BSW Stage 1 Install on 00 M Coupe

[petern101]

Here is a preliminary thread on this. I will update with pictures later. I would probably advise BSW to maybe add the addition instructions to their existing instructions pending final revision.

First off, the BSW speakers seem like really nice speakers for the money. I thought, from the instructions, that it would literally be plug and play.

After I started to remove some panels, I started to notice it wasn't neccessarily so.

REAR SPEAKERS
I started off with the rear speakers since they seemed the easiest. Popping off the grill wasn't as easy as it looks. It takes some strong fingers to just pry them off. I wouldn't advise using actual pry tools because it will deform the rear speaker foam molding on the outside of the grill. you should really start at the front of the grills (closest towards the driver). there are two little bendable tabs that will give way and let you tackle the two side metal tabs. you just have to pull down very fast and it will come off. Once off, I unscrewed the speakers (8mm) and noticed something right off the bat. The 2.5 inch speakers that BSW gave me, do fit, but you need to remove the old speaker from the faceplate and somehow attach it onto the new speaker. The instructions state to just put in the new speakers. Some clarification would have been nice. So anyways, after I figured the plate ordeal out, I go to hook it up and the connections are two MALE connections. So I can't hookup the rears after all that work. I could have cut / spliced but i wanted to use the oem hookups. I mean they provided them, if it was just bare wire, i wouldnt' have thought anything of it.

as you can see, the front two tabs can be pushed back to allow some room to easily take off the grill. this would have helped me alot since i just started to pry around the back area (which doesn't give any)


stock rear speaker for reference



now i ripped off the stock speaker and nudged the new one onto the mounting plate


it would have been smooth after that but I ran into a problem. notice the stock connector on the right (female) and the bsw connection (male). i could splice but whats the point of the connector in the first place?


i decided to move on and figure that out later.

LOWER KICKPANEL SPEAKERS

These actually went in just as planned out from the instructions. The only minor thing was the instructions said the wires were both blue. The drivers side was brown with different colored stripes while the pass. side did have the blue wires. Nothing too hard to figure out.

reference pic of comparison


IN DOOR TWEETERS

Semi pain but more DIY than expected. Taking off the door wasn't too hard. after I took off the door, I immediatly noticed the tweeter setup isn't like it is on the instructions. The two tweeters are held in place by Torx 10 screws on brackets. I took off the smaller one and again, has a faceplate that needs to be removed in order to install the tweeter. This is where I had to DIY on the fly. So you can't mount the aftermarket tweeter to anything other than the faceplate that is glued onto the stock tweeter. I pulled the old tweeter off and started to cut the old bracket to clear the new tweeter. Once i was satisifed with the clearance, i just basically sandwiched the aftermarket tweeter against the grill and screwed down the reused faceplate. there was no way to install it the way that was instructed in the instructions. I mean you dont' notice it at all, seemed secure. I hope there are no vibrations from it. Putting the door panel back on was much harder than it looked, but eventually it went it.

here is a pic of what the stock setup is and how its mounted


ok now here is the tweeter removed, notice the oem piece is similar to the rear speakers as in its mounted to a plate.


here is where i started to clip off chunks of the plate.


now here is where i sandwiched the tweeter inbetween the grill and plate. I could not think of any other way of mounting it. i could have hot glued the front of the tweeter to the back of the plate but then there might not be room to clear once installed in the car door or it didn't seem clean with hot glue all over the grill. another possibilty was rouned out the plate even more and have the tweeter sink in and glue to a certain depth.


Now I haven't been able to try out the new speakers because I haven't gotten the alpine deck I bought to power on. So once that is finished and i sort out the pictures I took today, i'll update this.

[SyN]

Bummer things didn't go like they said they should. Maybe they should make a better install guide for people to do it themselves.

[Mister X]

Unfortunately, having a rare car can lead to plug and play solutions being pretty difficult, their E46 instructions are spot on, but I imagine they do much more business with them.

Let us know if you have any questions about getting that deck to work, all you need for it to power on is 12v constant, ground, and switched power

[petern101]

updated.

I guess I will contact BSW during their hours of operation to see what I need to do with the rears.

[Halston Pitman]

The problem with the z3 roadster and coupe is that they are "supposed" to have the plug and play that we sent you. But we have seen 2 other types and unfortunately don't have those plugs. So what we do is provide what 95% of the cars have.

Best bet to amke it plug and play is to clip off the factory plug(leave room to reattach if needed) and splice it into our wiring. Then you will all set.

Glad you got it knocked out. I will forward this link to my installation tech Jason so he can look it over and see where we can update.

[petern101]

^yeah thats what i figured. I mean there is def. enough slack in both to just splice in but i could cut off the oem connector and splice onto the new speaker no problem.

i don't know how many ppl actually buy the coupe one and i know that it really depends on your manufacture date. but this might help as a supplement to the existing instructions.

[Halston Pitman]

Yes, I totally understand where you are coming from. Unfortunately on small items like plugs and connectors BMW did the "pull from the parts bin" thing

[dcski]

Anyone put the BSW "kit" into a 2002 M coupe? I am considering this, but I am hesitant as I am having trouble believing that a $325 upgrade for just speakers alone can make that much of a difference. I also am skeptical about a "plug and play" system that does not at least provide new mounting plates for tweeters etc. that require ungluing the factory tweets.

[Halston Pitman]

The plugs will be plug and play. Unfortunately in some cases(mainly e36 based vehicles) BMW chose to glue/silicone in factory speakers. In these instances we have to remove the speaker from the housing and install our new one. The re installation will be gluing since that is what the factory did.

Our install saves you having to cut/splice/butt connector. In some cases the rear z3 roadster has a weird plug that cannot be sourced so in those cases the car is not plug and play.