BMW e46 Stereo is pap - so what are the options?

Noxis

Noxis

Noxis

Suspended
Joined
26 Jul 2003
Posts
6,348
Location
Surrey
As fox so concisly pointed out in irc, the e46 business stereo is "gay".

So what are the options? Double Din + facial plate to get it to fit. Regular stereo + facial plate.

AVIC style pop out Sat Nav system, BMW official satnav....

Question is what have people here done (I have seen I think Nickkkkk's?) are there any websites dedicated to this or with sections dedicated to this? Preferably UK based for purchasing options.

As to what I am looking for, well I'd like Satnav but I am aware this is approaching probably the £1500 mark. So I'd like low cost options up to high cost options.

Main aim is to use the already existing BMW cd changer in the boot and a headunit of some sort that matches the interior (carbon fibre). I have seen some very nasty examples of the interior look being even worse than the standard :eek:
 
any e46 forum or general bimmer forum will have loads of people with ICE mods done.

:D
 
Morba said:
any e46 forum or general bimmer forum will have loads of people with ICE mods done.

:D
Click to expand...

Thats what I thought, not finding anything useful though. I expected considering the dated appearance it might be booming business for someone or somewhere :p
 
Unfortunately the only real good looking option is the 16:9 route. However, this is hugely expensive.

I have gone down a cheapish route of fitting new speakers, a high-level amp and an active subwoofer. Which has cost around £300. It's done wonders for the sound, but I still have the same HU - so it still looks naff.

Otherwise GSRXmovistar would be the man to talk to as I think he has a fairly extensive kit with a new HU.
 
He has the Avic-X1R if i remember right, great unit mine has been fantastic, just under a grand with the options but personally i don't think it looks that great in the BMW dash.
 
You can retrofit the OEM Satnav to any E46 with a loom and parts from ebay.

Souring the parts takes a while, but they are mainly all interchangable. Once you have them, its a seats out job and a day to fit. You can get all the parts for circa £1k, sometime a lot less if you are not afraid of foreign bidders, (all European stuff fits and works exactly the same).

I've done about 3 of these installs now and they are really easy. The loom varies between saloon /touring and coupe. I have a part listing of everything needed and PDF of the installation if you'd like it.

Other than that, HK upgrade can be done again relatively easily. Ebay stuff is harder to come across and can still cost £1k in parts. Else, as you've seen, chuck a standard DIN unit in with Fascia Adapter (and steering wheel control interface). Alpine do a MP3 disc changer that fits straight into the Business unit and that helps for a while.

Anything else, let me know.
 
Yeah as mentioned above I've got an AVIC unit which is a great bit of kit just doesn't look as good as it could in the BMW dash (although it's far from bad looking).

Retro-fitting the BMW sat-nav/av gear looks the best but just doesn't stand up in terms of performance compared to the third party options available.
 
Hi thanks for the info guys. Yea sorry it was GSXRMovistar that had the avic kit I was thinking of.

Oracle what are the details of the Alpine?

Cheers
 
Sorry for the late reply guys:

NickXX said:
Hi Oracle - quick question, do you know if the MP3 unit supports CD text or MP3 text on the standard business HU?
Click to expand...
Hi Nick, hope you are well, havent spoken in a while. Hows France??

Yes, the mp3 unit supports CD text for MP3s, but early OEM Business units do not allow the text to scroll. Later models (that I think came with an mp3 factory option changer 2003 on IIRC) do display the text.

Think i've mentioned these to you before Nick, THIS is what you want for compatability.

Noxis said:
Oracle what are the details of the Alpine?
Click to expand...
Noxis, as above you'll need the mp3 changer Alpine CHA-S634 some on ebay, but they can be over priced. See if you can get just the unit as the interface needed does not support mp3 track info. Instead you'll need the Intravention device as above (link for Nick), if you want the track info, etc, otherwise track number just increases to 99.

HTH

EDIT: These now come with iPod support too!
 
I have the BMW Business RDS stereo in my e38*, I would'nt say it was "Gay" , in need of a bit more bass, sure, not bad by a long way though.

Perhaps, the e38 has better speakers? my dads e39 has the same radio as my e38 7 series, yet I prefer the sound from my radio over his, yet, there supposedly the same piece of kit!

Confusing!

* Amplifier & bass box coming soon, once I've sorted out my new home......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom