OEM Factory NAV Radio; WTF?

ZeroG · #1 06-04-2008, 05:25 PM

OK, so over the weekend I was cruising around with the my girlfriend in a 2008 Z4 3.0si. As everyone knows they're still iBus and should have the same radio and Nav as my MKIV E46 M3.

So I notice this for some reason it lists the presets on the screen below the station:
106.7 KROQ

JACK FM
KLOS FM
Free Radio
STAR 98.7
Etc....

So what give why doesn't my radio do this? =( I looked through the entire Nav menu and it was all the same. The only difference that I noticed was the Z4 had DSP, but that looks to be some kind of equalizer that should not effect the radio operation.

Just in case you have no clue what I am talking about I snapped some pics.

Any Ideas ????

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Brian-bmw · #2 06-04-2008, 05:38 PM

The Z4 uses a totally different radio from your E46. However, that is most cool. The European BM54 board monitor radio (similar to your E46 nav radio) does the same thing-- I love that display. Unfortunately, the BM54 radio does not work perfectly in the US and it does not support Sirius.

I wonder if the Z4 radio would work in the E38/E39/E46/E53 cars? If so, that would be a huge improvement. The Z4 radio is the in-dash unit with the volume knob and CD slot. We could mount that in the glove box for a pretty major technical improvement, if it would work. The only issue may be that the radio would not work with the flavor of DSP that the E38, E39, and E53 all use. I think that the E46 and Z4 version of DSP are similar.

ZeroG · #3 06-04-2008, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian-bmw

The Z4 uses a totally different radio from your E46. However, that is most cool. The European BM54 board monitor radio (similar to your E46 nav radio) does the same thing-- I love that display. Unfortunately, the BM54 radio does not work perfectly in the US and it does not support Sirius.

I wonder if the Z4 radio would work in the E38/E39/E46/E53 cars? If so, that would be a huge improvement. The Z4 radio is the in-dash unit with the volume knob and CD slot. We could mount that in the glove box for a pretty major technical improvement, if it would work. The only issue may be that the radio would not work with the flavor of DSP that the E38, E39, and E53 all use. I think that the E46 and Z4 version of DSP are similar.

Oh Damn... that's right. I did not even think about the radio being different, I just assumed that it was something to do with the firmware. Hmmmmm... The radio module for the E46 is in the trunk, and the screen a CD player in the front is exactly that a screen\monitor and a CD player.

Bummer!!!

Tom G. · #4 06-04-2008, 08:18 PM

2007-2008 Z4 & X3 use a BM54 radio tuner, same as the euro models which handle some features a bit differently.

The radio tuner is similiar to the non-NAV units, with exception of an additional jog dial. I doubt it would work properly in the e46.

Brian-bmw · #5 06-04-2008, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom G.

I doubt it would work properly in the e46.

Why wouldn't it work-- the rest of the modules in the nav system are the same. They all communicate over the I-Bus. The only two issues I can think of are if the radio tells the screen to pop up (and that causes problems) and if the radio can not handle the E38/E39/X5 version of DSP.

Tom G. · #6 06-04-2008, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian-bmw

Why wouldn't it work-- the rest of the modules in the nav system are the same. They all communicate over the I-Bus. The only two issues I can think of are if the radio tells the screen to pop up (and that causes problems) and if the radio can not handle the E38/E39/X5 version of DSP.

The Z4 has jog dials on the radio itself whereas the e46 uses the NAV screen. The hard button features are a bit different also.

It may work, you're welcome to try if you feel adventurous.

KiwiJochen · #7 06-05-2008, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian-bmw

Why wouldn't it work-- the rest of the modules in the nav system are the same. They all communicate over the I-Bus. The only two issues I can think of are if the radio tells the screen to pop up (and that causes problems) and if the radio can not handle the E38/E39/X5 version of DSP.

All control of a BM43/BM53 is via the ibus

Most control of the Z4 HG radio is via the radio front panel

It is unlikely that BMW also implemented the full remote control of the radio via the ibus. But you would need to try it to be sure.

Brian-bmw · #8 06-06-2008, 09:55 AM

Does anyone here have a Z4 with navigaiton that they could tell us more about? For example, does the navigation's knob offer any radio control features, such as selecting presets or INFO/SELECT options?