> What are you using to write your frontend?


C#, WPF, XAML and .NET. The new 3.5 sp1 framework is quite fast.


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## Nick337 (Nov 19, 2009)

Man everything looks good man. You want to draw me a picture of my setup? and I'll pay you for it?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

I had to put the AV install on hold, due to work reasons, but I'm hoping to finish this in the next 2 weeks. A couple of minor changes to the configuration.

*I (finally) decided on the sound card for the CarPC* 

And it's not a sound "card" at all....  I'll be using an external DAC. The E-MU 0404 USB. That thing is highly regarded and has some amazing numbers behind it.

I played with so many different audio interfaces, including, M-Audio Delta 1010/LT, RME, Lynx, Edirol and what not, but couldn't make up my mind. In the end I decided to keep it simple and just push out stereo high quality analog outs from the PC. But finding a GOOD analog sound card is not that easy. The search ended with the EMU. 












> General
> 
> Sample Rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz from internal crystal (no sample rate conversion)*
> Bit Depth: 24-bit I/O, 32-bit processing
> ...


*And instead of the RF 3Sixty.2, I'm (99.99% sure) gonna go with a JBL MS-8* (now, that it's out and about)


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Will be picking up the MS-8 on Sat. Brand new, $525.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I love that the sticker right above the USB port says "Warranty Void."
Not "Void if removed or broken." So, the warranty is just void right out of the box? 

Jay


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## bimmerman11 (Aug 27, 2009)

I didn't realize how big your trunk is! Great choice of materials.


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## OCDschack (Nov 4, 2010)

I came across this thread on your e38. I was wondering two things about it:

1) What did you use for enclosures in the doors? Stock? 

2) What happened to the build? It seemed like you were close to finishing, but I didn't see anything posted (that I could find.)

I've had an e38 for years, and I've done minor upgrades to the stereo...and I've had enough! I'm just about ready to gut the whole thing, but my biggest concern is the speaker options for the doors. I build home-audio/"hi-fi" speakers and haven't worked with car audio in awhile. As far as stock enclosures go, I'm mortified of the speaker options that work in the doors or the e38!

If you haven't finished your build, I hope you do and wish you the best of luck. If you're having trouble deciding what to do, throw together what you have. You can always upgrade later! Impressive work and hope to hear back from you.


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## Jaredturp (Apr 30, 2010)

Yeah, good call ^^ This was a sweet build, and I really admire your electrical knowledge.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

I haven't abandoned the build guys...  I just got completely overwhelmed with work after launching a new company.....and then it just became too cold to work on stuff. I WILL complete this.....


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## OCDschack (Nov 4, 2010)

So, did you use the stock BMW speaker enclosures?

And good luck with your new company...I hope you get filthy rich and enjoy it at the same time!


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## pat_smith1969 (Feb 17, 2010)

Hey Kapone
PM with your aproximate location in MD. i would love to check out your build come spring. I am in the Columbia area.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

OCDschack said:


> So, did you use the stock BMW speaker enclosures?


Well....kinda. I did make some MDF baffles as well and played with them, but I'm still undecided whether it's better to vent the speaker through the vapor barrier or not. I also took the stock enclosures (believe it or not, I bought 4 extra sets to play....  ), and tried mass loading with modeling clay/FG/another MDF baffle on the front, and while I can "feel" the sound change, I'm still undecided.

I think I'll probably do as was suggested...  Just throw it all together for now, and maybe play with fina tuning it later.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

pat_smith1969 said:


> Hey Kapone
> PM with your aproximate location in MD. i would love to check out your build come spring. I am in the Columbia area.


I'm in Germantown right now, but come spring, we'll probably be moving to Bethesda. Will let you know.


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## Huckleberry Sound (Jan 17, 2009)

Are you interested in selling the old PC computer?


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## aturcotte127317 (Jan 29, 2009)

Hmmmm Frost king, never heard of it, I will have to keep an eye out!!


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## purpleteg (Sep 13, 2009)

I hope your enjoying your ms-8 we have opened up in Gaithersburg when you picked up your ms-8 from me you mentioned that you might need some help with the sub enclosure so if you need any help just let me know !!!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Huckleberry Sound said:


> Are you interested in selling the old PC computer?


You mean this guy?










Sure. Anything reasonable would be acceptable, since I'm not using it. But the case HAS been modified on the front to house two 70mm fans, so its not stock as such. Send me a PM and we can discuss.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

purpleteg said:


> I hope your enjoying your ms-8 we have opened up in Gaithersburg when you picked up your ms-8 from me you mentioned that you might need some help with the sub enclosure so if you need any help just let me know !!!


I'll have to come visit you.  But, believe it or not, the MS-8 is still sitting in its box, unopened....


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

*The madness continues - Phase 2*

Stay tuned...for phase 2. 

(Been overseas for the last few months on an assignment. Couldn't work on the car.)

Sealed boxes for all 4 doors...PPI 356cs



















The 356CS in the rear doors will be "helper midbass" (The fronts will play all the way. So, it's a 2.5 way...kinda). Will play from 80-100Hz to about 200 or so. Tested them on the bench, and the midbass is amazing with the "helpers"... 

The rear deck will have the rear (or side as MS-8 likes to call them) speakers in the stock enclosure, which has been sealed as well.

The new sub...sitting in its box. Will be IB...










More to come in a few days... (just got back 2 days ago).


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## aporozco (Apr 6, 2011)

wow great build. Glad to see you're back to the grindstone with this.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Rear deck done. (just gotta glue the baffles to the enclosures. Everything is test fitted).

The stock enclosure with the new baffles. Each side will have a PPI 355cs mid and the tweeter. These will be configured as "sides/rears" in the MS-8. The enclosure is already angled so that the sound will bounce off of the rear windshield.




























The tweeter mount... 









Back side...










Back to work!!


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## farfromovin (Mar 30, 2011)

Just read the whole thread, WOW. I've never had the "guts" to go with a carPC. I like all the stuff you can do with it, but also am reluctant to be relying on windows for my car audio lol. I'll be watching this one closely. Keep it up!


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## ryomanx (Feb 18, 2011)

Nice!! I like how just bought a failed tech company for parts! Got anymore info on the software you're writing?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

farfromovin said:


> reluctant to be relying on windows for my car audio


"Windows" does just fine... It's the Windows user that's the problem.  Once you get a stable config, and you stop mucking with it, it's rock solid stable. It's the mucking around that the user can do that causes issues.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

ryomanx said:


> Nice!! I like how just bought a failed tech company for parts! Got anymore info on the software you're writing?


lol..actually that worked out quite well.  I bought the company for $25G, and the parts more than made up for it. By a big margin...

The details of the software will follow.


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## purpleteg (Sep 13, 2009)

When it's time to tune I can help


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## scooter99 (Dec 21, 2008)

Wow, Impressive. Nice work!


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## Schneiderd (Jun 9, 2011)

Impressive work!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The rear deck all done. 

Sprayed the baffles with some bedliner (the MDF brown would have looked funny through the grills...) and glued them to the enclosure with CA glue (after roughing up the edges of the enclsoure).




























The mids (PPI 355cs) and their tweeters all set.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The start of the baffle for the JBL WGTI 15"... It'll be a 4 layer baffle. Overall, 3" thick. The base layer is birch ply and there will be 3 layers of 3/4" MDF on it. The ply backing is shaped to the rear firewall.

This is the first 2 layers glued together (easier to cut a circle when they are glued together..). Lots of gorilla glue...


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

This is where the ..oh so gorgeous... PPI crossovers are gonna go. That's 4 of them. One more will be in the amp rack, for a total of 5.

LF - Mid/Tweet - Passive
RF - Mid/Tweet - Passive
Center - Mid/Tweet - Passive
LS - Mid - Active (helper midbass) - Rear door
RS - Mid - Active (helper midbass) - Rear door
LR - Mid/Tweet - Passive (rear deck)
RR - Mid/Tweet - Passive (rear deck)




























The sub...  (and that's a 12" sitting next to it)










My wife is gonna kill me btw......:blush:


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

that's quite the carpet you got there!


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Are you sure you want a tweeter bouncing off the back window?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

trojan fan said:


> Are you sure you want a tweeter bouncing off the back window?


With the MS-8? Absolutely.


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

kapone said:


> With the MS-8? Absolutely.



Alrighty....LOL


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

In your opinion, what is the chance of success with what you've done with front mids? I am curious making AP enclosure out of stickies might be a better option? Have you opened up stock enclosures in the back or are they sealed?

Thanks.

P.S. Got me a 7 too.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Mless5 said:


> In your opinion, what is the chance of success with what you've done with front mids? I am curious making AP enclosure out of stickies might be a better option? Have you opened up stock enclosures in the back or are they sealed?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> P.S. Got me a 7 too.


still sealed. I played with them 19 different ways, and I keep coming back to sealed. I suspect I'll see some peaks due to the stock enclosures not being the "ideal" volume, but I also suspect the MS-8 may be able to equalize them. Without the MS-8 (or an equivalent processor), I would not use them sealed. 

The enclosures are stuffed with polyfill inside, and are being mass loaded as we speak, on the "outside". (I didn't want to give up the internal volume). Lots of modeling clay on the outside, and then a layer of deadner should load them sufficiently.

If the peaks are still not resolvable, making them AP or venting them is relatively easy, but I want to try and tune with sealed first.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

Let us know how it works out please. 

Thanks and good luck!


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## blueatlanta (Feb 10, 2011)

can you get close up pics of your quick disconnects? im absolutely lovin this build.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

blueatlanta said:


> can you get close up pics of your quick disconnects? im absolutely lovin this build.


Which ones? There's several.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Got some work done today... (I'm actually off for the next few days...and the weather is perrfect! Hopefully I'll get a lot of work done). 

This is the 3rd layer of the IB sub baffle. There's a 4th layer which is .75" MDF, so, overall 2.5" thick instead of 3" as I had thought earlier. (I doubled up on the base board, instead of 3 layers of MDF on the base board). The baffle is rock solid!  The obligatory test...my wife stood on it and it didn't bend  I'm sure I can hang a 32 lb sub on it.

(That sub sitting on it btw is the 12" that I had planned to use earlier. It's almost 30 lbs as well...comes handy while while clamping/putting weight on.)

The baffle is finished at this point (including the 4th layer), but it got too dark to take pics.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

While the glue was drying...started on the doors. Since this is a BMW...and a 740 at that...the doors are rock solid as such. But since I have it open, can't hurt (even if it doesn't help) to throw some more deadner in there. I SWEAR I can hear a difference with the knock test, but it could be a placebo effect as well.  The door already had factory deadener in "just" the right place.

These are CLD tiles I got from SDS a while ago.



















You can kinda see the factory deadener in this pic..










No, there's no "bubble in this piece, it's the camera... 



















I'll take some pics of the finished baffle tomorrow. And start fitting it!


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## blueatlanta (Feb 10, 2011)

kapone said:


> Which ones? There's several.


i forgot what post i saw them in, but i think they had to do with speakers.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Baffle "almost" done". Had to make some minor changes on the last layer..

Threaded rods already installed to mount the WGTI. 




























That last layer is for "nice looking/flush mount" only. It does not support the sub weight. The threaded rods do. Installed EZ-LOK 8-32 nuts on the backside, so the threaded rods screw into 1.75" of wood.


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## Huckleberry Sound (Jan 17, 2009)

I know that sub is a weight, but it looks like you don't want it. Send it my way before it falls!!!!
Nice install keep up the great work...


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Finishing the door enclosures..

Modified (baffle added) factory enclosures. Lots of modeling clay. Seals up the seams (just in case) and mass loads them nicely.  And a final layer of Dynamat to add a bit more weight, but more importantly prevent any of the clay from doing the nasty...just in case.

All loaded, with the mid in it, the enclosure weighs almost 6.5 lbs!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Back to work.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The main part of the baffle done (just got to cover it).




























Test fit... OH YEAH!!  Fits like a glove...



















Still got to do the sides to seal it to the contours of the firewall. No biggie. The main baffle was the hardest part.


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## blueatlanta (Feb 10, 2011)

coming together nicely! i need to upload today's pics to my log.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

this build is fun.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

From "one" DSP to another.... 

Stock DSP amp on the right...it's even the same size! (almost. Slightly bigger than the MS-8)










Gah!!! What have I done!!!!










And...installed in the stock location. Ran all the wiring to turn the radio to analog mode, and get FL/FR full range signals. The DSP option disappeared from the menu on the screen......


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

btw, notice my new speaker connectors??  .093" molex quick disconnects. Needed something that can provide 32 connections...well, that was hard to find. So, used one 9 pin, and two 12 pin ones. (Hence the labeling...wouldn't wanna plug in the wrong connector!)


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## bcbsox (Sep 14, 2010)

Looking good. Any updates?


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

wow man. really creative thinking in a lot of places! keep up the sweet work!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Well, been constructing the enclosures to mount the 7  of those huge PPI crossovers and the CarPC (i7 quad core with 8GB RAM..). Took lots of planning and creative thinking.

Will have some updates and pics this weekend.

p.s. I may be among the first ones to be running an i7 quad core with 8GB ram off of an M4-ATX...  But that's because I had to get creative. The CarPC actually has two power supplies. An M4-ATX and an M2-ATX. 

- The M4 powers the main board and its components (CPU/RAM/Motherboard/2.5" HDD/Video card/Delta 1010 sound card). The video card is a lowly ATI x300 as I only need 800x480 interlaced out of it, to send to the OEM screen. So it uses very little power. The Delta 1010 also doesn't use a lot of power. The HDD is a 2.5", so that's pretty frugal as well. And the M4 powers only the CPU fan.

- The M2 on the other hand powers all other peripherals and fans. (4-6 120mm fans, the DVD drive, USB hub, IBUS interface, router, and a couple of other odds and ends)

With the combo, the M4 allows me to run that big ass CPU..  Why? Because I intend to run some heavy duty voice recognition, mapping and diagnostic software (apart from the typical media functions) down the road, and I don't want CPU horsepower holding me back. That i7 is a quad core with 2 processing threads per core, so it gives me 8 logical processors...


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## blackknight87 (Jul 11, 2011)

In for updates. very cool!


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## J-dls (Oct 2, 2009)

nice, i like the combination with clay and dynamat.

please report how are you pleased with ms8, i am trying to buy one to, yust waiting to sell my old HU...


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Need this....to properly interface with the car. Will be building it over the weekend.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

J-dls said:


> nice, i like the combination with clay and dynamat.
> 
> please report how are you pleased with ms8, i am trying to buy one to, yust waiting to sell my old HU...


Based on everything I know about the MS-8, there's very little chance that I'll be disappointed with it. But, hey, there's that .0001% chance, right?


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

Man you got some patience,the title of your thread say it all.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

strong*I*bumpin said:


> Man you got some patience,the title of your thread say it all.


 No choice. I wanna do it _right_ (atleast according to me). And I have an IT company to run. Time is a precious commodity.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Did some more work this weekend...

Cleaned up some wiring in the electronics bay.



















The CD changer got thrown out..  In it's place, I built a "shelf", which is about the same size as the CD changer. That allows me to mount "stuff" where the CD changer used to sit. 

This is the DF-BMW CD changer interface, which replaces the stock CD changer and gives me two inputs input into the factory radio. They can be switched using the stock radio/nav controls on the screen.

Oh, and a relay for the switched power distribution box.




























And on the "top" of that shelf, two Blue Sea fuse boxes. One for switched power, one for direct power. The reason for them being where they are is so that they will stick "out" of the trunk panel (behind which this whole electornics bay sits), allowing me to change fuses easily (just in case). The opening is the same opening which allows you to change CDs in the changer.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

And..the start of the CarPC. This is the basic case. It's a customized HTPC case that was part of the inventory of that company that I acquired... 










It can house a full ATX motherboard...










Since I'll be putting in a quad core with 8GB RAM... gotta cool stuff properly. So, built a fan "panel" that sits on top of the case. (See, this is what happens, when you give a techie a router and jigsaw....)










The stock top of the case...all chopped off.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

And we have cooling!  Four 120mm Yate Loon silent fans.










A custom fan distribution board makes the wiring dead simple. A single connection to the power supply in the PC distributes power to all fans. (They will be run the aux M2-ATX).



















Had to hack up the case a bit, because of two things.

1. The motherboard does not have a serial port on the back panel. I need one. So, had to install a standalone one (the motherboard has a header already.

2. The CarPC will be installed butt out, in the enclosure, so I can't see the front of the case where all the LED indicators are. Ripped of an indicator panel from one of my parts servers.... 



















That was about it for this weekend...


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## blackknight87 (Jul 11, 2011)

holy crap how'd i miss the part where you are putting a computer in the car too! awesome


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The trunk layout is "almost" complete. Minor things still to be done.

The sub floor supports.





































10/32 threaded fastener installed. These are where the hinged part of the floor will be secured using 10/32 wing nuts. The idea is that if I have a flat ...at night...in the middle of nowhere....I don't wanna fumble. Undo two wing nuts, and the entire floor hinges up.



















The inside floor..(non hinged part)










The hinged part of the floor...



















(The floor's level, the angle of the shot makes it look like it's not).


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

And the two "enclosures". The right side will house the CarPC and the left side will house the seven  PPI crossovers (stacked vertically and screwed into both sides of the enclosure).

And of course the big W15GTI in the middle. The interesting part (after I built them) is that they enclose the sub on two sides and it is already enclosed on the trunk side by the baffle. Should offer some IB benefits.

In addition, they also "protect" the subs since I'm not throwing stuff in the corners that may hit the sub.

Now, did I lose a fair bit of trunk space? Yes. But no choice, I'm putting in a lot of stuff, and it's gotta go somewhere... Also, the trunk is HUGE is as such. Even after everything is put in, it should fit a big bag/golf clubs and odds and ends.










The sub amp will go in the middle, between the two enclosures and the 4 amps for the rest of the speakers will go on to the hinged floor.



















I'm "almost" ready to start wiring things.....


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

wow, you really take your time. good to see such detail taken into the small things. wish i had that kind of patience. i always end up doing things the easy way XD

did that stock amp really have some DSP in it? O_O


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

eviling said:


> wow, you really take your time. good to see such detail taken into the small things. wish i had that kind of patience. i always end up doing things the easy way XD
> 
> *did that stock amp really have some DSP in it*? O_O


Yup. Sure did. Did TA, crossover, balance, tone etc. All of it. Just didn't have a lot of power. Stock, there's 14 speakers in the car (and there will be 14, not counting the sub after I'm done as well...), and it gives about 25-30w average to each speaker.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

kapone said:


> Yup. Sure did. Did TA, crossover, balance, tone etc. All of it. Just didn't have a lot of power. *Stock, there's 14 speakers in the car *(and there will be 14, not counting the sub after I'm done as well...), and it gives about 25-30w average to each speaker.


wow, thats impressive.


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## darkhart (Dec 14, 2008)

Awesome build, keep up the good work....


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

eviling said:


> wow, thats impressive.


Yup. BMW "somewhat" tried to do a good job. In reality, for the average person, it's probably good enough, and when they hear "14 speakers"... That justifies the ~$80K price tag.

The one thing I love about this car (as far as audio is concerned)? I didn't have to do almost any noise control. The damn thing has MLV and CCF every freakin where. Even in the rear seatbacks, kicks, rear deck, wheel wells etc. The door panel is FOUR layers and stiff as ****.

That being said, you have to understand, this is my first car install. Never done it before. I'm a huge HT fan, and done lots of work/tweaks to my home system, but never in a car.

I'm learning as I go.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Since, I'm a techie....  I love to make diagrams to clear up my thoughts. Here's a few.


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## blueatlanta (Feb 10, 2011)

kapone said:


> Since, I'm a techie....  I love to make diagrams to clear up my thoughts. Here's a few.


reminds me of time i used to spend in visio, just to waste time, but look busy. i dont miss being in IT at all.

anyway, i see that youre going to use non-fused distribution for the car-pc, is there a specific reason for that? rule of thumb is to fuse any and all wire gauge changes. unless there is some sort of circuit protection for the car-pc, etc.

as far as attention to detail, you can call my coworkers, they think im insane for using techflex since im changing my stock wiring from tape to techflex too. lol.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

blueatlanta said:


> reminds me of time i used to spend in visio, just to waste time, but look busy. i dont miss being in IT at all.
> 
> anyway, i see that youre going to use non-fused distribution for the car-pc, is there a specific reason for that? rule of thumb is to fuse any and all wire gauge changes. unless there is some sort of circuit protection for the car-pc, etc.
> 
> as far as attention to detail, you can call my coworkers, they think im insane for using techflex since im changing my stock wiring from tape to techflex too. lol.


The non fused block is only because the CarPC has two power supplies. The non fused block goes to one of the outputs of the fused block. That'll be fused appropriately.

Same for the amps. Since they have internal fusing, the 4 amps go to a non fused block, but that combined block goes to a fused block and will be fused.


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## blueatlanta (Feb 10, 2011)

kapone said:


> The non fused block is only because the CarPC has two power supplies. The non fused block goes to one of the outputs of the fused block. That'll be fused appropriately.
> 
> Same for the amps. Since they have internal fusing, the 4 amps go to a non fused block, but that combined block goes to a fused block and will be fused.


she sells seashells by the seashore. lol. i get it though. anyway, i wish i were as far along in my build, youre doing a great job so far, glad im subbed.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Did some work today... 

The CarPC enclosure. The side (inlet) and top (outlet) windows got routed out. There's a teensy rabbit on them to install the HD grill and then the whole enclosure gets covered in breatheable carpet.

The basic ideas is that the CarPC is screwed to a 1/4" MDF sheet and the sheet itself is screwed to the enclosure. Just so I can remove the PC (if I need to work on it) without breaking the enclsoure and or becoming a finger gymnast...










This is the part that will sit flush against the IB wall, hence why it's open. (No need to cover it).


----------



## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

And I also changed the location of the fuse boxes.. Something kept nagging me that they are too close to the MS-8/radio/CD interface etc. So, decided to relocate them to the other side of the car, right by the battery. 

Here, in that lil corner that you see, behind the battery.



















Built a lil platform to house the fuse boxes, main circuit breaker and the ignition relay.



















Foam on the backside so that it doesn't bang against anything..










The build's coming along....a bit slowly...but surely...


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

forgot this thing was even getting a carputer, it was so briefly mentioned XD tehe.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The CarPC all done, tested, OS installed, configured etc etc. STill have to test in car (but shouldn't be an issue).

Motherboard in..and you can see the M2-ATX installed on the "side".










The Scythe Shuriken CPU cooler. It "only" has a 100m fan blowing on it, but with the 4 120mm fans pushing air in, the i7 stays at 30 degrees while idling.  And if you know i7s, they run hot.

Video card in..uses a Supermicro x16 riser to install horizontally.










I didn't take a picture of the Delta 1010lt installed over the video card, but it uses a flex PCI riser to install in the second slot.

With the middle shelf in place, that houses the M4-ATX and the 2.5" HDD.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Dedicated 10 gauge chassis GND (just in case, since the case is isolated from the car's metal). This will go to the main GND distribution block as well.










With the top cover in place.  The wires from the M4-ATX are brought out through a hole in the top cover (with a grommet securing the hole), since these wires carry a fair amount of current and that chassis is fairly cramped. Hopefully no buzzing or humming...










All wires secured.










You can see the big Delta 1010lt connector here, and I need only 2 of those gazillion wires....:blush: Oh well...










Stumbling along....with the build...


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## onelivinlarge (Apr 10, 2011)

there is not enough words to describe the envy i have for this car


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

yes, great stuff and i would also like to add a note that people shoudln't be scared of trying this them selves, that computer honestly didn't cost as much as many might think. the real issue is the know how, but if you can install a deck you can wire up a computer. 

great stuff though budd, really good stuff! can't wait to see how that interfaces.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

eviling said:


> yes, great stuff and i would also like to add a note that people shoudln't be scared of trying this them selves, that computer honestly didn't cost as much as many might think. the real issue is the know how, but if you can install a deck you can wire up a computer.
> 
> great stuff though budd, really good stuff! can't wait to see how that interfaces.


Probably true...but may be not entirely...  That IS a fairly high end PC.

Motherboard - ~$200
RAM - ~$75
CPU - ~$215
CPU heatsink - ~$35
M4-ATX - ~$90
M2-ATX - ~$75
HDD - ~$50
Case - ~$0 (well, about $100 retail, but since I acquired that inventory...)
Video card - ~$20
Sound Card - ~$150

So, we're talking in the range of about $1,000 for that PC alone....and that's not including any of the interface elements...


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## conixit (Oct 23, 2011)

I too have a 740, and after a 6 year break (two kids--oldest being 6) from car audio have decided that the time is right to dive back in. This thread is right up my alley. I feel a slight kinship, both with the car and the tech. I dabble in home audio, woodworking and always do things a bit over the top-- I spend time on partsexpress, zaphaudio and in recent weeks back on the car audio sites. I program in PHP, ASP, C++, JS and think this pc controlled 7 is going to be incredible. I have to agree that the concern about win7 being unstable is unfounded. I personally code at work on a CentOS box (linux distro) but manage 100's of windows boxes and design production graphics on a OSX Lion MacPro. Stability and instability stems from the user nearly 100% of the time. So to my question, mind you I haven't read the full thread yet, and you may have answered this already. Your proposed GUI intends to control all of the multimedia, behind the GUI do you intend to leverage a program like VLC, or winmedia classic, in a similar manner the "media center" features of win7 Ultimate leverages windows media player? Just subscribed, I can't wait to see the updates..btw stumbled on this due to our choice of driver PPI 356cs, bought them when sonic was offering them at a bit over $150/pair -- ADS through and through..Southern Arizona is a hotbed of car audio factories..Rockford, MTX, Orion etc..hard to believe they rebadged such a stellar component set and blew them out at such low prices. Not sure what happened to the popularity of car audio in the past few years, are people really satisfied with their ipod docks and factory "MP3" players????


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Nice build- Perhaps I missed it... I find the PPI's have 2 1/2" depth requirement. Did you need the baffle to accomodate this, or the mounting format? Any idea what the max depth that the stock enclose can hold? For that matter, the volume of the enclosure?

Planning some e38 mods myself, and while I would be HAPPY to try the PPI's, they seem to have sold out pretty well :worried:

Thanks,
D


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## gcsuper (Feb 20, 2008)

cool, i'll tag along to see how it progresses


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## ganesht (Oct 13, 2008)

Wow, amazing build thus far! I can't wait to see the final product!

Quick question about the carpet swap, how hard was it to do? i changed the carpet in my e28 and it was such a nightmare, im not sure if i want to go through the hassle again with the e39.


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## mushasho (May 21, 2011)

Thanksgiving Bump!


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## turboa4 (Jul 8, 2011)

sweet build


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## toylocost (Jul 4, 2011)

Very nice job. Love the attention to detail.

Can we get some outside pics of the car please? Someday I want to get an E46 and do this.


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## Sptsmed (Jan 20, 2010)

I have been watching this thread for a while and can't wait to see the final outcome and pictures, amazing build and amazing attention to detail for sure. I have a 750IL Sport Midnight Blue Highline addition that I would love to do a full make over on the stereo system once I finish with my M3 convertible. 

I will keep looking back for the final pictures and outcomes as I have already gathered a ton of information and thought from your build and can't wait to see how it looks in its final version along with how great it sounds as well. Major props for your ideas, attention to detail and ability to think outside of the box.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Folks...was away overseas (again! grr....). Will be getting back to this hopefully soon (sorting out a few issues with the car).


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

you might want to get a solid state hard drive ... but looking good, further than i am with my carPC :\


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## fj60landcruiser (Oct 10, 2011)

Having owned an e31 and e34 I definitely like this build.


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## Sptsmed (Jan 20, 2010)

This build was a major inspiration for me to go nuts on my 750IL, I am very much looking forward to seeing how it finally ends up !!!!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Did do some work on the install this weekend. The amps are almost wired up, the sub is in, test fitted one of the door pods, the CarPC is in, the MS-8 is in. Waiting for a few more things to come in, clean up the wiring and start connecting things. 

Will post pictures later.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

Nice, I though you never finished it for a minute, you sorta disappeared...

e28 is a piece of cake. I wouldn't want to do that in the e39 (had all 3 for that matter, e28, e39 and e38).


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Sorry folks, been deployed overseas and haven't had a chance to complete this. (and I'm a civilian...) But now, I do have a few weeks off and a few ideas...  I did do "some work"... teaser pics.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Welcome home...

SWEET MOTHER OF WIRE BATMAN!

I love reading threads like this, I learn a great deal from guys like you. Most of my knowledge is
stuck in the early mid 90s. This brings me to current day, all be it very slow, not your build my
grasping what you've done.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

kapone said:


> Sorry folks, been deployed overseas and haven't had a chance to complete this. (and I'm a civilian...) But now, I do have a few weeks off and a few ideas...  I did do "some work"... teaser pics.


WHAT THE...  

Carbonara pasta for dinner, anyone?  

Kelvin


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Oh, have patience. Yes, the wires are a mess, because they haven't bee terminated yet. But you knew that.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

I think it would be so badass to show up at a show with a car looking like that.
I wonder if its ever been done, then again you know what "they" say. If you have
an idea about car audio chances are its already been done.


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

Wow this was amazing... i wonder how it turned out... anyone know this guy ?


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## jvctan16 (Jun 11, 2013)

I got so hooked up reading the whole thread, I didn't notice the date. Anyone know how this finalized?


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## audio+civic (Apr 16, 2009)

cool build


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Sorry gents, my continual assignments overseas keep interfering with my life...  Anyway, been back for a few weeks now (for good. Quit my engagement with the agency.) I'm aiming to get back to this and wrap it up shortly.


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## Eric B (Mar 20, 2013)

Soooo none of the photos work for me...


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Standby, my web server is down right now. They will be back up shortly.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Webserver's back up.


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## fast94tracer (Jun 23, 2013)

WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY!!!!

looks like it will be extremely nice good job and keep up the good work!!!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The new CarPC.

It's a chopped up 1U case. Ended up being 1.75"x 8" x 17". About the size of a large amp.










Getting there!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The finished front door panels with grills. Went from all grey to two tone grey/black panels.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

I FINALLY fired up the system today......
.
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.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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.
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.
.


Holy....****. 

My efforts paid off! And JBLs. The MS-8 rocks.

The system is....... I'm not sure what to call it. Smooth...stages amazing...the bass hits like no tomorrow (and that's with a single W15GTI..albeit IB). 

Some ultra minor rattles in the rear deck that I noticed right away, minor loose things..it is a 12 year old car after all. But other than that, rock solid.

Still tuning...this was only the first few attempts.

Finished pics to come.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

EXCELENT!....
we need pics thought?


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Pic pics pics lol...


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Lemme clean things up. Don't wanna post more pics of things in disarray.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The modified center console:

Houses a SpaceNavigator (for CarPC control), and in the hidden compartment, a Bluesea dual USB charger, Aux input, and a headphone jack for the MS-8 calibration headphones.  And it also has dual 6dbi wifi antennas embedded in the base.




























The compartment is normally closed. Nothing visible.



















The Vinyl looks too stark with the flash here, but it matches the interior vinyl of the car, for the most part... 










The wiring on the back.










Wifi antennas embedded inside).


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

The best use of an ash tray EVER!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

danno14 said:


> The best use of an ash tray EVER!


 That was the perfect spot for installing it. It's not 100% comfortable in terms of hand and knob positioning (close, but not quite), but short of fabricating an entirely new center console (and putting it where it _would _be in the right spot), this was the only option.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Nice progress. Still got the Lotus?

Jay


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

JayinMI said:


> Nice progress. Still got the Lotus?
> 
> Jay


Yup. May sell it next year. Thinking of putting that and some more cash into a CL65....


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

kapone said:


> Yup. May sell it next year. Thinking of putting that and some more cash into a CL65....


What year? V8 or turbo 4?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

danno14 said:


> What year? V8 or turbo 4?


It's an 89 Esprit Turbo - 4 cylinder turbo. 52K original miles. Does need TLC, but nothing wrong with the car as such.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Really? What kind of TLC? It's yellow, isn't it?

Jay


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

My buddies beast. Pulls like a train!
I love the acceleration but hate the lack of legroom.

When/if you decide to part with yours, drop me a line. There's 5-6 guys I know who are Lotus owners and always in the market.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

I bought the car almost 5 years ago. Drove it back from Indianapolis (700 miles or so) and have maybe driven it another 500 miles. It's been sitting in the garage ever since. 

The car has some peeling in the dashboard leather (it was already like that), the headliner is sagging a little, the passenger door hinge needs fixing, the intake on the passenger side needs a bracket, and new air filters, some suspension and brake work, and new tires and battery. The engine will need a full fluid refresh as well.

Again, none of these items are show stoppers, and if I had the time, I'd love to restore it, but it's becoming tougher and tougher. When I was driving it it ran pretty well. Not as well, as it would run once I had given the TLC it needs, but the engine is solid, so is the turbo, and the body.

The car was red originally, and has been repainted yellow. There's some spots that are not done too well, mostly because of rock chips on the bumper.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The IR sensor (for the remote) got embedded in the gear shift surround, with a detachable harness. This was the IR sensor diode that was soldered on the actual receiver. I de-soldered it, and extended the wires about 10ft.



















Hot glue is man's best friend?  especially the high temp variety?










The IR "receiver" got taken out of its casing, soldered off a few extra things to make it small and wrapped it in heat-shrink.










The whole thing.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Getting there...










I screwed up on the second piece of the false floor...  This happened when one of the Blaupunkt amps blew up (internal short, nothing to do with the install), and I had to use something else for now. That was the ESX amp, but it was too high to fit the floor layout as it was.

I started modifying the false floor, and then the saw went...uh oh. I'll rebuild the second piece at some point.










There's still two wire bundles that I need to tuck, but mostly getting there.

Additional fuse boxes. One for direct power, one for switched.










Equipment bay.










One MS-8, One CIS-IBUS, One stock TV tuner, One EMU DAC, One DF-BMW CDC interface, one USB 3.0 hub and a bunch of wires.

The carPC and power board (to power the DVD drive, USB hubs and the DAC)










A few more days and I should be done!


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## KyngHype (Sep 7, 2009)

What are the Carpc specs?


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Finally decided to ditch my temp center channel setup (which I was experimenting with) and go for permanent.

You get one guess as to what's going on here.... 



















Took apart the dash in the last few days...measured nine ways to hell, had the shop take a mold of the center area where the center channel will be installed, and finally let loose an air saw at the dash. 

If you fill a hole with enough speaker wire....it'll make sound, right?? 

The fiberglass piece should be finished in a day or two. I'm stoked! It'll hold a 6.5" PPI 356cs with the tweeter mounted coaxially.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

KyngHype said:


> What are the Carpc specs?


Asrock Z77E-ITX, i3 2320t, 8GB RAM, one 128GB SSD, one 2.5" 1TB drive, M4-ATX, Emu 0404USB DAC for the sound card.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

The shop sent some progress pictures of the trim ring...where the speaker will be recessed.





































This trim ring will be fiberglassed to the bottom mold and covered with Alcantara. Only the top part (the grill that you see) will be "visible".


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## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

SUB!


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Will the Ctr be ran passive too? Looks great!


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Bluenote said:


> Will the Ctr be ran passive too? Looks great!


Yup. The car's all wired up already. I just needed the shop to do the fabrication for the mount. I suck at fiberglass...maybe someday I'll get it.


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Can't wait to see how it looks. I've had an MS8 for 3 years and love center channels now haha...


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

More progress pics from the shop.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

LIVE TV running in the car...  with no tuners actually in the car.




























With the carpc now fully functional with XBMC on it...time to play.  This is streaming live TV over 4G LTE from my home network. Don't need any tuners in the car as I have a few Silicondust HDHomerun tuners on my home network. Can't really stream HD that well (it stutters, mostly because 4G networks in the US suck), but SD works just great, and frankly, on that 6.5" screen, SD is more than OK.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

As I am not a computer person in the least does this mean you can watch tv on the fly?


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## BigRed (Aug 12, 2007)

That's cool. I do the same thing thru ipad mini with sling box


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

Coppertone said:


> As I am not a computer person in the least does this mean you can watch tv on the fly?


Absolutely.


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## kapone (Sep 22, 2009)

BigRed said:


> That's cool. I do the same thing thru ipad mini with sling box
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yup, that works as well. I've tried slingboxes off and on in the last few years, but in the end, settled on network tuners like the HDHomerun and Ceton Infiniti. Since the carpc can VPN into my home network, it becomes an extension of my LAN and I can do everything in the car that I do at home (network wise).


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## luisc202 (Oct 29, 2013)

kapone said:


> Getting there...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Holly smokes you have a lot of stuff in that trunk. Nice build so far.


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