BMW e46 Speaker adapter
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Description
These speaker adapters were designed during my E46 convertible sound upgrade.
My E46 is a Euro spec convertible without Hi-Fi nor HK options. This means:
- Sound amplification is done directly by the build-in radio (CD53 manufactured by Alpine), with NO extra amplifier on the back
- Sound was really bad given BMW did not include a cross-over between twitter and medium
My speaker choice fell on RockFord Fosgate Punch Series P165-SI (after listening to several models in crutchfield.com). The P165-SI bundle includes a 165mm (6.5") medium and 44mm twitter, without modifying anything in the car (so I can revert to original set-up when selling the car),
I decided to create a custom bracket because:
- Medium is quite chunky, with a mounting depth of 57mm (2.24"), requiring to customize the mount for the speaker to properly fit without modifying anything in the car
- Twitter sound is directional and most of the adapters I found online are flush to the door (not directed to driver and passenger head), so I create a mount with a 10º angle upward and 25º angle inward (angles were eyeballed)
After printing them, I sanded the medium mounts (where I used printing support), put insulating foam on the mounts, installed sound dampening on the doors and installed the new speakers in the car with connectors I found on Amazon (which I had to modify from the speaker side as RockFord Fosgate connectors are 1 size wider).
Please see the photos for the exact install.
Material I bought for the conversion (on top of the attached 3d models):
- 12 M3 nuts
- 12 M3 screws (25mm)
- 8 x Grey Clips (51418224781):
https://www.hubauer-shop.de/en/clip-with-sealing-ring-51418224781.html - 14 x White Clips (51418224768):
https://www.hubauer-shop.de/en/clip-with-washer-natur-51418224768.html - Speakers:
https://www.lakro.nl/p165-si-euro-fit-165-cm-65-component-system-rockfo.html - Foam:
https://www.amazon.com.be/dp/B077L5W5D7?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 - Cable to connect to car:
https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00PWMQG40?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details - Connectors:
https://www.amazon.com.be/dp/B09YM4PJVL?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details - Sound deadening:
https://www.amazon.com.be/dp/B082Q2J2T4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Videos you can use for instructions:
- Taking apart door:
- Installing sound dampening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk-BmZWX1ko&t=1497s
P.S.: the "Top" ring is not mandatory. You could use washers against the speaker to screw the speaker to the support, but I wanted to make use of the foam set on the back side of the speaker ring
P.S.2: This is part of a longer effort to upgrade and restaure this E46 which I recently bought 3rd hand. Feel free to contact me if you are curious about broader details of the project and other modifications :)
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