First of all, I'd like to introduce myself.. I signed up on the original registration list for the Mk1 empeg, and I think I was around #900.. unfortuantely, we never got there Years later I asked about it, and I was suddenly much higher on the list.. I think my name got lost somehow. No big loss, I couldn't afford an empeg at the time. Just recently I checked on prices again. I wasn't too keen on paying $1000+ for something without a cd player in it, but when I saw the 30gb model was only $399 in the US store I snapped one up instantly! That way today, Jan 28. Shipping is paused between Jan 25 and Jan 30.. I hope they don't get to shipping day on Jan 30 and find out they took more orders than they can fill!

Anyway, I got a blue one because that's all that's available. I have a 95 BMW M3, and want to match displays.. is the amber screen basically a perfect match, or is it not all that close? If it's not all that close, perhaps I can root around the local theatre supply store and find a gel that matches better?

Secondly, I saw Rob saying something about the US store selling accessories starting on the 30th of January.. well, they already sell accessories, but only remotes and AC adaptors, because the other stuff is sold out. Does this mean colored displays and radio tuners will be sold in the US store again in a few days? Cool. Either way, I need to get a matching display some day, and hope to get the tuner as well. That's my other question -- does the tuner integrate with the empeg display and everything?

Oh well, thanks for the info.. I cannot WAIT for my empeg.. this has been four years of anticipation for me.. I'm so excited!

- reid

Wow, better late than never, eh? Welcome back.

One of the things that Rob was going to make available at the international store is colored faceplates. They come in a pack of three, so after you get it you'll have all the official colors and you'll be able to choose whatever color you think goes best with your car's dashboard.

Have a skim through the FAQ at www.riocar.org and see all the fun stuff we've come up with in the last couple years.

Well, I saw the multicolor displays at the international store, but I didn't think US or UK customers could shop at the int'l store.. I'm in the US. Can I shop there?

- reid

Rob said he'd open up the int'l store to US customers soon.

Speaking of amber displays, is the Mk2 Amber display the same as the MK1 amber display?

The Mk1 amber display matches my '85 Subaru perfectly.

Pretty close, I would think. The Green and Amber Mk2 shades are very similar to the Mk1 shades. The Blue is a little different (and in fact has some variation among Mk2 units).

I am waiting to install into my 95 M3 as well, although it is the car that I am waiting for, not the empeg (I have spent the last four days glued to my desk fiddling with my new 12GB). I seem to remember from the BBS that it is actually the red faceplate that would match the BMW amber the best. Any bmw owners out there who can verify this?

Looking foward to developments in both faceplate *and* tuner availability...

-Dan

yup red face plate perfect match, its more of an orange than red, and thats what the bmw color is

I don't know what happened with your registration, but we have you as 10133 registered on 20th August 1999 just before 6pm. No sign of you around 900. I'm glad this didn't actually cause you any problems, though.

What I actually said about the store, is that the UK (international) store will open up to US customers sometime this week. It will have screen kits in stock as well as extra car mounts, remote controls and AC adapters.

Rob

I put my EMPEG (Rio Car) into my 1995 M3...the amber display is a perfect match, but very hard to see in the daytime.

I am getting some alternator whine which is quite annoying, still trying to fix that problem.
Good luck!
Wes

Huh? hold up, I have both red and amber displays and the red is an exact match to a BMW (98 M3, but they are the same I think) (though much more suseptible to glare than blue) the amber is not what you want (I don't think).

john

Oops, I meant I have the RED display in my M3. The Amber is more of a match to the Audi (older) and Porsche's (older).
Good luck!
Wes

(yup, gotta chase down a little alt whine in mine too...)

The red is a good match. Looks awesome at night especially with the new hoops visuals in v2.0b7. During the daytime the screen is virtually not readable. Check out this thread for alternatives:
--Andrew

Subject line says it. Just how many BMW M3 owners have empeged thier car and are hanging out here?

Are there any (other) M5 owners here on the board? I'd love to ask one if they had any installation issues. I'm still a month or two from taking delivery of my M5 Touring here in Texas (It's being converted to US specs as I type).

Another E36 M3 owner here. 1997 M3 Sedan - Boston Green with a Dinan Stage II suspension, X-brace, strut bars, euro headlamps with Xenon HIDs, clear signals all around and Fikse FM/5 wheels for the summer. Thinking of getting a turbo or the euro spec motor installed, Movit/Porsche brakes and 6 speed transmission.

The red faceplate is a perfect match to the BMW's amber. I also tried Darkstorm's red (cuz that color is truly unreadable in the sunlight) which is more of a true red. Not much more readable but I do admit, I like how it fits. The sections that are exposed through the facia is raised. Gives the display a little more "depth".

nope just another m3 onwer here.. there great cars.. im not sure whats going on with your alternator whine. im unning two amps and dont get that.. try a power cap make it less stressful on your engine.

Justin - thanks for the tips. I have a 1/2 farad cap lying around, maybe I'll put that in.

On the M3 tip - I've also got the Euro lights + HID's, SSR Competition wheels (VERY LIGHT), STEALTH mounted Valentine 1 (with concealed display inside the rear view mirror). One fantastic automobile. Now if I could just get rid of that alternator whine!

Wes

99/100 times it's caused by a ground loop. I lived this just recently. Re-ground everything and try again.

Remember - Ground isn't ground!

hey, I've been wanting to stealth mont a V1 in my M3, but I can't find a good way to do it. How did you do it? I have seen the guy who sells the displays inside the rear view mirror, not sure if I'll go to that extreme. Where is the unit mounted? Does the reception get limited there? Most of the stealth installs I've seen block the units reception, especially out the back window. One logical thing I thought of was to dissassemble the unit, putting the front sensor on the back of the mirror or in the grille some where, and the rear sensor on the back window or something, then mounting the unit out of sight. I have an E36 by the way. Any insights?

john

You're kidding me. An M5 touring? that kicks ASS! Is it an E39? I didn't think they had an E39 M5 touring.. or is yours the 93 that I just saw pictures of (posted to the E36M3 mailing list)?

I have a buddy with an E39M5.. what a @%#^&@ beast. It would be a pain to get an empeg in there with the nav and whatnot.. that's the problem with cars these days!

- reid

So wait, if there are so many M3 people here, how come there's no motorsport-related logos on riocar.org? There are tons of logos for the WRX and other vehicles, but only one BMW, and that's for the Z3. I'd love a nice M3 logo, or even just simply something that says "BMW Motorsport" .. to go along with the original empeg penguin logo of course!

- reid

Now that there's sort an E36 thing going on - Could someone who simply replaced their head unit and used the factory amp tell me what exactly they did to install it (specific to my car), or point me in the direction of a post or FAQ?
I assume that I need a harness adapter from Crutchfield and then I need to do something funky with the connection to the factory amp (since the BMW doesn't have RCA inputs). I don't need any antenna adapter help 'cause I didn't get a tuner in time.
Where am I right or wrong on this - any other things to watch out for with my 95 M3?
One more thing, I was at Fry's yesterday and saw a harness adapter for "late-model" BMW's. Can I use that, and if yes, what do I do with it if I can? (it looks kinda like the ISO adapter that came with my Empeg - a little black box with pre-stripped wires sticking out).
Thanks,
Dan

There is a nice ///M logo if I recall.
Good luck!
Wes

Hey! Tell me about your stealth V1 install. I've been thinking about mounting the remote display in my rear view mirror too. Just picked up a used one on eBay. But I also got the electrochromatic mirror for the E36. Haven't installed that yet What to do??

See http://community.webshots.com/user/jmciver74 for pictures about putting the V1 in your 3rd Brake light.

See http://www.apexcone.com/Radar/RadarLove.html for the mirror by Jim Powell.

Good luck!

Wes

In reply to:

---

You're kidding me. An M5 touring? that kicks ASS! Is it an E39? I didn't think they had an E39 M5 touring.. or is yours the 93 that I just saw pictures of (posted to the E36M3 mailing list)?

---

BMW hasn't decided to make an E39 M5 Touring yet... Mine is a last year (1995) E34 M5 Touring (1 of 119 made) with a slew of upgrades over the previous years: 6-speed, Nurburgring & Adaptive-M suspension, wide E34 grill, 345mm floating front rotors, 380 chipped peak HP, and best of all............ Standard DIN sized radio... :-)

It's in the process of getting EPA/DOT clearance right now so I can drive it legally..

A little more info on the Stealth V1 mounting.....
The rear deck and 3rd brake light are cardboard and plastic, respectively. Radar attenuation (X, K and Ka bands) is about 1% or so. Whenevery you have a mounting around metal, that's when you have problems because radar doesn't go though metal. The only thing you lose by that mounting is laser protection which is a joke anyway.

Regarding disassembling the V1, I don't think you can do it with success. There is special shielding (which makes it invisibile to the VG2 Radar detector-detector), and if you take it all apart you would produce signal leaks.

My front and rear coverage is still as good as front windshield mounting, except I don't have to ever worry about cops peering in my car or thieves stealing my unit when I'm in the grocery store.

Good luck!
Wes

If you lengthen the sensors it won't work. I asked V1 about this specifically.

Who is the guy selling the stealth displays? Does he have a web site?

Calvin

I suppose it's worth a try to lengthen the sensors...what did Valentine say? At $400 a pop, I wasn't about to rip the thing apart to try.

The link for the mirrors is in one of my posts above before "mirrors by Jim Powell".
Good luck!
Wes

Valentine said it won't work. If that's what he says, then I believe him. Don't bother messing with the sensors.

Calvin