Wire routing for door tweeters

wonderloaf · Post by **wonderloaf** » Sun 10 Oct, 2010 09:02

Hi all, over the weekend been trying to install a new set of 6.5" Fusion component speakers into my z3, footwell speakers have gone in OK, but when I came to installing the tweeters into the doors couldn't find a way through the umbilical that joins the door to the main body.

Have had a look round this forum and other places on the 'net, seems as though some people take the door off to get access, is this correct? I definitely don't want to do this, at the moment I'm running with a 'hybrid' system of the Fusion woofer/BMW tweeter which does sound OK, but would really like to install the correct tweeters into the doors. I don't want the tweeters on the dash as I want to keep the stealth look.

BTW, the reason I bought the Fusions is that the woofers will fit into the footwell hole without any modifications; they do fit easily into the hole but when putting the panel back on you have to be b***dy careful otherwise the hook on the inside of the panel can damage the speaker. I know this to my cost as this is what happened to me..although thankfully it doesn't seem to affect the sound.

Any hints or tips?

Cheers, wonderloaf

metti50 · Post by **metti50** » Sun 10 Oct, 2010 21:18

I've hunted for the past 20 mins to see if I could find a link, but not!

One of the ways is that you can seperate the door plugs and use a couple of the spare pins to wire the new speaker wire through, and obviously pick that new wiring up on the inside of the door, and you need to take the door card off anyway to replace the tweeter.

When you do that you can remove the wire mesh on the tweeter panel and spray paint it black to refurbish it too, really brightens up the door.

If I come across the link I'll post it.

Hope you enjoy the new sound, it makes a wonder of a difference.

wonderloaf · Post by **wonderloaf** » Sun 10 Oct, 2010 21:33

Hi metti50, thanks for your reply, and even more thanks for taking the time to try and find the link!

Before I started installing my speakers I looked through numerous postings and didn't think this would be a problem, as you suggest I'll look around and see if I can use spare pins on the door connector.

Cheers, wonderloaf

CP00black · Post by **CP00black** » Mon 11 Oct, 2010 06:07

I am pondering the RE-CM650 or the EN-CM650. Which ones did you choose? ..and have you noticed any improvement just upgrading speakers? Did you leave the amp on or bypassed?

-P

wonderloaf · Post by **wonderloaf** » Mon 11 Oct, 2010 07:04

CP00black wrote:I am pondering the RE-CM650 or the EN-CM650. Which ones did you choose? ..and have you noticed any improvement just upgrading speakers? Did you leave the amp on or bypassed?

-P

I went for the RE-CM650 in the end, got a good deal on them on fleabay (~£40), I'm using mine in conjunction with a Sony headunit and have bypassed the amp completely. My systems a bit of a hybrid at the moment, because I couldn't get the Fusion tweeters into the stock door positions over the weekend I'm currently running the woofers from the Fusion crossover and the stock tweeters as wired in by BMW.

I'm no audiophile but the improvement is quite marked, everything is now nice and crisp and even at high volumes there is very little distortion (the BMW speakers used to distort terribly). There's even a bit more bass although it's definitely not going to wake the neighbours up! If I can get the Fusion tweeters in as well then hopefully it can only improve matters.

One reason I went for the Fusions is that they were about the largest speakers I could find that would fit into the footwell without any modifications, even the fixing holes are in the same position as the originals. I was also considering some Kickers as they also do a 6"/6.5" speaker that fits into the original hole.

Overall I'm very pleased with the Fusions, they are a definite improvement on the originals and installing the woofers is pretty easy (once you've found out how to remove the footwell panels!). At £40 they weren't going to break the bank either.

Now I've just got to figure out how to fit the Alpine SWE-1000 subwoofer from my old car and I'll be just about sorted!

siwilson · Post by **siwilson** » Mon 11 Oct, 2010 08:52

Just use the stock wiring.

In the doors there are two speaker positions. One has the BMW tweeter and the other is spare unless you have the HK upgrade. Then it is filled with a so called 'mid range'. Put your new tweeter in the empty space for the mid and just cut off the BMW wires the tweeter side of a small connector. If you ever go back to stock you can always reconnet it. Simples!

wonderloaf · Post by **wonderloaf** » Mon 11 Oct, 2010 19:03

siwilson wrote:Just use the stock wiring.

In the doors there are two speaker positions. One has the BMW tweeter and the other is spare unless you have the HK upgrade. Then it is filled with a so called 'mid range'. Put your new tweeter in the empty space for the mid and just cut off the BMW wires the tweeter side of a small connector. If you ever go back to stock you can always reconnet it. Simples!

If I understand correctly your suggestion will replace the existing BMW tweeter with the Fusion one? The problem with this (I think) is that the Fusion tweeter won't be running off the Fusion crossover I have in the footwell. Don't know how much difference that makes, but I guess it'll be better than the stock BMW one...I'll give it a go over the weekend, I'm getting pretty expert at removing and re-installing the door cards now!

Edit: just found out it seems as though the Fusion tweeters have a built in crossover so once installed should be good to go.

Cheers, wonderloaf