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2004 E46 318ci Convertable - Ski Hatch/Pass Sub Install

56K views 40 replies 13 participants last post by  c4lho888 
#1 ·
Hey Guys, I have just finished installing my Alpine E-10 free air sub into my ski hatch in my e46
Before i started i had a clear idea in my head of what i wanted. i wanted to lose as little boot space as possible. With this instal i lost none

Ive attached pics of the install and im gonna run through a quick DIY

I started by pulling out the rear seats and removing the ski hatch box

The seats are easily removed, the bottom section is clipped in just needs a sharp tug from the front upwards. The seat backs are held in by two nuts under the seat bottom. Once these are removed the backs can be lifted straight up and out.

The ski hatch (black plastic) is held in by 4 torq screws once this is out the plastic ski hatch can be used as a template for making your bafle board


Making the Baffle Board
I used 3/4'' MDF i marked it and used a jigsaw to cut it to size, I cut a 9'' hold in the midldle and drilled the holes for mounting it to the car.


I used leather to trim it on the side facing into the car

Installing the Amp

The wiring of the amp was relativly simple, the battery is in the boot so the power is easy

I removed some of the boot trim only the part at the back and the carpet over the spare wheel.

I ran the RCA's and remote turn on lead down the pasenger side of the car. I removed the glovebox and the kickpannel.

The glove box comes out with 6 screws (three along the top one either side and one underneath near the door)

The kick pannel is cliped in with clips, it just pulls off

I ran the cables from the HU under the kickpannel and carpet to the boot. On the passenger side the is a tunnel that goes into the boot compartment that you can get to once the trim is removed.


I put my amp it the spare wheel well there is loads of room in there so its a good spot to put it, I mounted it to a piece of ply wood so it dose'nt slide arround in the boot.


While the boot linning was out I cut the square impression that the ski hatch is behind out.


Putting the sub in
I bolted my mdf board to where the ski hatch was. I had to find new bolts because the torq screws were too short.
I placed my sub in the 9'' hole and screwed it down


I climbed in the boot and wired in the speaker cable to the back of the sub and ran the cable to the amp.

I ran it up to check it was working and put the trim in the boot, glovebox and kick pannel back in position

The seats went back in in the return order that they came out



The leather pod fits back in where it came from to cover up the sub when i leave the car
 
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#16 ·
#21 ·
have u considered a jl audio w7 sub?, (8") thats what i bought, and installed along side a jl audio amp, the sub was about £400 from the usa, but for an 8" sub the sounds are outrageous, but so is the size of the magnet and it is a tight squeeze in to the arm rest, and its also very heavy. definitely worth thinkin about tho if u want more bass but dont want to lose the boot, im very happy with mine if you install it properly it will sound better than 2 cheaper 10 inch subs
 
#22 ·
Hi, great guide, I take it you are using an after market head unit? I want to put a sub in mine as the bass and sound quality from the OEM speakers is woeful but I don't want to change my head unit as I have an oem sat nav etc. Also do you know where the standard amp is in the E46 because my rear speakers have stopped working and I suspect an amp issue as they still work when tested out of the car? Thanks.
 
#24 ·
use i am using an alpine cda after market HU,

you can still use a amp and sub with your stock HU. you will either need an amp with speaker level inputs or a speaker level to rca converter like:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/High-Level-Sp...cles_Terminals_Cabling_ET&hash=item3c9a9fde02

this will allow you to 'tap' into your rear speakers and get rca outputs from them

as for your rear speakers not working, is it a vert? i dont know much about the amp'd systems as mine is not amp's but i belive the amp is on the passenger side in the back behind the trim that has the armrest on, if you know where i mean

you should check all your connections too :)

Is that Alpine sub designed for infinate baffle use mate?
i dont understand the term 'infnate baffle'

but the alpine sub is a free air sub and is designed to baffle off of its self so it dosent need a box :)

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/9124.html
 
#25 ·
Sorry to bump an old thread but I am considering doing this to mine....

I had my heart set on a kit from here:

http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/p...Subwoofer-System-E46-Convertible-M3-3-Series/

But its £435+ delivery to the UK, then theres £100 import duty to pay on it, making it very expensive, there was one on ebay but I missed it and it went for top money.....

Since then I have been looking further into the kit and it seems pretty easy to re-create.... So I am looking into making my own kit up....

My vert has sat nav and Harmon Kardon but it is possible to wire the remote and the RCA's for the new amp off the existing HK amp situated behind the rear quarter....

So my questions, how does the alpine sound? Have you got a good seal between the seat backs and the baffle board? Also what spec is your amp? I have a JBL 400w 2 channel amp im my garage from a previous car that I think will do the job nicely!

Thanks in advance.
 
#26 ·
Its not actually a baffel board, as it is not sealed,

The sub is a free air sub so it baffels off its self, so you don't need a tight seal at all

It sounds pretty good, as its free air you don't get killer bass but enough,

The HK dosent have pre outs but you could use LOC's on your speaker wires to give you pre outs, the is an install link in my sig for using an amp with oem HU
The only diffrence is you will need to take your speaker inputs from your amp, but easy enough to do
 
#27 ·
Cheers for the reply.

The RCA's can be Tapped into the wiring harness entering the HK amp so the speaker -RCA filters aren't required! It basically involves cutting one end of the RCA's off (the end that would usually plug into the pre-out's on a HU or the filters from the rear speakers) and wiring them to two pairs of the original wiring..... The remote is also there and is just a matter of tapping into the wire as well! It would be nice to try and do it all with scotch locks as opposed to cutting and crimping to the original wiring so I think I will try that approach!

I didnt realise the choice in terms of Free Air subs.... There are a lot to choose from!
 
#28 ·
The RCA's can be Tapped into the wiring harness entering the HK amp so the speaker -RCA filters aren't required! It basically involves cutting one end of the RCA's off (the end that would usually plug into the pre-out's on a HU or the filters from the rear speakers) and wiring them to two pairs of the original wiring..... The remote is also there and is just a matter of tapping into the wire as well! It would be nice to try and do it all with scotch locks as opposed to cutting and crimping to the original wiring so I think I will try that approach!
Not knowing alot about the HK but, i didnt think the HU and amp used RCA's on the HK, and i thought that the HU and amp comunitcated strangely so this was not possible to connect like this,
 
#29 ·
Hmm yeh I see what your saying.... I don't know if they are RCA's as such but its only tapping into the input signal for the HK amp so hopefully it will work, I have found a PDF explaining how to do it and it looks quite straight forward so I will give it a go!

I will use scotch locks to save butchering the standard wiring, if it doesnt work I can just take the scotch locks and re-insulate where they have spliced through!

It should be ok lol.
 
#31 ·
Here is the guide for installing the BSW ib110, I nearly went for one of these new, £550ish by the time it gets here with import charges.... Then last week I just missed out on one on ebay, that went for £335+ delivery....

It was only then when I looked into the guide below that I realised its just an amp and sub tapped into the HK amp.

I already have RCA's and amp, 4 awg wiring from a previous car..... All I need is a Free Air sub and to make the baffle board. So I am much better off having missed the deal!

Anyway: http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/product-extras/ib110_Install_Guide.pdf

See pages 9,10 and 11 for the RCA tappings......

I went to my local sounds place last week to see if they had the RCA's with the single wires on the end for tapping into the HK amp..... They then just said to cut two of the ends off and use the sheathing as the earth and the cable for the + for both the RCA's.... A touch for me as I already had a set of RCA's with a broken end from when the amp in my previous can fell off its mount and the male end snapped in the amp....

Let me know what you think, I think it is going to be possible, I'm ordering the sub today, DLS OA10D and hopefully I will be doing the wiring on Friday...
 
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