Best head unit on E36?

[MParallel]

BMW did have some busy headunits back in the day. This for example is also quite button heavy for a OEM unit.

[RickyN F355]

lit up
IMG_4305.JPGIMG_0118.jpg

[blckstrm]

Well, I did it:

Screenshot_20221204_231338.jpg

Aside from running the battery down from having the lights on for an hour, it was fairly easy and I'm really pleased with the fit.

I also got one of those Rennsport magnetic phone mounts which I also really like. I tried it on the right side but it looked horrible. I moved it to the inside (left side) and you don't even notice it behind the wiper stalk. When I mount my phone I can see the top right corner through the steering wheel, just to the right of the temp gauge, so I located a digital temp readout in Torque right there. So my phone is right there but mostly out of sight except that temp gauge, which is just about a perfect setup for me.

I almost did the wireless charging pad, but it generates too much heat, and my phone overheats sometimes as it is when it's charging and I'm running a couple apps at once (Torque, Maps, YouTube, which is my usual cross-country setup).

[RRSperry]

Which one is that? I can't make it out. Ok, got it, it's the Bremen. But yeah, it does kinda stick out.

Rich

[Veleno]

Well, I did it:

Screenshot_20221204_231338.jpg

Aside from running the battery down from having the lights on for an hour, it was fairly easy and I'm really pleased with the fit.

I also got one of those Rennsport magnetic phone mounts which I also really like. I tried it on the right side but it looked horrible. I moved it to the inside (left side) and you don't even notice it behind the wiper stalk. When I mount my phone I can see the top right corner through the steering wheel, just to the right of the temp gauge, so I located a digital temp readout in Torque right there. So my phone is right there but mostly out of sight except that temp gauge, which is just about a perfect setup for me.

I almost did the wireless charging pad, but it generates too much heat, and my phone overheats sometimes as it is when it's charging and I'm running a couple apps at once (Torque, Maps, YouTube, which is my usual cross-country setup).

Can it be pushed further in? Looks like it's sticking out past the edge of the dash.

[blckstrm]

Can it be pushed further in? Looks like it's sticking out past the edge of the dash.

Yes, it can. The microphone wire was keeping it from seating all the way on the left, and it was hanging up on the hard plastic internal flange on the right side - need just a little bit of persuasion...

It's flush with the HVAC unit - looks much better.

20221205_103103.jpg

It's been over a decade since I bought this thing, but my cousin who owned it before me had 2 amps and a sub installed in the trunk with a capacitor, and the wiring is less than professional (which is being charitable). I pulled the second amp and sub and traded them for an AC compressor ten years ago, but there are still some janky things with the stereo wiring that rear their ugly heads now and then.

The amp was going into protection mode above about 25-30% volume. Not that I listen to it even that high usually, but it there was obviously an issue there. I charged the battery and the problem still persisted. I disconnected everything for a few minutes while I was trying to figure out what it was hanging up on, and now the problem is gone. I bought a pre-made harness so it's not like I was dealing with exposed wires and stuff when I installed it, but I do wonder if it needed a reset for whatever reason.

Anyway, it has lot of nice convenience features and the mic does a great job - call quality is reportedly better than my earbuds, so I'm happy with that. It has a couple speed dials (5 to be exact) which is 5 more than my old radio. It can trigger your phone's voice assistant for dialing. So I'm very much looking forward to NOT having to touch my phone at all while I'm in the car for anything after pushing "play" when I get in.

[tiMASTER]

Very fancy!

[RBNetEngr]

Looks like a good choice.

The photo shows that the Blaupunkt ‘orange’ illumination is lighter than the BMW illumination, similar to my Kenwood. In person the color match is closer than what a photo provides.

Good luck getting the old ‘professional wiring’ normalized!

Is that phone mount Rennsport, or Rennline? And which one did you get (which bracket)?

[blckstrm]

Looks like a good choice.

The photo shows that the Blaupunkt ‘orange’ illumination is lighter than the BMW illumination, similar to my Kenwood. In person the color match is closer than what a photo provides.

Good luck getting the old ‘professional wiring’ normalized!

Is that phone mount Rennsport, or Rennline? And which one did you get (which bracket)?

Yeah, I thought it was interesting that it looked perfect in person but lighter in the photo. I may have ticked it a click or two darker red when i was out tonight, but seriously, plenty close enough.

I got the Rennline mount (for the e36). It fit perfectly without any modification, though it sits way out there on the right. It was a bit much for me, but it's perfect on the left side of the stereo behind the steering wheel. I don't imagine most people want their phone hidden, but it gives me exactly what I want.

The only thing that might be better would be a smaller old-school Android phone like an HTC Incredible mounted landscape on the steering column, which should be low enough to avoid obscuring anything (there's really nothing low in the middle aside from the ///M). But I'm also aware that at some point I'll probably stop obsessing about monitoring my temps all the time and just trust the oil cooler and Z3 radiator to do their jobs.

As for the wiring - haha, I wish. As long as it's not actively causing a problem I'll turn a blind eye to it. Someday I'll clean it up like the rest of you guys do annually, but until then I'll just keep adding miles and fixing the mechanical stuff as it pops up. Not that I won't upgrade when I fix stuff. Even this stereo finally happened because the volume knob on my Kenwood stopped working. The front splitter and rear wing are the closest to pure upgrades I've ever done, and even that came about because I was getting hot on track and I wanted to put that to bed forever. The front ducting required a decision about the car's future, so I just went all in and did it all at once.

[niwot e30]

This works well, but mostly it looks good I think.

e36 blaupunkt.jpg

[RBNetEngr]

My son sent this to me recently. Has anyone had any experience with them?

https://www.instagram.com/bmwradios/

Looks like they modify BMW radios to add some modern capabilities? I don’t have Instagram so it won’t let me look in great detail.

The Facebook link has more info. Prices aren’t cheap, but if the original look is important, maybe it is worth it?

https://www.facebook.com/bmwradios


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bmwstephen]

My son sent this to me recently. Has anyone had any experience with them?

https://www.instagram.com/bmwradios/

Looks like they modify BMW radios to add some modern capabilities? I don’t have Instagram so it won’t let me look in great detail.

The Facebook link has more info. Prices aren’t cheap, but if the original look is important, maybe it is worth it?

https://www.facebook.com/bmwradios


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

His stuff is decent but all the units perform less than the c43 and CD43. You are better off getting the latter two and an A2D bluetooth box. He does not offer modify C43/CD43 because that was not commonly used in europe.

[bmwstephen]

Curious for anyone else running factory c33, cd43, or c43 headunits, does the lcd digital display emanate any noticeable heat when on? Every time I run my hands near the display the area feels warm so I can only imagine it is running pretty hot internally.

[MParallel]

His stuff is decent but all the units perform less than the c43 and CD43. You are better off getting the latter two and an A2D bluetooth box. He does not offer modify C43/CD43 because that was not commonly used in europe.

Eh, everyone and their mothers have CD43 units.

Regarding the modification: not needed. You can keep it original and use the CDC connection to add anything from aux/mp3/BT/Apple/DAB+ interfaces.

[muddycharles]

I went with a similar set up - I did use the rennsport adapter - but with a Belkin Magsafe plate (the rennline was not strong enough on a larger Iphone). Yes its bigger, however the phone now doesn't fall off. I am not using the charging function.


IMG_3303.jpg

[bmwstephen]

I went with a similar set up - I did use the rennsport adapter - but with a Belkin Magsafe plate (the rennline was not strong enough on a larger Iphone). Yes its bigger, however the phone now doesn't fall off. I am not using the charging function.


IMG_3303.jpg

How was the wiring behind the blaupunk and sound quality?

[muddycharles]

Wiring required an adapter (on amazon) which was easy to get. Sound is tunable but Im using the eq on spotify which I have pre-set. Its good but I would not say fantastic. A bit harsh although Ive read the speakers (tweeters) need some time to settle down. I should add I did a Bavsound upgrade at the same time so Its hard to separate the two

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[bmwstephen]

I also saw it has text display and handsfree.. does it display any notifications when you connect your phone to it?

[muddycharles]

The caller id is displayed, but not text messages.

[blckstrm]

I have the Bremen version. It shows phone number (maybe contact name? Yeah, I think contact name. I can't remember and I'm not home this week).

But no, there are no notifications aside from the calls.

[NeilM]

There's now another retro option from Blaupunkt, the Frankfurt RCM 82 DAB:



With its dot matrix display and rectangular buttons, this new Frankfurt is a better style match for the E36 than is the Bremen.

Not cheap... https://www.amazon.com/BLAUPUNKT-Fra...7-eb60747b8daf

Also see this video comparison, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ruSmsq3sX8

Neil

[mck325is]

That looks like a great match with the digital climate control. Not sure it matches the older analog climate control aesthetic better than the Bremen, though.

I've been really happy with the Bremen model - put it in July '22. My only beef is the clock doesn't keep accurate time, which is boggling. It's runs frustratingly slow, and even the original OBC clock is more accurate. So I just turned it off on the display.

[E85STI]

I think this looks freaking awesome!

There's now another retro option from Blaupunkt, the Frankfurt RCM 82 DAB:



With its dot matrix display and rectangular buttons, this new Frankfurt is a better style match for the E36 than is the Bremen.

Not cheap... https://www.amazon.com/BLAUPUNKT-Fra...7-eb60747b8daf

Also see this video comparison, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ruSmsq3sX8

Neil

[TostitoBandito]

Definitely added that sexy beast to my Amazon wish list.

[Nova1]

Any recommendations on sourcing a CD43 or members looking to part with theirs? I like to listen to CD’s and have no need for Bluetooth functionality in my car.