I have a 07' MCS with the stock 6 speaker stereo. Next on my mod list is to change out the speakers and maybe add a sub w/ amp.

Many of the speakers that fit the front door spots come with a 1" tweater and crossover.

Thought I had was to get the A Pillars that are made for the Premium system with the tweater hole already molded into it to replace my non molded ones.

Anybody do something like that? I kinda shudder to think what BMW charges for A Pillars

Or has someone installed by cutting hole in the non molded A Pillar? Results? Words of advise?

Thanks

 

Some folks here have done that. On my 07 with hi-fi, the anthracite headliner a-pillar covers are $35 each from Pelican Parts. The part numbers are 51432756770 and 51432756769 for the black covers. 51432756767 and 51432756768 for the standard headliner (grey) cover.

RealOEM is a great place to get part numbers. I've purchased Mini OEM parts from Pelican Parts without any issues also.

 

would these pillar fit on the 1st gen?

 

Thanks Minidrivr!

 

Not a chance. !! The only thing that these cars have in common is the Mini name. The body parts are totally different.

 

I may order one set of each...the service guy looked at me as if I were crazy when I told him the part numbers I needed. Says he can't recall anyone ever asking for them.

I need to wait 3 weeks for delivery, though. Still - it beats having the stock system. I wonder how hard it can be to install a component system to them.

 

Anyone here end up completing the A-pillar replacement job? Just curious how difficult it was? What is your setup like?

 

Isn't it kind of silly to throw the HiFi A-pillars on a non-HiFi system? You already have spots for tweeters in the doors. You'll just be adding more tweeters. It's kind of tweeter overkill.

 

I was thinking they might be in a better listening position. I certainly don't know much about car audio. So your advice for a non-hifi upgrade would be to replace the two door speakers with components and put the tweeter in the upper position, then forget about tweeters in the a-pillar?

 

This is what I've read throughout several threads. People have installed A-pillars on the non-HiFi system, but I think the consensus is that the relative effectiveness of a different position is still up for debate. I wouldn't do it, but that's mostly because I'll be happy just to get rid of these shitty **** **** stock speakers. Hell, I'd be happy if the new ones were installed down below my seat and above my visors. Anything would sound better.

 

friends don't let friends put their tweeters in the a-panels!!!

 

Haha. U don't like them in the a pillar either? Whats your opinion miniSQ?

 

I am going to diagree here a some level ,

In most cars the best image and soundstage would be to put the tweeter as far front as possible and ear level. This would be the A pillar, you just need to point them towards each other with no obstructions. The only challenge with the dash area is the glass and the dash .


If you go to world finals for SQ you will see this on quite a few cars

MiniSq , whats your ideal location for the tweeter? Have installed you system yet if so how does it image? I know you know your stuff I would love some feedback .

I would love to be wrong on this it would make my system a easy clean install
I wish I could put the BE tweeter in the door it would make my life easier(that tweeter is a beast).

 

I am from the old school..find the right tweeter and put it in the kick panels.

But i am so far out of the loop...that maybe a-piller and T/a is the new best method.

I just know that i never had any luck in the a-piller...not for lack of trying.

 

just an idea, but how about putting gauges in those spots on the hifi a-pillars?

 

First off, the non-HIFI doesn't have any tweeters. It has a paper cone speaker in the upper door location. This drives midrange and what highs it is capable of.

If you put a tweeter in the upper door speaker location, what would be driving the midrange? Are you going to have the tweeter do that? Unless you change things with an amp, or creative wiring, the lower door speaker gets mostly bass. You will end up with something like a subwoofer and a tweeter. Is that OK?

I think the main hassle will be wring to the A-pillar. Removing the pillars is pretty easy. Not sure how difficult it will be to mount the tweeters. Mine is a HIFI so, haven't dealt with wiring, and the mounting issue was partly solved.

I'll stay out of this debate. I don't really know what is best. I've read a number of things that say what veg is saying, but this is the sort of thing that can get turned on it ear (so to speak) and the current wisdom can change completely over time. Over the years, I've seen a number of things like this get completely reversed.

I recall seeing a thread where someone drilled a hole in the door panel and mounted a tweeter fairly high in the door. Looked pretty good.

When I install the new amp, I'll try the tweeters from my 2-way component speakers in the upper door speaker (4") location, and the crossover in the armrest. This will be the easiest solution. If I don't like it, I'll consider moving the tweeter to the A-pillar and deal with the wiring.

 

the tweet will be fine in the door.

 

Most 2 way componenets sets cover a really good range
for instance the midbass in the door is ver capable of playing midrange
typical frequency response on a car system would be
tweeter 22khz-3500hz
midbass 3500hz-100hz(this would be you midrange / midbass range)
sub 100hz - 28hz

Basically you would disconnet the 4" speaker, just because Mini put a speaker there does not mean you need to use it.


as far as the a pillar goes one thing has changed over time , the addition of time correction . Most processors or oem intergration pieces are starting to include this .
Before the tweeter and speaker would need to be close to gether so they acted as one speaker , that is why the kick panel was and still is a good location for speakers if you dont have the ability to time correct . The challenge with kick panel tweeters is your legs get in the way on the passsenger side and it is a little harder to bring your soundstage to the proper level.

You will even find some speakers that have the ability to do this on some level with their crossovers like my Focal Kit no 6.

I would love some feedback after you do this

 

This all applies if one is adding an amp and not constrained by the filtering in the MINI's audio. Without adding an amp, the 6.5 doesn't seem to receive much midrange.

The CXS64 V.2 - Image Dynamics 6.5" 2-way component speakers have jumpers in the crossover that you set according to the distance the tweeter is from the woofer. I assume at least one of these jumpers has to do with timing.

I should be able to tell you whether I like it. Beyond that, I can't guarantee the level of audio intelligence in my feedback.

 

Liking it is harder than you can imagine....not touching it once its installed it is the goal here

 

I did a quick RTA measurement of my non HiFi system.

Apparently, Mini specs are right. You can theoretically get extension up to 14 KHz with the treble level all the way up. With it at 0, you can reach 10 KHz or so.

So, the plan of adding tweeters is completely possible without messing FR.

All you'd need to do is get the A pillars, add the tweeters, and find a way to route your tweeter wire to the X9331 connector. There, you'd splice an additional wire on your fronts, and add a single cap (probably 2 uF or so) to the + wire of the tweeter. That'd fill in the missing treble. You'd get bass an midrange out of the 4" and the 6". Full frequency response - no midrange gap.

I'm willing to bet that would be a HUGE improvement over the ultra-crappy speakers we now have. Of course, it'd be even better if you just replaced the whole deal, and burned the old speakers so that nobody else could ever use them again...

Not really - both speakers (4 and 6) get the same signal. Only in the HiFi system are the fronts filtered in any way. The non HiFi, of course, has rear channels high pass filtered - I guess as a sort of punishment for all of us who didn't spend the extra $500 :D

 

My 2007 HIFI has bass filtered out below somewhere around 200-150 hz. It may be different with 2009. Or, maybe MINI just randomly adds different filters as the mood takes them. I know, perhaps it is based on roof color...

 

The a pillar covers look pretty reasonable. I might just order them. Does anyone know if you have to order any other parts that might not be included in the cover. Like tweeter mounts/brackets, or anything else that might be inside the a-pillar or under the cover? Any notes from anyone with the HIFI? I'm hoping my local installer can install the tweeters there as well as the new a-pillar covers.

Thanks much for everyone's help.

 

The A-pillar should actually come with the stock HiFi tweeters, I've read. Given that, you shouldn't need any extra brackets or anything as long as you are using the same size tweeters as replacements.

If you're set on utilizing the higher position for tweeters, then the A-pillars are what you need. If you just want new component speakers, using the existing spaces is a great solution. When it comes down to it, $35 for each pillar is pocket change. The installation (unless you're doing it yourself) will be a few bucks, but shouldn't be much. Tell us how it works out

 

You might want to order the airbag cover caps for $0.64 ea.

Haven't gotten around to opening mine up yet.

I don't think so. I don't see any sign of a tweeter bracket on the RealOEM page for the pillar covers.