Jeffoakes1974

I gotta change the head unit theres a cheap pioneer in it but it doesnt have android auto has anybody used the tesla style hu

MicVelo

Gawd, I hope not.

As an alternative if you gotta have a large screen and more functionality than a double-DIN, there are posts here on installing various tablets, some almost as obnoxiously large as Teslas. I deal with Teslas on a near daily basis and shake my head every one I get into.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

For considerably less $$ than a big screen unit, I picked a modern Kenwood DPX593BT headunit for my dash. It offers (among other features) Android Auto, Bluetooth and a USB port to play high-res music off a memory stick. And while the unit itself doesn't offer a lot of juice, it's connected to a USX-2100 amp for plenty of power. Kenwood probably offers a comparable, updated headunit for less than $200 today.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

I'm actively working on installing a Kenwood DMX908S. I'm taking my time and making the install clean/professional, I'm also adding a backup camera while I'm at it. I did a lot of research at the start of 2023 and chose the Kenwood unit, primarily for Hi-Res Audio Support, Wireless Apple Carplay, capacitive touch screen, SiriusXM, and more. My goal is to never need to plug my phone into a cable while I'm driving (Wireless magsafe charging + Wireless Apple Carplay).

The screen size is about as big as you can get (6.95") within a Double Din surface area. Anything larger than 7" and it won't fit on a 350Z. That's when you start getting into those ugly stand-off mounted screens or you go full dash mod tablet mode (also not a fan of those). I had a Pioneer unit for years, but their software support & reliability isn't very good on the new models (or so I've read). Kenwood has a solid reputation and so far the reviews on the DMX908S are excellent (at least if you're an iPhone user). There have been some negative reports about Wireless Android Auto having disconnect issues and other odd behaviors with hands free calling. This might have been addressed with a firmware update though, haven't checked. If you're sticking with Android, then really focus on finding a unit with excellent compatibility for Android. Most head units/brands will have solid support for one over the other.

Anyway, once I'm done with the install, I'll post my thoughts about the unit and some pictures of the overall fit and finish, along with all the hardware/accessories that were used for the install. This is just phase one of my infotainment upgrade, I'll also be replacing all the OEM speakers with Focals, but to keep things organized while I do the install and not get overwhelmed, I'm breaking this up into two phases. Dash work 1st, then door and rear speakers. I'm not running a discreet amplifier, just re-using the factory harness.
Cheers!
-Icer

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

Made decent progress last weekend despite the hot weather. Got the Backup camera, steering wheel controls working/programmed with adapter, and mic wiring done. Glad I hooked it all up and tested before routing all the cabling, I discovered a few wiring faults (installer error) in the form of one flakey/bad crimp and two posi-taps that failed to pierce their respective wires. All sorted now, I'll be doing the final wiring dress down and routing behind the dash this coming weekend.

Regarding tablet style aftermarket head units for cars. My brother purchased an X-trons unit as a gift for my daughter's 8th gen Civic. I did the install and initially the unit worked pretty good. I was surprised at how clean the the tablet tied into the dash. But be warned, these are made in China and support/warranty is usually terrible. Case in point, the hot weather where I live caused the glue or sticky-tape holding the Android tablet on my daughters civic to literally melt/fail. This resulted in the whole screen falling out of the dash mount, landing on the automatic shift lever, and broke the capacitive touchscreen. The screen did not crack/break, physically appears fine, but no more touch screen which basically renders the unit useless.

Other CONs to these tablet style in dash radios. Their boot times are atrocious, the X-trons unit I just described would easily take 1min or more to boot up. If you do a lot of short trips around town running errands, this gets really annoying. Sound quality isn't terrible, but I question the quality of their amplifiers/DAC. For High-Res support you need two things. Decoding known as pulse-coded-modulation (PCM), and a digital-to-analog (DAC), where the decoded signal is sent out in an analog format the speakers can use. My iPhone for example can stream and decode High-Res files, but cannot handle the DAC portion. In my case I can stream the audio file (if stored locally on my iPhone) via Wireless Carplay directly to my head unit (which does the DAC work) or download the files (FLAC or WAV) to a flash thumb drive and playback over the USB connection to the head unit (Same as dkmura). Iphone's don't support lossy bluetooth high-res at this time (requires specific codec), but Android does. Using anything short of broadband internet to stream High-Res won't work, the audio stream will be downgraded/compressed if you use cellular data to stream music. So, the best approach is to do a lossless rip of a CD library or download the FLAC or WAV files off the interwebs, transfer them to your smart phone of choice or USB storage drive and play from there when on the road.

Just realized I went off into a huge tangent about high-res audio. But it's an interesting topic and something that is becoming more widely available in the Auto World!
Cheers!
-Icer

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Good stuff Icer! I learned a few things in this thread and have been enjoying high res audio on my DD Kenwood unit. Now, if only the OP would come back to this thread and let us know where s/he is on updating headunits!

Jeffoakes1974

Very imformative but do you know if all pioneer plugs are compatible

Heel Til I Die

iTrader: (2)

lol, wut?

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

No idea, but in my case I spent $29 with Crutchfield to have them create a custom harness for the Kenwood. It made for easy installation and I bet they can do the same for any Pioneer they sell.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

If you're referring to your old Pioneer wire harness being compatible with newer Pioneer head units, I can't say. There's a chance they are compatible, which might save you some extra time if you upgrade. Things like accessory power, main ground, all speaker +/-, and a few other bits will probably carry over. But newer head units may also require a vehicle speed sensor (VSS) tap and parking brake tap (among other stuff). Kenwood units are nice because you can simply bypass the parking brake tap by running the wire to any ground. I grounded the wire straight to the back of my Kenwood chassis. The purpose of the parking brake tap is to prevent you from accessing certain functions on the radio while driving for safety reasons.

If you have enough wire left with your old adapter harness, you can simply cut and re-use if you're really on a budget. But honestly, I would start fresh since these adapters are very cheap. I don't like using butt connectors (makes the harness much bulkier), instead I used high-quality electronics solder (Kester) and heat-shrunk everything. For easier future maintenance, I used crimp on bullet connectors and ring terminals on the steering wheel control adapter and backup camera. I'll be dressing down all the wiring with combination of mini zip-ties, interior Tessa Tape, and braided PET wire loom. For a rattle free install, I also have some stick on wire management loops of varying sizes. Not required of course, but it will look super clean/pro when done!
Cheers!
-Icer