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2016 BMW F36 Gran Coupe

47K views 122 replies 43 participants last post by  jriggs 
#1 ·
Hi folks,

As stated in my other build thread for the Audi Q7, that install was gutted due to me getting a new ride. All the components are kept and will be going into (eventually) the new car. Once again I'm aiming for SQ and the build will done in accordance with EMMA OEM rules.

I finally took delivery of my long awaited F36 (Carbon Black / Saddle Brown) the other day, thought i should share a few pics:









She sits too high due to the xDrive - I'm considering H&R Sport Springs or potentially KW V2 coils (depending on financials). Other mods going on the car will be:

  • MP Gloss Black kidney grills [DONE]
  • MP Carbon Front Lip
  • MP Carbon Trunk Spoiler
  • (20" wheels in staggered formation) - Jury is still out on this one...

First mod on:




The equipment going into the build:

  • BMW OEM Headunit (NBT + extended Bluetooth etc.)
  • Mosconi HLA-SUM
  • Mosconi 6to8v8 Processor (incl. AMAS)
  • Mosconi RCD Controller
  • 2 x Mosconi AS 200.4 amps
  • 2 x Gladen Zero Pro HG-20PV Tweeters
  • 2 x Gladen Zero Pro HG-80ZPPP-3 Midranges
  • 2 x Gladen Zero Pro HG-165ZPDC-3 Midwoofers
  • 1 x Gladen Zero Pro 12 Subwoofer
  • Cabling / Power Distribution from Connection and Knu Konzepts
  • Supra Speaker Cables

The Gladen Zero Pro three-way are all going into factory locations, e.g. tweets in the sails, midranges in the upper doorcard and midbass under the seats. I'm a bit concerned about the mounting depth of the Gladen 6,5" and whether I will be able to retain the factory grills under the seats, but I guess we will see. Might have to go with some other option for the under seat configuration.

Also, I haven't decided on whether I will use the BT streaming capabilities through the OEM NBT headunit or via AMAS. I suspect AMAS will sound better as it is directly into the processor but streaming through NBT is convenient as it retains factory controls and album art and all that nice stuff.

Not entirely sure when I will be able to start the build but hopefully during the summer! Catch you all later :D
 
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#8 ·
Hi folks,

Not a lot of action in this build thread or on the actual build itself for various reasons, work being the primary (sometimes you do too well :rolleyes:).

Anyway - got some planning done today. I wanted to take a moment to see how I could realise the vision without to much impact on cargo capabilities and other practicalities. In the center of the trunk there's a compartment which it would be a shame not to utilise in some fashion. I ended up with something like this:



I'm thinking the amps will go in a stacked configuration. I don't think it will be an issue for the top amp to cover the lower one. I will make sure the lower one can breathe properly. In my last build, the only thing i ever touched on the amps was the gain - everything else was configured in the processor - so think this will work. There is also ample space to fiberglass a sub box on the right hand side:



I have fiberglassed boxes before, but primarily in the spare well, so this will be a first for me. The processor will be housed on the left hand side where the OEM amp is currently located:



On that account - the OEM amp is a beast...



Another option is to lay out the amps flat, should the amount of available space require it:



Personally I prefer to have them angled, just looks more interesting. I got most of what I need to get the build started but still missing some few materials before I can get going. Would have been nice to at least make it out to one competition before the season ends :(

I have also had H&R Sport Springs mounted to get rid of the xDrive wheel gap. It provided a nice moderate drop, just shy of an inch.

Front before:


Front after:


Rear before:


Rear after:


Overall before:


Overall after:


A moderate drop but just what I was after at this point :D
 
#10 ·
I had a few moments to spare this afternoon and figured i would get started on the sub enclosure. It is going into the right rear panel in the trunk as indicated below:



The objective here is to fiberglass a "copy" of the panel originally fitted in this compartment and integrate this with a reinforced baffle with the sub countersunk into the baffel. Started off by getting the required fiberglassing gear in order:



And about 30 odd minutes later i had this:





A few more layers of glass to ensure proper rigidity of the cabinet and then join it to a baffle - to be continued!
 
#15 ·
There are a few reasons for me not swapping to the 8's:
  • I already had the gear from my previous build - means no further investment! :rolleyes:
  • I know the performance of the 6,5" as I had it in my previous install which performed really well at EMMA SQ competitions
  • I personally prefer the tonality of the 6,5" Zero Pro over the 8" - but that's just my personal preference
  • If switching to anything - it would be to the Aerospace but still 6,5" :D

wish i would have gotten that color too. Second on swapping out for the 8" gladen speakers instead which fits right into the underseat enclosures. Nice amps!
I love CB - I have had it on all my bimmers in the past as well.

Don't be too tempted... yet. Wait for the next one. ;)
:D

Hoping to get some more work done on the sub enclosure this afternoon, need to get started on the baffle.
 
#14 ·
wish i would have gotten that color too. Second on swapping out for the 8" gladen speakers instead which fits right into the underseat enclosures. Nice amps!
Don't be too tempted... yet. Wait for the next one. ;)
 
#16 ·
Hi folks!

Did manage to get some more work done on the sub enclosure yesterday afternoon. My panel mold had a really good fit, so the next step was getting started on the baffle. I fabricated a frame that was adjusted to fit the surrounding panels:



I then inserted my mold in its location and adjusted the frame in front and attached it to the cavity using hot glue:



The general idea here is to chourn out some mounting rings on the router for a flush mount of the sub which are then glued together and centered into the frame. Fabric is then stretched between the rings and the frame to form some nice soft shapes and resin applied followed by a number of layers of mat from behind. I started strengthning the cavity by applying additional layers of mat, about 3 layers - more will come.

To be continued :blush:
 
#17 ·
I did manage to get some work done even though it was very hot :cool:

Started with breaking out the trusty old router and churn out a 3 layered MDF baffle:







The baffle was then centered in the box itself (you can see I had to chamfer the inner MDF ring somewhat to fit within the frame):



Cloth was then stretched over the baffle and frame and resin applied:





Followed by two layers of mat on the outside which will be followed by several layers from the inside for rigidity:



When the polyester had hardened - which went quicker than expected today even though i cut back on the catalyst :eek: - everything was sanded down a bit and test fitted in the trunk:







IMO it fits quite nicely and follows the contours of the adjacent trunk panels. I will be adjusting the back part of and trace the contour a bit more in detail with some rage gold to ensure a flawless fit.

I think this sub box is coming together quite nicely :blush:
 
#18 ·
Not a lot of progress today but did manage to get something out of the way...

I have been contemplating how to mount the sub box securely to the car without having to perform any major surgery on the car. I realised quite quickly O could utilise the metal bracket on top of the battery.

Drilled and tapped to M6 and I had some nice bolts from before which would be handy. I added a small piece of dampening material on the bracket for the box to sit on:



Now you can simply tip the box in, thread the bolt down through the bottom hole in the box and fasten by turning the nob.





But just the one fastening point wasn't good enough IMO, I also wanted something further up / back in the box. I found two unused mounting points which seemed to be in a good spot but way to far back. I fabricated a small metal bracket to go in between the mounting points and secured it with a couple of nuts. I drilled and tapped another M6 hole so that I could use another one of my nice bolts with the nob handle.





I managed to drill the first hole through the box in slightly wrong place, so will have to cover that up :blush: Also, the bolt itself was just to short, it doesn't grab on enough so will have to buy another one.

With the box mounting squared away I applied a layer of Rage Gold on the box which is now hardening away :D
 
#19 ·
Not a lot of traffic in this thread apart from myself, but I like to keep a log anyway.

I didn't have a lot of time to spare today and was running in and out constantly between rain showers, but managed to get some small stuff done :rolleyes:

A while back when planning out the trunk build I found an ideal spot to mount my fused distribution block which also had three threaded factory mounting spots. I measured and cut some 1/2 inch MDF, routered the edges to give it a more finished look and countersunk the mounting holes since I was going to use factory type nuts which have almost like a "built in" washer at the bottom. I also mounted some threaded inserts for the mounting locations for the distribution block:





Happy with the size and shape I upholstered the piece in black vinyl (same kind will be used for other parts of the build) and secured it in the location:







I had to drill out the screw holes on the distribution block slightly to accomodate the M4 mounting screws:



That's it for today :blush:
 
#22 ·
I ordered it with the Hi-Fi system. I had the H/K option in my previous BMW and it didn't sound good so I knew I would be doing a build in this one as well and there was no justification to go with H/K. Only difference from and integration point of view is with H/K you got MOST to the amp (which is codeable if need be with just Hi-Fi).
 
#25 ·
Hi folks,

Had a moment to spare today so that I could continue with the power installation. Now that the distribution block was in it's permanent location I could look into the main fuse close to the battery and the routing of the main power cables to the distribution block.

Is started out with trying to find a suitable location for the fuseholder that wasn't to far away from the battery while being accessible - something that proved challenging as I had chosen to fabricate my sub box on top of the battery comparment :rolleyes:

Got all the panels out of the trunk (again :rolleyes:) and located an ok spot for the fuse holder, only problem was the mounting options. I once again located two threaded mounting pins and then fabricated a small holder for the fuseholder:





The holder was fabricated using 1/2 inch MDF and wrapped in vinyl and with two metal brackets attached. I also used two M4 threaded inserts and mounted the fuseholder using two M4 screws.

Mounted in its location:



With the main fuseholder in place I could start measuring and fabricating the power cables for the power distribution. I will be using one of the factory grounding points which is located right next to the battery. By the time I had finished taking measurements for the cables heavy rain came down and I relocated my cable shop to the kitchen :D





The main power cables are Knu kolossus Fleks 1/0 guage. Of course everything is protected using techflex, shrink tube, end terminals and properly identified. I was originally looking to go with carbon color techflex but in the car it just looked "black", so chose to go with white :rolleyes:
 
#33 ·
Hi folks!

Not much of an update today. I didn't have more than a couple of hours today but figured I would have a go at getting the power cabling squared away. I used one of the existing cable trays to run the cables from the distribution block up over the wheel arch and down to the fuse holder and past the battery to the grounding point:











It was very tight for space around the positive post on the battery so I had to slightly file down the lug and bend it to a slight angle to ensure 100% contact:



Grounding:



Cable management - I used cable ties every 10cm either using existing fastening points / stock cable runs or using cable tie anchors:





Feels good to have this squared away, now I can focus more on fabrication around fitting the amps over the weekend :D
 
#34 ·
Hi folks,

I thought I would share the progress on the amp rack. As I originally showed, the intention is to squeeze the amps (which are quite big :rolleyes:) into the small storage compartment below the trunk floor:



Earlier on I contemplated having the amps fitted at an angle, but after measuring it didn't seem feasible if not raising the floor, which I don't want to do. I chose to have them mounted flat to maximise space in the compartment. I started out by measuring from the underside of the trunkt floor and calculating the different offsets between the mounting panels and supports and compensating for material. I also factored in that I wanted to allow for the lower amp to breath adequatly as well. I also had this idea I wanted to build in some "cable management" into the mounting panels, will see if this will work practically when routing the cabling further on. I measured the mounting panels and routered grooves for the cables:



As mentioned above, I wanted to allow for some breathing space for the lower amp (even though I have never had any temperature issues with these amps in the past) and routered openings for where the fans are fitted:





So basically this will be the principle:









I also fitted threaded inserts for the amps to allow for proper maintenance. Next I test fitted the amp in the car to check for height etc:







Content with the test fit it was time for upholstry using the same vinyl as before, test assembly of the parts and both amps. Lower mounting panel and supports:





Amp 1 fitted:



Amp 2 fitted:







When doing the initial measurements, i realised the storage compartment was not level with the trunk floor, it had a slight forward angle, which I had to compensate for. This can easily be seen on this side shot:



Apart from the amp rack, I also took the opportunity to make a fine adjustment of the sub box to the surrounding panels. I taped off the surrounding area, fitted the box and applied Rage Gold around the edges of the box, will be sanded and upholstered tomorrow if time permits :rolleyes:
 
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