F12 M6 CIC to NBT EVO Retrofit Review/Write up (In Depth and LONG)

****NOTE: This only covers the NBT EVO install, not the SMARTVIEW HD Install. That will
be my next in depth write up/ Review. I do recommend doing both at the same time
though, it makes life easier, and you have to install more items behind the head unit****

****NOTE: Pictures coming soon, if someone can explain to me how I can insert pictures
near the text I want the picture near that would be awesome! Thanks!****

There is also a PDF with no pictures yet if you want to print this, and if you want to make edits
to this I can even give you the word doc to edit. I know this goes without saying too but don’t
hold me responsible if you somehow break something removing it (for the guys ten years in the
future)

So as the title says this is a review and write up on a CIC to NBT EVO retrofit on a F12 M6. I did
this on my personal daily driver and love the results. I will be adding pictures soon to show that
the retrofit is not that hard to do. On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being very easy and 10 being
professional installation required, this comes in around 4~5 for ONLY Hardware installation with
the proper installation kit, and will take about 8 hours to do if you go slow, I did not including any
coding as that was provided to me by Bimmer-tech.net. The Kit I order was from Bimmer-
tech.net and they provided a full installation kit with instructions, and did all the necessary
coding to get it to work. If you only want to read this far into this Review. I would highly suggest
using Bimmer-tech.net for their excellent customer support. I had issues with my installation (my
faults, not theirs) and they returned my calls/emails quickly in order to resolve my issues with
the installation. Now enough about that, let's get into it.

Price: The kit I ordered from Bimmer-tech was about $3,000, mine was a little more because I
wanted a head unit with Sirius radio, so saying it’s about $3,000. This kit is one of the more
expensive kits on the market for retrofits into this car but well worth the cost for the support.

Kit Contents: NBT EVO head unit, 10.25 inch screen, Touch IDrive controller, touch IDrive
module, aerial amplifier, ATM module, Plug and play(mostly) wiring harness, WiFi and Bluetooth
antennas, new screen video cable, new USB cable, fiber optic loop/terminators, wire crimps,
software coding by Bimmer-tech.net.

The Instructions: For the most part the instructions are very good and well put together. There
are some holes/voids that were not addressed directly in the directions but the support team
was able to get me going in the right direction which is why I will continue to praise the Bimmer-
tech support team. I added my own instructions to this as to help anyone else out as well.

Coding: I did no coding to the car, the Bimmer-Tech team coded the car remotely. We initially
had problems coding the car but again due to the amazing support from their team. We were
able to identify my problem which was two wires were spliced in incorrectly and then everything
worked as planned. If you are planning on getting this kit have some extra options coded in!
Here is a full list of what I had coded in

Blinkers on HUD
Entertainment List on HUD
Phone Activity on HUD
Disable Active Sound Design
Seat Belt gong Disabled
Turn off auto start stop by default
A/C to remember to stay off when you powered it off last time you turn off the car key
Rolls Royce warning chime
Remote power folding mirror
Auto Unlock doors upon vehicle shut off
Remote window controls
Road Route Preview
Enhanced Bluetooth
Full text message display (not working)
Compass
RDC
Video in motion
Services in motion
USB video player
Euro MDM
Sport displays (don’t work on pre LCI)
Increase angel eye brightness to 80% with low beams on from 50%
Remove rear lamp malfunction warning (for LED reverse lights)

Bottom Line: The kit is completely worth it from Bimmer-tech just based on the support they
provide alone, along with all the research they have done to create these kits and make them
work.

Pros: Clean look of updated screen, new IDrive infotainment menu which is much more
responsive than CIC, touch IDrive controller is much nicer. Carplay also works seamlessly and
displays the most important app of all time, WAZE!

Cons: Disassembly of half of the car. The screen is not a touch screen, but were not offered as
touch screens in this generation on this platform. The SUV has the Touch Screen and is able to
be swapped in alternatively but not recommended.

Write up:

Unplug combox and Fiber optic loop on combox:

Remove the rear pull out section by pulling the black release tab towards the front of the car and
tilt the section out of the backrest section.

Remove the rear seat section by pulling up the front section of the seat and by tilting upwards
and pulling forward to let the seat belt buckles fall through the cushion.

Remove rear seat headrest by pulling them straight up. These are very hard to remove and
require some force. Put your hand under headrest and pull up with one hand and keep constant
pressure on it. With your other hand hit each side up from the bottom. The headrest will walk up
and out of the back seat. This holds the top half of the rear seat in the car.

Remove the rear backrest by unbolting two torx bolts under the backrest. Pull the seat belt trim
plastic off on the seat. Be very careful with these trim pieces, they feel weak. Once unbolted it
will pull it out of your way. You can also unbolt the seat belts but I just put the top down on the
car and rest the seat parts on the rear deck lid.

Disconnect the bottom two connections on the combox. Essentially this removes all the features
you don't use any more like connected drive. Leave the box installed just in case you need your
car to be recoded by a BMW dealer, but then again it’s highly unlikely you will ever need it
again. The bottom left connector is the power cable, disconnect it using a screwdriver to help
you release the lock on it. Just leave this connector unplugged there. The bottom right
connection is the fiber optic line. This gets a termination end from the kit. Tuck it out of the way,
and if you want put a piece of tape on it to hold it to the combox or secure it somewhere if you
feel like it

Route new antenna cable and replacement aerial amplifier:

Remove the trunk lid interior trim, a bunch of Philips head screw clips, let it hang slightly out of
your way.

Unplug/ unbolt the aerial amplifier. This connects a couple of antennas to the car for FM and AM
to work. I had to change mine, on different years you might be able to continue to use your
original aerial amp. Install the new amp and reconnect it except for the circular plugs.

Unseat the electrical harness weather boot on both the trunk lid and on the body of the car to
get into the trunk. Remove trunk floor and storage compartment. Un-clip the driver side trunk
trim to gain access behind it for passing the new antenna cable behind it.

Make a snake from an old wire coat hanger. Make a loop on the end of the snake with the
antenna cable going through it so you can pull it more easily. Cover the connection in tape and
lube the tape and electrical boot. It’s a very tight fit to get the connector head through so it’s
going to be hard to pull through if you do not lube it up. Once you get the antenna cable into the
trunk you can remove the snake and put the electrical boot back on both ends. Make sure to get
as much of the antenna cable into the trunk. Leave a little slack so that you can connect the
opposite end to the aerial amp circular connection. You can now connect the amp to the
antenna cable and button up the trim to the trunk lid.

Feed the antenna cable behind the trunk trim going towards the backseat and pass the antenna
cable through the rear insulation were the rest of the cars wire harness feeds through, this is
right next to the combox. Once it is through the backseat divide pull as much cable as you can
and button up the trunk. You can also reinstall the back rest of the rear seat and headrests once
that cable is on the floor section of the rear seat. This cable will go to the back of the new head
unit eventually.

Disassemble the center console and center stack:

Place seats in as far back as they can go and have them slightly tilted to the back of the car to
make removal of the interior trim as easy as possible, once that is set, disconnect the negative
battery terminal.

Remove the torx head screw from the front section of the carpet trim under the leather trim, then
slide the carpet trim forwards to release the clips from the center console. Do this on both sides
of the console. Once the carpet trim is removed you can pry the leather trim off. It’s pretty
durable so don't be afraid to break it. Be gentle still but it will disengage rather easily as you
walk it out from front to back. Once it is completely un-clipped put it aside, do this for both sides.

Remove the upper steering column trim. It has three clip points, one on both ends and then in
the center. Pull straight out towards the back of the car. Un-clip the interior trim with the A/C
vents next. It has four clips in each corner, it removes very easily. Disconnect all the plugs, put
trim aside. Remove the lower HVAC trim, rather small piece of trim. Very annoying to remove.
Feels like you’re going to break it each time you pull on it. It is removed by prying down and
then out. It has clips on top and slides in back. Put it aside. Remove the HVAC control panel by
four torx screws and unplug both latch connectors on it, place it aside with the rest of the trim.

Remove the cup holder insert in the cup holder. Unscrew more torx screws front the driver side
of the center console trim piece. Pry the center console trim up from the back. it will disengage
easily and lever it out and over the shifter. Unplug the connectors from the trim to remove it fully
and place it aside.

Remove the IDrive console section by unscrewing more torx head screws. Two are now
revealed once the shifter trim was removed and the other 3 or 4 are revealed when the carpet
and leather were pulled from the passenger side. Once all the screws are removed it must also
lever out. There is a hook in the front of the leather piece. Wiggle it out and disconnect the
IDrive controller and the ashtray harness from under the console.

Unscrew the four torx screws from the original head unit. Pull it out and disconnect all the
connectors from it. The antenna cables lock in so pull the tab out and then press on it to release
the tab. the rest is straight forward. The large quad lock is snug but comes out with a little more
wiggling. Set the old head unit aside.

Lastly we remove the screen. The directions made it sound easy. It was not easy. Unscrew two
torx head screws and you have to release the clips on the lower corners of the screen
separately from the rear cover of the screen. It requires some force and trim tools. Probably the
hardest thing to remove. Once the screen is free unplug the two connection for power and video
and put the screen aside. These connectors CAN NOT be reused, you NEED the new cable.
Lastly unscrew the last two bolts from behind the screen holding the rear cover on. Place the old
rear cover aside.

Install New Screen:

Install new rear cover, same two screws from the last cover. Insert the new video/power cable to
the new screen and then install the screen to the cover. Finish the screen install by pressing the
screen into the rear housing and by screwing the last two torx screws for the bottom corners of
the screen.

Route New Cable Harness:

Unclip the green fiber optic connector from the original quad lock connector and insert it into the
new cable harness. Connect the harness quad locks together from vehicle end to harness end.
Route the IDrive controller wires going towards the IDrive controller. Route the microphone
connections going towards the steering wheel, and then route the CAN+/- (labeled 48 and 49)
under the knee bolster towards the OBD2 connector. The connectors for ATM will get plugged
into the ATM module and sit in the bottom of the center stack. NBT connector will also go to the
head unit so you can leave that alone for now. It's a messy process but it’s all able to be done. I
did not go crazy fastening my harness to places because I Also did the SMARTVIEW HD ATV4
install next and will just had to pull my harness out again later.

Installing Head Unit, Touch controller, Touch Module, and ATM Module

First install the ATM module

Plug in the blue connector (GPS cable) into the ATM module (white connector). Next install the
cable labelled ATM from the new harness into the ATM module. This goes next to the GPS
cable. On the opposite side of the ATM module plug in the connection labelled ATM POWER
from the new harness. Tuck this module into the center dash under the center stack if you can.

Next Install IDrive touch Module and Controller

Unscrew the old IDrive controller out of your center armrest if you haven't already. Leave the
plastic trim in the Center console section do not remove that. You need to remove the IDrive
controller trim from the new IDrive controller. It will not fit properly in the old armrest. Good news
though because your old trim fits around it. You can either disassemble the entire IDrive
controller to remove the new trim. Break it off, or easily and gingerly pry it off using a bunch of
small screwdrivers how I did, but it takes a while and some disassembly of the IDrive controller.
Easiest thing is to break the new trim off and just screw the new IDrive controller in place. Plug
the new harness connector labeled controller into the controller and the Touch module
connector into the touch module. Put the touch module under the center armrest somewhere. I
stuffed mine were the center console USB plug is located. Lastly the original IDrive connecter
gets connected to the new harness labelled accordingly.

Lastly the Hardest Part! The Head Unit

The head unit is the easiest and hardest part to install by far. You will be battling so many wires
trying to keep everything neat! Just relax and let it stay messy for a little bit. First connect the
NBT labelled plug from the new harness into the only connector it can plug into under the quad
lock connector. Next plug in the new screen cable that’s purple to the purple connector on the
Head unit. Plug in the new USB cable provided to the back of the Head unit and route that to the
shifter, it is going to replace your center console USB connection, and it needs this new wire.
Next install the two new WIFI and Bluetooth antennas, both small dipole antennas, into the
center stack area just toss them in there somewhere and they connect to the back of the head
unit to the small blue plugs, doesn't matter which. If you have Sirius radio plug the pink plug to
the pink plug, I believe it is SDARS. Plug in your FM antenna black plug to FM1 also black
connector. And FM2 is the new cable you routed from your trunk. That goes to the white
connector on the back of the head unit named FM2. Lastly the massive quad lock with fiber
optic connector. It is hard to get in but it goes. Use the lever action lock to help you get it in right.
It will click into place and be all set. Be careful when it mates that nothing pushes out of the
quad lock, and if it does, push it in gently from the back for it to reseat itself. If it does not go in
gently, remove and see what's happening, you don't want to break your head unit! It will be tight
now so don't stress your cables! Slide the head unit into place and hide your cables accordingly.
The quad lock from the car to the new harness will be the only challenge to hide back there,
don't let it get behind the head unit or it will not fit! Once that is all set screw the head unit down
and the install is actually almost done.
Microphone and CAN connections

Remember those wires we have left still to be connected, the microphone and CAN lines? Well
now the mic depending on your car is in 1 of 2 locations. Easiest, is the convertible, it live in the
steering wheel cowl on the left side. Pop that cowl up being careful and disconnect the left mic
from the vehicle harness and connect that mic to the new PNP harness end. Button up the
wheel cowl and that is done.

Lastly, the Key to making it all work is the CAN lines. Bring the knee bolster down with two large
torx screws and I pulls down/slides forward. It will have an airbag connected to it so leave that
connected and just let it hang, support it if you like but I didn’t. Disconnect the connector from
the ZGW module. When I get a picture up it’s easier to understand what module that is. You will
be tapping the can lines on the connector. They are yellow red and yellow brown. I did this step
wrong the first time, and the guys at bimmer-tech caught it and I flipped my connections and
everything worked great. My PNP harness had my wires labeled +49 and +48, corresponding to
which pin numbers had to be tapped. CAN low (#48) needs to be tapped to the yellow with red
stripe, while the CAN High (#49) needs to be tapped to the yellow with brown stripe.

Reassemble your car now only to the point where you can have items plugged back in so you
can have your car coded. Set up an appointment and have it coded, if anything you did wrong
during the install is found you can correct it here with support from the coder, with the car half
apart. Once your coding is completed actually put the car back together and enjoy it!