Project build - Metalmilitia Luxury F30

[metalmilitia]

Hey guys

So last year sometime i acquired this 2012 F30 320d Luxury Spec of a beaut after being somewhat intrigued by the colour combination. Seemed rather unique so i had to have it.

Yes it's old but it was really well cared for by a handicapped gentleman who didn't get much chance to use the car as he preferred the space of his Porsche Panamera. The car doesn't even have 100 000km's on the clock as yet and has some nice additions such as:

Heads Up Display
Lane Assist
Collision Detection

Unfortunately it has halogens :/ but an LED retrofit could be a nice challenge at a later stage.

Another bummer was the Base Stereo system which i am busy changing out at the moment and i will post pics of the progress as i go along for those who might be wanting to do the same. I have tried to live with the base stereo but can no longer do it. I have been more than happy with the comfort and performance of this car, especially the 8spd gearbox vs the 6sp in the E90 320d that i owned previously. Power is adequate for my needs and the fuel consumption is great. Knowing that i will be keeping the car for a few years to come i feel an audio upgrade is a must :smilebounce:

Some mods i would like to do once the audio side is sorted:

LED retrofit
NBT iDrive retrofit
Downpipe
Software

In no rush however so will do things as cash flow and time permit. Fortunately the audio bits i have from a previous install with the addition of a Minidsp C-DSP processor which will be added also.

She is sitting on 19" Sport Line rims which is how i bought the vehicle and i think it looks good for now so won't be doing any wheel hunting as yet either...

And possibly my favourite feature...the HUD!

 

[Nick]

SANDF spec?

 

[NtandoN]

That interior is unique, I like it :blowheart:

 

[MiteshN]

Awesome looking ride. raise:

What are you changing in the sound system? Is it just the speakers?
As the radio is not the base one I have, yours has navigation. I have the simple one without nav :-(

 

[Nikhil]

cool color combo :thumbs:

 

[michael.joseph]

cool color combo :thumbs:

+1 very nice indeed
:clapper:

 

[metalmilitia]

Thank you guys, i'm very pleased with the car thus far

@MiteshN - yes you are correct, this is the same as the base but with the addition of the nav. It does however still have the smaller 6.5" screen also. I think it is called Entry Nav?

I will be changing out all the front speakers and installing new a-pillars which have the tweeter mounts and grilles. Some of this has been done already I just need to upload pictures then I will post them here.

Have also started a fiberglass enclosure which will fit into the recess on the left hand side of the boot. The system will be a 3-way active front stage with the addition of a subwoofer in the boot. To sum up:

1. DLS UP4 midrange and tweeter drivers
2. Gladen 8" underseat midbass drivers
3. JL Audio 10W3 10" subwoofer
4. JL XD600/6 channel amp (for front stage)
5. JL XD600/1 channel amp (for subwoofer)
6. Minidsp C-DSP6x8 processor

Gert has said he will assist with coding the radio from base to HiFi which will allow me to have an unprocessed flat low level signal into the processor

---

SANDF spec?

Yes sir :roflol:

 

[Nick]

Thank you guys, i'm very pleased with the car thus far

@MiteshN - yes you are correct, this is the same as the base but with the addition of the nav. It does however still have the smaller 6.5" screen also. I think it is called Entry Nav?

I will be changing out all the front speakers and installing new a-pillars which have the tweeter mounts and grilles. Some of this has been done already I just need to upload pictures then I will post them here.

Have also started a fiberglass enclosure which will fit into the recess on the left hand side of the boot. The system will be a 3-way active front stage with the addition of a subwoofer in the boot. To sum up:

1. DLS UP4 midrange and tweeter drivers
2. Gladen 8" underseat midbass drivers
3. JL Audio 10W3 10" subwoofer
4. JL XD600/6 channel amp (for front stage)
5. JL XD600/1 channel amp (for subwoofer)
6. Minidsp C-DSP6x8 processor

Gert has said he will assist with coding the radio from base to HiFi which will allow me to have an unprocessed flat low level signal into the processor

---

SANDF spec?

Yes sir :roflol:

---

haha, car is clean man, Enjoy it!

 

[MiteshN]

Thank you guys, i'm very pleased with the car thus far

@MiteshN - yes you are correct, this is the same as the base but with the addition of the nav. It does however still have the smaller 6.5" screen also. I think it is called Entry Nav?

I will be changing out all the front speakers and installing new a-pillars which have the tweeter mounts and grilles. Some of this has been done already I just need to upload pictures then I will post them here.

Have also started a fiberglass enclosure which will fit into the recess on the left hand side of the boot. The system will be a 3-way active front stage with the addition of a subwoofer in the boot. To sum up:

1. DLS UP4 midrange and tweeter drivers
2. Gladen 8" underseat midbass drivers
3. JL Audio 10W3 10" subwoofer
4. JL XD600/6 channel amp (for front stage)
5. JL XD600/1 channel amp (for subwoofer)
6. Minidsp C-DSP6x8 processor

Gert has said he will assist with coding the radio from base to HiFi which will allow me to have an unprocessed flat low level signal into the processor

---

---

Sounds awesome.
Would love to see pics of the during and finished product.

I am also planning to change the speakers on my car, and get some deadening insulation done to reduce road noise.

 

[cOlDFuSiOn]

Nice specimen you have there, like the luxury line, the interior options always looked cool! Enjoy! :ty:

 

[metalmilitia]

I wanted to start at the front of the car and move my way to the back so that i could install speakers first and run wiring at the same time. I could then put back all door panels and interior panels once done and take my time with the back of the car and still be able to drive around if need be

So first thing was removing the door panels. This was a bit easier than before as i had purchased a trim removal kit at Addendorf which really made removing panels all round a breeze and i managed to not break a single clip. The trim removal kit in question is this one https://www.adendorff.co.za/product/11-piece-trim-removal-tool-set/ and it comes with a handy carry bag also

When doing the install in my E90 i had laser cut some extra mounting brackets for the midrange speakers so I sprayed them black and proceeded to add some sound deadening before mounting them to the car.

Perfect fit for the DLS UP4 4" midrange speaker

Not shown in the pictures but i did add some weatherstripping foam tape to the brackets before installing the speakers. A bit paranoid about vibrations and creaks and squeeks so i add it wherever i can. Wiring was run through the factory door grommet and adaptor, cable tied and wrapped in clothe tape to avoid rattles.

New A-Pillars were installed so that i could house the DLS tweeters. Yes i could have fabricated pods and cut up and drilled the non tweeter a pillars but this just looks neater and the stock tweeter aiming is a good starting point for tuning at a later stage

I wanted the wiring to match the OEM cabling that BMW uses so i did my own twisted pair cabling for all of the speakers

 

[KPM3_30]

Great work.. Looking forward to seeing the progress!

Car is awesome, agree on making the change to the xenons.. Even if it is using the stock housing and retrofitting pieces, think it would be cool.

 

[Potent]

Looking Good Chris,

Glad you finally doing this install. lol.

I still owe you a visit.

 

[PandaMan]

Nice, keep us posted!

 

[metalmilitia]

Great work.. Looking forward to seeing the progress!

Car is awesome, agree on making the change to the xenons.. Even if it is using the stock housing and retrofitting pieces, think it would be cool.

Thank you will keep posting updates

As for the lights i see Vishal on the forum does all sorts of modifications so i will likely send them to him as it is then plug and play

---

Looking Good Chris,

Glad you finally doing this install. lol.

I still owe you a visit.

Thanks Manny! Yes finally! Another round of retrenchments and possibility of our company shutting down so i am keeping my spirits up by doing the install :smilebounce: Much better than stressing about things that are out of one's control anyways

Will PM you my new number

 

[Aadz17]

SANDF spec?

:biglol:

 

[Potent]

Great work.. Looking forward to seeing the progress!

Car is awesome, agree on making the change to the xenons.. Even if it is using the stock housing and retrofitting pieces, think it would be cool.

Thank you will keep posting updates

As for the lights i see Vishal on the forum does all sorts of modifications so i will likely send them to him as it is then plug and play

---

Looking Good Chris,

Glad you finally doing this install. lol.

I still owe you a visit.

Thanks Manny! Yes finally! Another round of retrenchments and possibility of our company shutting down so i am keeping my spirits up by doing the install :smilebounce: Much better than stressing about things that are out of one's control anyways

Will PM you my new number

---

WhatsApp me on 0827768555

 

[metalmilitia]

Started some work on the subwoofer enclosure

I wanted something that is going to look OEM and not be an eyesore or look like it was mocked up at the flea market or one of the east rand sound shops.

The JL 10W3 requires 14litres if being installed into a sealed enclosure and performs surprisingly well in an enclosure of that size. Extends lower than is needed for my application so i know i'll be happy. The space in the rear left of the boot looked well over 14litres of volume so i headed off to AMT Composites, grabbed some resin and fiberglass matting and got to work! Not going to lie i have not fiberglassed in years and was rather excited about doing some fabrication again.

First thing was taping off the area to be fiberglassed so as not to get resin onto the factory carpeting. I went triple layer here just to ensure nothing at all seeps through

First layer going down

After another 5 or 6 layers i pulled out the mold with peace of mind that it wouldn't warp when adding additional layers of matting and resin.

I marked off where the edge of the enclosure should be so that it's a flush fit. A dremel was then used to carefully cut the edges off

You can see how thick the enclosure is. You don't want flexing of any sort once the subwoofer is installed and playing

Test fit.....like a glove!! :smilebounce:

Got the trusty old router out which has been sitting unused for a year or so and cut out the mounting baffle for the subwoofer. I glued 3 layers of MDF together and routed the inside of the baffle just deep enough for a flush fit once the subwoofer is installed. The edge was rounded for a clean look once the enclosure is covered in clothe.

Played with angle of the baffle and what would work best volume wise for the enclosure. Hot glued the supports into place and proceeded to cover the box in an old t-shirt that i cut up. The clothe was glue to the box using contact adhesive

Layer of resin applied just to stiffen the t-shirt material and to get it ready for a layer of fiberglass

Happy with the shape of the enclosure i proceeded to measure the volume which was just under 16 litres. When taking displacement of the sub and supports into consideration the volume came very close to the recommended 14 litres...happiness! :smilebounce:

A few layers of fiberglass were applied inside the enclosure as i didn't want to create too much sanding time for myself on the outside. After 5-6 layers of fiberglass i made a resin/body putty mix to swirl all over the inside of the box and close up any possible holes or gaps there might have been. It also adds some weight to the box and reduces resonance.

All in all a very solid box

Box was then covered in speaker box clothe. I used contact adhesive for this also, making sure not to apply too much glue as it soaks through the clothe rather easily and makes flat spots.

Test fitting. I used cable ties to take the sub out a bit easier

The carpet didn't quite match the factory carpeting so i dyed it a tint or two darker with this

Wola, a much better match!

 

[KPM3_30]

Bud, this is amazing work! Well done man!! Some bass is always welcome.. raise: You might be able to manufacture and sell those boxes to F30 owners, although that looks like a massive amount of work.

Is there a ski hatch or some way for the bass to travel into the cabin? I did the ski pass mod to my e46 and works like a charm.

 

[CK4LIFE]

Magnificent mate :bravo::bravo: