mini cooper install?

Hey all,

There's a gal at work that's getting a Mini. She also wants to get a riocar. However, she's wondering if there's anywhere to install the riocar so that she doesn't lose the OEM stereo and steering wheel controls (she doesn't want to have something on her new car that doesn't work). She's not the type to make playlists, or anything -- random shuffle of all tracks is all she really wants -- so she doesn't care about access to visuals, or anything like that.

Thoughts anyone? Bueller?

The SWI-X is supposed to support the Mini Cooper S as of August 20. No idea if it'll work with the empeg, though. Probably. 38-40kHz IR interface sound right?

Edit: Oh, and you can get it at Crutchfield.

Oh, sweet! I'll pass on the info, and probably buy one for myself (unless anyone knows how to get the steering wheel controls on a Nissan into the serial port).

Thanks...

So did this work? The first 2 links in the above message don't seem to work...

- Jon

Dunno. The gal at work decided to pass on getting an empeg, because she didn't want to tear up the dash, and I haven't installed the empeg in my truck, yet.

Aw, too bad.
Mine's going in next week. Can't freakin' wait! Whohoo! After having my Empeg a year and a half, it's finally getting a 'home'.

Me.

You mean I'm not the only one here that hasn't installed it yet? Wow.

http://www.autotoys.com/ has the SWI-X much cheaper. I actually just got mine this very morning.

Also, if you need a fascia adapter, wiring harness adapter, and antenna adapter, there is a fellow in the UK that sells them for 30 pounds. (about $50 with shipping)
The fascia adapter is available from other places, and possibly the wiring harness (though I hear it isn't as complete).
But the antenna adapter is a hard to find item. But thats assuming you have a tuner. I was an optimist and went ahead and got it.

PM me for more info, or go over to www.mini2.com forums and do a search for mikeythemini
Mini2 also has a lot of good info on how to take out the stock head unit. It is surprisingly easy. And the Empeg looks to be good fit.

Now just need the rest of the stuff to start the install.....

Yeah, actually, that's where I got my adapter stuff from./ Not the fastest shipping to get it, but he's not making a buck offa it, so I'm not complaining..

I'm going to have to wait until *AFTER* my drive across the country next week to get mine installed. I'm bummed, but I'd rather it NOT be rushed..

I could do it myself, but am not going to. Mostly because I don't have the time before/after work... So, in a week and a half, I'll drop it off down at my installer, let them do the work, probably hang around and bug them 90% of the time..

Me.

I was actually surprised by the shipping speed, and I always feel special getting Royal Mail.

I'm a DIY type of guy. And to AR to trust installers. My only install problem right now is heat - too much of it here.
What I wouldn't give for a nice roomy air-conditioned garage.

I look forward to hearing how your install goes.

BTW, what lens are you going to use?
I was pleasantly surprised by how well the stock red lens matches the MINI lighting - but I just ordered a neon red one as well.

Yup, using a Red Lens. I don't have the Neon lenses..
I originally was going to get the lighted buttons in red, and use a BLUE or GREEN display to make it stand out, but the buttons are MIA, so now I'm just going for Red display..


Me..

I'll let you know how the neon looks when I get it.

I too would like to have the lighted buttons....
Maybe someday.

Just a stray thought . . . I get those once in a while:
I was just over on Mini2 browsing the ICE posts. All those people installing their Alpines/Kenwoods/Sonys/Whatevers. You know, the garish, multi-color, blinky/tacky things. Or the raves for the Music Keg's. If they only knew what they were missing in not having an Empeg.....

It really is kinda sad.

The Empeg isn't the newest toy on the block, but I'm still impressed by it's sheer elegance. Both visually and technically.
And I appreciate the Empeg even more every time I drive my MINI and am forced to use that crappy CD player. I feel so limited using a CD player. Gotta get the Empeg installed.

Yer tellin' me.

One of the main reasons I GOT a 'second' Empeg was because I couldn't see myself using one of the 'others' out there. While I was waiting to talk to my installer, I was looking at the different HU's up on the wall, and it struck me, square in the head: None of them would look as cool, have the features that the Empeg does, or can do the stuff it does.

Because of the vast superiorrity of the Empeg, I carry it around in my Mini - on the passenger seat, using a small FM transmitter. It beats the friggin' CD player.
(As a side note, I blew a speaker amp in the so-called 'CD Player' HU in the Mini on my week-trip last week. Scared the hell outta me because I thought the Empeg was fried for a minute..)

Me.

OK. It's in. Done. Mostly.

Empeg is in the MINI. Blaupunkt PA-4100 4 channel amp in the rear cubby (tight fit). Infinity Kappa 695.2's in the rear. Kappa Perfect 6.1's in front (very tight fit). Fatmat plastered in various places. Only major problem is a defective component tweeter. See how the merchant handles this. :/

The only thing left to do (other than the tweeter prob) is fasten on the front grilles (they had to be cut from the door card), and replace the boot lip trim piece when I get 4 panel clips in the mail. Those things are easy to break.

The Empeg sled slides very nicely into the dash (a nice new black sled). In fact, I mounted it behind the trim plate. And used a couple of small nuts on the units dock connector screws to move the connector out to compensate for the thickness of the trim panel.

I have a bunch of digital photos, and will post with details soon.

Wow! I'm envious. I waited too long to order the black-sled on here, and now can't get one until he digs up another batch or so of them. How does the black sled look in the dash? (If it's barely noticable, I'll just grab the standard sled and pop it in there..)

Me.

Just popped mine in last night - definitely makes the dash stealthier when the player is out!

Aw, damn, that's what I was afraid of.. Now I have to wait until he has more of 'em so I can get one.

Me.

Sure does look better. The stock sled is way to bright looking. And putting the fascia in front of the sled lets the Empeg fit nice and flush against the fascia. No unsightly gap.
See attachment.

and without the Empeg. Kinda dark - hard to see detail. But the sled is behind the fascia, which holds it snugly in place. Due to the depth of the opening in the MINI, none of the sled tabs is bent to hold it.
The stock rear mount in the car lines up perfectly with the mount hole in the sled, but the sled uses the wrong size fastener. So you can't use the mount plug from the stock HU. I used a machine screw that fit, and added a rubber plug on it to slide it the support bracket in the car.

Now to get the stock HU apart so I can use the stock face as a stealth cover....... Muuhaahaa

That looks pretty slick.

The stock rear mount in the car lines up perfectly with the mount hole in the sled, but the sled uses the wrong size fastener.

I am quite sure we are using the same thread size as the original empeg sleds.

I think by "wrong sized" he meant the sled uses different threads than the car does.

Just making sure...

Yes, you are using the same size thread size as the stock sled. And that's the problem. The stock thread size is a smaller size than many standard mounts of that type. I have several HU's (Kenwood, Soundstream, MINI stock) that all use a larger fastener there. To be honest, the Empeg sled is the only one that I recall seeing with that size fastener.

Did the Empeg sled come with a double ended bolt and rubber plug that goes there? I don't recall seeing one.

While I'm on the subject of the new sled.... Excellent job on fabrication. The copy of the original is just about flawless. I even noticed that the cutout for the connector plug in the rear has the same "flaw" as the orginal. The original cutout was a smidge to small to let the connecter easily seat in the cutout. Wnen the screws are tightened, it forces it into place. Your copy is the same way. Impressive attention to detail.

All in all, a great sled.

Did the Empeg sled come with a double ended bolt and rubber plug that goes there? I don't recall seeing one.

No it didn't. I'm using one from my previous headunit (a JVC) that was 1mm to large to fit the threaded hole in the sled (M5 vs M4, IIRC), but that was easy enough to fix on my lathe...

/Michael

Ohohoh, schweet. I can't wait. Next week. Yuppers. I feel bad because I kept bugging Robricc about the black one, but I just realized that MY sled has the back front on it, and I'll be freaked if I'm gonna let something else get in the wat of finally getting my empeg installed.

I'm glad to see the curves of the Rio blend in nicely to the rest of the dash.. But have one comment about your console there..
What, no fog lights?

Me.

If it were me, I would drill out enough of the threads in the sled to allow me to insert a bolt from the inside of the sled into the car's mount.

No it didn't. I'm using one from my previous headunit (a JVC) that was 1mm to large to fit the threaded hole in the sled (M5 vs M4, IIRC), but that was easy enough to fix on my lathe...

Exactly my point. Add another brand (JVC) to the list that uses a larger bolt size.

I'm glad to see the curves of the Rio blend in nicely to the rest of the dash.. But have one comment about your console there..
What, no fog lights?

It does blend in pretty well. The fascia is just a tad bit lighter than the black of the dash, but not bad. I want to get an AnoFace...

Fog lights? Fog lights? We don't need no stinkin' fog lights!
At least not here in the desert. Besides, I already did the paperclip mod to add them as brake lights.

If it were me, I would drill out enough of the threads in the sled to allow me to insert a bolt from the inside of the sled into the car's mount.

It was a lot easier to just get a correct sized bolt that goes from the inside out, and screw on a suitable rubber plug to go into the car mount.

Got mine put in today, and ended up being late for work.

Now I was suprised at one thing - I HAD to mess with the EQ settings to make it sound better. At flat, it sounded like hell. Is that normal, or do I need to do some adjustments to the Amp?

Me..

Now I was suprised at one thing - I HAD to mess with the EQ settings to make it sound better. At flat, it sounded like hell. Is that normal, or do I need to do some adjustments to the Amp?

That's normal.

In reply to:

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That's normal.

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Normal schnormal. A little tweaking, and it rocks. Muhahaha. :>

Now, what I want to see is an external EQ editor for Win/Java.

Me.