A while ago on NorthAmericanMotoring was another interesting discussion about upgrading an HK equipped MINI – the basic problem is that the HK amp requires to “talk” to the stock head unit (unless you fool it with an HKenabler); also the speakers are tailored to the HK amp, with no crossover (filtering is done inside the amp) and dual-voice-coil rear speakers.
However, there’s always a way if you work at it, and magic mini successfully replaced the HK amp while keeping the HK speakers – you can read his post on NAM here and see pictures of the install here.
With permission, I copied a couple of the most interesting pictures …
magic mini had hoped to fit the new Alpine in the original HK amp position, but sadly it did not fit (as shown in the pictures), so eventually the amp is installed on the floor of the trunk.
Great work magic mini, and thanks for permission to run this story. If anyone else is thinking of doing the same, please realize that you need a good understanding of wiring / speaker impedance / crossovers / etc to make it work!
M&I / GBMINI 