# BMW E46 cd FOCAL



## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

*BMW E46 320cd FOCAL*

DYNAMATING passenger door

Window lever hole sealed, 2 layer interior +exterior










Rear hole sealed, aluminiunm reinforced + layers int+ext.


















General work


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

MDF baffle, 10+16 mm 
TITEBOND III glued


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

nice work. Big doors on those BM's.
BUT! What I really like is that router table of yours. Very nice!

Perdoname, ahora en espanol (con teclas de ingles)
Mui lindo el Dynamat en esas puertas gigante, se nota en esos BMW's.
Realmente lo que pedio mi attension, era tu mesa para modelar la madera! Fantastico!


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

syd-monster said:


> nice work. Big doors on those BM's.
> BUT! What I really like is that router table of yours. Very nice!
> 
> Perdoname, ahora en espanol (con teclas de ingles)
> ...


The router table it´s home made, '''''''''''
It´s the easier way to cut MDF for made ring, baffles and shapes ''''''''
And doesn´t made a lot of dust if you connect a vacum like mine

Thks, '''''''


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

*New Ring 10 mm for K2P 142-166 mm.*










*Baffle cut:*










*Baffle 26 mm + ring 10 mm:*


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

cool, homemade table. Class, if you said you bought it, I would have beleived it.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

More router table pics ¡¡¡¡¡¡


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## roysav (May 21, 2008)

nice very nice,love the kit list


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

MB QUART PVF216


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## GEE (Jul 6, 2008)

Hello i also have an E46, i choose to close the big opening in the middle an let open the one for window and airbag.

Same ring in 36mm thick, i'm looking at your setup


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## Echo42987 (Dec 25, 2008)

I may be confused, but why are you downgrading your Focal K2P's to the MB Quart PVF series?


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Echo42987 said:


> I may be confused, but why are you downgrading your Focal K2P's to the MB Quart PVF series?


Because there is no free space for huge magnet of FOCAL k2p

The magnet is touching the metal window rail,,,,,,,,,,,


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## bmwproboi05 (May 3, 2009)

Meanmachine said:


> Because there is no free space for huge magnet of FOCAL k2p
> 
> The magnet is touching the metal window rail,,,,,,,,,,,


even with a spacer?

i see people fit the krx2 into the m3 on the e46 fantastic. you mount it to the door pannle


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

The new brace 10 mm MDF is glued to the baffle.














All gaps are closed with epoxi bicomponent+bondo (fiberglass+poliester resine)
















The ring 10 mm MDF is tested to the baffle, im searching a little up orientation.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

nice update!.... taking your time! best way to do it.

Don't leave that ratchet spanner in the door though... haha.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

sydmonster said:


> nice update!.... taking your time! best way to do it.
> 
> Don't leave that ratchet spanner in the door though... haha.



Thks Syd, 
The ratchet spanner is saved on the shelf, dont worry ¡¡¡¡¡


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## blowngsr1 (Sep 1, 2009)

very nice!


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

I have put the PVF216 for some test










This is the gap betwen the magnet and the window rail.

14 mm up
11 mm down










The panel is in place for some test. The gaps between the PVF and panel

UP 15 mm
Right 18 mm
Left 18 mm
Down 5 mm


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

oh.. thats a tight shot with the camera, I know that feeling.
A your sure the Focal wont fit??

Anyway, great work and the angling is great!


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

sydmonster said:


> oh.. thats a tight shot with the camera, I know that feeling.
> A your sure the Focal wont fit??
> 
> Anyway, great work and the angling is great!


I think so, but,,,,,,,,,,,,, 
perhaps i would try again.

But there is a problem with the FOCAL, the hole in the metal door is not huge.

Only 130 mm wide - 96 mm high

Is that hole large enough to breathe the FOCAL .

I will measure again the gap beteen the rain and the panel.
I will try mounting a spacer 5 mm to place the focal, then i wil test the panel ,,, 
but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the magnet will be so close to the rail ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

The gap between the ring and the baffle is closed with bondo and epoxi bicomponent putty.











While cure, a little work on the original wiring BMW E46


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Some sanding work
After sanding i have glassed with poliester.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

That looks crafty, tuned in to see some more


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## tdc_worm (Sep 24, 2009)

rad....


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Today, wiring passenger door.
Doble line for mid-bass & tweeter
Cable EVUS CA12 2x3 mm, snake skin protected


This is the original connector, Its cut 




















And i can pass the cable by the connector.


















































Wire protected










The cable its secured


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

This is the filter place


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

nice work!! good going with the cable & good work with getting a photo of it too.

Is that the crossover in a plastic bag?


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Syd, 
The crossover is in a plastic bag to avoid damages & scratches '''''''


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

The baffle is glassed, two layer of poliester resin.
Some hot to faster cure.


























I have started the driver door baffle.
The model and the first part, 16mm.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

I start the baffle for driver side 
Ring is cut, 10 mm
The baffle base is glued, 10+16 mm. MDF


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Some work in the passenger side baffle.

Some bondo is added fo close the gap between the baffle and the metal door.
Sanded and ready for paint.
not apply primer, because the baffle will be inside the door panel, i paint directly to the fiberglass.

Painted in black synthetic enamel.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Incredible baffles - if I move my mid bass drivers - I'm referring back to this thread for sure! I'm very interested to see the rest of the install!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

very nice baffles indeed!! lovely work, have you considered making the same from poly ethyl plastic (same plastic they make food chopping boards from). cuts/glues just like wood, but doesn't rot or absorb moisture the same.


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## 00poop6x (Jan 20, 2007)

A+

Just redid mine as I got lazy and did not resin the baffles. 

Anyone with the E46 Coupe/Cabrio MUST cut their doors and build baffles.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Some test with the MB QUART PVF216, it fit perfect in the baffle.


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## CA4944 (May 2, 2009)

Meanmachine said:


>


Very nice fabrication! It's difficult to tell from the photograph, but did you leave drain holes for water in the bottom of the door, or have they been covered?


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

CA4944 said:


> Very nice fabrication! It's difficult to tell from the photograph, but did you leave drain holes for water in the bottom of the door, or have they been covered?


The drain holes for water are free, you can see just on the right.


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## CA4944 (May 2, 2009)

Sorry, right you are! Again, excellent work.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Some work in the driver side baffle.
The ring is angled +18 mm dowm.

The baffle is ready to be cut and will be glue to the ring.


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## vwtoby (Oct 28, 2005)

do you plan to seal the door up as well?


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## CJtech323 (Jan 1, 2010)

Very nice install, Im working on installing speakers in my 323i as well and I will definitely look to this install for help :thumbsup:


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## pirrimarin (Jul 22, 2009)

The attention to detail and craftsmanship on those baffles is amazing!
I wish I was as thorough with my fabrication 

Veo que eres de España amigo!
Estoy muy impresionado por la calidad y atención a detalles que aplicas en tu trabajo!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Lindo!, good to see progress on this project


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

pirrimarin said:


> The attention to detail and craftsmanship on those baffles is amazing!
> I wish I was as thorough with my fabrication
> 
> Veo que eres de España amigo!
> Estoy muy impresionado por la calidad y atención a detalles que aplicas en tu trabajo!



Thanks ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

Como hablas tan bien el Español, Tejano ??'


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## pirrimarin (Jul 22, 2009)

Meanmachine said:


> Thanks ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡
> 
> Como hablas tan bien el Español, Tejano ??'



Pues hombre, soy de Venezuela... solo que vivo en Tejas


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

I have cut the baffle.
The ring is ready to glue to the baffle.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

A new piece MDF 160 mm. is glue to close the gap betwen the baffle and the door.
I use TITEBOND III WATER RESISTANT.










The new piece is cut with bearing bit.










Some sanding work to trim it.










Some test in the door.


























The new brace for a M6


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Some test with the new brace.










The gap refill with bondo.Solid as a rock..


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

The ring has been glue to the baffle, ready to refill the gap with bondo.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

I have refill the gap between the angled ring and the baffle with fibreglass putty (duragloss or bondo)


































I have reinforced the brace that i glued to the baffle with fibreglass matt+poliester resin.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

what incredible baffles! Talk about attention to detail.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Some more work in the baffle.
First a layer of mold release.










The back of the baffle is finish, all the gap between the baffle and the metal panel is closed.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

For mounting the tweeters i have toe options, here is what I am thinking

1.- Original place. Easier to mount but the orientation couldn't be the best.
2.- Interior mirror panel. The orientation could the better, but is difficult to mount, i must paint it.............


What do you think about, ???????????


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## jvr826 (Jan 8, 2010)

Option 2 definitely. I have mine there, nice staging. Currently surface mounted at the natural angle of the sail panel. I've tried them angled to point directly across at each other too and I did like that, but need to do some fabrication to get that one to work right. Blue tape won't cut it for the long term.

You can try them in different places if you want to, see what you like. Just put a long-ass wire on them and stick them in different places.

I was wondering where you put yours. I've been following your thread. Those baffles you built are sick!

Do you get strong bass up front? I'm having issues with mine currently and after talking with a bunch of peeps we're thinking I have a tunnel effect going on with the baffle... not enough air space behind the driver. Your drivers have smaller magnets and seem to have quite a bit of open space behind them.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

The tweeter: PTF 40 MB QUART










A made 2 spacer rings for mount them, 66.66 mm. out 53.30 mm IN










Pls give your opinion about the best location.

OPTION 1:

The original place, 


























OPTION 2:

Front mirror panel


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## bmwproboi05 (May 3, 2009)

do two and mount a mid range in the old tweet place.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Work of this morning: Final trimming. some sanding work and final test.
Itś fit perfect.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

The baffle is ready to be glassed:










Glassing '''''''


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## jvr826 (Jan 8, 2010)

Given the size of those tweeters I'm not sure they're going to fit well on the sail panel... the angled side is flush against the window weather stripping, isn't it? The rings seem to protrude beyond that point.

I chose small tweeters for this very reason, so they'd fit in the sail panel, or a-pillar if I decided to move them up that far. 

I say try them in the stock midrange location and see what you think. It will be an experiment to figure out what works best. In my past system install the tweeters were in the midrange location and the sound stage was there too... between my chest and the dash board. I didn't like that so I went for the sail panel this time around.

Your fab skills are really good, so u have options. 

Have you seen this build?

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/710278-post104.html

Maybe something like this will work better for you since your tweets are so large.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

The PMF 40 measuring 50 mm. in outer, 
I will made a new ring, 55 mm. in inner / 60 mm. in outer.
(the yesterday ring measure was 66 mm. in outer)

I will test again to check if fits in the sail panell.


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## cbrei1023 (Dec 2, 2008)

looking awesome. nice mouse.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

This afternoon I glassed the rear of baflle.
Coming soon a bit of sanding and pintare with matte black synthetic enamel


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

I made the wire for the driver's door.

Wire: EVUS CA14 2X14 AGW

Double line, one for tweeter and one for the woofer

275 mm. for tweeter
225 mm. for woofer

A bit of heatshrink to hold the wire,










Snakeskin, one for the doble line.










Another narrower for the single lines (tweeter and woofer)










The wire prepared to pass the original connector.
When installed, it will mark and protect the end.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

My new JASPER 400 has arrived from HOUSTON (USA)
Thks Les (JASPER TOOLS)
I will use for the made the perfect tweeters rings.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Due to glassing process, the ring isn't flat.
A MDF flat piece + 90 gr. sand and 150 gr. to finish
and the ring is flat again to mount the driver.
All the baffle has been 150 sanded and is ready to paint.


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## jaydub (Feb 22, 2010)

Those baffles are incredible. I can't wait to see more progress! That attention to detail is what I really enjoy seeing.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Some work with the new Jasper 400
I made a first test ring for the tweeter.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

The idea is mount the tweeter in the sail panel:

Some test and ,,,,, i will see.


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## jvr826 (Jan 8, 2010)

Looking good!

I used a couple wads of this 3M adhesive putty to play around with tweeter aiming easier. I found the suggestion here somewhere.










I found that aiming them somewhat up from parallel with the floor and across at each other, but angled slightly towards the driver and passenger (opposite from each tweet) that the stage was improved. I'm not sure if they will stay this way, but for the last week or so I have been enjoying them like this. The putty was about $3 from Office Depot.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

jvr826 said:


> Looking good!
> 
> I used a couple wads of this 3M adhesive putty to play around with tweeter aiming easier. I found the suggestion here somewhere.
> 
> ...


Thks, jvr826
I will try ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

Hey jvr, do you live in Santa Cruz CA ??
Hoooooooooow, 

I like it, perhaps some day i will go to your city.


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

My idea is to direct the tweeter on the left to the passenger seat headrest.


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## bigaudiofanatic (Mar 1, 2009)

Looks great man!


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Today some work with the sail panel


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## Meanmachine (Jan 19, 2009)

Some stuff from Fullspeed IT
Clear, yellow and blue heatshrink

Thanks Shaun


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## henrymo2 (Feb 19, 2011)

what ever happened to this build?


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## TheHulk9er (Oct 28, 2010)

Subscribed. Very nice.


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