The question was "am I going to spend $2000+ on a name brand, or risk a chinese unit" Answer - I can get five chinese units for the price of a name brand so even if they aren't super reliable I think I'll risk it.
My specs required a 6.2" screen (didn't fancy a 7" flipout screen)with a balanced "factory look" as far as possible and of course red button illumination to match the Kizashi controls. I also wanted decent info on the specs and the chance of some support.
I decided on a unit from autodvdgps.com: http://www.autodvdgps.com/2-din-car-dvd ... p-816.html . First problem it comes with connection for a Nissan, a couple of emails to the people at autodvdgps.com and problem solved they supplied a harness with standard ISO conectors. A week or so later the unit rocks up - another plus for shipping!
Having done my research on this forum (thanks for all the info posted everone) and the web I knew I would need a Double Din facia kit, Kizashi harness adapter and antenna adapter. Luckily (I thought) Scosche do all of these things, once again I ordered from the web and they were delivered in a couple of weeks (I also ordered a reversing camera from china at the same time).
With all the bits "on site" it was time for a dummy run to see how things went together. They didn't, the hole in the front of the Scosche facia was to small at 172mm while my unit was 178mm wide (the "standard" double din size, I'd already checked). Fortunately I was able to source another facia http://www.aerpro.com/list.php?pcode=FP ... +&cat_sno= and that is 178mm x 100mm (thank goodness), it also comes with an additional trim piece to reduce the size of the hole by about 2mm all round if required.
Here's a pic of the unit in the facia:
Next issue was the adapter harness, there has been a lot of discussion about why the factory fit nav option doesn't sound too good. One of the problems seems to be that the Scosche 106b harness is being used for the "Rockford Fosgate" equiped Kizashi and it is using a "high to low" converter to drive the amp with speaker signals rather than pre-amp out signals (not the best solution as any car stereo buff will tell you!)
Scosche 106b with "High to Low" converter
So I decided as my HU has proper low level pre-amp outputs (and 4v ones at that!) I would modify the Scosche harness by removing the converter and substituting RCA plugs. The other problem is that the Scosche harness is not fully populated ie there are pins used in the Kizashi that are not in the Scosche 106b! The only ones that were a real problem for me were the steering wheel control connections. I had specifically gone for a unit that would enable me to use my standard steering wheel controls so this was a big disapointment. I sourced some pins for the connecter and put my own wires in so I wouldn't have to cut in the Kizashi wiring loom.
Modified Scoshe 106B:
Now I was getting somewhere! There were a few more connections to make and rather than add another plug I decided to use the "unused" connections in the ISO power plug. Once again this entailed getting some more pins for the connector but it made for a neater installation.
Next I had to find a place for the GPS antenna, I decided to mount it under the dash (for neatness) and see what the performance was like. The base of the antenna is magnetic and there was a nice steel re-inforcing brace behind the glove box with a flat top that proved ideal, performance hasn't been a problem either.
Next where to put the Ipod and USB cable? Well I decided that the ideal place was in the glove box (out of site! and the unit controls the ipod) and there is a gap, where the manual sits, that can be prised apart to slip the cables through.
Next the reversing camera. The Kizashi has a blanking plug in the boot lip for a reversing camera so it was quite an easy job to make a little aluminium adapter plate to mount the camera.
Oops I'll have to paint those screws before they go rusty!!
I picked up the +12v from the revering light socket so that the camera is only powered on when the car is in reverse and took the same +12v line back to the HU so that it automatically dislays the reversing camera when the car is put in reverse - a nice feature.
It was very easy to do a neat installation of all the cables as there are already cables running fromthe lights etc in the boot (trunk) lid and down the side of the car
One thing to be aware of is that the trim panels a very thin and easy to break. Ask me how I know
You must take off the door rubbers to take of the trim panels below and by the doors!!Lastly a pic of the harness connected to the unit including the power for the radio antenna (it is an amplified antenna and must have +12v supplied which can be picked up from the ISO power connecter from the HU)
Well after all that (apologies for a marathon post) and for a total cost of under $500 what do I think?
The look is exactly what I was going for (in the absence of a fully integrated unit) and the unit has performed perfectly so far. The features of the unit are excellent and it is easy to use. I got IGO Primo map software with the unit and I think it is fantastic. The display is nice and bright and automatically dims when you put the lights on for night driving. Audio performance won't win any contests but is more than adequate for me with plenty of volume (undistorted) and bass. The conversion to use the RCA low level inputs obviously worked well with this unit! The Radio is good although on the AM band it is a bit more susceptible to outside electrical interference.
The bluetooth, although basic, is very good, both ends of the call are crystal clear even with only the built in microphone. It paired and connects automatically with my HTC Desire phone and automatically switches to the bluetooth interface and displays the incoming number on a call. The only thing I would like is to be able to download my phonebook and voice dial. You can listen to any of the inputs (radio, USB, Ipod, CD etc) while displaying the Sat nav and the music is muted for voice directions. There are just too many features to list them all!
Now for the Pics.
I hope this might help other members and I am happy to answer any questions on the installation.
I assume there's no dedicated line to the amp for the sub, right? Which is why the sub adjustment on the HU will never work... I'm still mystified as to why Suzuki would have Rockford Fosgate design a system that utilizes a HU with speaker-level outputs to an amp?? Why not just have the "regular" RF unit use pre-amp lines to begin with!! *Especially* if they had any idea they would also use a "standard" double-din HU for the nav option. Is there some cost savings to not using pre-amp outputs? I can't imagine it would be much...especially when you could, because it's a custom system anyway, eliminate the speaker outs.
