Great write up...... enjoyed that.

Its always difficult to do this DIY unless you are 100% confident that you aren't going to shag the door cards etc..

I might have a go though :thumbs:

Actually you don't have to use a thin-tip flat screwdriver to remove that plastic blank plate - just push it on one corner and it will lift up the other corner allowing removal (hard to explain - but if you look carefully you'll see that there's a cutout built into it, allowing the blanking plate to 'pivot' and raise the other side so it'll pop out without prying.

Just a tip I found when I removed my door card for fun ...

I need to do this... Just need to get the balls to have a go! :eek:

rs32
Thats a great wright up you done
I am sure it will come in handy for lots of members

:thumbs:

Thanks for posting it on here

Mark

I have done something similar in mine. Like Rich, I have got Rainbow speakers up front, but went for JL's in the rear. (although unlike Rich, I paid a man to fit them!!!!)

I am very impressed with the speakers, they give a great sound. I wasn't looking for mega sounds, and wanted everything to fit within the existing speaker pods.

Hi rs32,

I'm interested in doing what you have. Are you able to PM me details please. Cheers :thumbs:

Rob

I replaced my rear shelf set with Rainbow components today. It was very straight forward due to rs32's excellent write-up and fitting instructions and took me around an hour to do :smt023

It took me a few goes at deciding which way round the connection should go as there didn't seem much difference between +/- in either position? The Rainbow units were also much quieter than the OEM ones for the same volume setting! I settled for the slightly louder/deeper one in the end. Maybe my Alpine head unit affected this but not too sure... :smt017

Due to the above paragraph, i was sceptical of just how much difference it would actually make, but i'm pleased to report that i now have some bass and depth of sound in the car for that rare occaision when you want music rather than 'straight-six' to listen to! :whistle: It's particularly noticeable when you fade the speakers front to back and you realise just how pants the BMW OEM ones are!

I will certainly buy a second set now to complete the setup and improve one of the CSL's few weak spots. Just need to psyche myself up to remove the CF door cards... :smt104

great great write up! thanks!

being a bit new to this forum I've ont seen this write up before.. it's superb, stuff like this is a great help

I completed my speaker upgrade this weekend by fitting a set of Rainbow components to the front just as rs32 did.

My installation took a bit longer than i'd planned on, however... Firstly, upon removing the door card i found that my fronts were already rather shoddily upgraded with Rockford Fosgate speakers! :bigcry:

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/475/dsc00209hn5.jpg

I decided to continue as the Rainbow set was of a higher rating and also due to the fact that the RF set had been fitted with no sound deadening of any sort...

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/4825/dsc00214sm6.jpg

I used a pack of 'Dynamat Extreme' in addition to a sheet of 'Skinz' that had come free with my Rainbow speakers. B&Q was the source of a roller and some felt pad for the tweeter (due to the fact that i had no acoustic carpet)!

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/4859/dsc00220wx2.jpg

The door card removal was nowhere near as fraught as i'd imagined it would be due to using a decent 'Bojo' trim removal tool. I decided to use the Dynamat more around the speaker pod and place the thicker Skinz sheeting on the backside of the CF door panel as this vibrated before with the old RF speakers. I used black silicone sealant to keep the tweeter relay in place. One problem that i had was two of the speaker screw receptacles started to rotate in their mounts and i had to Araldite them in place!

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/3469/dsc00222ch7.jpg

http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/8425/dsc00224ps0.jpg

Refitting was reasonably straightforward, taking care to not bend the plastic plugs. I did have to fiddle a bit to make the rear door handle bracket align properly but it all went back together ok. I used some Loctite 243 thread lock on the door bolts as a few were found loose on disassembly. The LHS tweeter connection was temperamental but with some 'bodging' all is ok now.

And the result? Much as rs32 says, a much better overall audio experience. The sound, although not massively louder, is much clearer and more well rounded with some depth at last. I think the sound deadening has played a large part to thank for that. It will certainly make those long distance trips to the Ring less boring when passing through Belgium! :hahaha: :thumbs: