I've always had "modest" aftermarket head unit / speakers / amps / sub setups in all my cars, so when I got my Mini back in Oct, the first thing I started looking into doing (naturally) was to upgrade the audio system. Through my research, I found out what an absolute headache it was going to be to do it "a little bit at a time"

Here is a list of the major components:

Head unit - Pioneer DEH-X8800BHS

Amp - Alpine PDR-V75 (​75x4 @ 4 ohms + 350x1 @ 2 ohm)

Front speakers - Hertz ESK 165.5

Rear speakers - Rockford Fosgate P1692

Sub - ​JL Audio CS110LG-TW3 Sealed PowerWedge Enclosure with 10" TW3 Subwoofer

 

i started doing lots of research on what would fit & work together the best for what I wanted (& within my budget) & then started buying pieces one by one.

I started with the head unit & after watching a few youtube videos on what an absolute pain it was to install, I opted to pay to have it installed. While it was being installed, I went ahead & had the installer hook up the 6-channel RCA cables I would eventually be using. I just zip-tied them under the dash out of the way until the time came to gut the car & do everything else.

I bought the head unit from Crutchfield...along with the Metra dash kit, antenna adapter & "chimes retention" device. After reading the installation manual for the steering wheel controls adapter & saw that it (might) have to be "re-programmed" again if battery power was lost. Seeing what a royal pain it would be to get access to it if this happened. I opted NOT to do the steering wheel controls.....besides, the head unit has a remote that does all the steering wheel controls do & more

Everything else I bought on Amazon

 

Here is my "wiring panel" I made out of 3/4" MDF & installed in the factory amp location on the right side of the hatch area. I forgot to take a pic of it before I started mounting everything on it & mounting it in the car. It's basically 5.5" tall x 8.5"(?) wide. It's notched on the bottom for one of the mounting brackets for the capacitor (where the yellow wire is running thru) & the top is notched so as to not interfere with the seatbelt reel & then the back corner is cut to a 45 degree angle to matched the body panel. There are (2) bolts in the bottom edge you can barely see near the top part of the capacitor brackets that secure it to the top of the wheel arch. I ended up taking the taillight housing out to make it easier pulling the excess wire thru & made for a good place to stuff all the extra wires





here is the nearby chassis ground point I used that runs back to the "GROUND" distribution block on wiring panel

 

Here is my wiring configuration on the wiring panel....

POWER distribution output

GROUND distribution output

Bus Bar Ground Side

Bus Bar Power Side

Relay wiring (standard SPDT relay wiring harness)

 

For the tweeters, I started with Metra part # 89-00-9030 - 12"x12" ABS Plate.

I took the factory upper door speaker & traced it's outline for the (2) mounting plates -



Then I used my jigsaw to cut out the mounting plates & sanded all the edges smooth -



The tweeters call for a 1.5" mounting hole, so I used a 1.5" hole saw to cut the openings. I also used the factory speaker for a template to drill out the mounting holes -



Lastly, I mounted the tweeters to the mounting plates using the spring-compressing hardware that they came with & also spliced on a few foot of 16 gauge wire that will run back to the crossover

 

At this point, I had gutted the entire rear of the car (not for the faint of heart LOL) so I could run all the wiring "easily"

I loosened the center console & along the driver's side of the it, I tucked the wire for the AUX **** (bass controller) for the amp. I also ran both front speaker wires on the driver's side to the front side of the center dash tower & splitting off from there to each side under the dash.

The 6-channel RCAs , from their temporary point hanging under the dash, I tucked under the passenger side of the center console. I ended up taking the bolts out of the passenger seat & then "pushing it" out the way as needed. I ran them along what would be the back seat passenger side to the far back corner of that area.....it's fully tapped as I had also attached the remote turn-on wire to it before I had the radio end installed with the radio install



The front speakers, I ran along the driver's side of the rear area to the back wall & then over to the same corner.



Rear speaker on the driver's side runs down along the side to the rear of the passenger area, then across to the right corner with all the other wires.



While I had the passenger seat loose, I fished the 4 gauge from the battery, thru the firewall (another "fun" experience) then down the passenger side of the car tucked under the lower trim panel and back to the wiring panel. I then re-mounted the passenger seat. You can see the power wire running with the large bundle of factory wires below the rear speaker in this pic & also in the earlier posted pic of the common ground -

 

In this pic, you can see the RCAs, both front speaker wires & the driver's rear speaker all coming to the common point in the right rear corner of the back seat area. I used a uni-bit to drill a hole in each side of that crossmember to pull all the wires thru. The trim panel that covers this wouldn't fit with all that wiring going over the crossmember

 

Because NOTHING on a Mini can be easy, I could NOT get my speaker wires to go thru the factory wiring pass-thru I ended up using my uni-bit (once again) to drill a hole right above each door hinge & fishing my wire thru to under the dash where I had ran each door speaker from the front of the center console. I think it took me a good 45 minutes per side to fish this stupid thing....uuuugh



I then zip-tied it to the factory wiring rubber boot.



I slit the bottom of the door side of the boot to pass the speaker wire into the door



I then taped up the hole in the door....I need to go back & correct this cause it looks like crap, so no pic of that LOL

 

Here is my tweeter plate mounted in the factory upper speaker location. You can see the wire going thru the rubber boot into the inside of the door.



I had read in some threads about people having issues fitting component crossovers in the doors, but the Hertz ones are pretty compact. I first tried with it laying on the bottom of the inner door & also against the wall on the other side of the window when in the down position.



I fit with no issues in either configuration, but I opted to mount it to the back wall to avoid possible standing water in the bottom of the door issues. i used some 3M VHB tape to stick it to the back wall....after attaching all my speaker wires



Here's it all buttoned up with the 6.5 mid-bass driver installed. I had to rotate it sideways because the speaker connections hit the metal door frame on the bottom

 

more updates to follow.............

 

Did you have to keep the factory amp?

 

didn't have one to start with LOL

 

btw.....I noticed I posted this in the 1st gen forum instead of the 2nd gen, so I've tried contacting an admin to have it moved to the correct forum

DUUUUUUR :DOH:

 

I moved it.

Great pictures and write up!!!

 

Didn't take alot of "in the process" pics while doing the amp rack & final trim panels, but here's a few.......

 

Lastly, I used this grill made for electronics cabinets -

I used (2) 120mm fans I had left over from an old comp build that are pulling air into the amp area blowing right onto the amp. Then on the edge facing the rear seat, there are (2) hidden 90mm fans that blow out.

I ran a speaker cable back to the power & ground points on the wiring distribution panel for power for all the fans. I also used a quick-disconnect plug so I can unplug them if I need to remove the panel for any reason -

I also flipped the sub enclosure over & mounted some DJ cabinet rubber feet to elevate the enclosure enough that the sub grill didn't hit. Lastly, I made a trim panel for the left side. Under it, I have a set of jumper cables stored....out of sight / out of mind, but there if I ever need them LOL

There is also one of those quick-disconnects (but 10 gauge) for the wire going to the sub enclosure. I can pop out the left trim panel, unplug the sub, remove it & then easily access the jack & spare tire stuff in less than 5 minutes....if the need ever arises

 

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice, i like

 

Have you had any problems with the crossovers being in the door cavity?
I'm thinking of water ingress into the crossovers causing problems?

 

I mounted them vertical on the outer door wall to keep from there being any standing water issues if mounted on the bottom of the doors. I recentley took the driver door panel off to do something else & checked on them since I had the panel off & didn't see any evidence of any water in the door or crossovers....& we've had quite a bit of rain the last few months

 

That's great to hear!

 

Love the clean install, I'm in the process of a very similar setup. Can you post more pictures of the sub area and fan setup?

Did you say you setup your sub to be downfiring?

My car had the HIFI(10 speaker) stereo so I have the factory amp. I purchased the 3 way Hertz setup. The tweeter snaps in nicely into the OEM pillar. I'm going back and forth on my amp setups. I purchased a very small kenwood class d that will fit behind the right panel in the trunk and was going to run it bridged to the front speakers and leave the rear on the factory amp for now. I also have a Alpine v70 5 channel, but it would have to be installed in a setup like yours and then if I decide to pull out the sub/amp for autox or track day I'd have no audio for the trip. I haven't purchased a sub yet, but was considering the JL tw3 as well, I'm just not sure if it will be up to my liking, but I do want to keep the rear hatch usable space wise.