Upgrading car entertainment system

[HoofHearted]

Have an 08 250 SR. As such it’s a bog standard radio which looks really dated. 
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165040851141?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338767030&toolid=10001&customid=eb%3Ag%3Avms%3Aeb%3Ap%3A165040851141%3BCj0KCQiA9OiPBhCOARIsAI0y71C74er3RR9KimQhJKsYKE0k33bI2Sc8W6R0qlqkcUgMMAQBq3mv8psaAlwgEALw_wcB&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1v54I66gYSumW9D9clkSkHQ78&gbraid=0AAAAADmMgihpWVwlDTe0rKzMFEiDtt27c&gclid=Cj0KCQiA9OiPBhCOARIsAI0y71C74er3RR9KimQhJKsYKE0k33bI2Sc8W6R0qlqkcUgMMAQBq3mv8psaAlwgEALw_wcB

 

is this definitely compatible? If so has anybody purchased one similar and able to give me their thoughts on it? 

[McShmoopy]

HI Graeme, 

The good news is as youre a 2008 vehicle owner most head units will be compatible with your vehicle. Will need some specifics though, do you have the factory touchscreen navi or is it the non touchscreen version? I assume based on the unit you've selected you've got a Navi so youve got quite a few options. 

First is a similar android head unit like the one you have linked, from what I have seen this should work fine. You can find some much nicer ones on the webs such as the Teyes CC3 but your mileage may vary.  The second is a GROM VLINE2 which would integrate into the existing infotainment system (hijacking the DVD / CD disc section to access it) and retain all OEM controls while also providing a full android experience including Wireless apple Carplay / Android auto. 

Now for pros and cons, the cheaper android head units like you have linked will work absolutely fine but there sometimes can be an issue with climate control and the audio quality can be seriously degraded due to cheaper Chinese components such as DACs and DSP. The GROM VLINE however is something I myself own, it is incredibly expensive for what it is but especially for pre facelift vehicles, it works wonderfully and is a quality product that does receive regular software updates and my main thing is that the audio quality of the OEM system is preserved and sounds great. 

Whichever route you chose to go will still radically improve the car infotainment but it comes down to what you put most importance on. 

[HoofHearted]

Thanks mate. Haven’t got the touch screen in my car. 
 

heed your warning about loss of audio quality. Looking for something in the middle, no loss of quality but no more than 350ish? 

[Mr Vlad]

There's no loss of sound quality with the Teyes CC3. There are 2 options of it for the is250. One with built in nav and the other no nav. There's a couple threads on here about upgrades. V line no good for you.

[Linas.P]

15 hours ago, HoofHearted said:

is this definitely compatible? If so has anybody purchased one similar and able to give me their thoughts on it? 

You need to contact the seller to confirm, the unit itself is 100% compatible, but depending on your car you may need different harness. Basically they will send same unit to you anyway, but they will include different harness depending if it was Sat-Nav/non-Sat-Nav/ML/Non-ML ect. 

As for loss of audio quality - depends on the source. If you had ML and if you used lossless DVD audio, then going to chinese headunit replacement, there would be loss of sound quality. ML system in particular is very picky on source quality and if source is poor quality, then it just amplifies the noise. However, if you car has standard audio system (13 speaker), then it is not very picky on source quality. Secondly if you just stream the music from your phone via Bluetooth, or listen to the radio, then the source quality is bad anyway and putting new headunit won't make any difference. In short - sound quality is not something you should worry about, unless you listening to lossless audio, via ML.

[Bongo]

Good evening all

I have been reading through this thread, I am interested in the Teyes CCS head unit, looks a really nice piece of kit, has anyone fitted one of these in their car that has the sat nav, rear camera and the ML sound system, does the factory rear camera still function? Or is it replaced by head unit? My car is a 2008 is250 SEL. Thanks Paul 

[LIJO151]

2 hours ago, Bongo said:

Good evening all

I have been reading through this thread, I am interested in the Teyes CCS head unit, looks a really nice piece of kit, has anyone fitted one of these in their car that has the sat nav, rear camera and the ML sound system, does the factory rear camera still function? Or is it replaced by head unit? My car is a 2008 is250 SEL. Thanks Paul 

Hi Paul,

I read somewhere that the original reverse camera will not work with CCS therefore you will need to purchase additional camera. I think it's a good thing as the Lexus standard reverse camera isnt that great and would be dated compared to a new reverse camera. I think the CCS reverse camera is a Sony 1080p.

John

[Mr Vlad]

Contact Teyes directly. You'll get a reply a day or 2 later. With regard rear camera it will work but depends on a certain wire. I forget which but contact Teyes and all your questions will be answered.

[Bongo]

On 2/5/2022 at 11:19 PM, LIJO151 said:

Hi Paul,

I read somewhere that the original reverse camera will not work with CCS therefore you will need to purchase additional camera. I think it's a good thing as the Lexus standard reverse camera isnt that great and would be dated compared to a new reverse camera. I think the CCS reverse camera is a Sony 1080p.

John

Thank you for your reply, I have emailed Teyes with a few questions, just waiting for their reply. 

[Bongo]

On 2/6/2022 at 11:46 AM, Mr Vlad said:

Contact Teyes directly. You'll get a reply a day or 2 later. With regard rear camera it will work but depends on a certain wire. I forget which but contact Teyes and all your questions will be answered.

Thank you for your reply, I have emailed them with a few questions, waiting for their reply, hopefully they will answer them all. 

[ahmed-abrar]

I've decided on a GROM VLINE2 upgrade, it's bloody expensive (and i've told the UK distributor so!) for what it is but it is the best available option currently.

No stock currently of the unit (LEX5) I require until next week

[Linas.P]

31 minutes ago, ahmed-abrar said:

GROM VLINE2

The only downside is that it keeps original Sat-nav unit which has very poor touch sensitivity and resolution for todays standards. And for the cost I would expect whole new unit, not only phone connectivity.

[Herbie]

25 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

The only downside is that it keeps original Sat-nav unit which has very poor touch sensitivity and resolution for todays standards. And for the cost I would expect whole new unit, not only phone connectivity.

I can see your point Linas but it isn't "just phone connectivity."

The Grom Vline 2 is basically a stand-alone Android computer/tablet (albeit without a screen) and you don't even need a phone to use it. It can be used offline to play your own locally stored music and use offline maps for navigation etc., but it works much better if it has an Internet connection. To that end you can either buy a USB dongle with a data-only SIM or you can tether your phone (wired or wirelessly) to act as a gateway for the Vline to have Internet.

Because it's a stand-alone Android computer/tablet you can download any app from the Google Play Store to it and run it directly from there, with no need for Android Auto or apple CarPlay (both of which restrict your choice of apps).

Alternatives that really are just phone connectivity (but do come with new screens if wanted/needed) are https://www.lexionautomotive.com/ and also https://www.lsailt.com/

[Linas.P]

Ok, the price makes little bit more sense then. 

However, in comparison one can get whole new android unit with screen for £200-300, or GROM without screen for £500. And even looking at spec. GROM isn't really that impressive - same as cheap chinese android units it comes with mediocre processor, memory and obsolete android version. In fact looking at some chinese units, they are even better in terms of spec. like having 4GB ram and 64GB storage vs. GROM 3GB and 16GB... even later android versions like Android 10 vs. GROM Android 8. Obviously all these specs needs to be taken with grain of salt, because when chinese say android 10, then it is most likely going to be their custom rom which is not supported by google/play store so perhaps one gets similar utility from older android on GROM. And when they say 4GB/64GB of memory, then again it may be cheapest and slowest memory they could get.

In either case GROM isn't some sort of high end product neither.

[ahmed-abrar]

14 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Ok, the price makes little bit more sense then. 

However, in comparison one can get whole new android unit with screen for £200-300, or GROM without screen for £500. And even looking at spec. GROM isn't really that impressive - same as cheap chinese android units it comes with mediocre processor, memory and obsolete android version. In fact looking at some chinese units, they are even better in terms of spec. like having 4GB ram and 64GB storage vs. GROM 3GB and 16GB... even later android versions like Android 10 vs. GROM Android 8. Obviously all these specs needs to be taken with grain of salt, because when chinese say android 10, then it is most likely going to be their custom rom which is not supported by google/play store so perhaps one gets similar utility from older android on GROM. And when they say 4GB/64GB of memory, then again it may be cheapest and slowest memory they could get.

In either case GROM isn't some sort of high end product neither.

Hmm good points, might have to reconsider my plans

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

Ok, the price makes little bit more sense then. 

However, in comparison one can get whole new android unit with screen for £200-300, or GROM without screen for £500. And even looking at spec. GROM isn't really that impressive - same as cheap chinese android units it comes with mediocre processor, memory and obsolete android version. In fact looking at some chinese units, they are even better in terms of spec. like having 4GB ram and 64GB storage vs. GROM 3GB and 16GB... even later android versions like Android 10 vs. GROM Android 8. Obviously all these specs needs to be taken with grain of salt, because when chinese say android 10, then it is most likely going to be their custom rom which is not supported by google/play store so perhaps one gets similar utility from older android on GROM. And when they say 4GB/64GB of memory, then again it may be cheapest and slowest memory they could get.

In either case GROM isn't some sort of high end product neither.

Once again Linas, I see your point and I do agree.

However, one big thing in favour of Grom is that they do have a great support team and generally will pull out all the stops to get it working for you. Grom HQ and the support team are based in Texas, USA, so no language problems either way when trying to explain things and that, for me, really gives Grom major plus points.

I agree it's expensive and it may take some fiddling to get it set up the way you want it, but I'm still more than happy with it and well pleased.

[Linas.P]

16 minutes ago, Herbie said:

Once again Linas, I see your point and I do agree.

However, one big thing in favour of Grom is that they do have a great support team and generally will pull out all the stops to get it working for you. Grom HQ and the support team are based in Texas, USA, so no language problems either way when trying to explain things and that, for me, really gives Grom major plus points.

I agree it's expensive and it may take some fiddling to get it set up the way you want it, but I'm still more than happy with it and well pleased.

Yes, support is obviously another major benefit... once you get android unit from China, it either works or it doesn't. If it doesn't then not that much of the problem, just return it for refund... but if it works for say a month of 2 and then stops, then you are on your own, you won't get any warranty. Perhaps it is better to buy from amazon or at least UK based re-seller in such case, as they at least going to be able to warranty it for like a year.