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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
I would be willing to argue that no one “Needs” more than 50 watts RMS in a vehicle. If someone thinks they do, they should get their ears checked. The 2nd gen Mini HK audio system is advertised at 480 wats across 10 speakers. (Including the tweeters) The amp has 8 channels of output, so that works to roughly 60 watts of output per channel. And that likely “Peak” marketing output, not RMS. I can’t turn the volume up nearly to full without my ears bleeding, let alone listen for any period of time at higher volumes.
The past few weeks of research, and some past system “builds”, have helped me understand what makes a decent car audio system. Unless you’re building a sound chamber for studio quality listening, matching speakers and amps, and adding signal processing, subwoofers, mid ranges, tweeters, oh my…. Here’s my advice, and take it how you will, get speakers that are made for car audio, fit the hole they will be installed, that have the frequency response you want, maybe add a small powered subwoofer depending on your music choices, and enjoy. In the past, I’ve always just updated the in-dash receiver and run whatever cheaper speakers right off the head unit, then added a small powered subwoofer in the trunk, and called it a day. For 90% of the music I listen to, the setup always sounded great. My goal with the Mini wasn’t too far off from that. But since the factory system is starting with an amp, I have plans to throw a new one into the mix.
Very good advice. Part of my point above is not to get caught up in the fancy stuff. You may end up paying more money for higher power handling that results in lower audio output than what you could have attained for less money. Happiness per dollar spent.
I have no external Amplifier. Or at this point; don't intend on installing one.
Apparently, (without puling the head unit), as I've read; the factory Alpine boost head unit puts out 25(-) watts.
The JBLs that I've currently selected; 4ohms @300 watts may be unnecessary/overkill(?)
You've provided great insight and furthering my understanding (to a degree)...
I've explored Crutchfield for speaker options based on my factory set up as well as having another look around for mid range since my doors are already component. I also have the adapters.
To the the best of my (novice comprehension), I'm now looking at (possibly) 6.5" lower doors @ 45 watts RMS (90 watts peak) and 6x9's rears @ 60 watts RMS (120 watts peak).
Does that make sense?
Perhaps I think I need to do a bit more reading/investigating 'til it sinks in.
If you do not have the HK or HiFi system, then your OEM speakers are likely 4ohm, and any car audio speakers will work fine. If you're going to run them off the stock head unit, then no need to go high wattage capacity speakers. The JBL Clubs are nice because they have a slightly lower impedance rating, which can equate to a slightly higher sound output. I've always been a big fan of Pioneer, too. The Pioneers seem to have good dynamic range.
Crutchfield is a good resource to find out the factory speaker sizes and locations. I am not familiar with the R53 speaker layout. Do you have tweeters in the upper door panel? If you do, you could go with a 6.5" component set, and just not use the tweeter / crossover.
The only other thing to keep in mind, or check before buying, is mounting depth. Make sure you have clearance in the door for whatever speaker you go with.
I TOOK IT FOR A DRIVE! 1st time in months since the accident. Still have some things to do but after an alignment, it is road ready. Finally! Pics to follow after I give him a bath. It has 3 months of dust from my nasty garage on it right now.
A bit of a bath, adjusted ride a bit (still dialing in Bilsteins), then took a nice drive down A1A and took wife to lunch at the beach. Early F1 races give you a good start on the day, Baku was a fun watch.
On the way home from the office yesterday, a piece of debris came across 5e median of the highway and struck my rear quarter panel and took out my wheel. Could have been so much worse. Now I get to start an insurance claim this morning. Yay.
Glad you are OK and that the car sort-of is. Hope it goes well with the insurance company.
"Something" came across the median and hit the car. The whole incident from seeing "whatever it was" to it hitting me was less than a second. Absolutely no time to respond. And because it happened so fast, I still have no clue what it was. Neither the trooper or the highway HELP person could see anything in the road or on the side of the road that could have done this. Maybe it was aliens.... The car is drivable, so I'm hoping its all superficial.
Oh man - Sorry to hear that happen to your Clubbie
Glad to know you're ok!
( 'Had someone loose a rear wheel in lane 4, while cruising down I95 (W Palm beach). It bounced and passed right over my hood, inches in front of my windshield.
It was moving so fast I had no idea what it was at first. I managed to get a glimpse of it in my peripheral before it bounced off out of sight into some woods.)
Last edited by Here2Go; Sep 17, 2024 at 08:30 AM.
Reason: corrected: "tire" with wheel
On the way home from the office yesterday, a piece of debris came across 5e median of the highway and struck my rear quarter panel and took out my wheel. Could have been so much worse. Now I get to start an insurance claim this morning. Yay.
I’ve had a few odd ones like that, though not that much damage. I once had a stone or something that hit the glass of my driver’s side mirror and break it. I was doing 65-ish on a multi lane highway and whatever it the actual mirror was traveling in the same direction but much faster. The only thing I could figure is that it was flung there off the tire of the trailer I was towing. Another one was a small piece of angle iron that caught by the edge of the rear tire of the 911 Porsche that was in front of me. It flipped up in the air, landed on the pavement in front of my car, bounce as I drove over it and it went forward through the back side of the car’s radiator. I wonder if your front tire caught the edge of a piece of metal on the side of the road and it flipped up into the side of your car. Just a thought… not that it will fix the damage. Again, hope it gets resolved acceptably.
Glad to see you are alright and the car is drivable with a new wheel. May your insurance journey be easy…I live in South Florida and we get crap on the road all the time, unfortunately. I have a rash on the right front lip of the car where a truck tire tread hit. Luckily it went around and not under the car…because of this and other incidents I’ve added the Rennline aluminum skid plate from ECS. This or an X brace helps with oil pan, starter, headers, etc. if anything is going underneath car. Nothing you can do when getting in speared in the side like that…
I’ve had a few odd ones like that, though not that much damage. I once had a stone or something that hit the glass of my driver’s side mirror and break it. I was doing 65-ish on a multi lane highway and whatever it the actual mirror was traveling in the same direction but much faster. The only thing I could figure is that it was flung there off the tire of the trailer I was towing. Another one was a small piece of angle iron that caught by the edge of the rear tire of the 911 Porsche that was in front of me. It flipped up in the air, landed on the pavement in front of my car, bounce as I drove over it and it went forward through the back side of the car’s radiator. I wonder if your front tire caught the edge of a piece of metal on the side of the road and it flipped up into the side of your car. Just a thought… not that it will fix the damage. Again, hope it gets resolved acceptably.
It was definitely moving across the roadway towards the car. My son was with me and he briefly saw it too. Neither one of us is sure what it was.
Originally Posted by FlyingScot57
Glad to see you are alright and the car is drivable with a new wheel. May your insurance journey be easy…I live in South Florida and we get crap on the road all the time, unfortunately. I have a rash on the right front lip of the car where a truck tire tread hit. Luckily it went around and not under the car…because of this and other incidents I’ve added the Rennline aluminum skid plate from ECS. This or an X brace helps with oil pan, starter, headers, etc. if anything is going underneath car. Nothing you can do when getting in speared in the side like that…
I have a GP2 undertray. Based on what happened tot he side of the car, not sure anything would have stopped it from doing damage had it hit the front of the car. Pretty sure if it hit the front, the car would be totaled.
Talked to the insurance coordinator this afternoon. Now, waiting for a call from the field adjuster to make an appointment to see the car and get the preliminary.
Today I replaced my rear under battery skid plate.
I'd previously thought I'd done a pretty decent job hammering out and re shaping my original one after severely damaging it when backing into a curb.... The difference between my attempt at re-shaping my old damaged one and the replacement are pretty obvious by comparison.
Even though the under plate is hardly ever visible - I'm happy that I decided to replace it.
I've been getting a 28AA in my 2010 R56 after the car has been driven a bit during these Phoenix summer months. Cooled off enough for me to spend some time working on it today. Replaced the diverter valve, I ordered the new style, what was on there before was the old style. I couldn't figure out how to crack open the new style to swap the Alta spring over. During the test drive it seemed to respond quicker than the old one when shifting, hopeful that code has been resolved.
Replaced the spark plugs and coils as well, I've had the car for 20months/20k miles and have no record of when the plugs were last done, so took care of that finally. The new plugs were 5/8 size, used a plug socket I never have used before, it held onto those plugs TIGHT. I ended up having to drill out the rubber so I could remove the socket off the plugs after installation.
And finally, installed a ECS Tuning Catch Can I purchased about 10months ago. I don't have the stock Turbo intake hose, so the hoses in the kit didn't quite work, had to run some custom hoses.
Used BimmerCode to program my 2024 JCW 1TO6. Have driven only 1K kms on it. Having a blast so far!
Couple of things make me happier after programming: auto stop/start disabled by default, shorter and quieter audible confirmation of car lock/unlock.
Since rain for days is on its way to Cincinnati, decide it was time to prep for next weekend’s Minis Slay the Sleeping Dragon, MSSD for short. Did an oil change, transmission fluid change, and while I had her in the air new belt.
Brake fluid and pads are good, Indy 500’s have plenty of tread, power steering fluid is full, coolant is good, new belt, oil and transmission fluid. Should be good for a 1500 mile weekend. Never a fan of her off the ground, but my stress relief for the evening.
On the way home from the office yesterday, a piece of debris came across 5e median of the highway and struck my rear quarter panel and took out my wheel. Could have been so much worse. Now I get to start an insurance claim this morning. Yay.
Good luck! My wife hit some mystery item on the highway in my E46 back in Feb 2022 with the LF tire. It pitched the car so hard the passenger side curtain airbag fired. It bubbled the tire sidewall and bent the base of the coilover in the knuckle on that corner. Insurance ended up totalling it and I bought it back and fixed it. Sadly it's done for this time. Someone blew through a stop sign last Thursday and hit me in RR quarter. Estimate is just shy of $10k. ☹️
New steering wheel came from overseas, so of course I had to install it and unboxed my new spare tire and threw it in the boot for this saturday's mini run out here in Cali.
Just a thought… not that it will fix the damage. Again, hope it gets resolved acceptably.
