Anders painted the BMW with Audi Inkagelb after adding a body kit and widening the wheel arches to make some room for 19-inch rims. The vehicle was also lowered using H&R shock absorbers and Eibach springs.
It took four years of Anders Fleischer's life to build this BMW. That's a long time, especially considering that he is only 22 years old and car audio is not his profession. This simply shows how Anders is addicted to his passion of car audio and what he does in his "leisure time."
Describing Anders' vehicle is a difficult task. An incredible number of details are worth mentioning, but there are so few pages to do that. No matter where you look on this BMW, you'll find modified or totally rebuilt objects -- from front to rear bumper. In chrome alone there are more than 300 pieces!
Interior--Orange is the dominating color in the interior, but Anders has shown the most sophisticated taste by also using black leather panels in the installation. Steering wheel--The whole system -- audio and video -- can be operated from the steering wheel. The same can be done from the remote control, which is mounted to the center console. To make tweaking even more easy, the rack for the remote is motorized and rises 20 degrees, ending at a comfortable angle. Not cool enough? OK, take a close look at the door handles -- they were made by Anders and act as additional remote controls. Even the buttons are back lit!
Anders bought the car in '97 and immediately fitted it with a body kit and 19-inch wheels. Further modifications such as brakes and suspension were added along with paint that features Audi's Inkagelb. While making these modifications he implemented some clever ideas into the new parts -- for example, the bumpers are mounted with quick-release fasteners.
Dampening and Cables
Asphalt mat and dBaxe were applied to the cars interior to reduce resonance near the speakers and assist in making the vehicle more quiet. The cables were slipped into a protective nylon sleeve and fastened to the chassis of the car with clamps and bolts. Anders used AIV Silverado speaker wire and Stinger's Dream series power and signal cables. The latter manufacturer also made the 150A alternator mounted under the hood, of which the output voltage can be adjusted from the cabin.
Considering the size of the Anders' audio system, the number of batteries is almost, well, absurd. A total of seven Stinger batteries are mounted in the front end of the vehicle; four under the hood and an additional three inside of the front bumper. As mentioned earlier, the bumper can be removed in seconds, thus displaying batteries to judges and onlookers. It's the detail such as this that make the Anders Bimmer so remarkable.
The head unit -- a Pioneer Premier DEX-P9 received a black lacquer finish on its face plate and was then silk-screened to match the original display. As if that was not enough, Anders chrome-plated the DEX-P9's buttons and the frame, and changed the color of the illumination in the display. If you want to check out a DVD, no problem -- just push the button and the skillfully integrated display hinges up from the dash. Of course, this is for show and not for road trips.
Interior
The interior has to be seen to be believed: a beautiful combination of yellow-orange lacquered surfaces combined with tasteful black leather appointments really set it off. The black panels are sunk into the painted surfaces.
The primary source unit is a Pioneer Premier DEX-P9 linked to a DEQ-P9 signal processor. Information between these components is transferred digitally so there is virtually no degradation in sound.
The speaker arsenal consists of a three-way front system and two-way rear set, the latter components are used for Anders' own pleasure and not in competition. Kicker ND25 tweeters were placed high in the doors and aimed towards listeners to avoid early reflection. All components were fastened to custom metal mounting surfaces while separate chrome-plated aluminium rings were used as clamps to keep secure them. Kicker Resolution MRB6 mid-bass drivers were fitted to kickpanels in sealed enclosures. Incredibly their box volume is close to 0.33 cubic feet each. To achieve an eye level soundstage, Kicker Resolution R3C midrange drivers ended up in the corners of the dashboard.
Trunk--A Pioneer DEQ-P9 signal processor was placed on the left side of the trunk. It takes care of four-way crossovers, one third octave equalizing and eight-channel time alignment. For symmetry, a similar case was installed on the right side of the trunk.
Signal Strengthening
Although the trunk maintains the appearance as if construction was relatively simple, the old adage "looks are deceiving" can be applied. Some serious effort was put into the fabrication found under the surface; the entire trunk floor has been lowered two-inches to make more room for the numerous amplifiers powering this beauty. In doing so, the original gasoline tank had to be elliminated, so Anders chose to make a new one out of acid-proof steel. For those of you breaking out the plasma cutter and arc-welder right now, you may want to consider the safety of your vehicle just as Anders did; his Bimmer was checked and approved by Norway's strict vehicle inspection commision to ensure safety.
Open the trunk and you can't miss three of the five amps used in the system. Anders mirror-polished the huge heatsinks of the Kicker XS50 amps by hand, resulting in an impressive finish that matches the theme of the trunk. With the push of a button on the alarm's remote, the aluminum amp-rack hinges up to reveal two Kicker XS100 amps. Just below the front XS100 is the majority of the system's fuses.
On the amprack, three amplifiers were mounted to the panel and can be raised by pushing a button on the remote control. The work is done by a linear actuator, and when the panel is in the uppermost position, the sub amp and fuses can be reached. Eight 0.5-farad capacitors were also mounted here.
If it wasn't already appearent, Anders' main focus for his 520i is sound quality. This includes bass too. Just fore of the amprack is a sealed enclosure housing a single 12" Kicker Solobaric L7 subwoofer. One of Anders' installation guidelines was that no wood be used in its construction. For this reason, he chose 10mm thick aluminum for the 2.2 cubic-foot box. Some effort was required to find a suitable volume for the enclosure, but the result is exactly what Anders wanted. The crossover frequency for the sub is a low 40Hz, a prominent display of just how powerful the mid-bass in the kick panels are.
Unfortunately, Anders has been very busy with other aspects of life to participate seriously in any competitions, and in his mind some minor modifications are still necessary. If Anders can find the time, this could surely be the reference car in Europe for the future. v
DRIVER PROFILE
Anders Fleischer is a car painter who lives in Norway, the land of fjords and mountains. This BMW is just his second install. At the age of 15 Anders bought his first car, an Opel Corsa. The history of that small car is something to admire: Anders won every single competition in which he participated, although his best memory is the championship in the '97 Norwegian Finals. That was just the beginning. After that car Anders got the idea to build a car that was almost unimaginable. During the last few years he has come closer to his dream -- and now that I've seen the result, all I can say is that the time was well spent. Anders built the car with his friend Magnus, starting from the dampening and ending with the painting of the panels. Because the number of unique and modified parts is absolutely enormous, a lot of proper machines and tools were required; more than 50 professionals or companies should be counted in his support group. Before the body modifications, Anders used the BMW as a daily driver. But things have changed: now it's mostly dedicated to competition and show use. Never say never though -- if you happen to be in Anders' hometown Elverum on a nice sunny day, you might see this beauty cruisin' down the streets.