Subwoofer compartment lid details and pics

[raubritter]

I needed to work on the blown / rotted subwoofer of my car (2002 3.0 roadster) and I had a struggle getting the stupid lid off of the subwoofer compartment. It makes it even more difficult to not know how it is attached, so I wanted to provide pictures because I couldn't find much information about it (other than 'pull it straight upwards and hopefully it will separate without breaking'). So here's what you're dealing with.


First, here are the front clips of the lid:




As you can see, they are cone-shaped and so they come out pretty easily with a little force.


Here, on the other hand, is what the rear clips look like (clip on other side is the same):



As you can see, there is a hefty barb that hooks into the trim plastic of the enclosure, which looks like this:





Notice the very thin piece of trim plastic that holds the hefty barb in place... You can actually see how it got deformed by the removal process. Another problem with this is that when I tried to lift up the lid, instead of the barb separating from the lower trim, the upper fake leather part of the lid would try to separate from the lower plastic part of the lid that has the barb. The two pieces of the lid are held together with some screws so they couldn't actually separate, but still my force in pulling up on the lid was mostly wasted until I started prying with a tool.


I love a lot of things about my BMW, but I hate the way they make these interior plastic trim pieces and how they go together. Not only do they rattle and a lot of them have become brittle, but you stand a good chance of breaking them any time you have to take them apart. Anyway, I hope the pictures help someone to understand how the stupid awful lid is held on and why it's so difficult to take off and so likely to break. I honestly don't have any advice for removing it... The only thing that ended up working was to use a prying tool between the lid and the body and lever the lid upward. But as you can see, there was some damage. Good luck!

[JamieOurada]

I took an Exacto knife to the barbs and shaved them down a fair bit... Hopefully they will be just a bit easier to extract in the future.

[raubritter]

I was thinking about something similar, or even just sanding them to a bit more rounded shape. I also thought if the trim piece breaks that they lock into, I would figure out a way to make use of the unused metal nuts / threaded inserts / screw holes in the compartment and lid to somehow bolt the lid to the compartment.

[sjdennis]

Thanks for the pictures! It's been a few years since I did my sub, but I do remember the frustration.

[raubritter]

My sub has been unusable for a few years now, but every time I'd try to get the lid off I just couldn't get the back clips to release and I'd give up (really didn't want to break it). Finally the kickpanel speakers also rotted away so I had to just go ahead and deal with the sound system...

Did you do a replacement into the stock housing? What did you end up using? I'm not looking for a lot of bass and plan to keep the stock HK sub amp, but I'm hoping to find a decently built sub (like Kicker) that will fit the stock enclosure and work with the HK sub amp.

[328 Power 04]

The Kicker 6.5 fits (barely). This is what I used in my Z3 and am happy with it.

[raubritter]

Good to hear about the Kicker... Which model did you use? The previous version that has been recommended in the past was 4 Ohm single voice coil:

https://www.amazon.com/Kicker-COMPVT.../dp/B0036MOQAE

but the one available now is 2 Ohm dual voice coil:

https://www.amazon.com/Kicker-CompRT.../dp/B01BLVEZUC

The HK sub is dual voice coil so that's good, but supposedly the HK sub is 4 Ohm? I'm concerned about stressing the amp with the 2 ohm sub.

[328 Power 04]

The dual voice coil versions can be wired to single coil and correct ohms. Kicker has instructions on how to bridge the coil wires to make it 4 ohm.

However the car is wired for two coils (one wire was ignored in my car), and may be worth researching on wiring both coils in.

[raubritter]

Well... I put so much attention on the ohm rating that I forgot that the new kicker is 6.75" not 6.5".... So I'm trying to figure out if I can grind the sides of the mounting ring down a bit to fit. It seems like it would only be an issue at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions where the plastic box gives the least clearance.

[328 Power 04]

Even though they call it 6.75, it's the same size as the one they called 6.5.

[raubritter]

That would be great.... According to the kicker site it's 6 13/16" though.... ?

http://www.kicker.com/comp-rt-6-75-2-ohm-subwoofer

I went ahead and ordered it. It still looks like the best option even if I have to do some small modification (but it will be truly awesome if it just fits as-is).

In case anyone reading this is wondering what size limits you are dealing with in replacing the sub in the factory mount (on a 2002 HK roadster at least), here is the plastic box that the speaker has to fit on (I'm holding it upside down in the picture, but either way the narrowest point is the 3 and 9 o'clock positions at approx 6.5"):

[TommyMaddox]

I bought the newer kicker 6.75 sub a while back. You need to use a heat gun and pry tools to separate the plastic bezel from the basket frame. Then slightly sand or grind the basket edges at the 3 and 9 o clock positions to get it to clear the protrusions on the sides of the speaker box.

[KJ79]

I needed to work on the blown / rotted subwoofer of my car (2002 3.0 roadster) and I had a struggle getting the stupid lid off of the subwoofer compartment. It makes it even more difficult to not know how it is attached, so I wanted to provide pictures because I couldn't find much information about it (other than 'pull it straight upwards and hopefully it will separate without breaking'). So here's what you're dealing with.


First, here are the front clips of the lid:




As you can see, they are cone-shaped and so they come out pretty easily with a little force.


Here, on the other hand, is what the rear clips look like (clip on other side is the same):



As you can see, there is a hefty barb that hooks into the trim plastic of the enclosure, which looks like this:





Notice the very thin piece of trim plastic that holds the hefty barb in place... You can actually see how it got deformed by the removal process. Another problem with this is that when I tried to lift up the lid, instead of the barb separating from the lower trim, the upper fake leather part of the lid would try to separate from the lower plastic part of the lid that has the barb. The two pieces of the lid are held together with some screws so they couldn't actually separate, but still my force in pulling up on the lid was mostly wasted until I started prying with a tool.


I love a lot of things about my BMW, but I hate the way they make these interior plastic trim pieces and how they go together. Not only do they rattle and a lot of them have become brittle, but you stand a good chance of breaking them any time you have to take them apart. Anyway, I hope the pictures help someone to understand how the stupid awful lid is held on and why it's so difficult to take off and so likely to break. I honestly don't have any advice for removing it... The only thing that ended up working was to use a prying tool between the lid and the body and lever the lid upward. But as you can see, there was some damage. Good luck!

This is extremely valuable information raubritter!! Great pics. I wish I was armed with this info a month ago before I attempted to get into mine and fuly cracked my oddments lid. You post clearly shows the clips and battle that lies ahead. Great job! This will undoubtedly save someone a lot of headache in the future.....

I took an Exacto knife to the barbs and shaved them down a fair bit... Hopefully they will be just a bit easier to extract in the future.

Genius!! 100% following your lead. Great tip/idea!

[raubritter]

I wish I was armed with this info a month ago before I attempted to get into mine and fuly cracked my oddments lid.

That's rough... The lid broke? I figured the part the lid locks into would be more likely to break... At least you can probably find a new lid.

[raubritter]

By the way, if anyone reads this in the future this thread is specifically about installing the Kicker 6.75in sub in a Coupe:

https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...system-upgrade

There's some good information about it there, and it's where I got the idea for trying it in a roadster. My misadventures are detailed in that thread.


An update: I was underwhelmed by the 'punch' of the kicker 6.75, although it did fill out the low end of the sound nicely. Specifically, I wanted to feel a little punch with bass drums (not crazy thumping, just more presence from bass drums) but it was basically missing.

Well, eventually I got around to putting this lid back on and... surprise... the bass got some punch to it. I'm (obviously) not a speaker expert so I didn't realize this lid actually serves a purpose in the sound. For one thing I guess it keeps the sound from being wasted upwards and instead helps concentrate and direct it toward the cabin?

Anyway now I have to address the buzzing/rattling that occurs when I turn up the bass. Will have to add foam/sound deadening...

[DimrBimmer]

OP, exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much! I was messing with it few nights ago and just couldn't pry it out. Gave up after about 1/2 hour as I did not want to brake it. Now I know exactly what to do. Another poster suggested warning up the area, I presume with hair drier or heat gun to soften up the plastic. Its in low 60s by me and I am going to go find my heat gun, or will have to repo wife's hair drier

[Mr Bingley]

OP, exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much! I was messing with it few nights ago and just couldn't pry it out. Gave up after about 1/2 hour as I did not want to brake it. Now I know exactly what to do. Another poster suggested warning up the area, I presume with hair drier or heat gun to soften up the plastic. Its in low 60s by me and I am going to go find my heat gun, or will have to repo wife's hair drier

Hair dryer at most--a heat gun will melt it. Best to park it indoors in a heated garage over night.

[crashgordan]

great pics.

[Glenn2]

New member here. I have been lurking since I got my Z3. Wealth of great information on this forum.
I used the SimplySpeakers rebuild kit for the HK sub and have to say it is not difficult (using patience) and it works.

[RedconOne]

I thought I would post my experience here, it may be helpful to others.

I used this thread to remove the lid and inspect my subwoofer on my '00 Z3, which produced a 'cracking' sound on the bass notes. I just figured the foam had rotted like some others had shown.
In reality, my HK dual-coil sub was in excellent shape, with all the foam intact. What had happened is the plastic acoustic tube that connects inside the cover had worked loose, causing the cracking.

As it turns out, I could have done this by removing only the front grill. So if your sub sounds terrible, start there first. :thumbs:
I reconnected it and everything sounds much better. Still not aftermarket quality, but much better.

[one wolf]

Great thread, helped me get my lid off without any damage and I stole the above idea of using an xacto knife to file down those fat clips on the rear - now the lid snaps on nicely, snugly enough, and yet removes with just a nice tug.

Thank you!

[Vinci]

I wish I was armed with this info a month ago before I attempted to get into mine and fuly cracked my oddments lid.

That's rough... The lid broke? I figured the part the lid locks into would be more likely to break... At least you can probably find a new lid.

The lids have been NLA for some years now. I have a spare lid and subwoofer enclosure if you need a replacement. PM me if you're interested.

[BostonZiggy]

I thought I would post my experience here, it may be helpful to others.

I used this thread to remove the lid and inspect my subwoofer on my '00 Z3, which produced a 'cracking' sound on the bass notes. I just figured the foam had rotted like some others had shown.
In reality, my HK dual-coil sub was in excellent shape, with all the foam intact. What had happened is the plastic acoustic tube that connects inside the cover had worked loose, causing the cracking.

As it turns out, I could have done this by removing only the front grill. So if your sub sounds terrible, start there first. :thumbs:
I reconnected it and everything sounds much better. Still not aftermarket quality, but much better.

Hi RedconOne!
What plastic acoustic tube are you referring to here? My sub is kinda doing the same think. Gives off a weird crackling noise especially at higher volumes. I took off the grill and looking at the speaker, all looks good. Do I have to remove the enclosure to find this? Great thread by the way! I may be able to actually remove the box if needed now!

[gfish]

Thank you Raubritter for the great pics!!!

I removed my subwoofer compartment lid in two minutes!!!

Here's the secret...

As suggested, I concentrated on the front portion first. In 30 seconds, the front portion popped loose.

Then, I opened the front about 1/2 inch. With the help of a flashlight, I located the back pins.

Next, I used a screwdriver from the front to place pressure on the back pin. Again, I used the flashlight to ensure that the screwdriver was placed on the pin.

Using my left hand and the screwdriver to apply pressure on the pin and my right hand to pull upwards from the back, it popped right off!!!

Total time elapsed...two minutes.

Candidly, I didn't really expect both sides to pop off at the same time. My screwdriver was placed on the left pin and the hole was undamaged. The hole on the right side was enlarged ever so slightly. Shouldn't be a problem.

Hopefully this approach will help others.