Complete Sound System Upgrade

[Jabels]

Hello, I was going to upgrade all of the speakers, head unit and amplifier in my 1996 318ti. However, I'm not sure if the 3 1/2 inch speakers in the door would not work with the 4-channel amp that I am putting in, as I will already be running the wire to the 5 1/4 inch kick panel speaker and its tweeter. My main question is this, do I just not install 3 1/2 inch speakers and take the old ones out or can I run 2 leads from 1 amp output, enabling them to work.

[Uber E30]

Personally, I disconnect the 3.5 mids as they sounded like junk when paired with my 5.25 components. You could, however, run them off the HU power while your 5.25s are run off the amp.

[Jabels]

I was thinking of just taking them out all together, as they do not seem to make much of a difference at the stock level, but I think that I might try your other idea first.

[Uber E30]

Just hook up the HU adapter like normal (with the OEM speaker wires connected) and you can leave the 3.5's plugged in to run off power from the HU. Im assuming you ran some new 16g wire from all 4 sets of speakers back to your amp instead of splicing into your factory harness.

[Whiplash71]

BSW speakers for the 3.5 are still available on Ebay, and perhaps elsewhere. I've used Hertz, bass/mids and tweeters, and am still searching for a good solution for main rears, with the Hertz Tweets. To get good sound, with little hassle and a self install, patience, good components and a decent HU, label your wires.

Otherwise, go pro.

MHO

[Uber E30]

You can run 5.25 in the rear with these brackets:

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showpost....8&postcount=29

[Jabels]

Yes, I am planning on running new wire rather than dealing with the OEM wire and I was looking into the Infinity Kappa 32.9cf speakers for the 3 1/2s and for the 4 inch speakers I am probably going with DLS X-Program X-SC42, as there are almost no 4 inch speaker designers. Any other suggestions/comments?

[Uber E30]

dont run 4's. buy the bracket i linked

[Whiplash71]

Hertz makes 4" but although a quality product, 4s just don't have enough surface area to push a great sound stage.

Follow Uber E30's advice. It s
Looks to be a good solution (BSW used to make a bracket for Ti's but don't offer it anymore).

Originally Posted by Jabels

Yes, I am planning on running new wire rather than dealing with the OEM wire and I was looking into the Infinity Kappa 32.9cf speakers for the 3 1/2s and for the 4 inch speakers I am probably going with DLS X-Program X-SC42, as there are almost no 4 inch speaker designers. Any other suggestions/comments?

[Whiplash71]

Originally Posted by Uber E30

dont run 4's. buy the bracket i linked

Bump.

[Jabels]

thanks, missed that post, I will, not particularly pleased with any 4" and 5.25"s are going to be wayyy better

[Jabels]

I have one last question, how much audio cable should it take to rewire my car, I thought that 100 ft might be overkill but that 50 ft might not be enought, however, I have not done this before.

[Uber E30]

50 should be plenty... its about 10-12 feet of wire each side for the front and another 2-3 feet each side for rears. As im sure you know, dont run the amp power wire with the speaker wires, RCA is fine though.

[Jabels]

Alright, so this is what I am going with, Head Unit: Kenwood KIV-BT901, Amp: Kenwood KAC-8405, and Speakers: 2 sets of Polk Audio db5251 5-1/4" Component speakers. Any objections?

[Uber E30]

Similar to my setup, im running:

Polk Audio db5251 front/rear
Kenwood KDC-BT852HD
Rockford Fosgate PBR300X4

So I see no issues with what you have.