[jjcrews]

I'm looking to upgrade my radio. Any Ideas?

[AndyR83]

I've been looking at one of those Alpine units with the touchscreen nav. I'm a little worried though, as I've been told by several friends and installers that radio swaps are a lot more complex in these cars. I think you have to change amps and everything.

[Ali-E90]

There are TONS of threads on this, I highly encourage you do some searching in order to educate yourselves of your options.

To provide some guidance:
1) The options and complexities of your installation depends on what type of system you're starting with. I think there are 4 different stereo options offered in our cars, and depending on which one you have, your options vary greatly.
2) To the OP, there are endless possibilities of what you can do, depending on what you're looking for, your budget, etc. I suggest you think about what you "need" from your stereo (that you currently don't have), and what you'd "like" to get. Then set aside a budget (warning, working on these cars tends to be costlier than other cars - not sure what you drove before, but it was MUCH cheaper installing a stereo in my previous Eagle Talons and Hondas).

OP, once you answer the Qs above, I (and I'm sure many others) will be happy to provide our opinions and suggestions.

Good Luck!!

[TreyR28]

I have no personal experience with it but there's a unit called dynavin that's plug and play and designed for our cars. I think they are about 700$ though, but I don't know that much about them so you might want to look into them. (They have nav built in btw)

[Viktimize]

Originally Posted by jjcrews

I'm looking to upgrade my radio. Any Ideas?

Could you be any more vague??

I have loads of ideas, but the question is what do you want in your system, and what system do you currently have??

There is nothing complex about upgrading the stereo in these cars, I don't know where the stigma comes from that people are afraid to touch it?

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by Viktimize

There is nothing complex about upgrading the stereo in these cars, I don't know where the stigma comes from that people are afraid to touch it?

I think it's because your upgrade options / paths differ so much based on what options you have in your car. BMW does do things a bit differently from a lot of "non-premium" vehicles (for example finding an adequate 12V constant if you replace the HU, tapping into the an switched ignition wire, etc.).

I agree, however, that once you know the complexities of your specific system, it's not difficult to actually do any of the work.

[Viktimize]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

I think it's because your upgrade options / paths differ so much based on what options you have in your car. BMW does do things a bit differently from a lot of "non-premium" vehicles (for example finding an adequate 12V constant if you replace the HU, tapping into the an switched ignition wire, etc.).

I agree, however, that once you know the complexities of your specific system, it's not difficult to actually do any of the work.

From what I gather, most people are afraid of this job because you can get some errors by not relocating the stock HU. But all it takes is one extra 10$ harness and 5 wires.

I plan on doing a nice all in one write up on HU upgrade for HiFi once I get my install done. I had to bounce around to 3 or 4 different threads to find the info I need, then I still had to use my best education to figure out the rest. Just waiting on one more cable to show up so I can get the actual install done. Already cut up my aftermarket Nav and Sirius antennas to crimp on Fakra connectors for stock sharkfin integration.

[Ali-E90]

Viktimize, I'm sure your writeup would be an asset to the forum. Look forward to it!

I didn't relocate my HU when I pulled it out of my E90. I have the base stereo, but took it to a knowledgeable shop to get it done (20Hz in Toronto). I know he ordered some Metra harness, but not sure what else he did to get the unit to work.

No issues, no warnings. Maybe it's just easier with the Base stereo, since there's no OEM amp to tap into.

[Viktimize]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

Viktimize, I'm sure your writeup would be an asset to the forum. Look forward to it!

I didn't relocate my HU when I pulled it out of my E90. I have the base stereo, but took it to a knowledgeable shop to get it done (20Hz in Toronto). I know he ordered some Metra harness, but not sure what else he did to get the unit to work.

No issues, no warnings. Maybe it's just easier with the Base stereo, since there's no OEM amp to tap into.

It will work fine, you just lose your warning chimes. And if a tech plugs the computer in you can get some errors, and some people say the car won't update certain things. Just to be safe I am relocating mine even though it isn't 100% necessary.

[alexwhittemore]

Originally Posted by Viktimize

It will work fine, you just lose your warning chimes. And if a tech plugs the computer in you can get some errors, and some people say the car won't update certain things. Just to be safe I am relocating mine even though it isn't 100% necessary.

From what I understand based on other threads, the most noticeable issue with not relocating the OEM headunit is the lack of chimes. The most problematic issue is that the only CAN<>MOST bus bridge in the car is in the headunit, so by removing it, you remove some diagnostics capabilities, particularly firmware updates for other MOST modules.

I'm not certain about that second part, because I have been separately lead to believe the MOST<>CAN interface is in the dash elsewhere. But whatever.

You probably won't suffer much if at all removing the headunit totally and not relocating it. But for safety's sake, just hold on to it in the basement somewhere for when you inevitably find out that not relocating was a bad idea

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by Viktimize

It will work fine, you just lose your warning chimes. And if a tech plugs the computer in you can get some errors, and some people say the car won't update certain things. Just to be safe I am relocating mine even though it isn't 100% necessary.

I didn't lose my chimes either, but I think that's because I come from a Base stereo. I think modules are required if you want to keep your chimes upgrading from any of the other stereo options (or relocate your stock HU).

[alexwhittemore]

Originally Posted by Ali-323i

I didn't lose my chimes either, but I think that's because I come from a Base stereo. I think modules are required if you want to keep your chimes upgrading from any of the other stereo options (or relocate your stock HU).

That sounds like it may be right - anecdotally people suggest that 'base' chimes sound... kind of lame? The gongs from higher stereo options are much better sounding?

I wouldn't be surprised if, with hifi, you could get chimes back by recoding to base. But that's just based on a hunch that there's a module outside of the Professional HU that can generate them as well.

Or perhaps you have the alarm and thus the crappy little speaker in the pedal trim?

[Viktimize]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

From what I understand based on other threads, the most noticeable issue with not relocating the OEM headunit is the lack of chimes. The most problematic issue is that the only CAN<>MOST bus bridge in the car is in the headunit, so by removing it, you remove some diagnostics capabilities, particularly firmware updates for other MOST modules.

I'm not certain about that second part, because I have been separately lead to believe the MOST<>CAN interface is in the dash elsewhere. But whatever.

You probably won't suffer much if at all removing the headunit totally and not relocating it. But for safety's sake, just hold on to it in the basement somewhere for when you inevitably find out that not relocating was a bad idea

I already have the extra Metra harness I need, so might as well relocate now. But someone else did just run the harness out under the glove box, so that if it's ever needed you can just quickly plug in the stock deck for an update, then pull it back out when update is done. So I will most likely go that route since I don't care about my warning chimes.

[jeffb335]

I dont think you will loose your chimes, I think its a year thing, not an audio system thing. My 2007 with Logic 7 lost no chimes when i gutted the audio system...the chimes come out of a speaker in the lower dash area. My buddies 2010 clearly has chimes out of the stereo speakers.

I like the idea though of doing the plug in the glove compartment for the oem stereo for updates....why didnt I think of that!

(because my car is out of warranty and wont be getting any updates, thats why!)

[alexwhittemore]

Originally Posted by jeffb335

I dont think you will loose your chimes, I think its a year thing, not an audio system thing. My 2007 with Logic 7 lost no chimes when i gutted the audio system...the chimes come out of a speaker in the lower dash area. My buddies 2010 clearly has chimes out of the stereo speakers.

I like the idea though of doing the plug in the glove compartment for the oem stereo for updates....why didnt I think of that!

(because my car is out of warranty and wont be getting any updates, thats why!)

On the contrary, I think it IS an option thing. If I had the alarm, i'd have a speaker in the drivers pedal trim. I don't, so the stereo is the only option for chimes.

[jeffb335]

my car does not have the alarm....

maybe option related on later year cars? Post LCI?

[Ali-E90]

My car does not have an alarm, and I still retained my chimes after swapping the HU (stock not relocated anywhere, just removed).

Not exactly sure where the chimes come from, but I'd have to say it doesn't sound like it's coming from any of the speakers driven by the stereo.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

On the contrary, I think it IS an option thing. If I had the alarm, i'd have a speaker in the drivers pedal trim. I don't, so the stereo is the only option for chimes.

Nope he was right. It is 06-07 I think that has a seperate speaker for chimes.

If you have BMW assist you'll need to relocate the head unit for that to work. It's still a good idea to save the head unit though.

If you have logic 7 you will also need to replace the amp.

[Dannyboy]

Just wanted to "chime" in here...2006 e90 325i w/ HiFi removed the HU and didnt relocate...did not lose any chimes.

It wasn't as dire as everyone made it out be...maybe cuz it was an '06?


That is all...

[Viktimize]

Originally Posted by jeffb335

I dont think you will loose your chimes, I think its a year thing, not an audio system thing. My 2007 with Logic 7 lost no chimes when i gutted the audio system...the chimes come out of a speaker in the lower dash area. My buddies 2010 clearly has chimes out of the stereo speakers.

I like the idea though of doing the plug in the glove compartment for the oem stereo for updates....why didnt I think of that!

(because my car is out of warranty and wont be getting any updates, thats why!)

Just finished soldering up my harness' last night. Added the extra leads for connecting the 71-9003. I will just drop the extra leads down under the glove box and solder the 71-9003 in the car. Just waiting on my Ipod cable to show up so I can start install. Already installed my Back up camera yesterday. Just need to plug it in and run the harness for that to the headunit.

[jjcrews]

I'm looking to purchase an updated European map for my 2006 352i ccc professional. Any recommendation?

[jjcrews]

I'm looking to purchase an updated European map for my 2006 352i ccc professional. Any recommendation?