(I posted this on TM and MINI2 earlier today and would like to share it locally, too....)

On Friday a channel swap loom arrived from Mike at NewMiniStuff. He had offered to modify it (at no extra cost!) to provide additional wiring and I bought a pair of OEM A-pillar tweeters at the same time (although Clarion A-pillar units are offered as a further upgrade.)

I started arond mid-day on Sat. Mike's full fitting instructions were very easy to follow, being aided by photos, and when I had a dashboard routing problem with the A-pillar units late on Sat afternoon he replied by email early Sat evening so that I was able to get it all working this afternoon (Sunday 13/12/09). His extra help + enthusiasm made it all possible and I thanked him earlier on "mike@newministuff.co.uk"

It was hard work in the cold but I found the channel swap immediately gave Radio2 better bass and mid-range and that the tweeter upgrade was the 'icing on the cake' and produced the (very impressive) sound stage that Mike predicted. CD/mp3's will sound much better, too, I expect!

(I know it's not really a new topic but I think the NAM thread makes sense. I felt that a simple loom conversion would be 'less messy' and found Mike's address in Modern Mini. IMO the channel swap is an obvious upgrade and I'm convinced that the tweeters enrich it.)

Thanks for the write up, I know others have been thinking of changing the R56 set up.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for this!
Ive been wanting to do this for ages but havent been brave enough to try it yet!

wicz
Check out the NewMINIStuff site.
It looks like there's a loom add-on which will swap f->r without taking the dashboard apart!
cjm

Thanks what a brilliant find!!!!
Genius
Will def be investing in this when my bank malence recovers!

Me too Max & cheer cjm for the post. My only worry is how difficult the Bluetooth handsfree will be to use with that getting switched to the rear.

Its might be an issue but maybe you just turn the volume up when on the phone?
Not a problem for me

old thread i know, but thought it was better to comment on this one rather than opening a new one..

how easy was it to fit the tweeters?

This was my first mod to the R56 from Mikey.. Great write up!

CTurbinado.

Pilllar tweeters are an aquired taste + it's easy to force them down, breaking the tabs at first, getting them where you think they should be.

I found I needed to pull the bottom of each trim towards the back of the car to flatten it slightly whilst squeezing it in at the middle, tilting over the middle tab and then pushing it in and down, ensuring the front tabs haven't jumped out...

Often one side tends to go in easily and the other defies everything you throw at it for a while. Hopefully you get the easy one first..