im just checking here to be 100% sure i have everything i need, and i understand how to do it 100%. i want to be able to do this tomorow.

first off, lets start off with what i have. ive got a 2004 mini cooper s jcw, with the HK system. i bought this wiring harness and dash kit off ebay. will this work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=320070283113

i have my HU at the house. i simply connect the constant 12v, switched 12v, and ground wires from my new head unit to the wiring harness, and plug that harness into the stock wiring, right?

thats really all i need to verify, i have aftermarket speakers/amps, and i know how to hook those up. im just gonna remove the stock HU, speakers, amp, and cd changer, and just leave the stock HK harness in there, as i heard it is almost impossible to get it out and still have everything else working....but i basically just want to make sure i have everything and im doing it right, then tomorow after school im gonna tackle this project, as it will prally take all day (remove rear seats, back panel, etc.

 

I have an '04 with H/K and I wouldn't think of taking it apart. If you do a search of old threads you should find one, done several years ago, by someone who replaced the entire system, which is what it sounds like you want to do. It was a major undertaking.

 

damn, only ONE person has redone the whole HK system??? lol!

ill try and find it, but if you can find the thread, please post it up. i know its going to be a big project, but im up for it

the stock HK just isnt doing it for me....

 

That kit won't work for you. Well it will, sort of. You can use it to install the new HU and give it power, but you won't get any sound from it with the HK still connected.

My website has loads about the H/K system (do a search for kardon).

The main thing to know is:
The speakers are wired from the H/K amp position, not the HU.
There is only one pair of l/r speaker feeds going from HU to HK amp.
The H/K speakers are special and can't be used with HU alone or with aftermarket amp.

So let's assume you use RCA feeds from the new HU to your amp(?); getting rid of engine whine pickup can be challenging BTW.
The amp speaker outputs will have to go the wiring at the H/K amp location. There are H/K amp pinouts on my website.
Then of course, new speakers in doors and rear (hopefully good ones!)

Note that when I had a company do this in GBMINI#2, the result was way worse than before they started (which is why I developed the HKenabler).


Good luck

 

so itll work with an aftermarket amp/speakers right? thats what im going for, im ditching teh h/kayyyyyyy


im deff gonna look thru your website now

thanks for the info! and ill deff post pics up of the new install.

HU is a panasonic CQ-C7413U
components are boston pro60's
sub is a 12" RE XXX
amps, i wanna get a kicker zx850.4 and 1500.1, but for now, the amp on the mids will be one of my MA audio amps...im not putting the sub in right away either.

 

no point in holding on to the HK junk anyway. if your gonna upgrade...UPGRADE.

good luck with the install.

 

Here's the thread of the retrofit: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=66956

I'd suggest taking out just the headunit, amp, and speakers, and putting them back when it's time to sell the car. It's a lot of extra work to remove all the harnesses, and few would be willing to buy the full kit and take on the H/K retrofit.

 

i will own this car for a longgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg time. lol

id rather get some money back now for the new audio stuff by selling the HK amp, cd changer, hu, and speakers. its only got 18k miles on it and its an 04, and its my daily driver, etc...this is the car that im not modding much (just rims, system, etc) nothing major like my explorer (airbags, 4 15's in a wall, about 50 mids and highs, etc) lol

but thanks for the info guys, tomorow im gonna start to hook everything up, im gonna hide the crossovers in the back panels, i dont have my rear speakers yet which pisses me off, cuase i dont wanna take the back panels off twice. i think im gonna order them now, and then jsut leave the back panels off until then lol

 

well i got the door panels and downtubes (and HU) off, after about an hour....lol i felt like something was going to break even though i was going by the thread that tells you how to remove it all...do any of you other guys have problems with water leaking in the door? i know there was a guy on here that got those foam baffle things to put around his mids to protect them, but im not sure, i have a set here for 10" speakers, i think ill order a set for the 6.5's, but i heard they make the midbass go away alot....any other ways of protecting my 300 dollar component set from water?

 

ok i can NOT get the back seats out. im following the instructions in the sticky thread, and they wont come out. anyone care to go into a little more detail on the instructions for me?

 

If you've read other instructions, I assume that you had no problems removing the seat bottom and you understand how to unhook a seatback from the center attachment. The only step left (and the trickiest part) is to pull each of the seatbacks off of the side panel. Fold the seatback to about halfway between upright and folded position (about 45 degrees). Release the seatback from the center attachment and try to pull it away from the side panel. You have to line up a peg with a slot before it will come out and you may have to hunt for the correct angle (it might not be exactly 45 degrees). If it doesn't come out, vary the angle back and forth until you find where you can pull it out.

 

thanks, i got it shortly after making the post, becuase i then found a thread on mini2.com telling how to get the bottom bench piece out, etc. im done for the night, im gonna do more tomorow, i havent even ordered my 6x9s so this means im gonna have my back interior taken apart for like a week! lol but ill deff post pics.

also, my drivers door just started doing this...the mid will not play unless i push in on it a little, then it will play and go off again, etc...wtf lol..

really doesnt bother me though cuase its just the stock speaker..lol

 

That was me...and yes, I highly recommend anyone put in those baffles unless you manage to install some underwater speakers! Worth the $4 each.

 

i heard they kill the bass response though.

 

I think that would be true. Surrounding a speaker with a baffle would be like mounting it in a very small enclosure. Perhaps a baffle only over the top half of the speaker? This seems like a no-win situation.

 

im thinkin that too, i just ordered a set, ill try them out with them, with out them, maybe cut a whole in the bottom.

 

I think I put a piece of duct tape over the top half of the speaker! Not close enough to block any sound vents, but just enough so any water drips would miss the speaker cone.

 

ill try that if the baffles affect the bass any. made the rings today for the 6.5s. i traced the factory outer part of the baffle and cut that out, then cut out the middle hole for my boston pro60 mids to fit in. im gonna have to figure out how to make the tweets fit in.

as u can see the nasty burn marks from my crappy blade, the blade broke like 10 min later cutting the hole out of a 12" box i just made...lol

the rings:













what you guys think of the HU? it kinda stands out more than i wanted (i wanted it to look as close to factory as possible) but i think im gonna keep it, becuase it lights up all amber to match...you guys know any other HU's that match perfect and dont stand out when light up/in general? whether i keep it or not really depends on how it sounds....and im having trouble plugging the new harness into the stock harness, the little pins arent meeting up perfect...i got mad so i gave up today...ill try again tomorow lol



for real fill, i just ordered a set of JBL GTO936 coaxials. im deciding on what amps i want now, i want 100w rms to each rear speaker, and about 200w rms to each front door. sub will get about 1500w-1600w rms, dont know on the amp yet either, i want all to match...im leaning towards kicker....post up pics of cool amp racks in minis, even though there isnt much room! lol

 

I've heard that some of the Eclipse HUs match well - and there's a few that can be adjusted to any color - I tried that Panasonic but I found iPod control too awkward

Nice speaker mounts

 

how did you like the HU overall? how was the sound quality of it compared to other brands such as eclipse, pioneer, etc...(ive owned both) and i noticed in ur pic of ur panasonic, the color was a little red, does it match the interior lights perfect?

and ya, the speaker mounts fit perfect, its just like the stock speaker, except with boston pro60's in them

what HU you run now? what eclipse model are you talking about?

 

hey guys, i cant get the little rubber thing off (the thing in the door jams that you run speaker wire through)..........i got the part off the door itself, but the top part (that runs into the side of the dash)....i took off the little bolt, but its still not coming out, am i doing something wrong?

 

I never noticed any difference in bass response. They are flexible foam, not solid, so if they move somewhat with the speaker they are not suffocating it. Most of your bass comes from the rears anyway.

 

what kind of speakers you have? or are they stock?

 

HK.

 

same. I have done josh's hk door speaker mods and i noticed no reduction in base amount or tone. This could be because now I can turn the system up so much louder without the mechanical rattling I had prior to this mod.