Well after two days of test driving I jumped on a great deal for a 05 Roadster... I'm thoroughly in love with it and my wife is dieing for me to leave town next week so she can have it.

I'm looking at nav headunits and I've just about settlied on the AVIC N-1, however I'm concerned on where to put the outboard boxes. The AVIC's hideway box is 7x1.2x6 and the outboard xm tuner chassis is 8 3/4 x 1 1/8 x 6 1/4.

Any suggestions? Is there room up in the dash anywhere at all for either box? I haven't checked clearance under the seats, or possibly behind and mounted to the rear bulkhead at floor level? I've also been eyeing the empty hole under the "trunk" liner.

Has anyone installed one of these and can give me a few suggestions? I'm also curious about appearances. Pioneer units look like they have to float out of the dash a half inch or so with their black trim ring. I'm not sure how this will end up looking in the dash.

I certainly would appreciate ANY input anyone can give me. I've done a number of car audio installs with sat radio's, amps, mp3 jukeboxes, etc... so I'll be glad to start chiming in where I can in the group.


Thanks all!
-Ed

 

Well with a little bit of prep and reading here, I finished the base headunit install in about 2 hours. I'm waiting for the cd-changer, XM radio box, and voice control kit to come in the mail later this week.

If anyone's interested I can post install pictures of the boxes and cable routing. With a little poking around I found plenty of space to stash everything up under the dash, and still have easy access to everything for later changes.

Thanks for those who emailed pointers!

-Ed

 

Ed
When you get the installation complete I would be interested in seeing how you installed the entire system.
Thanks

 

Just had my Alpine iva-d300

 

Just had my Alpine IVA-D300 installed today. The unit was great but they had a tough time mounting everytjing. Best way to put it is that, it's like putting 10lbs of **** in a 5lb bag.
To make a long story short the main brain for the head unit was installed under the passenger seat, the two XM units were the problem they wouldn't fit under the front seat, so they had to mount them under the passenger seat floor board. Overall they did a great job & they unit is unbelievable, it just took them all day to install it.
it's a lot of stuff to put in a small car, but it can be done.

Oh yeah, sorry about the previous post, hit the enter key on accident!

 

Whoops stopped check the forums for awhile.... Sorry! I'll see about some photos soon.

I've installed the AVIC with an XM tuner. The brains-box and xm tuner box fit nicely under the panel where the passengers feet rest. I popped that panel and found that they fit on the curved support that the panel attaches to. I used some industrial double-sided tape to fasten the brains box to the support and then attached the XM tuner to that box.

For XM and GPS antenna placement I ran them down the passenger side of the center console. Here I simplyjust stuffed the wires up under the plastic. I pulled the carpeting from the rear wall and the tope plastic by the headrests. The antenna wires route up under the carpet and come out one of the plastic seams. I used a dremel to bevel and smooth an opening so the wires didn't rub on an edge. I have one antenna mounted under each of the rollbars. I'm getting perfect reception without dropouts on the GPS and XM plus they are totally hiddend when the top is up.

I also installed the voice kit but skipped the steering wheel remote. I just didn't care for how much it stood outlike a sore thumb. For the voice pickup mic there is a great little seam by the drivers right knee that will house the microphone flush with the dash. You never see it unless you're looking for it, and it is aimed pretty well as it is. Much better than the visor mount or little clip that is supposed to go on the steering column.

I really recommend dropping the glove box if you do this install.... there isn't much room behind the dash headunit. With all the cables coming out the back you dont have much room to play with. The screws that hold this in are MUCH more small than anything I've ever used to retain a 1 1/2 din radio for a GM. It makes everything easier if you drop the glove box. With that down you can reach around and behind the head unit to pull the wires into place, and drop them down into a cavity that is back there. It all fits nicely.

I'm just waiting for the IPOD adaptor to come out this month... I'll be rigging up a mount to go in the glove box or center console for the ipod.

I'll be glad to give any suggestions or advice.... and when I get it chipped I'll snap a few photos of the boxs installed.

 

I would love to see pics of the install if you have them. I am concerned about how I am going to install my AVIC-N2. I have done stereo installs before but am not the best with 12-volt. I read the manual and it looks pretty involved. If anybody has an idea of install costs I would love to hear them. I hope that my shop can keep it under $200 for install. I just don't want to run the GPS receiver and brain stuff. Plus, I don't know how to even start the install of the back up cam. I know I don't need it but I have it so I might as well throw it on the car.

Another thing I am concerned about is the software that is provided. I've read that it limits the capabilities and doesn't allow you to watch video while in motion. My shop can get around the e-brake thing but they said that there is now way to get around the N2's speed and gyro sensors. If you guys have any suggestions I would love to hear them...

 

Sorry! I still don't have photos and I'm tied up installing a new Avic D1 in my wives Subaru this weekend. In short I highly advised installing yourself *IF* you think you are capable. A local shop wanted around $500 to install the Avic N-1 with XM module in the Crossfire.

Some quick advice, and I can provide more as you need it:

1) Return the N2 and find an N1. The local circuit city I was in yesterday had the N1 for $1499 and the N2 for $1999. Functionally they are the same unit. The big downside is the N2's gyro interlock to defeat the handbrake trick. This also kills your using DVD audio creator for making MP3 DVD's. I've got about 40-46 mp3 CD"s on a single layer, haven't tried a double yet.

If an IPOD interface is what you MUST have, get the AVH5700 instead. Starts out around $800, w/o Nav and w/o Vehicle Dynamics. Nav will run you another $800ish. Upside: TWO drives, so you can keep the Nav DVD loaded while playing CD's, MUCH better IPOD display. The AVIC families compatibility with the IPOD interface is pathetic. Downside: On screen interface appears slightly lower resolution, not sure on brake/gyro interlock operation.

2) Placement... wiring this is NOT too bad. There is an access panel under the carpeting on the passenger side. Pull the floormat out and pull the carpet from he foot well back to the seat. Remove the styrofoam "cushion" and then pull the three screws from the metal access plate. That "hinges" back towards you and down.

In the back you'll see a metal support that the top most nut went on for the access plate. I have the AVIC brain and XM tuner module stacked on top of that. Play with you positioning, between the metal frame and some double sided tape on the support, you can get a great mounting position.

3) Wiring...

Tail light lead - I have never bothered to connect it, however it's simple enough to run the wire back around the dash, behind the driver footwell carpet, under the crossfire door panels, behind the back wall carpeting, through an access hole, and under the trunk carpeting to the brakelight. I never back up for large distances, so not really concerned about it. In all honesty I forgot to do it when hooking everything up, and haven't been bothered enough to spend the hour pulling everything back apart.

Handbrake lead - On N1 you can defeat this with simple wiring. You do so at your own risk. Be an adult, don't go watching a DVD while driving. That would be a moron.... I think we're all assuming that with a $30K plus car and $2K worth of stereo, the owner would be an adult. Of course driving past the local highschool last week has reset that view for. Side-note: Who are these parents!?!?

Oh side note: on the N2, D1, and AVH5700 there is this defeat for the handbrake trick. Pioneer wants to see the handbrake start OFF then go on. People on the 12volt forum have discussed using an added switch to provide this defeat without always have to pull the brake. I'm wondering if a 555 timer IC wired with a relay IC would do the trick. IE: timer waits 20 (?) seconds after car is started and then closes the relay which grounds the lead. *Shrug* I have an N1, haven't been bothed to play with that thought.

Speed pulse - You are right on top of it, it is connected to the amplifier and on the hinged access panel. You have plenty of room to snap the vampire tap onto it. I forget the exact color right now. There is another thread with a GREAT diagram in jpg or gif format with the wiring diagram. If you can't find it let me know.

Speakers - Since you have the audio harness, know that the Crossfire ONLY uses the front left and right leads of the harness. They go to the factory amp. You can cap off, or pull out the rear speakers leads from the harness. Be sure in the amp to adjust the fader full front.

You have two choices... either go with the speaker out, or the pre-amp out from the crossfire. At first I did the "right" thing and hooked up the front left and right pre-amp outs to the factory harness. The thing was too quiet at full volume. I've since reconnected the speaker outs to the factory harness to restore a "normal" volume. Yes I know this is amping and already amped signal and could damage the factory amp. I'll live with that if it happens and replace the amp with one that puts out a sufficient volume. I didn't want to go through the hassle of connecting all the speakers directly to the headunit, or finding a sufficiently cool space with enough air circulation to mount a new amp. I cheated here.

Antennas. So my directions above for how to route the break lead. The rear carpet can be lifted from the bottom up. Rig some paperclips, or use some needle nose pliers to loosen the big round plastic screw heads with the two dots. Then by hand remove them. You can lift the carpet enough to put the leads down through. I popped the gaskets around the bars behind the driver and passenger and routed one antenna under the passenger bar, and the other under the driver bar. With the top up and the tree cover of spring/summer I still have plenty of reception on both XM and GPS. Added bonus, you can't see the antennas from he outside.


Hope that helps get you started....
-Ed

 

Ed,
Thanks for the quick tips! I am going to try to talk a friend of mine into helping me with the install (he knows 12-volt way better than I do). If he can't do it than I am just going to have to bite the bullet and pay somebody. I am not comfortable installing nearly $3000 worth of stereo equipment by myself.

I thought about doing this but I am pretty sure I can't. My dad won the system and according to Pioneer we cannot return or exchange it. I think they did something to the barcode on the box. I was thinking about returning it and getting a less expensive unit and a few other things but I doubt I will.

I know better than that! I had friends who would play video while driving and I was constantly alerting them of their lack of intelligence. As far as the age thing, you assumed wrong. I am still a teenager (at least for a few more months). Yes, I have a $36K sports car with nearly $3K worth of stereo. I am very fortunate and I am grateful for that. My parents have always provided me with a brand new car every year since I was 16. I had a '02 PT Cruiser and a '03 SRT-4. The SRT-4 is now my 16 y/o little brothers car. If you drive by my old high school you will see everything from Vettes to Jags. It was considered "normal" to own the cars that I did. If you drove anything more than a few years old it was almost considered "Poor." Unless it was a sports or luxury car of some sort. However, I plan on paying for my Xfire with my own earnings. I even went out and got the loan on my own. I know its not that much of an accomplishment but I am proud of it. I am currently getting read to go into my third year of college so it is going to be tuff but I will be able to handle it.

Again, thanks for the write up. I will give everyone an update once I decide on what I am going to do...