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      01-23-2017, 12:57 PM   #1
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BMW Active Sound Booster for Maserati sound - Install DIY w/ videos

Tune off - Tune on. Same RPMs




Demonstrating app control






WARNING! I am not responsible for you breaking your supercar! Follow this DIY at your own risk!!

For original discussion of this exhaust mod, please see this thread:

http://bmwi.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1335982


This mod is not for the faint of heart. If you have never tried modding your car this might not be the best place to start. However, with a little bit of work you can pull it off, and once you do the exhaust sounds amazing. The install took about 9 hours spread over 2 days. If I had this guide I could probably have done it in 2 hours. I emailed the seller in Romania a dozen times and he always responded within 5 minutes. I could not have done it without him, he is a standup guy. The instructions provided are great for the wiring, but the tricky part is running the wire into the cabin. I have cut and pasted some of the original instructions from Maxhaust for reference.
Let’s get started!

Package from Romania, arrived in about 1 week via UPS:



What you get in the box:




Tools you will need:



BMW always uses several different torx sizes, so you will need a T15 and T25 as well as a an 8mm socket wrench to attach the grounding wire.




You may also need a soldering gun, wire stripper, band-aid, and electrical tape, but that depends on whether you have more luck than I did with the wiring harness (see below).


1. Remove the right felt panel from the trunk. You can use your fingers or a pry bar:




2. Remove the white plug from the amplifier. There is a black bar that flips down on top of the plug so that you can remove it.




3. Remove the white section from the plug by pressing in on the tab on the side.




4. Remove the wires by pressing in on the ends of the wire with a jeweler’s screwdriver.




5. Pin the cables as in the diagram. On my USA Pure Impulse 2015 I had to switch the wires. If the wires are not correct the Maxhaust app will not recognize the different modes the car is in (ie, Sport, EcoPro, Comfort).




6. Connect the orange wires as below:




7. Plug wires into the blue plug.








I inserted the wires in the blue plug, but when I later powered it on, the Maserati amplifier was not receiving power. The Bluetooth module was, as it is powered by the red and black wires you see on the plug. While trying to push the wires further in to make the connection, I snapped one of the plugs from the cable. As a result, I decided to bypass the female blue connector and instead solder the wires from the male plug directly. I soldered the green wire to the black wire and the grey wire to grey/black wire.

I still attached the blue plugs together so power would go to the red and black wires for the Maxhaust Bluetooth module.











Here is where things got interesting. There were no instructions about running the wire from the amp in the trunk to the fuse box under the dash.

8. Ground the wire next to the amp. I used the screw near the amp held in place with the 8mm bolt.




9. Remove the back panels in the trunk. There are plastic plugs that you need to pop out using either a flathead or a plastic pry tool like this one with a forked end:




10. Remove the torx screws holding the panels in place.

When removing the panels you will needs to pry them out with your fingers or a non-marring pry bar like the red one shown. They are held in place by tabs which snap into place.




11. Remove the rear deck behind the window by simply turning the two knobs and lifting it off. This will make it easier to remove the side panels.




12. Remove the panel behind the glass on the right. It is held in place by tabs and needs to be pulled away with force. I left the middle panel in place as pictured and pulled it away from the rubber gasket running along the top to run the power cable. The power cable goes from the amp wiring along the conduit of cables heading toward the cabin.




13. Pull aside the rubber seal that goes around the opening in the corner of the trunk next to the glass and run the wire through.





Now the fun part. To reach the wire from inside the cabin and run the wire to the fuse box, you will need to dismantle a fair amount of the interior.


14. Remove the door sill. Under the grey plastic i8 plate are several hex screws. To access them pry off the grey plate using a non-marring pry bar. It is held in place by several clips. After the screws are removed you can lift off the door sill, disengaging the clips which hold it in place.




15. Remove the pillar cover with the plastic “Airbag” tab requires several steps. Start by prying off the plastic tab that says “Airbag”. Under it you will find a torx screw.







16. Remove the torx screw. Pry off the panel from the pillar. It needs to be pulled out and then down, as it tucks into the head liner. You may also need a band-aid by this point, there are some sharp items you will encounter running the wires.




17. With the cover gone, you will see another plastic tab that holds the door panel on. Remove the tab.





18. Remove the rear panel by the window covering the speaker. Pull the plastic seat belt cover away from the panel, revealing a small silver torx screw. With this screw removed, the panel will pull away from the wall.




19. You can now remove the rear panel. It has several green clips that hold it in place. You need to pull the panel away from the wall and the clips will release. Careful not to break the clips.


Last edited by IdTamer; 12-11-2017 at 09:39 AM..
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      01-23-2017, 12:58 PM   #2
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20. To run the wire inside you will need to run it through the gasket as shown above and then reach with your fingers behind the speaker in the cabin to fish out the wire and pull it through.




21. Run the wire under the speaker and with the other wires along the door sill and up to the fuse box.










22. Connect the wire to the adapter by inserting it into the blue plug and then crimping it with a set of pliers and wrapping it in electrical tape to secure it.




23. To access the fuse box, remove the panel under the glove box. There are two torx screws.




24. Detach the red pliers from the fuse box and use it to remove the fuse as shown below.






25. I used pliers to place both fuses into the adapter before inserting it into the board to make sure there was a secure fit.




26. Now that it is powered, make the connections in the trunk with the Maserati amplifier. Then reverse everything to put your supercar back together.

Finally, tuck all the components back into the compartment and you are done.



Thanks to @ElSpa for guidance and for letting the forum know about this kit, and to the supplier of the kit for all the tech support I needed along the way.

All done! Sit back and toast to your achievement


Last edited by IdTamer; 01-23-2017 at 01:23 PM..
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      01-23-2017, 12:59 PM   #3
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      01-23-2017, 01:00 PM   #4
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      01-23-2017, 01:22 PM   #5
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Great & useful post
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      01-23-2017, 02:09 PM   #6
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Omg man, they should pay you for this . A lot !
Welcome to the club.

When you have the time post your best setup on the maxhaust app
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      01-23-2017, 02:18 PM   #7
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Awesome instructions, much respect for doing it yourself and taking the time to take pictures, write it up, video it and draw helpful lines on the pictures!

Shame the wire needs to go to the front of the cabin - that's putting me off at the moment, looks very involved. I did something similar on my old X5 to get USB and Bluetooth but some of the panels were a nightmare and wouldn't go back together properly - I'd hate that in my i8 although you seem to have got everything back together.
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      01-23-2017, 03:03 PM   #8
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Thanks guys! Luckily the panels clipped back into place, although I found a torx screw in my cup holder and for the life of me I can't figure out where it came from, lol.
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      01-23-2017, 04:03 PM   #9
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Brilliant post. Thanks for this.

The hard part is clearly routing the cable to the fuse box... Quick question: Would the power source driving the existing BMW amp not be sufficent for the maxhaust amp? If it is, that would take the install time to only a few minutes (and no band aids required!). Did you try using the existing power just to see if it would work?
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      01-23-2017, 04:16 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fishpond View Post
Brilliant post. Thanks for this.

The hard part is clearly routing the cable to the fuse box... Quick question: Would the power source driving the existing BMW amp not be sufficent for the maxhaust amp? If it is, that would take the install time to only a few minutes (and no band aids required!). Did you try using the existing power just to see if it would work?
I asked exactly this. And even if you don't use the power from the exhaust amp, there's maybe spare capacity in the stereo amp and that power can be tapped?

I've just checked a pic of the sticker on the back the upgrade HK amp but there's no info on power draw. If the feed borrowed from the HK amp is fused then I think you maybe ok as the current draw from BT and sound processing modules shouldn't be high?
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      01-23-2017, 04:35 PM   #11
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The wire that goes in front just powers the BT module.
The Maserati ecu is powered with the wires from the BMW harness, the ones that he (and us) soldered togheter outside the blue plug.

The reason that they supply the fuse cable is to put the BT module on a separate circuit, so if something happened it will blow its own fuse and everything else will still work (as I belive is normal in every car). They just wanted to do everything by the book, Michael at SRZ is a great guy to talk to and a car engineer.

All things considered, and this being such a great DIY write up, it's not hard at all to get those panels off once you know what tot do. Two hours max for the hole install. On the second car we did everything went so smoothly
Attached Images
 

Last edited by ElSpa; 01-23-2017 at 04:43 PM..
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      01-23-2017, 04:46 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElSpa View Post
The wire that goes in front just powers the BT module.
The Maserati ecu is powered with the wires from the BMW harness, the ones that he (and us) soldered togheter outside the blue plug.

The reason that they supply the fuse cable is to put the BT module on a separate circuit, so if something happened it will blow its own fuse and everything else will still work.

All things considered, and this being such a great DIY write up, it's not hard at all to get those panels off once you know what tot do. Two hours max for the hole install. On the second car we did everything went so smoothly
If a separate fused feed is thought best practice then some power could be borrowed from the lights for example.

I've already taken about half the interior panels out that were removed in the (excellent) guide above and would rather not have to bother again!!
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      01-23-2017, 05:00 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveB_UK View Post
If a separate fused feed is thought best practice then some power could be borrowed from the lights for example.

I've already taken about half the interior panels out that were removed in the (excellent) guide above and would rather not have to bother again!!
so when the lights fuse goes off for some reason, so is the BT module, and vice-versa
you can do it, off course, but it's a shortcut, the kit is made to do what a manufacturer should do: provide another circuit for an added device.

speaking about shortcuts, you can even power the BT module from the same wires that are encircled above
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      01-23-2017, 05:09 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElSpa View Post
so when the lights fuse goes off for some reason, so is the BT module, and vice-versa
you can do it, off course, but it's a shortcut, the kit is made to do what a manufacturer should do: provide another circuit for an added device.

speaking about shortcuts, you can even power the BT module from the same wires that are encircled above
Hmm, wish I had known this. Makes sense
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      01-23-2017, 05:10 PM   #15
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It's better the way you did it, everything is as it should be
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      01-23-2017, 06:01 PM   #16
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Not sure if this was mentioned, but I assume it stores the settings?
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      01-23-2017, 07:01 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skinrock View Post
Not sure if this was mentioned, but I assume it stores the settings?
Yes
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      01-24-2017, 01:16 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IdTamer View Post
Yes
So once you have set your optimal sound levels via the app, am I correct in saying that you could even disconnect the Bluetooth module and it should continue to work fine?
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      01-24-2017, 01:28 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fishpond View Post
So once you have set your optimal sound levels via the app, am I correct in saying that you could even disconnect the Bluetooth module and it should continue to work fine?
I sure that is not the case , you need the BT module to alter the CAN information the car is sending.
You do not "write" the saved setting in the sound ecu, but in the BT module.
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      01-24-2017, 05:52 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElSpa View Post
I sure that is not the case , you need the BT module to alter the CAN information the car is sending.
You do not "write" the saved setting in the sound ecu, but in the BT module.
Thanks for clarifying.

So I guess if you want to avoid running a new power cable back to the fuse box up front, it's really just a case of figuring out where the best place to locally source power from for the BT module...
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      01-24-2017, 08:47 AM   #21
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      02-20-2017, 11:20 AM   #22
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Excellent post and the additional details beyond the instructions really made this possible for me. I do have to respectfully add one correction though. Now, I could be wrong and my car may be different but in step 7 where the white BMW connector is shown, the black and black/grey wires in pin 1 and 2 are actually the large ones to the left (wires are not shown on the original picture), not where it is circled in red in the original diy picture. I've attached the correct location circled in blue. The incorrect location is circled in red in my picture.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h5...psb0cumxxc.jpg

original picture, it's not the wires circled in red:

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h5...psahgmkeig.jpg
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