Car Stereo

Dinho · January 5, 2011

Hi, I would like to kno has anyone fitted a single din stereo or motorised monitor into their car, if so what do you have underneath and do you have to make a custom cage to support this.

I am thinking of putting in a single din stereo and a half din equalizer if this is easily done without looking messy.

Any help appreciated

NMac · January 5, 2011

I fitted a single din stereo to my LS400, sourced the facia / mounting kit and iso lead on eBay

clossie · January 19, 2011

Single iso alpine for me. Autoleads facia kit and appropriate amp bypass cable. All brackets etc inclued in the kit so you should be ok .

Fascia kits look imoo different in color and texture to the car interior so i rubbed it down then high build primered it followed by a coat or three of plastikote satin black spray and it blends perfick.

Marc-Is200 · January 25, 2011

Sorry to Hijack the thread but im thinking of fitting a pioneer touch screen single din. If i purchase the fascia and iso/ amp by pass cable how will it sound as i read the speakers run at different ohms?

thanks

Dinho · January 26, 2011

Single iso alpine for me. Autoleads facia kit and appropriate amp bypass cable. All brackets etc inclued in the kit so you should be ok .

Fascia kits look imoo different in color and texture to the car interior so i rubbed it down then high build primered it followed by a coat or three of plastikote satin black spray and it blends perfick.

Ive ordered the autoleads facia, Ive seen many threads with people saying they need to be modified for a good fit which I don't mind doing. Just want to know what level of sand paper did you use to rub it down?

Dinho · January 26, 2011

Got the facia, it came in bits and pieces with no instructions! i had to laugh! eBay for u, although was purchased through dynamic sounds!

james m · February 6, 2011

all u need is to get harness(around 30 pounds) unplug old one from amp and plug new one in, then get fascia in Halfords or on eBay, it comes with double din, single din panels and u can choose which one u need

ormi · February 6, 2011

Sorry to Hijack the thread but im thinking of fitting a pioneer touch screen single din. If i purchase the fascia and iso/ amp by pass cable how will it sound as i read the speakers run at different ohms?

thanks

you wont really notice any diff apart from it sounding a hell of a lot better..

Dinho · February 17, 2011

Decided im going for the double din unit to keep it inline with the dash, think it would look much neater than a flip out screen.

james m · February 17, 2011

good choice giz :winky: i ve done it and it looks gorgeous

Dinho · February 17, 2011

The one i have my eye on looks good, I have seen it selling on eBay from an american store, it is tempting me because it is more than £100 cheaper than anywhere in the uk including postage! But is there some sort of catch, beacuse it seems too good to be true, would I get stung by customs or some other EU law by the time it gets here, I can just imagine that being the case!?

MärkJ · February 17, 2011

The one i have my eye on looks good, I have seen it selling on ebay from an american store, it is tempting me because it is more than £100 cheaper than anywhere in the uk including postage! But is there some sort of catch, beacuse it seems too good to be true, would I get stung by customs or some other EU law by the time it gets here, I can just imagine that being the case!?

Yes I'm afraid you will have to pay import duty. You will also be required to pay the VAT too. I've had to import car parts before for my American car so have seen it before.

Also, stereos imported from the US will not work properly on the AM radio band (not that anybody listens to AM anymore I wouldn't think). It's to do with the frequency steps when tuning (US stations are 10kHz apart whilst UK stations step at 9kHz). Just thought I'd point it out.

Dinho · February 17, 2011

Thanks for that, I knew it was too good to be true, the VAT alone would almost kill the plan! And as for the AM radio band, you are right, I wouldnt be fussed, hardley listen to radio full stop. Thanks for the info.

TigerFish · February 17, 2011

Also worth making sure that any "foreign"'sourced units that play DVDs will let you play European region DVDs too.

Dinho · February 18, 2011

Thats a good point, I dont seem to think of the basic things when there is £100+ possible saving infront of me. But will get one from a UK audio shop locally, atleast if I have any problems I can get there without a plane ticket.

Dinho · February 23, 2011

OK I'm ready to purchase but im torn between 2 head units now

1. Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD £400

2. Sony XAV-70BT £447

Both are decent specs.

Difference is the Sony comes with built in Bluetooth and a remote + 52 watts x 4

Pioneer has no Bluetooth built in no remote + 50watts x 4 with an 8 band EQ and looks so much sleeker than the sony.

Having the Bluetooth would be handy and the remote is a bonus. But the look of the pioneer is superior in my eyes and they have been making double din DVD player units much longer than sony.

So hard got an hour to decide...

Any opinions

MärkJ · February 23, 2011

I would opt for the Pioneer myself. As a rule of thumb, never buy Sony equipment that include their own amplifiers. Their idea of what constitutes good sound and mine couldn't be more different.

Dinho · February 26, 2011

Hmm well im hoping the Sony is decent as an hour before I read the post I had ordered it. I dont think it will be bad, I hope not. Its handy that its got built in Bluetooth though.

Dinho · March 4, 2011

I need help!

Where is the cable located that I need to remove from the amp so I can connect my amp bypass cable.

Also will it matter that all my wires are cut, because I will be connecting a new head unit, so will everthing still work as my stereo is going to be connected straight to the amp. Or is it more complex, I am quite a novice.

Unit that will be installed

Would like to get to work on it this weekend if I can but all these cut wires are depressing me.

clossie · March 12, 2011

Dinho what are you planning on doing? In your previous post you mentioned amp bypass cable but also cabling direct to your amp. So...

1. If you have located your amp on the left hand side of the passenger footwell (behind the glovebox) the connector you need is on the rear edge facing the bulkhead. Its a tricky begger to get out as you havevto squeeze the locking pins on the top and bottom of the connecter whilst removing. As there is no space i found it easier to unbolt the amp from its brackets. Once you have the connecter free, simply plug this into your bypass loom and you are done.

2. Can you wire you new stereo direct to the amp...no idea but ive heard that the cabling between oem stereo and the amp is non standard so you cannnot just hook in your new stereo (its why theres an after mkt bypass cable.....if you cannot just push the old cabling and coonector blocks out of the way of your new stereo and really must cut them, just make sure you wrap any loose ends in insulating tape.

Dinho · March 13, 2011

I think i am just going to call an expert to do it, atleast then I will know it has been done properly, hopfully. Yes the amp is in a bad place for me to reach any cable I gave up with it after half hour.