[Viffermike]

Finally, as promised, here's my guide to installing an aftermarket amplifier in the 2 Series. (Sorry it took so long: I've been on a week-long road trip "field-testing" the amp, among other things, hehe.)

The goal of this install, which involves the venerable JL Audio 600/6 six-channel amp, is twofold:
- To enable an easy and clean-looking uninstall of the aftermarket amp
- To retain all stock hardware (including the OEM amp), even if no longer used

To that end, I suspected (and, now, have verified) two things:
1). That industrial-strength Velcro would be extraordinarily useful
2). That TechnicPnP's ASD Delete and Add-an-Amp harnesses are invaluable

Let me explain ... but first: props to Zooks527 for his ASD Delete harness install thread, which helped with research and planning immensely.

First, I removed the hinged battery/storage cover, the plastic rear tailgate plate, and the left-hand trunk/fender liner per Zooks527's instructions (It's easy). Once removed, I took the fender liner, which is made of pressed recycled material covered with synthetic fuzz, and used a dowel bit -- a hollow toothed cylinder with a guide bit in the center -- and drilled four 1-inch holes in the liner as shown here:


I then sourced four rubber grommets with an inside diameter (I.D.) of 1 inch -- as well as four 1-inch black plastic hole caps to cover the holes after the amp is removed from the car -- and installed them in the holes (it took some doing because of how thick the liner is):


WTF are the holes for? To route wires to the amp, which is installed directly above the OEM amp in the left corner of the trunk to enable easy access for adjustments, issues, etc. More on that later ... so: the three images below show the trunk with the liner removed, with notes on how I mounted both TechnicPnP harnesses -- using industrial-strength Velcro in both cases -- and installed power/ground cables. Note how the OEM wiring harness/loom is split and placed on top of the OEM amp in the first two images. I wrapped this length in anti-friction electrical tape to protect the wires from any rubbing against the cooling fins of the OEM amp, which is now not operating:




(By the way: the negative cable has been disconnected from the battery at this point as well)
Next, I installed the 600/6's ground wire (I used a power-only Stinger 4-gauge amp-install kit) in a dedicated custom location to keep the ground cable's length as short as possible: about 7 inches in my case. These two images show the hole drilled, then the cable installed. I prepped the area using a Dremel to grind the sheet to bare metal, then drilled a 5/32 hole in the location shown (verified to be clean and safe behind the location by using a flashlight to peer into the hole above it), then used a standard 5/16 ground screw and a #10 zinc star washer (not stainless steel, which isn't as conductive as zinc) to fasten the ground tab:



Next, since I'd already disconnected the center channel speaker, I closed the loop for that speaker on the Add-an-Amp harness by splicing together the positive and negative wires with a cap, then sealing the splice with shrink tubing:


In the next two images (sorry the first is so fuzzy), I show how the power cable is run and mounted. Note in the second image that the power cable fuse is secured with -- you guessed it! -- industrial-strength Velcro. Right now, the fuse is behind the trunk liner and not easy to access; I may relocate the fuse closer to the battery if I encounter any fuse-blowing issues, but so far I have not:



Now, the fun part: re-installing the trunk liner while simultaneously routing the wires through the holes in the liner. The large wires, RCA inputs and "single" wires were fairly easy, but I used a rubber band and piece of string to feed the speaker-output wires as a bundle through the final hole:


Next, I positioned the 600/6, on which I'd installed strips of you-know-what (that Velcro) on its bottom plate, and fastened the wires to the amp. The Velcro enabled me to mount the amp securely inside the trunk without any screws -- it sticks very well to the fuzz on the liner. However, to keep the amp from sticking to the fuzz while installing the wires, I used a magazine in between the amp and the liner:


Once the wires are in, re-connect the negative cable to the battery, fire up the amp, do whatever balancing/testing/etc. you feel like you need, and enjoy that puppy!

This is an image I took earlier today of the amp in the trunk, which just ran perfectly throughout a 7-day, 3,300-mile road trip:


And this is the wired bass-level knob I installed under the armrest -- a must, in my opinion, to control bass output from the amp to taste for low and high volumes, among other reasons:


If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or post 'em here. Hope this helps some of you ... and just remember: industrial-strength Velcro is your friend.

[BEM-S4]

That looks great! Only question I've got, what do you charge for install?!?! We past the stage in life where work for beer is an option?

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

That looks great! Only question I've got, what do you charge for install?!?! We past the stage in life where work for beer is an option?

LOL! I like beer ... a lot ... to the point where I'm, well, kind of a snob ... basically, I won't drink anything I can see through unless it's a good IPA ...

[BEM-S4]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

LOL! I like beer ... a lot ... to the point where I'm, well, kind of a snob ... basically, I won't drink anything I can see through unless it's a good IPA ...

Try Xingu Black if you haven't. Not my favorite all time (DT) but looks nothing like how you'd expect it to taste. Excellent beer. That or if you ever come across Super Baladin Sour Edition 2005.

After going to school in Philly and trying to drink my way through the beer list at Monk's I try to find new surprising things at this point.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by BEM-S4

Try Xingu Black if you haven't. Not my favorite all time (DT) but looks nothing like how you'd expect it to taste. Excellent beer. That or if you ever come across Super Baladin Sour Edition 2005.

After going to school in Philly and trying to drink my way through the beer list at Monk's I try to find new surprising things at this point.

Funny: I've been to Monk's. An ex-GF had a sister who went to Penn; we hung out there a bit one afternoon. Awesome beer list there ...

... and I've had Xingu Black; good stuff, if a little watery. I'm more of a North Coast Old Rasputin / Deschutes Obsidian / Chimay Blue kind of guy.

[axz17]

Well done! That's a beautiful install

[wntrsnowg]

Nice work!

[Deutsche-Broke]

Nice install.... Thanks for the great write up....

[Vyruz Reaper]

I'm thinking about doing a 4 channel OnCore amp with dsp. Why did you choose 6? Also what was the total hours/cost of getting everything done.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Vyruz Reaper

I'm thinking about doing a 4 channel OnCore amp with dsp. Why did you choose 6?

The HU has seven dedicated channel pairs coming from it: LF, LR, RF, RR, underseat L, underseat R, and center. Most installs do away with the center. That leaves six channels to drive.

You do NOT want to drive more than one channel with a channel on an amp -- particularly when combining woofers with a full-range channel. You're asking for trouble, both in terms of ohm load and volume balance, among other concerns.

That said, you can get away with either a 5-channel amp or a 4-channel-and-mono dual-amp setup. The reason is that the 2 Series audio sums the left and right channels to provide the underseat woofer output. They are not true stereo channels. What you would need to do is be sure one channel on an amp can handle the ohm load of both underseat drivers, whether wired in series or parallel.

For example: the Hi-Fi system has 4-ohm underseat drivers. That means, if you wire them to run on one channel:
- If wired in series, your amp would be driving an 8-ohm load
- If wired in parallel, your amp would be driving a 2-ohm load

This is problematic right off the bat for the following reasons:
- Driving an 8-ohm load would severely decrease the power output of the amp on that channel. That means your underseats would not be that loud
- Driving a 2-ohm load would provide more power to the underseats but severely tax the amplifier. You MUST make sure the amp can handle a regular 2-ohm load -- a rarity in car audio -- and install some way to control the volume of the underseats only because they will be substantially louder than the rest of the drivers in the car.

Five-channel setups have been done on F30 cars using the stock HU, but that's a totally different stereo. Frankly, it's a huge hassle unless you replace the underseats, set up the install to provide balanced output and volume, and do a host of other, smaller things to keep the system running and sound well. It's really just not worth the hassle unless you're completely revamping the system.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Vyruz Reaper

Also what was the total hours/cost of getting everything done.

Total cost was about $750, give or take: $530 for the amp/bass knob, $135 for the harnesses, $65 for the power kit, etc. That includes cost for a couple of specialized tools I used (the dowel bit, for instance; it was $9).

As for time ... the first time you try something somewhat original, it takes some time to figure out so I don't have a total for this. If I did this again on another car, I figure it'd probably take 3 hours or so.

[zipphreak]

Props Viffermike, this is a pretty cool install. appreciate you posting the photos!

[Vyruz Reaper]

So QQ

If I go this route, do I still need the ASD removal harness (technic pnp) to get rid of the sound piping thru my speakers since I'll be "decommissioning" the old amp(s)?

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Vyruz Reaper

So QQ

If I go this route, do I still need the ASD removal harness (technic pnp) to get rid of the sound piping thru my speakers since I'll be "decommissioning" the old amp(s)?

Yep. The reason is that some functions and connections inside the ASD module need to stay active so that the car doesn't 'throw a code' and/or shut the audio output down.

You'll note in my photos that with the ASD Delete harness installed, several wires still go to the ASD module from the OEM loom, even with the Add-an-Amp harness installed. Without the ASD Delete harness, the ASD module would feed into the aftermarket amp's output.

[MASHCT]

RE-Install of my JLA XD600 & the new JLA TWK 88 DSP (great little bit of kit for a really solid price!) using your little guide here. AWESOME post, and a great idea. (I did mount the metal panel back on the amp.)

I had to install the TWK so close to the XD600 to keep it on a big enough, still flat spot, still allowing room for the grommets/wires. I used a couple screws just to ensure everything sits still with the Velcro.

Installing the control knob for the TWK was a little tough. It's a little different from the amp's control. It controls sub volume (inner knob), front/rear volume (outer knob) and tune selection (you can create & store 6 presets; push the inner knob to switch thru presets).

And then there is an indicator LED that changes color; a color is assigned to each of the 6 presets. The thing is bright as hell, so I put it in the console. (I had to block it out with my finger to take a pic with it on!)

I was able to reinstall the HK amp, too. (Easy swap-outs!)

Tuning the TWK 88 was pretty easy. I used the MicW i436 & the "Analyzer" app for iPad, along with a pink noise file. Made for a fun afternoon.

Nice post man!

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by MASH65

RE-Install of my JLA XD600 & the new JLA TWK 88 DSP (great little bit of kit for a really solid price!) using your little guide here. AWESOME post, and a great idea. (I did mount the metal panel back on the amp.)

I had to install the TWK so close to the XD600 to keep it on a big enough, still flat spot, still allowing room for the grommets/wires. I used a couple screws just to ensure everything sits still with the Velcro.

Installing the control knob for the TWK was a little tough. It's a little different from the amp's control. It controls sub volume (inner knob), front/rear volume (outer knob) and tune selection (you can create & store 6 presets; push the inner knob to switch thru presets).

And then there is an indicator LED that changes color; a color is assigned to each of the 6 presets. The thing is bright as hell, so I put it in the console. (I had to block it out with my finger to take a pic with it on!)

I was able to reinstall the HK amp, too. (Easy swap-outs!)

Tuning the TWK 88 was pretty easy. I used the MicW i436 & the "Analyzer" app for iPad, along with a pink noise file. Made for a fun afternoon.

Nice post man!

Nice expansion on my install! Part of the possible future plan for mine was to do just what you did: enable a DSP unit to be close to the 600/6 but easily accessible in the trunk area on that fender riser. Beautiful!

[MASHCT]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

Nice expansion on my install! Part of the possible future plan for mine was to do just what you did: enable a DSP unit to be close to the 600/6 but easily accessible in the trunk area on that fender riser. Beautiful!

You will def want it close by. the TWK 88 is arranged how it is because on the lower side near the amp, there is a USB port for the computer interface. I didn't put it at the top because then it would be tougher to see; and not to the side because of the connections. The positioning turned out to be the best option for ease of mount, access and the USB connection.

[Vorlon]

Sorry to ask such a sophomoric question but is there enough underdeck space for a 14" x 7" x 2" amplifier? Or am I doomed to surface mount it?

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Vorlon

Sorry to ask such a sophomoric question but is there enough underdeck space for a 14" x 7" x 2" amplifier? Or am I doomed to surface mount it?

What do you mean by 'underdeck'? Under the trunk liner where the OEM amp lives? If that's the case, it can be done if everything in the OEM location is either removed (OEM amp, brackets, etc.) or relocated (ASD module). There are threads on the F30 forums with installs of a Focal FDP 6.900 and an Arc Audio XDI 1200.6, both of which are about those dimensions, in that space. However, it is VERY tight, and adjustment/wiring access looks problematic (i.e., plan on using a mirror and a really small and short screwdriver) unless the amp's controls are on the top and not the side.

[MASHCT]

Originally Posted by Vorlon

Sorry to ask such a sophomoric question but is there enough underdeck space for a 14" x 7" x 2" amplifier? Or am I doomed to surface mount it?

If I can also chime in... I would mount your amp someplace where you can easily access it. Having to take apart the trunk when you want to play around, need to troubleshoot, do upgrades to anything, reconnect the OEM equipment for a software upgrade... gets old. I love that I don't have to take apart my trunk anymore.

But, I am a single dude with a dog. I barely use the trunk so the amp isn't in the way of anything.

[Vyruz Reaper]

Need Advice

Do I do 6 channel amp that looks way overkill and some audio specialist says that it can overpower and kill my subs LINK to the Amp
The amp seems to have a DSP and it is pretty long and takes up a lot of space.

OR

I can go with a 4 channel amp to power the F and R speakers and a different 2 channel amp to power the subs



I would do the JL, but I'm constraint to my shop's inventory.
The price between the two is within $50 with the amp being more expensive including installation.

What do you audio experts think?

[Vyruz Reaper]

Also - does adding an external amp have the potential to screw with the car and it not starting/throwing codes etc if I take it to the dealer and they flash software updates?