BimmerTech E82/E88 1 Series PP 82DSP Amp Install How To

[zx10guy]

This is my first time doing a how to. So hopefully it won't be a disaster.

This how to is how I went about installing the BimmerTech 1 Series PP 82DSP plug and play amp kit. I also popped my BMW cherry with this install as I've never tore into a BMW until now. Let's get started.

These are the tools I used:

P1 Philips head screwdriver
Small 1/8 flat blade screwdriver
Long 1/4 flat blade screwdriver
1/4 socket wrench
8mm socket with small extension
10mm socket

Here's the amp with the custom bracket pre-installed by BimmerTech.




Here's a view of the trunk. I highlighted the trunk floor panel you'll need to remove.



Here is the panel coming out. Just lift the front of the panel up and remove the entire panel. It is not fastened to the car.



Next you'll need to remove this plastic trim piece.



Here are close ups of the two fasteners on the far left and right of the trim piece which you'll need to remove to pull the trim out. I've highlighted the fasteners/screws you'll need to remove. Also note the different size of the left and right plastic fasteners. Use the flat blade screwdrivers to pop the top plastic push pin first and then pry out the remaining piece.

Driver side:



Passenger side:



Here is a close up of the two plastic fasteners. The one on the left is the driver side and the one on the right is the passenger side.



Peel back the rubber seal to expose the lip of the plastic trim piece. This is necessary to lift out the trim piece.



Next you'll need to pull the plastic trim at the bottom towards the front. Be careful about breaking the plastic tabs around the two metal D rings. Once you have the plastic trim lifted forward towards the front of the car, you'll want to lift straight up. It'll take some doing but it'll pop out. But be careful how hard you pull the trim up and out as there are 4 plastic posts underneath the trim which insert into the metal body frame. The first picture below is of the far left.



This is a picture of one of the plastic posts near the center of the trim. Note the post is broken as I didn't realize these were there until I pulled the trim out.



Next you'll need to remove 3 plastic push fasteners holding the left trunk liner. One is located right next to the left rear tail light, the other is up under the rear dash ledge, and the last one is next to the rear seat.





I went ahead and removed the access panel.





You'll again need to pull back the rubber seal to allow the left trunk liner to be pulled away from the side of the car.



You'll also want to release the rear seat to allow additional space to pull the liner away from the side of the car.



Here is the trunk liner pulled away. If you're careful, you won't need to totally remove the liner by leaving the front of the liner still attached to the car. But some may find it better to completely pull away the liner to get it out of the way.



Now you can see the cavity where the amp is. Remove the plastic plate covering the amp. It is not fastened to the car. Just lift up and pull away from the side of the car. Take note the keyed pin at the end of the plate which you'll need to clear through the hole in the frame.





You'll next need to remove 3 bolts using the 1/4" ratchet and 8mm socket with extension.




Next you'll want to disconnect the wiring harness from the stock amp. Push in the center tab and then pull the outer locking lever down to free up the harness.




The stock amp and bracket out of the car.



Flip the amp/bracket assembly upside down and remove the bolt and 2 nuts with the 1/4" socket wrench using the 10 mm socket to separate the bracket from the stock amp.



The bracket sans stock amp and the stock and BimmerTech amps side by side.




Now it's time to mount the BimmerTech amp to the OEM bracket. This is where I deviated from the BimmerTech intended mounting method. The BimmerTech amp came with two plastic fastener/anchors pre-installed under the amp. There is a third fastener included in the parts baggy to be used to fasten in the third mounting hole to the OEM bracket. I did a trial fit and didn't like the movement the amp would see using these fasteners. Instead, I used the bolt and one of the nuts which secured the stock amp to the OEM bracket along with a washer and lock washer I had sitting around in my garage. Going this route secured the amp to the OEM bracket and prevented much of the loose slop inherent with using all the plastic fasteners. Also remember to connect the two white wire harness ends to the respective ports on the amp before mounting the amp as you won't have enough clearance to do so when the amp is mounted to the OEM bracket.






Now reverse the steps to mount the amp and reinstall the liner, plastic trim, and trunk floor panel. I also opted to connect the USB cable to the amp before mounting it and left it tucked behind the access panel. You'll find there is almost no room to connect the USB cable later and it's a pain to have to pull the trunk liner out just to program/configure the amp. When you reinstall the plastic trim piece remember the 4 plastic posts underneath which have to be pushed back into the corresponding holes in the frame.




And when you're done, this is all there should be left. If you have more or less parts than this, then something went wrong.



Well, that's it. Hopefully you found this how to useful. Happy listening.

[Jsargevt]

Nice write up - thanks for taking the time to do this! This will be very helpful to me as I have never done any modifications to a car before.

[dtla1]

Just a heads up, on my car, the plastic push-lock rivets on the plastic trunk piece (the one furthest to the rear of the car) are both the same size. Not sure why you have two different pieces there.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by Jsargevt

Nice write up - thanks for taking the time to do this! This will be very helpful to me as I have never done any modifications to a car before.

You're welcome.

Originally Posted by dtla1

Just a heads up, on my car, the plastic push-lock rivets on the plastic trunk piece (the one furthest to the rear of the car) are both the same size. Not sure why you have two different pieces there.

Interesting. I went out to look at my trunk again. The fasteners/rivets are different in my car in two spots. The area I pointed out in my write up above and on the right trunk liner next to the tail light access. All the other fasteners/rivets are the same as the left side. Not sure why. Maybe I have a Friday car? Or it might be due to some minor body work I had done and maybe the body shop broke the two and replaced them with what they had on hand? But the different ones look to be the same as the ones used for the liner on the trunk lid.

[dtla1]

Yeah the two in the rear are shorter and overall stouter pieces for me. I can take some photos later in the afternoon for comparison.

[houtan]

Nice write up. I am going to sound clueless, because I am about the audio side of this car. Is this amp an upgrade to the amp that came with the professional stereo system? What is the purpose of switching it out? Better highs, lows, mids?

[Rons240i]

Just got my amp yesterday. Took my old amp out and getting ready to put the new one when I noticed mine has a different base on it than yours. Instead of having the 2 little bolts sticking out like yours, mine just has a tab sticking out on about of a 45 degree angle. Apparently you're suppose to slide that into one of the openings on the oem base which it won't without bending it down a little further. That only leaves you the one bolt at the front which is suppose to hold it in place!!! Doesn't look to sturdy to me unless I'm missing something. Since there are no instructions with it, I'm going to have to figure something out. Do you know what your 6 little number settings on the side of the amp are set at. Mine came with them all set to off. Just wondering, I don't want to have to tear the liner all out later on. I would rather have it set right the first time. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[dailowill]

Originally Posted by Rons135

Do you know what your 6 little number settings on the side of the amp are set at. Mine came with them all set to off.

Originally Posted by Nelson@BimmerTech

Here's the 1 series tune

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B93...ew?usp=sharing

You will need to download Helix DSP PC Tool version 3.28d

http://www.audiotec-fischer.de/cms/l...c-tool-v3.html

Also in your amp set dip settings 2 and 4 to ON.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...4&postcount=54

[Rons240i]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B93...ew?usp=sharing
This does nothing when I click on it. Like I previously posted, mine also has a different base on it. All it has is a tab sticking out instead the bolts. Not sure how that is suppose to hold it in there. Tried to post pictures but it says the file size is too big and I don't know how to make them smaller. I guess I will have play with and make it fit somehow.

[dailowill]

Originally Posted by Rons135

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B93...ew?usp=sharing
This does nothing when I click on it. Like I previously posted, mine also has a different base on it. All it has is a tab sticking out instead the bolts. Not sure how that is suppose to hold it in there. Tried to post pictures but it says the file size is too big and I don't know how to make them smaller. I guess I will have play with and make it fit somehow.

Nelson must have removed the original file from google drive, but my point is that he said to put the dip switch for 2 and 4 to ON.

[Rons240i]

Well, I got the amp installed and I can say it makes quite a difference. I set the dip switch 2&4 to on like they said before I installed it. I don't know if I feel brave enough to mess with programing the amp yet. I will probably wait til down the road some day. It sounds really good the way it sets now. Thanks for the help and suggestions guys.

[Jsargevt]

Thanks to the OP for putting this install guide together. I was able to install the amp today after a false start a few weeks ago. In case anyone is wondering, the fuse for the amp is #15 on the E88

The radio sounds much better with this amp. I admit that i was skeptical but it does make a marked improvement. One downside is that the "white noise" / "Radio Interference noise" that is ever present when the car wakes up is even louder now with the amp in place (although it is possible that not having ANY sound at all for 2 weeks reminded me how nice it is when the white noise is gone). I am suspecting that the head unit needs to be looked at or replaced and that is something I'm not thrilled about doing.

However, if it makes this blasted sound go away it might keep me sane!

If anyone has any suggestions let me know!

[dailowill]

Originally Posted by Jsargevt

One downside is that the "white noise" / "Radio Interference noise" that is ever present when the car wakes up is even louder now with the amp in place (although it is possible that not having ANY sound at all for 2 weeks reminded me how nice it is when the white noise is gone). I am suspecting that the head unit needs to be looked at or replaced and that is something I'm not thrilled about doing.

However, if it makes this blasted sound go away it might keep me sane!

If anyone has any suggestions let me know!

I reseated the connection for the head unit and it helped marginally. Otherwise, the next step I would say is to replace it. Parts number/SIB is in this thread http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1036190

[Jsargevt]

Originally Posted by dailowill

I reseated the connection for the head unit and it helped marginally. Otherwise, the next step I would say is to replace it. Parts number/SIB is in this thread http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1036190

Thanks I appreciate it. I did some searching on here and someone said that "beating the crap" out of the HU temporarily fixes the issue. I can confirm that a nice hard thump with the heel of your hand on the CD slot can make the sound go away.

I'm betting that there is something internal to the HU which is loose or whatever. I'll see what I can do with that SIB with my "Certified Pre Owned Warranty". I am guessing not very much......

[cgbennett]

Can you update you account so the pictures can show up. I just bought this for my 1 series and would love what you did to install it.
Thanks

[zx10guy]

Sure. I'll update in the next day or so.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by cgbennett

Can you update you account so the pictures can show up. I just bought this for my 1 series and would love what you did to install it.
Thanks

I've updated the photos.

[cgbennett]

Thanks, I just got it installed. What a difference in the sound quality.

[cgbennett]

Mine doesn't fit right and the instructions that was provided says that I need to take apart the back seat to get to it. I know that's not the case. I got it in there, but it is lose and I tired to fix it today but no luck so far.

[dtla1]

Any pictures? Are you sure you got the one for a 1 series, not 3 series?