Gareth F's 2000 BMW 528i
Vehicles in the Customer Car Showroom are submitted by customers and fans, and edited by Crutchfield writing staff. You can find more of these articles on the Showroom main page.
Items installed:
- Alpine IVA D106 DVD receiver
- Alpine KCE-422i iPod cable
- Polk MMC5250 5-1/4" component speaker system (front)
- Polk MMC525 5-1/4" 2-way car speakers (rear)
- Alpine SWR-1222D Type-R 12" subwoofers with dual 2-ohm voice coils
- Alpine MRP-M1000 mono subwoofer amplifier (1,000 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms)
- Alpine MRP-F600 4-channel car amplifier (100 watts RMS x 4)
- Alpine PXA-H100 IMPRINT audio processor
- Tsunami PP1010DM power cap
- JL Audio Premium Blue RCA's
- Phoenix Gold wiring
- Custom amp rack, box, trim panels, etc.
Installation Description
The first time around I went cheap (big mistake) and suffered the consequences. In order to ensure this new setup performed optimally, I had the entire car rewired from the head unit all the way back to the trunk. All of the speaker wire is labeled and integrated into the OEM wiring harness and to reduce noise and interference in the system a custom grounding point was made in the trunk. The equipment is packed precisely and organized neatly to allow for easy servicing (if the need ever be). Overall, the new system performs much better, has higher sound quality, and adds the visual appeal I have wanted the whole time. It's not the loudest system, or the best sounding system, but it is uniquely mine.
Q&A Section
Why did you decide to upgrade your A/V system?
This is the third time I have added a new system or changed things up and this time I learned from my mistakes in the past and really spent the time and money to make sure things were done properly.
What's the first thing you show people about your installation?
I still like to show off the trunk. This time the amp rack is built into the spare wheel well shows off the amplifiers and the blue LED lighting lights up the whole trunk at night. Overall, it looks really clean and tidy.
Why did you choose these products?
I went to stereo shops and listened to a variety of speakers. Alpine has always had reliable products and I've always loved Polk speakers so I figured the combination would work well and so far it has.
What was the most difficult part of the installation?
Rewiring the entire car and making sure everything was labeled was probably the most difficult part. BMW's have very little room, and running speaker wire and running RCA's took quite a bit of time.
What plans, if any, do you have for future upgrades?
I'm looking at this point to replace the 1DIN Alpine D106 unit for a 2DIN Alpine W505P1 unit sometime in the near future. I also want to add extra Dynamat to reduce as much rattling as possible and I plan to take care of that end of business this coming summer.
 Neffy Wrapped interior trim with the Alpine IVA-D106 installed behind a Scosche dash kit soon to be modified for perfect fitment |
 Crossovers for the front component mounted in the trunk |
 The custom setup in the trunk |
 40 blue LED's take care of the lighting |
 Alpine MRP amplifiers |
 Umnitza Orion V2 Angel Eyes set up as DRL's |
 My car in its current state. A massive change from 3 years ago. |
 Me and my pride and joy |
Return to the Customer Car Showroom.
Keith Fitzgerald from Boise
Posted on 12/22/2022
I remember when I bought my new 2002 M5 they told me the audio was "limited" and my choice was either Sirius or navigation. I chose nav and they oversold the audio quality. Soon after I went everywhere trying to improve the audio and nothing was available. Forward 20 years later I've purchased another one, same year with the same setup, and same issue. Really, 20 years later and nobody has a simple fix for this? I somewhat understand the issues but would just like to have the basics, bluetooth, USB, Apple CarPlay. Only things I can find are Eonon setups, that all use Android or other similar setups. Any suggestions or help would be awesome!
William Hocking from Huntington Beach
Posted on 7/4/2022
Is there a wiring harness adapter for the E39 540 I ? I need one please help me out
Jon Paul from Crutchfield
on 7/5/2022
Dave Z from Santa Rosa
Posted on 12/12/2021
Nice job. Are your wheels 17's?
Ralph Avery from Fresno
Posted on 10/19/2020
Thank you for posting! I have an E60 2006 that I purchased as a fixer-upper. Now that she's mechanically sound it's time for some music. The OEM that's currently in has issues and I haven't had music since I purchased it, which has been fine because it's gotten my in tune with the vehicle ie; engine, rattles, etc.. . From the research I've done I have a couple of choices which is swapping out the old OEM's and replacing them with newer upgraded non-OEM's, which there are some pretty nice units out there ie; Google Play, touch screens w/ larger screens that fit into the OEM. Or, I can simply remove the OEM cd and NAV and install II DEN w/ NAV and, like you did, rewired everything start fresh, which makes better sense. The speakers are the easiest part of the whole project. I didn't see how you installed the IDEN in your photo's or where exactly. You did a great install and it looks perfect. Although I will not be installing a box because of space (I use it for work) and will be upgrading all speakers except the one's under the front seats unless they're not up to my standards of course. I love Crutchfield and have since they were a magazine (free)! I've been totally happy w/ every purchase I've ever made and will stay a loyal customer. However, they don't have support for this kind of project, but do tell you that some mods will be needed, which I understand, but still doesn't quite get me to my mark. Any help will be greatly appreciated. R. Avery, Fresno, CA
Christopher Kennedy from Rocky mount
Posted on 2/6/2020
Really nice dude! I have a 540i/6 and was wondering if you kept the front and rear woofers in the eenclosures or free air mounted them?
Tim
Posted on 4/3/2019
Nice setup.