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  #291  
Old 03-07-2017, 06:52 PM
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What a coinkydink, I just finished my E46 front door speaker upgrades as well. Inspired by my phenomenal sounding E53 speaker upgrade from this thread.

My mids were in the same sorry shape as Props. I used the TR650-CSI combo. Not exactly a factory fit in the E46 (as it looks like the factory HK system in a 6" driver in the front doors). I made it work but it's not pretty The tweeter went right into the foam insert just like the E53 front window tweeters mounted.

Here is my mod for the mid to fit in the factory holder





The factory HK mid is 21watt/3 ohms and so is the driver. Seems to take a bit more on the volume slider of my Eonon GM5150 to push them.

All in, the pillows now seem removed from the front speakers and a noticeable improvement in clarity and and crispness of the sound is achieved. Not as good as the C2 units in the E53, so go with those for a really great improvement.

Tomorrow I will tackle the rear door tweeters and rear deck drivers.

Mike
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  #292  
Old 03-07-2017, 10:17 PM
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Hey Mike - looks great - however going up in impedance on that driver from 3 to 8 ohm might take a little more input to drive them - the Vifa 4ohm drivers that Jay is putting in his rear mids would be a great selection to replace the 3ohm HK drivers -

However I am glad you are happy with the fitment- I will also be putting the Fountek on my rear door mids.
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  #293  
Old 03-07-2017, 10:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by semcoinc View Post
What a coinkydink, I just finished my E46 front door speaker upgrades as well. Inspired by my phenomenal sounding E53 speaker upgrade from this thread.
Ok, Ok.. Help me out here then...

Warning- E46 content. The rear door mids I screwed with today fit the 2.75" Amazon cheapo drivers very well. Just a Dremel here and there with the OE brackets with some clamps and silicon and I am cooking with grease.

But I took a look at the front mids. Those damn things look like ab 4" rather than under 3". This car was ordered with HK speakers and Nav, so I dunno if that means a different size from front to rear or not. The front mid speaker grills are noticeably bigger than the rears. Can you confirm that the ~3" ones you bought will fit as well in front or rear applications?

Adding to this confusion is the BSW site that shows they send the same mids for front and rear doors. And they're close to the ~3". Of course, all it really takes is to remove the front panels and have a look. But the car is not here today and my curiosity is at cat killing intensity.
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  #294  
Old 03-07-2017, 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by PropellerHead View Post
Ok, Ok.. Help me out here then...

Warning- E46 content. The rear door mids I screwed with today fit the 2.75" Amazon cheapo drivers very well. Just a Dremel here and there with the OE brackets with some clamps and silicon and I am cooking with grease.

But I took a look at the front mids. Those damn things look like ab 4" rather than under 3". This car was ordered with HK speakers and Nav, so I dunno if that means a different size from front to rear or not. The front mid speaker grills are noticeably bigger than the rears. Can you confirm that the ~3" ones you bought will fit as well in front or rear applications?

Adding to this confusion is the BSW site that shows they send the same mids for front and rear doors. And they're close to the ~3". Of course, all it really takes is to remove the front panels and have a look. But the car is not here today and my curiosity is at cat killing intensity.
I didn't work with the rear door speakers yet but yes they look a good bit smaller than the front mid range housings. My plan has always been to put tweeters in that position and then put the 6.5" drivers in the rear deck. I doubt that Fountek mids could fit in there but I will know tomorrow.

The GM5150 has 65watts/channel so should have enough juice to drive the higher impedence speakers. My factory HK units are coming up on 15 years old and looked pretty tired and sounded worse. The new ones should breathe new life into this ride.

Mike
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  #295  
Old 03-08-2017, 12:48 AM
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Originally Posted by semcoinc View Post
I didn't work with the rear door speakers yet but yes they look a good bit smaller than the front mid range housings. My plan has always been to put tweeters in that position and then put the 6.5" drivers in the rear deck. I doubt that Fountek mids could fit in there but I will know tomorrow.
Wanna know whuts fun? Without running through this whole dang thread, I think I know this: The Founteks are the same size (~2.75") as the Memphis and the el Cheapo Amazon's. Those are what I prepped for the back doors today. I mean, they *fit* in the dash of the E53, soooo... rt? I mean.. rt? Forgive me. We had wine with dinner. And I had beers with the grill. And maybe a bourbon. Or two.

Before dinner. (I'm kidding. A little)

So maybe it's the after dinner bourbon-flavored melted ice, but I am trying like hell to process what I expect to find under the fronts this weekend. Like.. WTF would they make two different speaker grills for speakers that are the damn same speaker?

Bah! I can see myself tearing off a panel tomorrow at the shop just to see. Oooooo.. What if I call them and ask THEM to take it off so I can just come LOOK at it!? YES! Easy! Easy is the thing that starts to move up in an old man's spectrum of priority. OK. More on this from either of us as we dig together.
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  #296  
Old 03-08-2017, 04:43 PM
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Fountek's are a bit smaller - they are like 2.5" if you draw a circle around the center of their mounting holes as they are square - for example the Memphis are a touch oversized compared to the factory E53 dash drivers but they will still fit -

Are the HK ones you are talking about the pods that have the midrange speaker and the tweeter in the same setup? If so, the Vifa 65mm drivers Jay has, along with a tweeter from parts express will work in that location - there are a few things from Parts Express in this link -

Tweeter/Midrange replacement - E46Fanatics
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  #297  
Old 03-08-2017, 04:49 PM
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Worked on the E46 rear deck units today. Here are some tips for those tackling the drivers.

How I removed the connector block





Here is the connector block placed on the JL Audio TR650 driver with the side tabs bent over the connector block



Add some heat and a little solder to the JL Audio tabs and they are secured to the OE connector block



Using the mounting rings Prop turned me on to and all is well



The OE HK speaker grilles fit decently in the front and side tabs but the rear is ever so slightly elevated. Not an issue for me, I have tint so it would be hard to notice the slight cosmetic gap.

Great sound with the rear deck drivers in place. I am convinced that the rear doors are indeed tweeters, at least that's what my ears tell me. I'll know tomorrow when I take the rear door panels off and start the surgery.

Based on my E53 (Xoutpost content) upgrade the C2 or Dayton Audio drivers would give an additional measure of quality of sound to my ears anyway.

Mike
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  #298  
Old 03-08-2017, 04:52 PM
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Wow Mike clean work on those rear deck drivers!
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  #299  
Old 03-08-2017, 04:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby View Post
Fountek's are a bit smaller - they are like 2.5" if you draw a circle around the center of their mounting holes as they are square - for example the Memphis are a touch oversized compared to the factory E53 dash drivers but they will still fit -

Are the HK ones you are talking about the pods that have the midrange speaker and the tweeter in the same setup? If so, the Vifa 65mm drivers Jay has, along with a tweeter from parts express will work in that location - there are a few things from Parts Express in this link -

Tweeter/Midrange replacement - E46Fanatics
No, in my HK equipped E46 I have a tweeter in the front doors at the window. A separate midrange in the front doors and a woofer/driver in the front doors.

Looks to me and sounds to me (as of today) that the rear doors have tweeters. Tomorrow's surgery will reveal the specifics and confirmed answer.

Mike
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  #300  
Old 03-08-2017, 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby View Post
Wow Mike clean work on those rear deck drivers!
Thanks RB!

PS: I had to shave the OE washers on an edge to have them seat flush against the mounting ring.

I will take a pic of them with the OE covers on to show how closely they can fit. Not perfect, but good enough for me. Here are the pics of my results....works for me





Sorry, it's been 30*F in Wisconsin and the glass got some spray the other day.

Mike
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Last edited by semcoinc; 03-09-2017 at 11:30 PM.
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