Aftermarket amplifier installed

[stablearchitecture]

I have just installed and “ aftermarket” amplifier into my Z4 35iS.
I bought the car as a 12 month old vehicle that had been specified with every single extra, however frustratingly the one thing left out was any sort of speaker upgrade.
( She was at such a bargain price and had only covered 1000 miles but I couldn’t resist and decided to worry about the speakers later.)
I wanted to get a better quality and volume out of the existing speakers without doing anything that didn’t look “stock/OEM” once I finished.

I’ve just fitted a Blaupunkt plug and play amplifier, along with an extension cable and a harness.

it’s a relatively simple system in that you don’t have to chop into any of the existing wiring at all anywhere in the car, the harness plugs into the back of the existing head unit and essentially bypasses the amplifier built into the head unit and instead uses this new stand-alone amplifier to do the job in its place.

I’ve seen on this forum someone else providing a write-up for an install nearly identical to this one, in fact I copied the installation position exactly how they had done, but that particular install was in a car with a standard head unit, not with the optional navigation system so I wasn’t sure this would all still work.

I can confirm that this install is into a car fitted with factory navigation and from reading other reviews it will also work in the car with the standard head unit.

What I struggle to find out was which harness and loom I required, after exhaustive research including contacting Blaubunkt directly as well as one of their UK importers I took an educated guess and ended up buying the right product.

To save anyone else having to go through the same issues I can confirm the following three part numbers you need to order so that you can successfully do the same install:

THA 475 PnP - Four channel amplifier
7 607 622 016-001 - adapter cable ( to allow connection between amplifier and the Z4)
7 607 622 011001 - extension cable ( this is the 5 m long version allowing the location of the amp in the rear of the car)

I’d cheated with regards to the installation, I handed the car over to a friend who also happens to be a technician at the local BMW dealership, he fitted the amp and took all the pictures at the dealership (although in his own time). I’m afraid I can’t answer any questions with regards to how to remove anything to get the installation done, he had access to the full BMW facilities so it didn’t take very long at all.

The amplifier location as shown in my photos below is a fixed to the vertical wall separating the boot ( or trunk if you’re in America) from the passenger area.
Without being too technical, it is located in the position that the amp would-be if you ordered premium sound ( so I understand), but in this case the amp is located onto a sheet of black apply and all the wiring rooted through to the head unit location along the same runs that BMW use. I’ve attached photos, that might help if you decide to do the same thing.

The sound is a definite improvement, it gives much more substance and it seems fairly obvious the speakers are capable of handling the additional output.
I haven’t yet had a chance to play around with the settings on the amp itself, the only concern at the moment is some interference in the rear speakers, this can just about be heard at very low volume, I’m hoping that playing around with the settings on the amp may eliminate this as much as possible - if anyone reading this has any thoughts suggestions or comments they would be greatly appreciated.
Other than this, everything is working perfectly, the only one comment I would have is that the sound for the parking sensors also seems to be amplified and whilst not a major issue is louder than it was before. I have the same issue with the alert “bing” when for example the temperature is below zero or the car is running out of fuel. As I say not an issue, something I’m more than happy to put up with for better quality sound.

I’ve got on order the power of missing tweeters from the top of the door pillar, anyone thinking of doing this beware, apparently there are two different part numbers, my friend at the dealership ordered the first part number only to find that we just didn’t fit, we’ve now had to order the second part number directly from Germany.
Once they arrive I will put up a new post detailing the correct part number for the correct car and some photos of the installation along with my thoughts.

I’m also planning to look into one of the “smart top” options, however my car already has comfort access and therefore I would only be doing this to give me the chance to put the roof down while sat at traffic lights on not be worried that I would not get it down ( or up) before the lights changed. I had a 650 convertible before and you could put the roof up or down whilst moving, I was amazed how many times I actually used it.

By the way, the 35iS is a fantastic car, I test drove it back to back against an M3 and was really impressed with both. I was offered this one that such a great knockdown price with a monstrous specification and virtually no mileage so to me it was a no-brainer.

[danielC]

Great time and effort!! Thanks