[FZI89]

Added an alcantra cover for the armrest. Next up: alcantara steering wheel cover

[richiro]

Originally Posted by FZI89

Added an alcantra cover for the armrest. Next up: alcantara steering wheel cover

This looks clean! Where did you order this from?

[FZI89]

Originally Posted by richiro

This looks clean! Where did you order this from?

From AliExpress: https://a.aliexpress.com/_Ew4Z9GC

Quality is the alcantara is very good (better than I expected. And the fit is great too, no need for 3M tape. It snaps into place

[J-RO]

As I mentioned in my thread “How I Got Here” https://u11.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2143113
I had to find an X1 quickly since my wife’s parked car was totaled. Fortunately, I was able to quickly find one with the appropriate interior/exterior color she wanted and all the options I wanted except one. The Harmon Kardon sound system was missing so I decided to try to retrofit it. At this point let me state I am no audiophile, I am very far away from my 20’s and I did not want to pay $1,500 for Bimmertech’s Alpha One System. All my other BMW’s have had the HK sound system and it was good enough for me. I began my research and realized that the amplifier would have to be upgraded to the OEM HK amp and tweeters would have to be added to the doors and front dash. I figured I would begin with the amp. My dealer provided me with the part number for the amp and after much searching I found one on eBay for $250. The amp sat on my desk for months while I researched how to install it. I found a YouTube video from Asia that showed how to access the Amp. Fortunately, I waited long enough and Bimmertech released an excellent video on how to access the Amp. So today I began stage one of my project, namely swapping out the Amp.The Bimmertech video was invaluable. Dismantling the rear compartment area to access the Amp was far more simple than I had thought. (When I do a project anything that can go wrong, will go wrong). I wish the video went into more detail on how to remove some of the plugs going to the Amp. They just don’t pulled out. On the smaller plugs there is a little pin that must be depressed to take the plug off. Unlike the video, I waited to disconnect the battery until I accessed the Amp since I did not want to have the car without power longer than necessary. I don’t know who designs these cars but one should not have to go through all that trouble to get to the battery’s terminals. As always, reassembling is more difficult than disassembly. Putting everything back together took more time. From my research I new that the new Amp would throw a code which it did in the form of the check engine light. For some reason I thought it would show a coding message. What I did not expect was the unavailability of most my local AM radio stations. It’s as if the new amp can’t update to my area. (the Amp came from an X1 that was totaled in Florida). Since I don’t know anyone in my area that does coding I will have to bring the car to the dealer. The new Amp has more power and the volume does not have to be turned up as high. To me it sounds better but hey what do I know.

UPDATE: After a few short trips today the check engine light went off. That never made sense to me in the first place. Maybe it takes time to reset and the battery disconnection. The AM radio stations for my area are basically gone. This is the only change from the installation of the new Amp.