I thought I'd just document the first thing I did to the new mini, which was phase 1 of the sound system upgrade. My speakers were the first thing to arrive, so I thought I'd install them.

Because of great reviews, I opted to install Focal IS 165's, which have crossovers built in to the tweeters and the woofers. What they DON'T have is good documentation on how to wire them, so I pulled my hair out for hours poring all over the web to figure it out. Finally I decided to disconnect the 4", wire the tweeters to the woofers, and connect the woofers to the Factory wiring. For reference, here's the factory wiring for the base system that I grabbed from a previous thread:


Left front lower: black/redstripe +, black/violetstripe -

Left front upper: black/whitestripe +, black/brownstripe - <----- Mine were Blue/White+, Blue/Brown -

Right front lower: yellow/brownstripe +, yellow/blackstripe -
Right front upper: blue/blackstripe +, blue/brownstripe -
(update: these color-codes now known to be good for 2009 R56 non-hifi also -- which makes me think that 2008 R56s will be the same.)

Here are install pics:

Factory Speaker Garbage:



Wiring The Tweeter to the woofer:



Tweeter Bracket Fab and enlarging the factory hole with a dremel:



Woofer Install:



Buttoned Up:



I haven't taken a drive yet (doing that now) but first impressions are a HUGE improvement over stock. Louder, MUCH more clarity, and punchier bass response.

Next up, installing an Alpine Multimedia HU, Alpine piggyback amp, and a 10" Bazooka tube. Should rock.

 

How do they sound running off the OEM head unit without amp. Great job fitting the tweeter and sharing the details.

Thanks.

 

They sound colossally better than OEM. I have not done the Front/Back swap because I'm about to install a new Head Unit and Amp.