Got my Double Din installed today. Sounds so much better, even with the stock door speakers! Subwoofer bass is finally clean and consistent, with the stock HU the bass was a mess. I currently have a Pioneer AVH-X4600BT HU, Alpine PDX-M12 amp, and Alpine Type-X 10" woofer.

 

Looks great, how was the install? I'm assuming the kit included new trim for that console?
Edit- did you get the adapter to keep warning chimes?

 

I usually do my own installs, but after looking at the wiring diagrams I had a friend do it that works for an audio shop. The harness at the HU was massive and you had to bypass the stock amp. He has easily done over 100 cars, and it took him 7 hours. This was his first MINI.

The dash kit included all trim and blanks if you wanted to remove all the buttons from the speedo, I left them in thinking it looked better than a big piece of black plastic. I did get the adapter that keeps the chimes and provides you with a color coded harness so you don't splice any of your stock wires (except at the amp). My friend told me it is required to properly do the job, that he wouldn't even attempt without it.

 

Good info, thanks.

 

I'm considering replacing the Head Unit, kind of curious if you had any issues after installling it?

 

No issues, it has been flawless. Car doesn't seem to care at all that the stock system is gone. One of the best things I have done to my car to date. The stock unit is so awful.

 

Good to know. So you didnt lose AC function either? I've been reading all over the board that terrible thing would happen. So I was trying to figure out just what I could do to replace the OEM Stereo.

Ok so if I follow what you're saying I will need to replace the Stock Amp also...Are the factory speaker ok or did you have them replace also.

 

Nope! Everything is perfect! The stock amp is removed and bypassed, still have the stock speakers. They actually sound very good once you can fine tune with a good unit, I was surprised. Plus they are much louder just running on the 23W rms the headunit puts out vs the stock setup. I do use a high-pass filter to filter any frequency below 180hz out of the door speakers so they don't distort. Then I have a 10" subwoofer for lows now. I did buy the quite expensive wiring harness that makes the car think the stock unit is still there. Installer said it was a massive help and he wouldn't do one without it. I did not need to do anything special for the "info display" in the tach to keep working. It still works fine.

Here is a link to the harness from a quick Google search, this is not where I bought it from: http://www.autotoys.com/x/product.php?productid=11647

 

Oh..yea that one is to retain the door chime. The bMRD-01 is no longer available.. I email them asking for alternate source...I head that there is a guy in Japan who is making a harness to keep the OEM, but it really really expensive (like $700) but that not including the tariffs and taxes. SO with that being said .... any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

I think I have the BMRC not the BMRD. I was trying to check and see if I could find a receipt or the box, but I can't. I can still find the BMRC for sale.

 

Ah...Thank you so much for your help. It has eased my fear that I might turn my Mini in a ginormous paper weight, just by looking for some better tunes...Anyways, once I get it out of the shop I will start looking into the upgrade.

As for the "Shop" thing; I was hit by two of the most common complaints with the car Carbon Build up and HPFP acting up. Nice thing is the car lot that I bought the car from ponied up the money to fix both the issues without me paying a dime and provided me a Loaner to boot...

 

That's nice! I have been lucky with mine. 60k miles and no HPFP, timing chain, or clutch issues yet. I'm not easy on the car either, it spends a lot of time in the canyons and city. I did have the turbo feed lines leak, and it does burn some oil too...