Anyone install a satellite add-on radio in their E34?

[Kamil]

Hi,
I'm looking to install a XM or Sirius (have not decided yet) add-on satellite radio in the 535i.
By "add-on", I mean not a new satellite radio head-unit but a cigarette lighter-powered unit w/ FM modulation.
I want to get one unit that I can use both in the car and at home. It basically means that I have to have a tuner/display in one, along with a cradle, and the cradle would be installed in the car (car kit), and another one at home (home kit).

Does anyone here have a satelite radio (all opinions welcome on types, and everything) and/or a possible install in their E34 w/ some pictures?

I think I would like to remove my (or modify) my ashtray and keep the SR unit there. What do you think?

TIA,
-Kamil

[Bigezvol]

I am thinking of doing exactly the same thing. I will be watching this thread to see is any others have done this.

[Jason]

you can mount it inside the car on the rear shelf so as not to have one of those big black plastic things ruin the lines of the E34. I have seen this done before, I have a sirius head unit and i'm contemplating this myself. I spend about 2.5 hrs in the car everyday.... it seems like it could be worth it, regular radio sucks (too many commercials)


I am thinking of doing exactly the same thing. I will be watching this thread to see is any others have done this.

[TETSUO]

funny i was going to do the same thing but after doing some research it seemed like there was no way to install it and have it look neat. I really dont want to have wires hanging to my cig lighter and all. If you figure a way to install neat with no hanging wires please post

[Kamil]

funny i was going to do the same thing but after doing some research it seemed like there was no way to install it and have it look neat. I really dont want to have wires hanging to my cig lighter and all. If you figure a way to install neat with no hanging wires please post

Hopefully within the next month. :)

[gordon]

The Sirius site has some interesting head units, but i didn't know what was involved in changing... didn't want any wires or anything hanging out of the radio?
Believe it will be available up here soon (Canada), if not already.

[Kamil]

The Sirius site has some interesting head units, but i didn't know what was involved in changing... didn't want any wires or anything hanging out of the radio?
Believe it will be available up here soon (Canada), if not already.

Not available in Canada yet.
Crutchfield's sire seems to have the most detail write-up on each available unit.
http://tinyurl.com/ytfaq

As far as units that are both home and car friendly, the Clarion SIRPNP (Sirius) seems to be most promising: http://tinyurl.com/2k5mx
I saw the JVC unit at BestBuy and it is definetly bulky. I'm also going in the way of XM radio now, so I might want to skip this.

There's the original Kenwood, and it has the best chance of fitting where the ashtray is http://tinyurl.com/24m4h

With all of these, there's a cradle that is mounted and the unit goes into. The cradle is then wired to the antenna, the FM modulator or aux input, and power.
Power is tricky, as some units require 6v, and the "power supply" unit is in the cirarette lighter part. In either way, it should not be too difficult to take apart and run some wires to it.

Either way... I'm rambling on...

[walt]

Installed a Sirius ready clarion head unit about a month ago. A really nice low/mid-priced unit that goes well with the interior. I have the Sirius reciever between the seats as I couldn't come up with a clever way to mount it. Its kind of bulky and difficult to deal with. Satelllite radio is the way to go, I havent't hardly used the CD.

[Derek A.]

The Delphi unit had a remote control. I was giving thought to mounting it unde the glove compartment. I am not super intersted in reading the display, I just want to hear th emusic and not have something else to interfere with the shifter.

I have head that the sound quality is sub fm quality. Anyone know otherwise ?

[Kamil]

I've ordered:
Clarion SIRPNP Sirius receiver and home and car kits. :)
http://tinyurl.com/244w7

$200 - $50 mail-in-rebate = $150.
I'll be doing the month-to-month at 12.95.
Able to listen to it in the car, at home and at work via internet feed. :)

[Roger L in SF]

Here's a shot of the antenna on the roof. Sorry for the fuzzy cellphone picture.
Since it's on my M5, I plopped the car kit in the corner of the center console. The cables behind it run under the panel so that holds it down.
I looked at fitting it into the ashtray also, the H2A kit with the receiver is too deep & tall. The angle of the ashtray points downward, too.
-Roger

[John B.]

I just got the XM Delphi SkyFi 2 with a home & car kit. Set it up no problem in my shop but can't decide where I want to mount the car base. Placing it in front of the shifter seems the most convient but its a tight fit. I plan to pick up a hard wire kit to lose the lighter conector & may use an aux cable to tie my Kenwood deck and the base together eliminating the need for the built in FM modulator. This will supposedly give the best sound possible but will require digging into the dash.
Has anyone come up with a nice base installation since this thread last appeared?

[spddmn713]

I think that I have seen some mounts at proclip.com. I know that they have some good ideas for cell phones and mp3 players.

[CrimsonBrian]

Hey guys, my brother had XM installed in his Acura. I cant give any particular tips for the E34 but I can tell you NOT to have Best Buy install it. They absolutely DESTROYED his radio. When he got it back, the head unit was hanging out of the console by about two inches. They simply taped the antenna to his dashboard. He was infuriated and had to take it back THREE times before it was done within a country mile of being correct. They refunded him all his money for installation and the unit, but it was still a disaster. Just a cautionary tale...

[John B.]

Hey guys, my brother had XM installed in his Acura. I cant give any particular tips for the E34 but I can tell you NOT to have Best Buy install it. They absolutely DESTROYED his radio. When he got it back, the head unit was hanging out of the console by about two inches. They simply taped the antenna to his dashboard. He was infuriated and had to take it back THREE times before it was done within a country mile of being correct. They refunded him all his money for installation and the unit, but it was still a disaster. Just a cautionary tale...


After reading lots of info on the XM Forums I stopped by a Best Buy to look at the kits & ask a few questions. Everything the guy told me was incorrect but the salesman refused to hear it. I pity anyone that goes in there without doing their own research. Searched on line and ended up buying my equipment at eBuyer.com & saved a bundle. I will do my own car install once I decide on a mount. Both proclip.com & pro-fit-intl.com have E34 specific mounts that look promising.

[E34N]

I use the Delphi Roady 2 in my 535. I didn't permanently mount anything to my car since I often switch cars with my wife. But I'm usually in my 535, so when I am, I use the vent clip. Looks good there, especially with the backlit matched to amber.

Anyways. In regards to the wires, I just keep the cigarettle lighter tied up and just long enuff to reach the roady. And the antenna, I have it tied up also running straight into the glove box (with the excess in the glove) and the actual antenna just comes out the side and attaches itself to the passenger dash speaker via the magnet. There isn't really a lot of wires all over. Just the lighter going down, about 6-8 inches, and the thin antenna speaker going to the glove.

But then again, I take it out of my car almost daily. And I even just tuck all the wires in the glove box when i leave my car for long periods of time. As long as I have my XM radio, I'll deal with the wires.

Unless you change your head unit, you're gonna have to deal with some wiring hanging out.

[Johntee540]

I have the Alpine 9833 XM Ready Head unit tied to the XM Unit in the trunk. If you are going to go to the effort of importing a digital signal to the car shouldnt your system exploit the sound quality?

I use the Trunk mount antenna which is very low profile. and the head unit is backlit to match BMW colors.

All in all it is a nice system. My commute is about 3.5 hours a day. - JT

[wmann]

I had a XM commander installed in my wifes e34 wagon. what we did was remove the ashtray and had a bracket fabricated that allowed the unit to be mounted where the ashtray was and still allowed access to the cig lighter so that a cell phone or video player could still be powered.

[spddmn713]

Hey I am curious about mounting options for the antenna. What is the most painless way to mount the antenna? Is there a good way to mount an antenna without drilling?

[RIPN RAY]

i have a siruis ready clarion HU in my passat. i don't think mounting the antenna on the rear deck is such a good idea. when i purchased my system a year ago that definitly wouldn't have worked well (...i don't know maybe things have changed). see the antenna is supposed to be mounted on the larggest, highest, metal surface because the antenna atcually turns that surface into the antenna. so the best spot for the antenna would abviously be the roof.

the typical setup would be to mount it on the roof and run the wire in the grove of the weather stripping around the rear window. then into the trunk...so no drilling.

on my passat the FM/AM antenna is on the roof in the rear. so if i put the sirius antenna on the roof then it would be off center and look like crap. so i went to the second best solution and put it on the trunk lid. ran the wire inside the trunk lid then zip tied and followed the existing trunk light wiring harness into the trunk. (this would also be the solution for convertables)

http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RgDvArUSZmXJVRk87L*5oDDT3RPAqAr9qycbKU7XvCP9RDyUv l0I5*rOGNzMM6uDJdDf7z6GPpPUCcLgUjyhyv0cP6NC8zhb7iD OvGee8tM/P1030383.JPG

http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RgDfGLYSo2XJVRk87L*5oGzZQL5oOYJWqXPm7VK38MBi6cIDw 3NniBKHmn398KZz1u7mQxwrf8n1Z2Sh81LT9ZLzUnLB2luCIMw BPvSvxAg/P1030384.JPG?dc=4675467413914111739

i'm not sure if my 525i will ever get sirius because it's for my girlfriend and she doesn't care that much

this is also where i typically suggest clarion head units because of the 80-250 different back light color variations which make them match perfectly. also that sirius is also making people money in the stock market :p SIRI check it out