Stealth Radar Detector Install for M5

[jmh]

Hi,

first of all I don't want to spark another which detector is the best debate as there
are plenty of opinions and solutions :-) ...
I know there're plenty of people who swear by Bell/Passport/V1 etc , I've had
K40s in various cars and they have served me well so far.
I like the ability to have a complete stealth install without any visible
installation signs such as display/'knobs etc

For my current M5 I thought it would be interesting if we somehow can
have the K40 LEDs integrated into the HUD (in my previous cars I had the
LEDs integrated into the indicator lights part of the instrument cluster).
For those who have had work done by Sound in Motion you probably know
they do great work and provide better than OEM quality and finish.

Derek spent a few hours investigating the various possibilities and he got a little
side tracked and spliced the video out from the iPod Touch into the HUD

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3956398836996

For the actual install I wanted to have the K40 remote installed in a stealth place
as I didn't want to have it fly around the glove box or elsewhere . So Derek
created a custom mounting bracket and installed the remote into the factory
ashtray part of the middleconsole.

The LEDs have been fitted into the HUD unit (quite complex as the entire
unit is fairly large and is of interesting shape/architecture

The detectors have been installed in the front and rear bumpers, the laser
diffusers have also been mounted in the front and rear bumpers

K40 LEDs integrated into the HUD (blue LEDs to the left and right)



HUD Unit and Installation


K40 Remote installed into the factory ashtray in the middleconsole




K40 diffusers/detector installation




Radar detector installation


All work was done by Sound in Motion in Boston (http://www.sound-in-motion.com/)

Next up will be the upgrade of the B&O system to live up to its potential ....

- Jan

[Used2be]

Originally Posted by jmh

Derek spent a few hours investigating the various possibilities and he got a little side tracked and spliced the video out from the iPod Touch into the HUD

The LEDs have been fitted into the HUD unit (quite complex as the entire
unit is fairly large and is of interesting shape/architecture

The detectors have been installed in the front and rear bumpers, the laser
diffusers have also been mounted in the front and rear bumpers

All work was done by Sound in Motion in Boston (http://www.sound-in-motion.com/)

Next up will be the upgrade of the B&O system to live up to its potential ....

- Jan

Your installer does know his stuff, nice work. BUT........the video to the HUD is just asking for trouble. And you're the only one who can see it, so when you're on a long boring drive by yourself somewhere and you think you can get away with it, you plug in the iPod for a short video, and then....... It's one thing to be watching the tach as you're speeding up the road, but entirely another to focus on a video, I think. I haven't tried it myself, but it seems dangerous. But certainly fun to show off to friends!

[jmh]

Originally Posted by Used2be

Your installer does know his stuff, nice work. BUT........the video to the HUD is just asking for trouble. And you're the only one who can see it, so when you're on a long boring drive by yourself somewhere and you think you can get away with it, you plug in the iPod for a short video, and then....... It's one thing to be watching the tach as you're speeding up the road, but entirely another to focus on a video, I think. I haven't tried it myself, but it seems dangerous. But certainly fun to show off to friends!

;-) he just did for entertainment / testing not active while driving .
You are correct it would be way too distracting.

- Jan

[Used2be]

Much better, just a fun sit in the car kind of thing, neat!

[Rob///M5]

What do you have planned for B&O? I'm also interested in taking it a bit further.

[jmh]

Originally Posted by Rob///M5

What do you have planned for B&O? I'm also interested in taking it a bit further.

It's a project in the making ... :

- Custom subwoofer box in the passenger footwell
- Amplifier deck in the trunk (Zapco or Genesis)
- B&O speaker grills milled out to remove the restrictive aluminum cover/area
but retain the outer part for design (replace the area over the speaker with speaker
cloth).
- Looking into replacing the OEM speakers in the doors with either Focal or Dynaudio

The B&O system is likely good enough for 99% of the drivers but in the end B&O is still using pretty ordinary components and is mostly about design and looks.
Hence I'd like to retain the design/look but improve overall quality and definition

[stealth.pilot]

Nice install, but a totally second rate product. I bet I could measure your speed in less than a minute with my Lidar gun.

[charley10us]

Why do you have a Lidar gun....do the escort9500ci shifters really work for lidar

[Rob///M5]

Originally Posted by jmh

It's a project in the making ... :
- Custom subwoofer box in the passenger footwell

How large a sub can you feasibly put there? You already have 8" speakers under the seat, so anything smaller than a 10" is pretty redundant, no?

I'll look to put a JL 10w7 in a custom box in the trunk, cover it with OEM carpet and blend it in to either the seat backs or rear side of the trunk so it's basically invisible.

To me the B&O sounds pretty darn good, could just use some real low end to round out the sound.

[jmh]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

Nice install, but a totally second rate product. I bet I could measure your speed in less than a minute with my Lidar gun.

So far the k40 has worked well for me. I highly suspect I won't have to worry about you clocking me on the highway

It's all a balance...

[jmh]

Originally Posted by Rob///M5

How large a sub can you feasibly put there? You already have 8" speakers under the seat, so anything smaller than a 10" is pretty redundant, no?

I'll look to put a JL 10w7 in a custom box in the trunk, cover it with OEM carpet and blend it in to either the seat backs or rear side of the trunk so it's basically invisible.

To me the B&O sounds pretty darn good, could just use some real low end to round out the sound.

Somewhere around 8+ , it's not just about the size of the subwoofer itself but also
its response and material/fabrication.
The B&O does have some issues when it comes to lower frequencies where it just doesn't sound very well defined and "dry" . For the highs the tend to be somewhat distorted and sometimes have a slight un-natural sound to them.
However having said all of this I am spoiled from my prior life and cars (owned a car / electric shop back in Germany) and therefore am likely not representative for the majority of owners

Putting a sub in the trunk seems to be an easy solution but does have some challenges as you probably need to open the hole in the rear bench used for the ski pass through. Also if the subwoofer box is not molded into the side it will look "foreign" and I always want to maintain OEM look and finish .

Just to give you an idea

This was the install in my X5
http://www.janixworld.com/x5/Stereo/

A few pics from one of my 335's
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmh-pic...7631392986066/

and another 335
http://janixworld.com/335xi/pages/th...nailpage2.html

[Rob///M5]

Originally Posted by jmh

This was the install in my X5
http://www.janixworld.com/x5/Stereo/

Nice. I did same sub enclosure location on my X5 4.8is. Worked great. Was thinking something very similar in the M5.

Cheers

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by charley10us

Why do you have a Lidar gun....do the escort9500ci shifters really work for lidar

I bought my own lidar gun because I regularly test my setup for effectiveness. I drive Autobahn speeds on Interstates where traffic allows me to do so safely. However I don't want to go to jail so the effectiveness of my countermeasures (Laser Interceptor Quad HP, Bel STIR+, and Zaon MRX) are very important to me.

I have a 9500ci from 2009 in our Lexus, and to be honest that was readable by police. The shifters delayed the time to lock so gave you a short window to slow down, but they could punch through, and could punch through instantly with a lucky shot. So I put LI on the Lexus to bolster the 9500ci. The K40 is about as effective as the 2009 Escort shifters.

2012 ZR4 shifters from Escort seem to perform better, but still not on par with LI. But good enough if you have a perfect uncompromised install. The problem with the latest ones though is they are still brute force jammers, so you will get a lot of errors, like the shifter trying to jam an Infiniti, or trying to jam the sun during sunrise and sunset. The LI never falses.

[LAKEOM5]

Please tell us what benefit the Zaon gives you. Is that for aircraft police? Thx

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by LAKEOM5

Please tell us what benefit the Zaon gives you. Is that for aircraft police? Thx

Exactly - it is a PCAS so it can tell you if there is a low flying aircraft close by. On the turnpike they sometimes use planes to measure speed, and then have ground cars pull you over further down the road. Obviously radar detector or laser jammer doesn't help with that kind of trap.

[johntomferg]

Originally Posted by jmh

K40 Remote installed into the factory ashtray in the middleconsole

BMW should relabel this ashtray as the Radarwarner-Montage-Controllerschrank ("radar detector assembly controller cabinet").

Really clean install jmh! I think the controller install is top notch.

[LAKEOM5]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

Exactly - it is a PCAS so it can tell you if there is a low flying aircraft close by. On the turnpike they sometimes use planes to measure speed, and then have ground cars pull you over further down the road. Obviously radar detector or laser jammer doesn't help with that kind of trap.

Do you have a portable scanner? If so which one? Seems like a good idea to hear police aircraft correspondence.

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by LAKEOM5

Do you have a portable scanner? If so which one? Seems like a good idea to hear police aircraft correspondence.

I don't. The highway patrol radio here is encrypted.

[boots]

Really clean install.

[Used2be]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

I don't. The highway patrol radio here is encrypted.

You have every other gizmo, get the Mission Impossible de-encrypter module to finish the perfect stealth installation!