What's under the spare tire in my car? Plus HK question

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Bob - 28 Mar 2004 06:29 GMT

Or, as Arthur Dent shrieked upon seeing a Vogon ship, "What the hell's
that?"

Seriously, though. I own a 1999 E36 M3 convertible with the HK stereo
and I'm finally embarking upon a complete stereo redo--Brax amps, CDT
components up front, Boston Acoustic (probably) sub. In looking for
a place to mount the amps, I pulled out the spare tire and the
"bucket" underneath it that shelters some strange device. I haven't
looked at it too closely yet, but though I'd start by asking here.

What is it? What's it do? Is it necessary? Can I move or relocate
it--or remove it entirely?

Separately, any good links to pictures of car stereo/speaker/amp
installs around the web to help me with ideas would be greatly
appreciated. In particular, I'm struggling with how best to install
6.5" woofers in the door panels. I may order a "spare" set of door
panels for the car to install the woofers into and save the originals
for some future eventuality.

Thank you very much in advance for any help, comments and assistance!

Bob
Ontario, CA

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KMS - Brett Anderson - 28 Mar 2004 06:39 GMT

I've never understood the idea of car stereo's that weigh and cost more than
the original car.... ;-) Me, I'd rather drive.

The unit under your spare tyre is part of the DTML system. It's the pump
and vacuum reseroir and valves associated with the evaporative emissions
system.

Remove it and you'll set a check engine light and fail your next emissions
test.

Moving it is not an issue, as long as you make sure any extensions to the
tubing is airtight.

Signature

Brett Anderson
KMS - Koala Motorsport
www.bmwdiffs.com

> Or, as Arthur Dent shrieked upon seeing a Vogon ship, "What the hell's
> that?"
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> Bob
> Ontario, CA

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Bob - 28 Mar 2004 18:42 GMT

> I've never understood the idea of car stereo's that weigh and cost more than
> the original car.... ;-) Me, I'd rather drive.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Moving it is not an issue, as long as you make sure any extensions to the
> tubing is airtight.

Koala Motorsport, hmmmm? In Ohio? I'd have guessed Australia. Ah
well.

Regardless, I'm betting you have fewer traffic problems than we do
here in Southern California. I'd love to drive too, but 5-10
miles/hour is a fairly normal commuting speed in stop & go rush hour
traffic and the average commute is (I'm guessing) an hour or more.

Besides, somehow I was able to sell the wife on the stereo concept and
I may just have to use my tax refund for a Dinan stage II suspension
upgrade. I haven't sold her yet on the supercharger--which may be
just as well as I plan to keep the car well past 200,000 miles. :)

(I don't think I'll even ask about the Valentine radar detector...*G*)

Thank you for the answer to my question! I'll have to figure out where
to relocated that little beastie.

Bob
Ontario, CA

> > Or, as Arthur Dent shrieked upon seeing a Vogon ship, "What the hell's
> > that?"
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> > Bob
> > Ontario, CA

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KMS- Brett Anderson - 29 Mar 2004 06:38 GMT

> Koala Motorsport, hmmmm? In Ohio? I'd have guessed Australia. Ah
> well.

Expat Aussie.

> Regardless, I'm betting you have fewer traffic problems than we do
> here in Southern California. I'd love to drive too, but 5-10
> miles/hour is a fairly normal commuting speed in stop & go rush hour
> traffic and the average commute is (I'm guessing) an hour or more.

I didn't say I don't want music in the car, just don't see the point in big
music. Personal opinion of course, but I would love to take a scatter gun
to the people vibrating my house windows, 80 ft back from a road with a
50mph speed limit, as they go by.

Me, I was happy with the single, centre dash mounted, speaker system of
old..... If you can understand the noise it's making, then it works..... I
like to drive, although the various and sundry Revenue Collection agents out
there are making it harder to enjoy. Regarldess, I like some background
music, but I'm not what has become known as an audiophile. I prefer to
spend my money on handling and performance options than on upgrading an
already extremely adequate stereo system. Besides, upgrading your stereo
downgrades performance. That's unnacceptable to me.

;-) <--- Smiley face, for the a.sholes out there, is yet another
reinforcement of my statement "PERSONAL OPINION". I'm entitled to one, and
I don't give a sh.t what yours is. Live with it.

> Besides, somehow I was able to sell the wife on the stereo concept and
> I may just have to use my tax refund for a Dinan stage II suspension
> upgrade.

With the money you could save, buying a better suspension system from a
reputable seller, you could probably be well on the way to that
supercharger.

> (I don't think I'll even ask about the Valentine radar detector...*G*)

Why do you need one of those, if you only drive 5-10 mph? <bfg>

Brett Anderson
KMS -Koala Motorsport
www.bmwgears.com

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BallroomDancer - 28 Mar 2004 16:04 GMT

> Or, as Arthur Dent shrieked upon seeing a Vogon ship, "What the hell's
> that?"
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> Thank you very much in advance for any help, comments and assistance!

I have a 1996 328iC E36 convertible - left the original size speakers from
the 10 spkr HarmonKardon, and the original amp, just didn't have enough
bass. I have a Pioneer head, the original radio was not in the car when I
bought it.
I installed an 8" square "Kicker" sub-woofer (gives same surface area as a
10" round speaker) in the space between rear seats that is used, in the
sedan, for putting skis through from the trunk to the interior. This space
does not go all the way through into the trunk on the convertible.
The original H-K amplifier in the E36 is mounted behind the passenger side
rear seat, if you remove the seat bottom, then remove the seat back, you can
get to it. I added a 200w single channel SoundStream Angina amp to drive the
subwoofer in the space behind the driver side rear seat. Ran the extra
wiring, back to the battery for +12v, and forward to the dash for the head
audio and power control.
All told, building and installing took me about 26 hours - but well worth
it. The system looks completely stock (except for the Pioneer head), and it
is invisible from just looking in to the vehicle (not as likely for someone
to break a window to get in and steal the components). It also sounds good,
with a nice smooth balanced sound, and adequate volume for interstate
highway cruising at 75 or so mph with trucks, etc. in the other lanes.
Jim

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