head unit + face plate?

[Buckz]

hi guys.

Wondering if it's worth upgrading just the head unit to give the stock hi-fi a bit more umph.. I got spoiled with Bose system in my previous car and z4 just feels dull.

My plan for now is to get a new head unit with usb/Bluetooth and a faceplate.

Some say that many faceplates don't fit well in the z4? Anything you can recommend that fits well ? eBay is littered with them but heck knows how any of them look installed.

As far as head units go what wiring should I go for and assuming any single din will go in no issues?

 

[Scooba_Steve]

You'll only get a single DIN in. Faceplates are not perfect but I don't think they look too bad, with it being a small compromise for the better sound and functionality you get.

I forget where I got mine from, but expect most to be similar.

 

[goon]

They all look crap because of the double curvature of the original unit, someone here has fitted a double din sized unit instead of the centre vent and this looks much better I think.

 

[biojo]

you can keep the vents, but tbh nothing looks 100% right, unless you willing to spend allot and make your own

single dins not so bad

 

[vester86]

hi guys.

Wondering if it's worth upgrading just the head unit to give the stock hi-fi a bit more umph.. I got spoiled with Bose system in my previous car and z4 just feels dull.

My plan for now is to get a new head unit with usb/Bluetooth and a faceplate.

Some say that many faceplates don't fit well in the z4? Anything you can recommend that fits well ? eBay is littered with them but heck knows how any of them look installed.

As far as head units go what wiring should I go for and assuming any single din will go in no issues?

If you have the 6 speaker setup them upgrading the speakers is far better then just upgrading the headunit.
If you have the hifi pro or DSP hifi option then remember you have to upgrade the amp in the boot also, and get some extra wiring from the headunit to the amp in the boot too

 

[Buckz]

Double din would be great but I won't be able to pull that off! And no kits available makes it a pain.

Speaker upgrade is something I've been thinking about, it is the 6speaker system so what options do I have? No door speakers afaik only the tweeter/footwell and behind seats

 

[cherrym]

Page 5 of the mileage survey post shows the Alpine stereo which was in mine when I bought the Z.USB lead for music in glove box and hands free works perfect.
Dont know where the plate came from but it fits ok and doesnt look as if it would be expensive.
Halfords would probably be helpfull with this.

 

[markplant]

From memory the auto leads adaptor face plate was the best, am sure some one here used one recently an was Happy with the fit

 

[Rialas]

They look terrible.

You may have the CD changer plug at the back, so get a Grom which connects into the changer plug. You'll then get usb, Bluetooth phone, and Bluetooth music streaming. It's been really reliable.

 

[srhutch]

Only the factory headunit looks right. What ever you change it with, keep the original for when you come to sell.

 

[vester86]

Double din would be great but I won't be able to pull that off! And no kits available makes it a pain.

Speaker upgrade is something I've been thinking about, it is the 6speaker system so what options do I have? No door speakers afaik only the tweeter/footwell and behind seats

What i personally did on the 6spkr system was replace the footwell + tweeter, and add am 3" midrange in the door. Is a Focal PS165F3, 3-way set. Putt the crossover into the doorcard and running 1 wire back into the footwell. Left the behind speaker for what it is. Formthe midrange i had to run a new wire (from cossocer to speaker). Tweeter just glued in.

Although there are a lot of options, focal is just one of them.

http://www.focal.com/en/car-audio/car-audio-kits-solutions/performance/expert/component-kits/ps-165-f3

 

[NickDE]

They look terrible.

You may have the CD changer plug at the back, so get a Grom which connects into the changer plug. You'll then get usb, Bluetooth phone, and Bluetooth music streaming. It's been really reliable.

I've run GROMs in a number of cars and have always been happy. Where do I look for the CD changer plug in an E86 ?

 

[Rialas]

They look terrible.

You may have the CD changer plug at the back, so get a Grom which connects into the changer plug. You'll then get usb, Bluetooth phone, and Bluetooth music streaming. It's been really reliable.

I've run GROMs in a number of cars and have always been happy. Where do I look for the CD changer plug in an E86 ?

It's behind the back shelf, part of the loom you see in the pic. I didn't have a CD changer but the wiring was there.