Did it with the help of a few posts Ive seen on here, plus other sites, so wanted to share results and possibly answer questions if others are thinking about doing the same. Its not as complex as it looks at first, but certainly not a beginner project where you just
plug
in a ready for you wiring harness and go off to the races.
I skipped the NAV-TV and Axxess route and did it for significantly cheaper.
Total cost for parts was right around $200 and $300 for an open box pioneer head unit I snagged on sale at bestbuy.
Metra wiring harness (factory plug adapter) $5
AVIN Most Decoder: $118 shipped
Metra antenna adapter $10
USB and AUX extension (still to be installed in center console) $23
AI Dash Kit $18
Fuse Tap: $10
Apps2Car parking brake bypass $10
I already had waterproof crimp connections, wire, crimp tool, wire strippers etc from previous projects.
still need to get the wires wrapped up and cleaned up but couldnt resist trying it out. It sounds significantly better than the BOSE system.
So this setup uses the preamp outputs from the head unit into the MOST decoder, which plugs into the factory optical connector to the factory amp, correct? How satisfied are you with this setup in the long run?
Aside from exchanging my
pioneer
to another model with some physical buttons and a different style touch screen, I am very satisfied. I didnt realize that the model I purchased wouldnt respond to touch input with gloves on.
Ive also added a generic wireless remote to the steering wheel since, that integrated into this setup with some minor added wiring. Loving it. Everyone who's been in the car said the current setup looks like a factory kit and sounds fantastic.
Did you lose the ability to fade volume between front/back? Are the rears working at all? If so, how did you set their volume bias?
Yes you lose rears. Not much lost in sound quality from that though. A few people have agreed to this as well.
Very nice indeed, I put in a cheap Android system in my 987 recently and regretted it within a week. I'll likely follow suit and get something from a reputable company this time round!
If you're in an area that gets weather cold enough to need gloves, consider what type of touch screen you use. I exchanged my first pioneer for a different model, as the capacitive touch screen worked great with bare hands, but awful with gloves.
Resistive touch screen is the way to go if you need to use it with gloves.
