With an eye on a sound system upgrade, I have been pondering the idea of a subwoofer. The interwebs has lots of info but I now more than a little confused. What works? What is the easiest way? A bit of woodworking doesn't scare me. I have the machinery for that. But what wins and what pays?
You can do it the factory way, as the 540i came out:
But two little five inch drivers does not make a sub, in my book. And sourcing that big plastic box (made by Nokia BTW) could be a challenge.
The M5 came out with two ten inchers mounted like this:
Looks easy enough, but some cutting of holes in the body is involved. And there is a fancybracket between body and speaker. That can be duplicated with MDF, filing and patience I reckon.
This seems to come in more than one flavor.
Not sure what the story is with the above picture. It comes from a German forum. Is it an OEM or aftermarket thing? Perhaps someone can fill in the details. I have not had the chance to peer into the bot af an M5 so I am clueless.
You can just go nuts and put a whole bunch of woofers in the door:
Some guys do not want to lose any trunk space, so the sub goes on top of the spare wheel. Wagon owners like this:
This involves molding fibreglass, or very fancy woodwork. Loss of trunk space is not a big deal for me.
If you have folding seats, just bolt the thing to backrest and call it good!
The same idea, for non-folding seats. Also a bit more elegant:
The box can be bigger, but I guess in this case trunk space was a consideration.
If you never carry three people in the back, just ditch the armrest!,
The picture shows a Ford Mondeo, but the plan will work in an E39 as well.
Here is the quick and dirty way. Pull off the factory trim, bolt on a plank with a sub, hook it up and you are good to go.
Here is the same idea, but done in a neater way:
From a sound quality point of view, the best answer seems to be a great big box with the woofers facing backwards. The box vents into the car. This was suggested to me by a pro installer.
The vent looks nice, but the box is not a very good fit. This is better:
If you are really handy, you mold a fibreglass box that replaces the battery cover. This is beyond my skill set.
Here is an aftermarket solution that is not on the market anymore. The box bolts to the bodywork and the woofer faces downwards:
This looks like the easiest way to do it, from a DIY perspective.
Same would say - go big or go home!
So, there you have it. Can any fellow fanatics share their experiences in this regard to assist me in making a choice?
:ty:
You can do it the factory way, as the 540i came out:
But two little five inch drivers does not make a sub, in my book. And sourcing that big plastic box (made by Nokia BTW) could be a challenge.
The M5 came out with two ten inchers mounted like this:
Looks easy enough, but some cutting of holes in the body is involved. And there is a fancybracket between body and speaker. That can be duplicated with MDF, filing and patience I reckon.
This seems to come in more than one flavor.
Not sure what the story is with the above picture. It comes from a German forum. Is it an OEM or aftermarket thing? Perhaps someone can fill in the details. I have not had the chance to peer into the bot af an M5 so I am clueless.
You can just go nuts and put a whole bunch of woofers in the door:
Some guys do not want to lose any trunk space, so the sub goes on top of the spare wheel. Wagon owners like this:
This involves molding fibreglass, or very fancy woodwork. Loss of trunk space is not a big deal for me.
If you have folding seats, just bolt the thing to backrest and call it good!
The same idea, for non-folding seats. Also a bit more elegant:
The box can be bigger, but I guess in this case trunk space was a consideration.
If you never carry three people in the back, just ditch the armrest!,
The picture shows a Ford Mondeo, but the plan will work in an E39 as well.
Here is the quick and dirty way. Pull off the factory trim, bolt on a plank with a sub, hook it up and you are good to go.
Here is the same idea, but done in a neater way:
From a sound quality point of view, the best answer seems to be a great big box with the woofers facing backwards. The box vents into the car. This was suggested to me by a pro installer.
The vent looks nice, but the box is not a very good fit. This is better:
If you are really handy, you mold a fibreglass box that replaces the battery cover. This is beyond my skill set.
Here is an aftermarket solution that is not on the market anymore. The box bolts to the bodywork and the woofer faces downwards:
This looks like the easiest way to do it, from a DIY perspective.
Same would say - go big or go home!
So, there you have it. Can any fellow fanatics share their experiences in this regard to assist me in making a choice?
:ty:
