...finally got round to having a new head unit installed. For anybody considering something similar, I hope you find this useful. Although my RNS-E paired with standard 8 speaker system delivered excellent sound quality, I missed not being able to navigate using google maps displayed on a decent size screen, and similarly having Spotify properly integrated into the head unit, and for this reason something like xcarlink wasn’t really what I wanted, and I was prepared to sacrifice a proper OEM look for this.
Shortly before lockdown (seemed like an eternity ago) I’d bought a new Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB at a reasonably knock down price off eBay (£280... costs £390 from Halfords). This seemed to be pretty much the standard modestly priced HU which supported not just DAB and Bluetooth, but Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Also, after a bit of a struggle, I found an installer willing to fit it for a reasonable price, Bannings in Guildford. Got a couple of outrageous quotes from other outfits. After discussing with a few knowledgeable types on the forum I decided that the wiring job was going to be well beyond my limited skills. I also found out that there was no suitable off-the-shelf adaptor and fascia surround, the supplied cage would not fit. At this point
@depronman kindly offered to make up a 3D-printed mounting kit (some plastic mouldings designed to screw onto the sides of the HU) and a bespoke-fit fascia surround. I bit his hand off at the offer.
Lockdown happened just at the wrong time and my booking to have the HU fitted was postponed. In the meantime I did a test fit to make sure the mounting kit and fascia surround fitted, which indeed they did (
@depronman didn’t have the exact spec for this HU but had made up a mounting kit for another pioneer HU previously and mercifully it worked). I took it upon myself to cover the fascia surround in matt black self adhesive plastic film (£4 from B&Q), thought it gave it a very nice finish which blended well with the surrounding panels and even gave a bit of a soft touch finish.
Bannings reopened last week and so i got the installation done this morning. My first impressions are very positive indeed. Sound quality is at least on a par with the RNS-E, possibly better, and all the features I wanted seem to work very well, though I think I still need to work out the ideal brightness/contrast settings for the screen. Spotify is not only supported by Android Auto/CarPlay, but by a built in app on the HU which works pretty well. The installation looks very tidy, the DAB aerial is tucked away on the near side A-pillar, the microphone is just above the rear view mirror, and the USB connector comes out in the tray in front of the gear lever.
Ok so this exercise hasn’t exactly been cheap (about £450 all-in, minus what I can recoup on the RNS-E, which will be for sale here soon) but I’ve got what I wanted out of it so very happy. Just a couple of minor niggles, the steering wheel controls no longer function - Bannings said it wasn’t possible to integrate them - and I’ve lost the track readout at the top of DIS, it’s also a slight pity that there’s only one USB port on the HU, it would have been nice to have a flash drive permanently connected, but that would have required a more expensive HU. But this has been vastly more successful than a very expensive aftermarket stereo installation I had done on our VW camper van last year, so I’m very relieved. Here’s some pics...
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