very clean, i like that a lot. you should customize the trunk area a little more.

 

Aside from the cosmetic difficulties, you will have to do some major modification to the bracket and the nav cubby in order to mount the stereo higher....

 

you're absolutely right, the picture above is just a photoshop hack for thought. its a shame, they don't drop the current rising nav screen in favor of a single screen to control radio/nav/sat/etc as is commonly done on cars today. nonetheless, even with the limitation of the shift **** limiting access to CD insertion, your AVIC installation is IMOH the best looking option available.

couple of quick question.
1. there is a black plastic frame which you sanded down to perfectly fit the double din opening. how did you sand edges so perfectly even and straight?

2. when driving at night, does the display distract you from the road? what displays while you are listening to the radio?

 

Looks great. Makes me wonder why I am waiting so long to do something like this.

 

Sanding down the trim piece was probably the hardest part of the entire install. It took me forever!!!!!

I tried putting the trim piece on the outside of the dash and it looked weird, I then tried putting it behind the dash opening and that looked weird too.

So I sanded the edges of the trim piece to where it would fit "inside" the double din dash opening. This way it was "flush" with the dash surface and it fills the gap perfectly.

As for keeping the edges even and straight, that was just by sight. I would sand then check, sand then check.....you get the idea.

I didn't want to over-sand the edges either, that would create a gap between the opening and trim piece.

So yeah a very long and tedious process, but well worth it!!

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As for driving at night, this screen is BRIGHT!! It has a automatic dimmer feature, but that dims the screen a little too much so I dont use it.

You can also turn the screen off completely and still operate the stereo.

I mostly keep it on the NAVI view. Even while on NAVI mode, you can still operate all the functions of the stereo.

I'll post some more pictures of what the CD, Radio and EQ screens look like tomorrow.

 

all I can say is wow, your install looks fantastic. are there manual controls to adjust the contrast/brightness to your liking? you mentioned the screen had a blank mode when playing music or radio. does it fade out like a screen saver after a period of time of no button activity?

 

It does have contrast/brightness controls. The blank screen mode is just on or off, no auto fading.

 

I like this set up--Pioneer rules! My only thing is that it doesn't play DVD's. But I may try to find one on ebay for 1000.00

 

I got all the part in today for the AVIC-D1 install, at least I hope. Is there anything special that needs to be used to hook up the Pioneer to the stock HU cables? I called a place about installing it for me to get prices and they mentioned a necessary bose converter. Or are they talking out of thier azz?

I also got the PAC SWI-PS for the steering wheel controls, we'll have to see how this one goes!

Hey blackonblack, can you list all the parts you used for your install? I have the:
- AVIC-D1
- Pioneer CDIB100 IPOD Interface (I know it's interface suck, not sure if anything is better for the pioneer)
- Back up camera (not even sure If I'm goign to use this one- maybe have it look forward?
- PAC SWI-PS

Hope I didnt forget anything!

 

I have two questions. Does anyone have a TV tuner in their car and if so, is the reception any good, or do you just get static? I was thinking of getting the 4 antenna TV tuner for the Pioneer AVIC-D1. Second, does anyone have any experience with the Pioneer Ipod interface? Just wondering if this works well with the Ipod and D1. Thanks.

 

I dont think you need the bose adaptor, but it will sound better with one.

Those adaptor range from $20-60. You can buy one yourself and provide them with it for your install.

You will also need an antenna adaptor to receive FM radio.

 

I ordered one for my AVIC-D1, but then canceled it after being told it was backordered. I need to order it again....

I had the kenwood TV tuner on my old kenwood screen and it worked pretty well when your car was stopped. On the freeway it had a bit of static....

 

Instead of a Bose adapter, find yourself a Soundgate XR-4. This is a competition grade pre out converter that works when you replace your factory headunit but you want to keep your factory amp. They work on Bose, JBL, HK, etc.

 

blackonblack, can you post your wiring coloring? I think I have it all done, but I don't know what to do with the orange/black cable. I dont have an antenna adapter, I'll have to track one down tomorrow. grr.

 

This setup looks really nice. I think factory HU's generally suck (performance wise) and I would like to replace out the HU in the G. I've got 40+GB of music that I'd like to hook up to my stereo, be it via my iPod or a carputer. GPS Nav is cool I guess, but it seems like an expensive toy. I do however like the large viewing area and touchscreen capabilities of this HU.

The question that I have (with this or any HU), is there a way to make these beautifull displays less conspicuous? Unfortunately, the world is full of a-holes, and sometimes it just doesn't pay to have nice things. At least if you have a detachable faceplate, it tends to lessen the chances of people breaking in to your stuff.

I've lived in places where there are Porches, Infiniti's, pimped out Eclipses with multiple thousand dollar stereos parked on the street and they were never messed with, but my buddy who had an old school Durango with a $100 CD head unit in it and they smashed out his windows to take it (he left the faceplate on of course because who would steal a $100 stereo???).

Pretty much it's a issue of opportunity. If the jokers see your stuff and it looks like a quick grab, they'll gank it. Otherwise they'll move on to a softer target, or maybe they were just tempted by seeing the oportunity. Yah, if someone is really determined or professional, they'll get your stuff, but it's all an issue of reducing one's profile.

Are there any decent Touchscreen HU's out there than can be made inconspicuous? I know there are screen housings like Digital Wheelz setup, but this is only a screen. I guess I could get a regular HU to go with it, but I was hoping there was something already out there on the market (I haven't seen them in person, but the screenshots of the Digital Wheelz setup seem really bad in the sun - how does this HU stack up to sunlight fading?)