BMW m3 owners

Well, it is finally here. School is out. I got my car over spring break but had to leave it home due to no parking. But now I will have my car, and need to get this empeg in there. Its got the stock (not premium) sound system. Has anyone installed the empeg into the stock amp? Can another m3 owner tell me any adapters I will need?

This might be what your looking for.

on M3 installs in Installation forum. couple a people have them with Empegs and noise seems to be the big issue.
Try this:
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Boulevard/3287/car_audio/stereo_upgrade.html

Radio Inputs:
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e36/stereo/

Definitely do a search of posts for M3's.

I have a 1995 M3 and removed the factory amp, put in an Xtant 604X amp, a/d/s separates in the front, and JL stealthboxes in the rear.

Regarding noise, these cars are VERY noisy! If you replace the amp with an aftermarket (suggested) I suggested that you buy the best RCA's on the market (Monster Cable XLN Pro). That's what I have and they got rid of the noise (used to have crappy Phoenix Gold RCA's).

You can't just plug your rca's from the EMPEG into the dash area because there aren't any. You're gonna have to splice in RCA's into the twisted pairs in the dash but there is one for EACH speaker, so definitely out of the question. Additionally, the speaker connections are consolidated in the trunk in two plug modules (see unofficialbmw.com website for pinouts).

I ran RCA's from the front to the rear to connect to my aftermarket amp. Then ran speaker cable from my amp and spliced into all the speaker connections in the trunk. Major pain in the ass.

Good luck!
Wes
'95 M3

Word, just finished installing it in my m3. Not a bad job for my first install i'd say. I kept the stock amp and speakers, for now. I do have to turn the player's wolume up quite a bit, so maybe an amp is not too far down the road. I tell ya, there ain't much room back there for all those damn wires! Luckily it seems all my solders held. I might post pics somewhere, sometime.

Dan

Congrats!

Like I said, these cars are a pain in the butt to install systems in. One good thing is that the battery is in the back but this is also bad because it typically creates more system noise. I mounted my Xtant amp on the underside of the rear deck, mounted to a carpeted 1/2 inch MDF board. Looks professional. I also installed my a/d/s passive crossovers (for the front separates) in the area where the factory amp used to be.

Wes

One more question. When I was soldering the harness, I had 2 of the wires switched. The player would not turn on until I turned on my lights (really not my fault, the wire colors didn't match). Anyway, I got that fixed. Anyway... to my question. When the car is off, should the LED in the upper right corner still flash? Just making sure, don't want to drain the 'ol battery.

Thanks!
Dan

When the car is off, should the LED in the upper right corner still flash?

Click Here.

I hear you on the cramped space back there. I really want a tuner, but I don't know if it would even fit. I also find that the volume is just a tad soft with the stock amp. Did you screw the car dock into the car, or did you use the tabs? I have a kind of a crappy install because I don't have a drill to make screw holes and the tabs don't work so well. Any tips?
Dan

95 M3

Yeah, I just used the tabs. It seems to hold pretty well. It moves up and down a bit in the back, but nothing too bad. I wish the little "nub" on the back of the stock stereo fit in the hole on the dock, if you follow. As far as tips, the smaller tabs seem to work better than the big ones. I still pushed out some of the big ones though.

Dan

Yes, a tuner will fit behind the chassis in the dash in a '95 M3 ("analog" climate control). You will have more room if you have a 96+ model as they have the smaller "digital" climate control.

Good luck!
Wes
'95 M3

This does indeed look like the correct connector. I though it's not listed on thier website, crutchfield has it for $12.00. With shipping the total was ~$17.00 versus a total of ~$24.00 from the site you listed.

Thanks for the info.

Hey folks, I'm hoping to grab the attention of all you M3 folks out there, so I figured I'd piggy-back:)

Here's the story:

99 M3 = Dual Zone Digital Climate, Full blown trip computer with all the neat gizmos

Things that I want out of my new rig:

1) Aftermarket head-unit (Sorry folks but I have lots of passengers and listen to a lot of talk radio.)

2) Empeg Unit (Duh)

3) Retain trip computer.

Now without raising the ire of senior members by relocating the Empeg's face.... I want to

1) relocate the trip computer's face into the sunglass pocket
2) Trip computer against firewall
3) Empeg in original Trip Computer slot
4) Aftermarket head unit in the dash

Thanks for any help folks.

Sounds like a pretty serious project. Best of luck.

Well, I'm hoping it's not too serious, I'm already into my install guy for enough favors

Just wondering if anyone's pulled out the bottom half of the console and poked around back there.

Thanks for the feedback all

I'll be pulling and messing around on Friday. I should have all my connectors and wires done up by then. (waiting on that connector I posted about) As I do the install I'll be taking photos and making notes. There doesn't seem to be a really good install guide for M3s, even though they're known for having lots of noise etc etc...

As far as talk radio.... you can get radio if your patient. Eventually PCA will come up with a nice unit. In the mean time you can d/l your talk radio shows and load them on your empeg.

For those times when you can't rip your new cd you will hope fully soon be able to use the cd changer in your trunk.

There isn't enough depth behind the sunglass holder or OBC for the Empeg to fit without cutting. My guess is that a regular head unit would not fit either. If you want to see for yourself, here are removal instructions, no tools required.

Edit: Fixed links.

Your project is not worth the time and money just to keep the radio. Heck, I spend enough time just trying to get the EMPEG Tuner installed behind the actual Empeg in the dash!

As was said before, you can download all sorts of talk radio shows (NPR?) and play them on your Empeg. Although not fully advocating it here, there is a program for this (search my posts).

On a side note, I just had a heck of a time troubleshooting a battery problem on my M3 where the water level was low in the battery and since the voltage kept dropping below 11.5 volts, it kept cutting off my Xtant amp. Optima battery here I come!!!

Good luck,
Wes
1995 M3

Optima batteries are EXCELLENT! I had one in my '7 Here in phoenix for 3 years with no problems. The last year my car sat most of the time; that killed it.

Optima batteries are EXCELLENT!

I would agree, but from a somewhat different slant.

Optima batteries come in (at least) two versions: the "Red Top" batteries and the "Yellow Top" batteries.

The Yellow Top batteries are known for having a lot of reserve power, you can take a lot of juice out of them before they fall over with low voltage.

The Red Top batteries are designed for very high current flow in both directions without as much reserve capacity.

The Red Top battery is what I have in my old Toyota Land Cruiser snow plow truck. The electric snow plow lift/angle drive uses an immense amount of power -- probably in the vicinity of 300-400 amps. This means I couldn't plow very long before the battery ran out of juice -- until I got the Red Top. I have a 200 amp alternator in the truck (the original alternator was, I believe, 40 amps) and that Red Top will accept a ridiculous recharge rate. I can have the battery run down so far that angling the plow blade makes the engine run rough -- and by the time I have driven to the next plowing job, it is recharged and ready to take on the next driveway or parking lot. It used to be I could plow for maybe four hours before heading home and putting the battery charger on overnight. Now I can plow until I run out of gas -- and it is about even odds which will run out of gas first: myself, or the Land Cruiser.

The Land Cruiser, by the way, is 33 years old now. I bought it brand new for $3500 in 1969, and it has been plowing snow every winter since then. One blown head gasket, one clutch, and some wheel brake cylinders that got ripped off when a tire chain slipped off onto the inside of the wheel are about all I have ever had to do to it. It'll probably only go another couple of years before the rust kills it though... the engine block is rusted through to the point where it is porous, and I have to put in half a gallon of antifreeze every time I run it, I can see the highway beneath my feet, the rear body panels are about gone... but it just keeps on chugging along.

Oh -- and the stereo system is a boom box duct-taped to the dashboard.

Really.

tanstaafl.

Allright folks I gave it a fair shake and it's just not for me

Great system, kudo's to the designers and support community. But I just don't have the time and effort to put into it.

Before I sell it on ebay, I figured I'd check and see if anyone here knew someone that wanted one.

Not trying to burn anyone or make a killing, but I'd like to get back what I put into it.

Thoughts on a 10gb Rio Car?

Thanks for your thoughts

Rob

Allright folks I gave it a fair shake and it's just not for me

You like carrying around all the CDs you own? Fair enough.

Before I sell it on ebay, I figured I'd check and see if anyone here knew someone that wanted one.

You might want to try the For Sale forum.

For Sale forum (REALLY should've thought of that) Gotcha

and no, I hate CD's as much as the next guy, going with the Music Keg and a controller. Sorry, but to each his/her own.

and no, I hate CD's as much as the next guy, going with the Music Keg and a controller. Sorry, but to each his/her own.

For your situation, where the car maker has gone to great lengths to prevent you from installing any aftermarket stereo in the dash, that's often the best solution.

It's really too bad that some car makers are doing this.

He said he's putting a Sony aftermarket unit in the dash. That could as easily be an empeg, but he wants to pick up radio and presumably doesn't have a tuner module (or want to wait a few more weeks for Patricks kit).

I agree there could be a huge market for a box-in-the-boot player if it were executed properly.

Rob

A travesty! I personally would wait for Patrick's tuner kit to come out. Heck, I've got a tuner and barely even listen to it! I will NEVER go back to CD's again. When the Empeg's were at rock bottom prices I even bought another one just in case my 'regular' one crapped out on me.

On the battery note...I ordered an Odyssey Battery (http://www.odysseybatteries.com) as they are made by the same company (Hawker Energy) that makes batteries for the US military Hummer's and Tanks.

Wes

He said he's putting a Sony aftermarket unit in the dash. That could as easily be an empeg,

Okay, if that's the case, then I totally don't get it.

RobsM3, the empeg is so much better than the music keg, you have no idea what you're giving up. If you're able to put a DIN-sized unit in your dash (such as the Sony), and you already have an empeg in your possession, then just install an amp and do it. Forget the Sony, forget a tuner for now and get the tuner kit in a few weeks.

Well, I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment, but I'll defend myself ever so briefly

I will NEVER own a Sony head unit, perish the thought.

However, I am buying an Alpine multimedia rig (CVA style) and don't have room to mount that and the empeg in the din. I understand that the Empeg is a WONDERFUL solution and don't want to impinge upon either its community or concept. That said, I simply have nowhere to put it as remote mount is not an option and DVD playback is important to me (I do a good bit of driving, which is also why I'm so attached to the AM band).

So god bless your fervent support of a great product and much is the shame that it will not be making a home in my baby.

(A Sony? Barely worth their weight as scrap)

Okay, in-dash DVD playback is another good reason.

Personally, I think the idea of having a DVD screen in my dash is dangerous and I wouldn't want to try to watch a movie while driving. For long trips I prefer to listen to music. Of course, as you said, to each his own.

And hey, it just means that somone else who really wants and can use an empeg will be able to get one. So all is cool.

Okay, in-dash DVD playback is another good reason.

No, it's not. I'd argue that it should be illegal. OTOH, mounting displays in front of the passenger seat and in the back of the front seats is certainly reasonable.

He didn't specifically say the display would be mounted in the dash, although he implied it.

My point is that if he doesn't have room in the dash just because he wants a CD player up there, well then he should just dump the CD player because he'll never use it once he gets his empeg loaded with tunes. But playing movies is something that the empeg doesn't do, so he's got a valid point if that's his reason. Even if we disagree on the safety or utiliy of watching DVDs in the dash, it's still valid to say that he can't fit both, so he needs to make his own choices.

No! I'm always right!! Me, me, me, me, me!!!!!

LOL, I'm glad we can all see I2I, and here is what I consider to be final salvo:

The screen will in fact be for the passenger, but that may be me if the woman is driving. And while this may sound really weird, I kind of enjoy listening to movies w/out watching them. It's nice to reconstruct the ones I've seen and always amusing when I imagine what one looks like based on what it sounds like.

So TTFN and I'm sure the new owner will be wonderfully appreciative.

And while this may sound really weird, I kind of enjoy listening to movies w/out watching them.

Yes!

I used to be a semi-professional photographer (back in the days before digital cameras) and this involved a lot of darkroom work. I had an FM radio that could be tuned in such a fashion as to pick up a harmonic of one of the local TV station's audio.

I found that I could nearly always "watch" a movie or TV program without benefit of video. In fact, it is much easier to watch and understand a movie with audio and no video than it is the other way around.

tanstaafl.

I had an FM radio that could be tuned in such a fashion as to pick up a harmonic of one of the local TV station's audio.

Down at the bottom end of the FM scale? That's not a harmonic, that's the the real audio track for VHF channel 6. In my area, that's KVIE, the local PBS station. I used to go over to a friend's house on Saturday nights and watch some of Doctor Who, leave before it was over, and listen to it on the way home.

The reason you can do that is because the VHF broadcast TV channels are actually split in the spectrum, with 2-6 being one group of frequencies and 7-13 being another group. Some radios let you squeak down a bit past the bottom of the FM band and catch the top of the VHF band.

Great, all we need around here is somebody who is listening/watching Ronin while driving their M5 up I-17. That should be a lot of fun...

Great, all we need around here is somebody who is listening/watching Ronin while driving their M5 up I-17.

Why not? We've already got someone playing Gran Turismo while driving up I-80.

(For the record, Loren doesn't actually play the PS/2 while driving.)

I've had people say simmilar things about the empeg's visualization... on this forum even!!!

Hell, empeg visuallizations usually have a better plot line than most movies today.

empeg visuallizations usually have a better plot line than most movies today

Are you perhaps refering to that other thread?

/Michael

Owning an M3 (1995) I can tell you there is no room behind the trip computer for a head unit or (bigger) rio sled. Here is my dream:
Ditch Sony head unit and replace with original factory radio
get CD changer adaptor with AUX input
Mount Empeg in glovebox (Solves theft issue)
Mount Rio and sled in custom

Mount Empeg in glovebox (Solves theft issue)

Not unless your glove box is a strongbox. Both times I had my car ripped off, the glove box got emptied.

" I do have to turn the player's wolume up quite a bit, so maybe an amp is not too far down the road."

You probably don't need another amp. The issue, as I understand it, is that the BMW factory amp uses higher voltage (8V) inputs. You need something called a powered active level converter between the empeg and the amp, like this one:

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/PHOTLD2

I've been researching this because I have two friends who bought empegs because they liked mine and have BMWs. Neither are installed yet...

Jim