C5 Stereo Replacement Found
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
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From: South Western Ontario
I'd like to see pics of the different user and setup screens too. Some cheap radios look pretty on the "home" screen but their song selection and setup screens are crappy to use while driving down the road mostly due to the text size.
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From: Dandridge TN
I finished the install at lunch. As you can see the face of the radio is very deep and sticks out quite a bit. I took some pictures of the install and various screen shots. It is very bright outside so it's a bit washed, but the screen is 600 NITS.
I need to use the stereo for a while to see if there's anything I don't like but it all works great for now. The unit drives the stock speaker at full tilt at about half volume so it's very powerful compared to the stock HU. In fact, with the car off and the volume on 1, it's a little too loud for quiet listening.
Couple of notes for the install. Install the sleeve into the bezel outside of the car so you can bend the tabs. There are 4 key tabs to bend down, but I also inserted a couple of screws for extra support and ground them off. The blue antenna wire goes to the blue/white amp wire on the Metra harness. The actual antenna wire from the car harness is apparently integrated into the Metra controller, but it all works correctly and I also have the RAP working. I connected the parking brake wire to ground and video works from a DVD so far.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...landsleeve.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...zelmounted.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...oothScreen.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...adioscreen.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...urceScreen.jpg
I need to use the stereo for a while to see if there's anything I don't like but it all works great for now. The unit drives the stock speaker at full tilt at about half volume so it's very powerful compared to the stock HU. In fact, with the car off and the volume on 1, it's a little too loud for quiet listening.
Couple of notes for the install. Install the sleeve into the bezel outside of the car so you can bend the tabs. There are 4 key tabs to bend down, but I also inserted a couple of screws for extra support and ground them off. The blue antenna wire goes to the blue/white amp wire on the Metra harness. The actual antenna wire from the car harness is apparently integrated into the Metra controller, but it all works correctly and I also have the RAP working. I connected the parking brake wire to ground and video works from a DVD so far.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...landsleeve.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...zelmounted.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...oothScreen.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...adioscreen.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...urceScreen.jpg
Last edited by carhopper; Mar 2, 2012 at 02:42 PM.
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Joined: Aug 2011
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From: Dandridge TN
Bluetooth phone function is horrible quality as I suspected. I knew it didn't have an external microphone. They put the mic up under the radio face and my wife could barely hear me in the driveway without the car running. Nice thing is, when you pair with your phone, you can enable A2DP (media audio) only and turn off the phone function. Then buy a real bluetooth with good noise cancellation. I still say for $119 it was a bargain.
BTW, keep the remote handy. Some functions such as scrolling the songs on the SD card have limited functionality through the touch screen. You can basically hit next, previous, REW, or FF.
BTW, keep the remote handy. Some functions such as scrolling the songs on the SD card have limited functionality through the touch screen. You can basically hit next, previous, REW, or FF.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
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From: South Western Ontario
The display looks pretty good, but I think the mounting looks pretty ugly sticking out like that. Is it the radio chassis what sticks out so much or the mounting adapter you used?
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From: Dandridge TN
It was dark and raining yesterday during the install and tornados were coming so I was in a hurry. Attached is a good side picture showing that the mount has a bezel that is pushing it out at least 1/4". This could be trimmed with a cut off wheel on a dremel, but I'm sure there's another mount kit that doesn't have this big lip. They probably did this to accommodate the pocket. The face of the radio is also very deep.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/.../radioside.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/.../radioside.jpg
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From: Dandridge TN
It looks like this kit is the one to get. It looks flush, but doesn't have the pocket http://www.metraonline.com/part/99-3300
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,093
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From: Morristown TN
Not trying to hijack your thread but I am very close to buying this one.
http://www.mp3playerstore.com/catalo..._GPS_Maps.html
I like the idea of being able to use the Internet via my jail broken IPhone which can be turned into a wifi hotspot, plus I have a blue-tooth OBD11 Dongle and programs on my laptop to check the engine computer and clear codes. There are a few programs that will work with windows mobile that are similar so I should be able to use the radio instead of a laptop.
The only drawback is no DVD player but with a USB host port a portable USB DVD drive could be used and someone good at customizing installs could install one under the radio without much effort and make it look good.
I have one of the same brand with a 7 inch pop out LCD with GPS installed now and it sounds great, I have had it for 2 years and the only complaint I have is the AM radio seems to be set for Europe and will not work here and FM reception is not great but I think the OEM C5 antenna is as much at fault as the radio.
http://www.mp3playerstore.com/catalo..._GPS_Maps.html
I like the idea of being able to use the Internet via my jail broken IPhone which can be turned into a wifi hotspot, plus I have a blue-tooth OBD11 Dongle and programs on my laptop to check the engine computer and clear codes. There are a few programs that will work with windows mobile that are similar so I should be able to use the radio instead of a laptop.
The only drawback is no DVD player but with a USB host port a portable USB DVD drive could be used and someone good at customizing installs could install one under the radio without much effort and make it look good.
I have one of the same brand with a 7 inch pop out LCD with GPS installed now and it sounds great, I have had it for 2 years and the only complaint I have is the AM radio seems to be set for Europe and will not work here and FM reception is not great but I think the OEM C5 antenna is as much at fault as the radio.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
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From: South Western Ontario
yup, the mount and the HU are both at fault. This is the mount you want. These have an aluminum face and a plastic back that is 1/2" thick so the HU can be recessed into the mount. It could probably be recessed enough that only the face plate stuck out. The problem is that it'll cost close to what the HU cost.
http://maptechenterprises.com/storef...57aa1784d15e7c
Peter
http://maptechenterprises.com/storef...57aa1784d15e7c
Peter
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From: Dandridge TN
I just ordered the Metra 99-3300. It actually recesses the radio and will be much cleaner. So I was the guini pig and lost $12 on the first mount. At least now we know. The pocket is perfect for a cell phone though so I will miss having it.
I took it on a trip last night and I have some more info on the radio functionality. The GPS, Satellite, and other icons you see not mentioned in the write up are greyed out and the manual says that option is not available on this unit. Apparently they use the same software for all of the HUs and disable functions on lesser models.
Overall I still like the unit. I would be pissed if I paid the $500+ MSRP that some sites claim or even $250+ that most sites are selling it for. I don't know how the one company on ebay is selling for $119, but it's a bargain for that.
I took it on a trip last night and I have some more info on the radio functionality. The GPS, Satellite, and other icons you see not mentioned in the write up are greyed out and the manual says that option is not available on this unit. Apparently they use the same software for all of the HUs and disable functions on lesser models.
Overall I still like the unit. I would be pissed if I paid the $500+ MSRP that some sites claim or even $250+ that most sites are selling it for. I don't know how the one company on ebay is selling for $119, but it's a bargain for that.
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Joined: Aug 2011
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From: Dandridge TN
Here are the pictures with the 99-3300. It looks much better and is recessed almost to the point where the door just clears when opening for DVD. The radio is back as far as it can go. I had to bend the OEM radio mount down slightly and remove a cable bracket across the back to provide additional clearance. This I can live with.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...ionewmount.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...outconsole.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...ionewmount.jpg
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...outconsole.jpg
future mod noted.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2011
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From: Southeastern Michigan
Pretty cool,
I'm partial to pioneer as well but for the money this one might be a good alternative
Does it have a high pass filter for the speakers?
Does it have a low/high pass filter for the subwoofer?
I'm partial to pioneer as well but for the money this one might be a good alternative
Does it have a high pass filter for the speakers?
Does it have a low/high pass filter for the subwoofer?
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Joined: Aug 2011
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From: Dandridge TN
Unfortunately not. It has a subwoofer output (so low pass) but it isn't adjustable anywhere I can find other than level. No high pass that I can se, just full range x 4 RCA and speakers. It does have 2 video outputs and a video camera input. That would be cool to add. I drove a rental car recently with a backup cam and they become addictive.
