Couple of navigation questions
 

I'm looking at two '11 vettes, one with navigation and the other without. Questions about the nav unit: One, can a destination be programmed in while the vehicle is traveling (safely, by the co-pilot of course). Second, how fast does it calculate route changes? Several years ago I had a Pioneer that used CDs and it was slow as molasses if you didn't exactly follow the route.
Thanks, guys.

a. No. There are ways around it but the stock unit blocks playing with it while in motion.

b. fairly quickly

Z//

Ways around it?

No you cant program the nav while the car is in motion. I dont know if there is a way around it or not.

Is it fast? In my opinion not really and yes you have to have the nav disk in the unit. But its better than nothing in my opinion.

Yes. It's a hardware solution. You can install a switch that disconnects a wire to the nav unit and prevents the thing from realizing the car is moving - so it doesn't shut things down. But once you connect the wire again it take a little bit for the unit to get it's bearings again.

Here's one thread with a how-to:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...e-driving.html

Be sure to read the entire thread as he updates the solution a bit later on.

As for how fast it recovers when you miss a turn, I know mine figures it out and offers alternatives pretty quickly - for sure before I hit the next signal when on city streets.

Z//

:iagree:

ah..
 

The best part is if you have HUD, it puts the streets and turn on the windshield so you don't have to look down...:thumbs:

In general the Nav system isn't really very modern. That being said, it is usable and works real well with the HUD.

The biggest plus for buying the Nav system in a 2011 (and the entire reason I bought it in mine) is to get the USB port for plugging in either an iPod/iPhone or (even better) a little USB thumb drive full of music. I've got this tiny 32Gb USB thumb drive with thousands of songs, podcasts and audio books on it:

http://www.corvettenews.com/images/LexarDrive.jpg

I think you can plug a cable from the headphone jack of any device into the other little port, but I've never done it.

You can pre-enter destinations and select them on the fly but you can't start from scratch and enter a destination without stopping unless you modify the unit. There are DIYs here to do that. I've never found it an issue. I have entered all the places I normally go and, when I'm going somewhere new I just enter it before I start off. Worst case would be you have to pull into a parking lot for a minute to enter a new destination.

Recalculation is very fast in my opinion. Usually just a few seconds.

Other than the HUD feature, I would never use the Nav System in a Corvette as a buying determination between 2 cars - it's not that good to swing my preference

Also, even with the stock unit the first page of "Previous Destinations" can be accessed while in motion.

:iagree:

Also, you can program in way points and other destinations that can be selected while moving. You might be able to accomplish your goals that way,

you CAN enter info while in motion if you add the Lockpick 360-2

However your better off with spending the money on aftermarket vrs tossing 300.00 into a Lockpick is what I tell everyone

Buy the one without the NAV, pocket the $1750, then spend ~$100 for a Garmin. My 40LM that I bought at Best Buy for $85 lets you make entries on the fly, and has lifetime free map updates. GM updates their NAV once a year and a new CD costs $200 compared to FREE updates every three months with my Garmin. I don't need the NAV tied in with the HUD as the lady that lives in my Garmin, tells me what direction to turn, gives the street's name and the distance to the turn. I don't have to look down at the NAV or refocus my eyes to read the HUD. I just listen to what the kind lady tells me and then I use my eyeballs to look for the street name ahead of me instead of looking at the HUD. If she tells me to turn right on Main street in 500 feet, that's what I do. No need to look for arrows and street names on either the NAV screen or the HUD display.

If I'm driving along in an unfamiliar area and am wondering what the speed limit is, I glance at the Garmin's screen(no need to touch the screen) and it tells me what the speed limit is and also gives me my speed, but in color. If I'm below the speed limit, my speed is displayed in green, and if I'm above the posted speed limit, my speed is displayed in red.

I have the factory NAV in my Z06 but don't use it. I would rather have the 6 disc CD player(and my $1750 back) then the single disc CD player that comes with the factory NAV.

There are those that find the factory NAV okay and one of our forum members wrote a manual so we could understand how to use the Factory NAV. It's posted and if you want to run copies, so you have it in the car at all times, it's about 50 pages long. Personally, any object that takes 50 pages of written instructions to operate isn't for me, when I can spend $85 for a Garmin that doesn't come with a manual. It doesn't need a manual, as it's very intuitive to use, unlike the factory NAV.

I've found that the factory NAV screen is virtually unreadable do to glare on the screen when the sun is behind me. With the Garmin, mounted on a special holder that sits in the cup holder, I can move the screen around to eliminate the glare. Can't do that with the factory NAV as the screen isn't movable.

Many(most?) complain that the factory NAV is outdated and hasn't been updated since 2005. That's true, and most likely won't be updated until the C7 is released. With the Garmin, they are constantly coming out with updated unit's. For less then one year's updated disc($200), I can buy a new Garmin every year with money left over to buy gas to get the Z06 out where I might need to use the NAV.

All above is valid advice but for my .02: The system works well and I would not want to give up the integration with the HUD - I really like that feature. All Nav systems have their warts. I have three different systems - The Denso in the Vette, Alpine in the CTS and a Garmin Nuvi in the Truck. None are perfect.

A simple "fix" for the "in motion" problem is an inline switch on the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensing) line to the Nav. There are several sets of "how to" directions on the Forum. Search will turn it up. If you are handy, it isn't complicated.

Check this out by member Ray Kawal: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...n-systems.html

Let me share my experience with you. I ordered a 09 vert, ordered it so I could get exactly what I wanted, well I read all the posts on this forum about how bad the factory nav is and how it is a waste of money and I should just install a aftermarket unit. That was one big mistake, I went to a few shops to ask what to buy, no one was in agreement on what was needed, all spoke of many modules that were needed for Bluetooth, sat radio etc, and do not forget that the HUD will not work with it. I went to one shop that was doing an install, I saw the whole dash ripped apart and a million wires everywhere, I felt that the car would never be the same. I found I was in full jealousie of any car with factory nav, so much so I traded the car in for one with nav. Very very expensive exercise.

The OEM NAV is not great but it is ok. Unlike other options it looks stock and like it is part of the car. It is not the easiest NAV to use on the market but it is easy to use once you get use to it. I read maps the night before and I keep "B_tching Betty" off. Even my Garmin got me lost in Fresno before. I only seem to get lost when I listen to a NAV unit.

We all agree on the much cheaper, much better Garmins and Tom Toms, but the car I am interested in just happens to have one. Nice to know that there is a solution (like the Pioneer Z3 bypass in my late lamented C5.)

Thanks for the education guys. :thumbs:

:iagree: Many of the after market units I have seen look like a 12 year old installed them. I have seen a few that looked ok. I like the stock look though.

[QUOTE=JoesC5; "I've found that the factory NAV screen is virtually unreadable do to glare on the screen when the sun is behind me. With the Garmin, mounted on a special holder that sits in the cup holder, I can move the screen around to eliminate the glare. Can't do that with the factory NAV as the screen isn't movable."

I was considering replacing the factory NAV with an aftermarket unit but the glare problem would affect any built in system. I purchased a portable Garmin unit that can be moved to eliminate glare.

The Garmin can also give traffic information that is not available on the OEM unit (although available on Kenwood and possibly other aftermarket units.)