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Thread: My Z3 Coupe Build - Part 2: Stereo

  1. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by ProductUser View Post
    What??? I don't have to take my vacuum tubes to the grocery store to test anymore??? When did this happen??
    When was the last time you could find a vacuum tube tester anywhere????
    Jim

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  2. #52
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    WRT alternators and caps:
    This is my experience from the M chassis, not sure if its apples to apples for a non-M
    Factory alternator should be a 115A for the Z3's as they speced them for the roady's with the hardtop electronics in mind and never downgraded them in the Coupes. I'll say that a factory E36 is 80A and the upgraded one is 140A. I cant imagine the need for more than the 115 honestly. If you still have noise and still have power issues with rhw big box running I would suggest taking the current one to a rebuild shop locally and having it rewound and rebuilt. The rectifier could be a noise including part if worn out.

    On my M, the "140A" fits your vehicle from the local stores in fact DID NOT, as the terminal studs were relocated to accommodate a cooling duct on the back of E36 S52 based alternators for the E36M3. The cabling is too short without clipping ties and "stretching" the wiring routing to fit.

    YMMV

    If you're hitting your big boy hard, I would not do it just off the battery in any case and the car should be running. Too much draw on a battery could cause your fault and if its not happening running I wouldnt add the Cap unless absolutely necessary to keep it from faulting while running the alternator.
    Last edited by robb1887; 04-21-2022 at 11:57 AM.

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by robb1887 View Post
    WRT alternators and caps:
    This is my experience from the M chassis, not sure if its apples to apples for a non-M
    Factory alternator should be a 115A for the Z3's as they speced them for the roady's with the hardtop electronics in mind and never downgraded them in the Coupes. I'll say that a factory E36 is 80A and the upgraded one is 140A. I cant imagine the need for more than the 115 honestly. If you still have noise and still have power issues with rhw big box running I would suggest taking the current one to a rebuild shop locally and having it rewound and rebuilt. The rectifier could be a noise including part if worn out.

    On my M, the "140A" fits your vehicle from the local stores in fact DID NOT, as the terminal studs were relocated to accommodate a cooling duct on the back of E36 S52 based alternators for the E36M3. The cabling is too short without clipping ties and "stretching" the wiring routing to fit.

    YMMV

    If you're hitting your big boy hard, I would not do it just off the battery in any case and the car should be running. Too much draw on a battery could cause your fault and if its not happening running I wouldnt add the Cap unless absolutely necessary to keep it from faulting while running the alternator.
    Robb,

    I only run the big guy when running. I've got a little light dimming on the big hits, and voltage drops from about 14.1 to 13.8. I've never seen a BMW that I've owned make 14.4 like the Honda I just sold, so who knows why. Perhaps a fresh one and a rebuilt on the shelf will be my path.

    My alternator is stamped 140 and has a cooling duct, but it's of unknown age and mileage. I had the belt off for a tensioner swap yesterday, and the front bearing could be quieter. Perhaps I'm just getting a bit of drag and not making full current, or my needed current is up in the RPM range. I did find one that makes 125 at idle. It's a rewound unit that looks exactly like my alternator. Around $300.

    Oh and no faults on either amp. I just got a bad PDX-5 secondhand. It wouldn't run in my Roadster either.

    Totally unrelated: since I had to steal my Alpine from my Roadster to finish the Coupe, does anyone know of a good 5 channel that fits behind the trunk trim? I pulled the front right kick panel and was surprised to find some really nice 100W RMS Fosgate 6.5s stuffed up front. Alpine was on a nice carpeted panel, but it was also eating up cargo space.

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    Last edited by s8ilver; 04-21-2022 at 12:40 PM.
    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  4. #54
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    I don't know of a 5 channel that fits, I stacked 2 4 channels and will be printing a cover for fans where the cd changer cover goes.

  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by s8ilver View Post
    I've never seen a BMW that I've owned make 14.4 like the Honda I just sold, so who knows why.
    I had an E70 making over 15v when the voltage regulator failed

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  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wcumoron View Post
    I don't know of a 5 channel that fits, I stacked 2 4 channels and will be printing a cover for fans where the cd changer cover goes.
    In a Roadster? Got a model?

    I'm talking trunk, not hatch. I have a 5 channel stacked with a monoblock in the Coupe.

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    Last edited by s8ilver; 04-21-2022 at 01:30 PM.
    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker View Post
    I had an E70 making over 15v when the voltage regulator failed


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    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by s8ilver View Post
    Totally unrelated: since I had to steal my Alpine from my Roadster to finish the Coupe, does anyone know of a good 5 channel that fits behind the trunk trim? I pulled the front right kick panel and was surprised to find some really nice 100W RMS Fosgate 6.5s stuffed up front. Alpine was on a nice carpeted panel, but it was also eating up cargo space.
    Not sure if it will fit, but the smallest 5 channel I was able to find that didn't seem like Ali-Express garbage was the kenwood excelon x802-5
    It's a bit bigger than the OEM amp. No problem in the coupe, but I can see that it might be an issue in the roadster.
    There's other options that are overall smaller volume, and more "stick" shaped (>12" long, but <5" wide), which might work better in the roadster.

    Screenshot 2022-04-21 11.21.02 AM.png


    PXL_20220416_211222814.jpg
    Last edited by scenturion; 04-21-2022 at 02:25 PM.

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by scenturion View Post
    Not sure if it will fit, but the smallest 5 channel I was able to find that didn't seem like Ali-Express garbage was the kenwood excelon x802-5
    It's a bit bigger than the OEM amp. No problem in the coupe, but I can see that it might be an issue in the roadster.
    There's other options that are overall smaller volume, and more "stick" shaped (>12" long, but <5" wide), which might work better in the roadster.

    Screenshot 2022-04-21 11.21.02 AM.png


    PXL_20220416_211222814.jpg
    That is pretty small. I'll mock up carboard copy of the size (or what size I can squeeze and go shopping, again). I fugured someone on here has gone through this. Heck a tiny 4 channel on one side and monoblock on the other is fine too. Fortunately I do have the old amp brackets, which the PO just left in place. The HU in that car will do 50x4, so just not quite enough. He did run new speaker wire all the way to the trunk too, so hooking those up would be cake and I wouldn't have to go stripping the little OE stuff.
    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  10. #60
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    Uh oh, getting more ideas. This grabs the frequencies you feel but don't hear.

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    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  11. #61
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    I just realized I added to the wrong thread. Oh well, you get the picture.

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    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  12. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by s8ilver View Post
    I just realized I added to the wrong thread. Oh well, you get the picture.

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    As if by magic, it has been moved to the correct thread

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  13. #63
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    Quote Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker View Post
    As if by magic, it has been moved to the correct thread
    Much obliged.

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    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  14. #64
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    Well, my Alpine monoblock amp gave up. All 4 fuses went boom, and I have continuity between + & - on the speaker outputs. Pulled the circuit board and no burns or anything obvious. Perhaps a transistor went bad. Bad luck so far. I'm 0 for 2 on used Alpine PDX amps, which are supposed to be bulletproof. Apparently the early PDX-1.1000 (1000W RMS @2 or 4ohm) had some circuitry flaw and were upped to 4x25A vs. 4x20A fuses at some point in their run. Oh well, fortunately I have a spare MTX workhorse that fits the space and at 775RMS somehow makes my sub hit a lot harder. They were always very underrated though. I think its build sheet had it making almost 1100 @14.4.

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    Last edited by s8ilver; 05-16-2022 at 01:44 PM.
    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  15. #65
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    Done...I think. 25 year old MTX to the rescue. I think it's been in 5 cars now.

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    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  16. #66
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    Do you have any suggestions for replacing the foam on that old H&K subwoofer grille?
    I was thinking about using speaker grille cloth cover like this.

  17. #67
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    Quote Originally Posted by scenturion View Post
    Do you have any suggestions for replacing the foam on that old H&K subwoofer grille?
    I was thinking about using speaker grille cloth cover like this.
    Hmm, good question. There doesn't seem to be anything supporting the foam at the edge, so don't know if cloth would be stiff enough. I just took out the foam. It was turning to dust in areas.

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    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  18. #68
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    Acoustic fabric is what I used to replace all the deteriorated foam in my rebuild. You have to separate the grille mesh from the frame and cut the fabric to suit tucked between the frame and grill edge.

    Works well. The door tweeter grilles are tricky but otherwise with enough patience and time you can get them perfect.

  19. #69
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    Looking closer, the foam does tuck under the edge, so any acoustic fabric you can get to lay in there is probably good. Mine basically disintegrated at the junction with the plastic, but there is more under the lip.

    You will have to decrimp 12 locations. This looks way easier to do than the door speaker pods as Robb mentioned.

    Spare sub cover:

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    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  20. #70
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    I found the door pod grills came off pretty easy when I switched mine out. Bent the tabs as straight as I could and was careful removing the grill so I didn’t distort it. I thought about replacing the foam with fabric but decided to leave it out so I can see my purdy tweeters.

  21. #71
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    Did the dual subs so I'd have a good stereo AND optimal cargo space when required. So far so good. Gobs left.

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    Nathan in Denver

    1999 M Roadster, VFE V3 S/C, Randy Forbes Reinforced, Hardtop, H&R/Bilstein, Apex PS-7, Supersprint
    1999 Z3 2.8 Coupe, Headers, 3.46, Manual Swap, H&R/Koni, M Geometry/Brakes, M54B30 Manifold, Style 42

  22. #72
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    Funny!
    Tony
    "You can't sign away negligence."

  23. #73
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    That gives a whole new definition to "that car was hauling down the line"!

  24. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by s8ilver View Post
    Oh, and got the pod grills back in and recrimped. Very happy with the final product. I was about to nerd out and run an amber ambient to light them up at night, but I'll save that for behind the OE sub grill. Just a light glow.

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    Looks great. What paint did you use on the grills?

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