[jjclyde]

I did the bypass harness install today on my 2018 M2. Followed the instructions in this thread - made it very straight forward. Thanks to the OP for those.

The harness was completely plug & play for me - simply snapped in perfectly. No messing around with the connectors was required at all.

Very very happy with the result. Much quieter interior, and no more fake, over-saturated sound. Car sounds sweet without the artificial assist. 100% happy with the change!

The entire install took me about 40 minutes. But it would have taken me only about 10 minutes if it weren't for having to wrestle that trunk lip edge seal back into place.

I determined the hard way that removal of the trunk seal was unnecessary - the only way I could get it back on was to do it BEFORE re-installing the rear trunk edge plate - which showed me (annoyingly) that it was unnecessary to remove that seal in the first place. If only I had read all the way through this thread - as many have already discovered that removing that seal is unnecessary. RTF<entire thread> right?

A suggestion to a moderator or the OP: Please edit the original & excellent DIY instructions at the beginning of this thread to add a note highlighting that removal of the trunk seal is unnecessary.

[boostm3]

I received the Technic ASD harness in November, and on this 70 degree Feb. day, I figured it was time to install it.. Finally.. What a PLUS! Easy install. Dissembling the trunk took about 12 minutes. Once I figured which was the correct harness orientation, installation was a snap, and with a test drive of about 15 minutes, total time was under 45 minutes from beginning to end.. Didnt have much trouble with the rear plastic panel as its pretty easy to slip it out from its rubber gasket surround, and putting it back was no more difficult than gently lifting the gasket lip, an inch at a time, and letting it flop back over the panel. I found some Windex helped slip it along. One tip Id offer that I read in the M2 forum that was real helpful is that, when removing the plastic panel, youve got to lift it vertically up rather than trying to pull it away from the rear; there are two plastic pins oriented in a vertically down direction on the panel back and you dont want to bend or break those if you can help it. I cant think of any gotchas.... Great Harness, and definitely worth doing.. The car STILL sounded loud to me when accelerating and decelerating. What was quieter was idle and cruising and I found I could listen to the radio at about half the volume I had been listening at. Perfect!!

Thanks for all who commented; much appreciated.

[Cumberlandjames]

OK, all of the above posts are really nice, the pics showing how to install the bypass harness are excellent but as a newer owner, I'm left wondering what sound you're actually killing. Can anyone about to do an ASD bypass do a before and after recording so us uneducated owners can fully understand what it's all about. Thanks, much appreciated. I find my M235 a little too quiet and wish it had a nicer deep throated rumble to it. I think the cold start sound is great and wish it stayed that way instead of getting quiet.

thanks

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Cumberlandjames

OK, all of the above posts are really nice, the pics showing how to install the bypass harness are excellent but as a newer owner, I'm left wondering what sound you're actually killing. Can anyone about to do an ASD bypass do a before and after recording so us uneducated owners can fully understand what it's all about. Thanks, much appreciated. I find my M235 a little too quiet and wish it had a nicer deep throated rumble to it. I think the cold start sound is great and wish it stayed that way instead of getting quiet.

thanks

BMW, Dinan and others have an active sound enhancement product you can look into. An axel back exhaust

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Cumberlandjames

OK, all of the above posts are really nice, the pics showing how to install the bypass harness are excellent but as a newer owner, I'm left wondering what sound you're actually killing. Can anyone about to do an ASD bypass do a before and after recording so us uneducated owners can fully understand what it's all about. Thanks, much appreciated. I find my M235 a little too quiet and wish it had a nicer deep throated rumble to it. I think the cold start sound is great and wish it stayed that way instead of getting quiet.

thanks

Honestly, the sound you're killing can't really be captured on a regular audio file -- and it's not just the artificial engine sound you're eliminating. You're also eliminating a significant amount of system noise that the ASD amplifier feed introduces into the system.

Both are among those things that it takes a practised ear to pick out in audio, but are immediately noticeable when it's gone -- kind of like when your TV is still on but nothing is showing, then you turn it off and immediately 'hear' (more like 'sense') the aural difference in the room.

[boostm3]

Originally Posted by Cumberlandjames

OK, all of the above posts are really nice, the pics showing how to install the bypass harness are excellent but as a newer owner, I'm left wondering what sound you're actually killing. Can anyone about to do an ASD bypass do a before and after recording so us uneducated owners can fully understand what it's all about. Thanks, much appreciated. I find my M235 a little too quiet and wish it had a nicer deep throated rumble to it. I think the cold start sound is great and wish it stayed that way instead of getting quiet.

thanks

You can easily hear what it will sound like by removing the fuse..This will also likely kill the radio, but it will give you a good idea what your cabin will sound like sans ASD.

[Transcon]

Late to the party here but I finally got around to ordering and installing the harness. Total install and reassembly took about 30 minutes moving methodically slow, now that I've done it once I think it could be a 15 min job at most. It was probably already answered but to remove the floor loop a Torx 40 bit worked perfectly (easier than vice grips) Must be the new harness design as I didn't have to remove any of the clips, true plug and play. Very happy with the results so far, thanks to the OP for the write up

[RvR]

I have a 2018 M240i, and I wasn't entirely sure there was much fake sound to eliminate, but decided it to do it anyway.

I was told at BMW Weld the ASD wasn't on in Comfort mode. Not true, at least for my car.

Thanks to everyone for the great instructions, not to mention the literally plug and play harness. My main slowdown, the J hook for cargo didn't have a notch in it like the other buttons, but it works the same.

The ASD adds a *lot* of rumble or growl, I'd say between 80 and 200 Hz or so. I don't have the gear to measure it, but I'd like to see pink noise run through and plot before and after.

Most of the rev-match growl was fake, for example. I enjoy the car more, especially on long trips. Why BMW didn't add an iDrive menu option to turn it off, well that's a mistake to me.

So for anyone doing this, add me to the happy users.

[DanG]

Added the ASD delete cable today. I couldn’t be happier. Sport is much quieter.

[18EM2]

Great info. I just received my cable and will do the installation soon. Besides the T40 what other tools will I need? Thanks.

[Zooks527]

Originally Posted by 18EM2

Great info. I just received my cable and will do the installation soon. Besides the T40 what other tools will I need? Thanks.

Tiny screwdriver to pop the center up on the retention pins.

[18EM2]

Thank you

[Shadowfax028]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Nope they fixed it. Was a BMW fuck up but TechP fixed his. Well his was fine to begin with but he made his "incorrect" now to cancel out the BMW problem.

Said another way just plug it in exactly as it is and it fixes everything. No need to swap wires.

Not so sure I would agree with this. I just purchased the harness. After install I had to do "THE FIX" so after 2 yrs or so their are harnesses still being shipped out that are not correct.

Still like the mod tho.

[stevemg9]

Can anyone tell me where/how to get one of these. I went to the technic pnp website and tried to order one but his website seems to be broken and I couldn't add anything to the cart. I then emailed the address on the website about a month ago and got the simple response:

Website is being redesigned at this moment. Please try later.

Every time I check the website it just reads "Out of Stock"

I've been trying to get one for about 2 months now, any other way to get these or do I just have to wait?

[GoSlow2GoFast]

Originally Posted by stevemg9

Can anyone tell me where/how to get one of these. I went to the technic pnp website and tried to order one but his website seems to be broken and I couldn't add anything to the cart. I then emailed the address on the website about a month ago and got the simple response:

Website is being redesigned at this moment. Please try later.

Every time I check the website it just reads "Out of Stock"

I've been trying to get one for about 2 months now, any other way to get these or do I just have to wait?

An older post, but might be worth a shot reaching out to them...

http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1432342

[JohnnyCanuck]

Email Elias directly. His email address is on the top right of the banner on the main page of his site.

[stevemg9]

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

Email Elias directly. His email address is on the top right of the banner on the main page of his site.

Thanks, he responded via email and said they should be back in stock by the end of next week - for anyone else that's looking.

[RidingAgin]

i received my cable a few days ago, and I got a chance to work on the installation today. I have a 2016 M235xi convertible. Needless to say the instructions were a little more complex, but not much. First I have a photo of the cable. It is all one piece for the small connector, not the three pieces in the original #1 post. I also had a rear seat unlock mechanism, two #20 torex hold it on. I also had a cigarette outlet power I disconnected and removed the trunk light from the side panel. There was another knob with a cable on it that I left connected and was able to do the connections without removing the knob cable assembly. I have a photo showing the cable installed, and then with two wire ties to keep it in position. Also an overall shot of the access had. Some images were not good due to some side light reflections
if you have questions, PM or reply. Thanks to all the previous posts.
Cable

[khj24]

Installed the harness yesterday, took less than 10 minutes. I know it has been mentioned multiple times, but do not remove the trunk seal, it is incredibly easy to wiggle the plastic trunk trim out from underneath the seal. The harness itself is quite nice, fully PnP and I ended up wrapping the thickest part of the connection in felt tape and zip-tied it as shown in the thread, no rattles.

Not sure how newer models are with the B58, but the ASD in my 2015 sounds so artificial and boomy. The noise at WOT is completely different, much higher pitch and the engine sounds less lazy(if that makes any sense) simply by the tone being different. This is worth it IMO if you are looking for less boomy drone and a completely authentic engine/exhaust note.

[DrJones]

Originally Posted by khj24

Installed the harness yesterday, took less than 10 minutes. I know it has been mentioned multiple times, but do not remove the trunk seal, it is incredibly easy to wiggle the plastic trunk trim out from underneath the seal. The harness itself is quite nice... This is worth it IMO if you are looking for less boomy drone and a completely authentic engine/exhaust note.

I agree - completely worth it! I will admit, I tried to rig this bypass up myself, using a pinout diagram that I found somewhere on here. That was not worth it! I ended up reconnecting all wires (since nothing worked) and went with the TechnicPnP. Huge improvement in overall sound (engine, music, and otherwise).

[morellomax]

I have a 2018 M240i convertible and have also recently fitted the harness. Very happy. All the best bits of the engine and exhaust sound remain, all the boomy resonant fake crap coming through the speakers is gone.

The car is more refined in everyday relaxed use. Even in comfort mode, it seems there was a little bit of drone through the speakers. That's gone.

Much quieter at slight throttle openings / low revs in Sport. Still sounds angry and brutal when you mash the pedal out of a junction/up a slip road though. Sports mode is now a mode you can use all the time, because it's only noisy when you want it to be.

And the audio system definitely sounds better. The hiss at low volumes is pretty much gone, but more importantly the harness seems to have removed a level of smearing that was there before. Difficult to articulate, but it's a bit like being back in the late 80s and listening to the original CD rather than a tape copy.

100% worth doing.

[davejack]

thanks for your excellent write up！