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Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 6526
Reg: 10-2005

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011 - 07:08 am, by:  Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I just cut all the old plugs out and installed a ISO plug set - ripped out all the unnecessary wiring and boxes, replaced the factory amp/nav unit with a Sony amp. Took ages but was well worth it, as a few years later I changed from a Panasonic head unit to a JVC (for bluetooth), and all I had to do was buy a JVC to ISO harness, unplug the Panasonic unit, and plug the JVC one right in. Took less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1667
Reg: 07-2005

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011 - 07:40 am, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I bought a Sony to ISO harness, and an ISO to early Toyota harness (Aeropro, through Ebay) and it was dead simple- no cutting or splicing whatsoever. My problem is the stereo mount, as I reused the original frame: there were only two holes in the Sony "mounting box" to put screws in, and that left the headunit in the way of the sonsole surround when I refitted it, and unable to fit the fascia plate. I've checked out the Metra site, and their pics seem to have the stereo "protruding" a bit so that the box is poking out from dash, but the plate then covers (and clips to) the mounting box. EBay in US seem to have a lot of double-DIN kits, I've emailed a couple to obtain a Metra single-DIN kit (they're quite cheap, about USD15-17- postage varies markedly between suppliers though). One cam back and asked what harnesses I need! I don't need any, the Au product is perfect for the job.
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 6527
Reg: 10-2005

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Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 06:34 am, by:  Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I did not use the mounting box on either the Panasonic head unit, or the replacement JVC.

I simply unscrewed the old OEM unit from the mounting bracket, then screwed the new head unit into the mounting bracket - put the stereo mounting box back in the box along with the plastic fascia surround, bought a 1 DIN pocket from the local stereo place, glued some felt to the top of it so it didn't rattle against the stereo, screwed it into the OEM mounting bracket underneath the new stereo, and filed down the bottom edge of the pocket with a dremal until I could fit the original facia surround over the top of the new stereo and pocket - then put it all back together. Looks pretty factory - no gaps or holes anywhere, and both the Panasonic and the JVC sat/sit very flush. There are some pictures around here somewhere...

Ah, here it is...

http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/messages/13208/339874.html

Since this was taken I've re-mounted the pocket so it fits in behind the fascia surround again.
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1668
Reg: 07-2005

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Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 04:26 pm, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

A very neat installation, Matthew:-)
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 6529
Reg: 10-2005

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Friday, December 30, 2011 - 06:27 am, by:  Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks! Sounds pretty good too - really the factory speakers are pretty good if you don't want super high volume - the amp is the bottom of the line Sony Xplod unit, but drives the factory sub just fine and fits really nicely where the factory satnav/amp used to sit - out of sight.

How are you getting on? Any progress getting the fit you want?
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1669
Reg: 07-2005

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Friday, December 30, 2011 - 07:57 am, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Matthew Sharpe wrote on Friday, December 30, 2011 - 06:27 am:

How are you getting on? Any progress getting the fit you want?




No change- I've been trying to track down a Metra kit in US that doesn't have ridiculous postage and seem now to have done so.

It's interesting to hear about the factory speakers- I had heard they were reasonable quality, but on my most recent long trip, where I was alone, had the volume cranked up and there was an annoying buzz from back speakers, which didn't entirely disappear until the volume was quite low. I may have damaged them:-). One reason I wanted to change the HU was every CD that came out of the std unit was really hot, bizarrely so.

I may later replace the back speakers, and possibly put a woofer (8-10") in the hole where the factory sub-woofer would go. The Sony unit has the ability to run a "sub-woofer" with 70 watts available, which cuts out many subs as they an amp and require lots of power, I don't want to make my ears bleed or doof-doof the whole town, just a bit of fill-in bass.

First though I have to get the HU installed properly.
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1676
Reg: 07-2005

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Monday, January 09, 2012 - 06:56 pm, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Still awaiting the Metra kit. I've taken a look at the rear speakers (well, a feel actually, what a mongrel job getting the parcel shelf off, I just took the front two plug thingies off and lifted it).

After getting the round gauze cover off, I could feel a large tear in the cone on right rear, which explains the annoying buzz at quite low volume levels. Age and hot climate I guess.

I have a question of the hifi gurus- is it possible to fit the mid speaker from a split system, alone, in the rear, leaving aside the tweeters? There seem to be few mid/bass speakers around, and it appears coaxial speakers don't work too well in the rear (at least, my reading suggests this, you should, apparently, chop out the frequencies at which tweeters work, so it's useless having them in the first place). I guess it might be possible to put the spare tweeters in the front, should those speakers die.

I have another question, which I might put to use later- is it possible, if one fits an amplifier, to run the rear speakers from it? I ask, because I may fit a subwoofer or woofer in the middle position (not of dramatic power, just for bass fill) and while there is apparently 70w available from the headunit to run a subwoofer, I'm concerned about heat buildup. The back of the unit became extremely hot while I was setting up my preferences, and not on extreme volume, either, setting 22 of 50. Would having a rear amplifier reduce heat buildup at the headunit?
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1677
Reg: 07-2005

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 06:57 am, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

With the rear speakers being knackered, I've faded towards the front- only to have left front speaker "buzzing" a bit on high volume. I pulled door card off yesterday, and found speaker to be apparently intact and not buzzing on high volume with liner off. Noted "10w" on the speaker housing- is that all the door speakers are? There seems to be very few non-coaxial 4" speakers available- what have audiophiles replaced them with? I gather from other threads that it has been with custom builds and larger speakers- not a route I'd want to go down should I ever need to replace the door speakers. What happens to stock tweeter setup if one can only find 4" coaxials (meaning, presumably, there'd be an extra pair of tweeters)?
Tai Johnsen
Goo Roo
QLD
JZZ30 Pov Manual LSD & black!

Posts: 1135
Reg: 04-2006

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 10:06 am, by:  Tai Johnsen (Privatejohnsen) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

You can just run a standard 4 inch and disable to built in tweeter by cutting a wire to the tweeter. 10w sounds right.. Have a look at the nominal RMS figure of most speakers and they will be quite low especially for 4 inchers.. They are just an efficient paper cone..

You could also just run both tweeters (lots of coaxial's have a +3db switch anyway) or not hook up the factory tweeters and run the new speakers tweeter..
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1681
Reg: 07-2005

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 01:07 pm, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


Tai Johnsen wrote on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 10:06 am:

You could also just run both tweeters (lots of coaxial's have a +3db switch anyway) or not hook up the factory tweeters and run the new speakers tweeter..




If I do end up with coaxials (depends on what comes up on Ebay:-)) I won't need the tweeter frequencies from the back (the door location is the best possible, without putting them in/on the dash) so I may disable them for the rear position.
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1682
Reg: 07-2005

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 06:55 pm, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Metra kit arrived today, took longer to fit than I would have liked, and not at all impressed with the strength and quality. I'm sorely tempted to take it out again, and just use the pocket, to get the spacing on the standard steel brackets right (which would mean drilling some holes in it) although there'd be nowhere on which to mount the pocket- not that the Metra brackets have much in the way of mounts for the pocket and top spacer (between HU and a/c control). There are pins on the pocket which fit into shallow sockets on the Metra frame, held there by nothing but the console trim pushing down on the pins once it's fitted.

There is no way I'd mount a 2DIN radio using these brackets- they're so weak, I worry about the weight of a single DIN HU. Not only are they vastly weaker than the standard brackets, but they lose two bolted mounting points, the socket to steady the hazard and temp control looms, and the tongues which fit into the large white loom connector which sits under the HU, behind the ashtray.

I think part of my problems with the standard brackets came from insisting on using the "mounting box".

I might take a couple of pics tomorrow, and post them up, in case anyone else is thinking of a Metra kit.
Robert Faggian
TryHard
Victoria
V8

Posts: 227
Reg: 02-2009

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Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 08:30 pm, by:  Robert Faggian (Tanooki_suit) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I've used a metra kit and have similar concerns. With my install, the lower right hand bracket seems to interfere with the ashtray lid mechanism such that it won't open. And as you say, the pocket just sits there and is held in by friction, but I've never had a problem with it moving. Although, I did tighten the fit by pulling the pins closer together with a bit of wire. Despite its shortcomings, the metra kit looks a lot better than having nothing there.
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1687
Reg: 07-2005

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Thursday, January 12, 2012 - 09:51 pm, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I chopped the Metra kit somewhat today, and used the standard metal frame, with just a little grinding to clear the "pocket sockets". I also cut 3 of the four pathetic Metra "mounting legs" off (not sure why I left the 4th one!).

Some pics:


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I haven't tried to fit the new setup yet, this was done after work and I ran out of light and energy.
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 6547
Reg: 10-2005

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Friday, January 13, 2012 - 06:56 am, by:  Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Looks like its going to be pretty flush now Mike - problem solved?
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1690
Reg: 07-2005

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Friday, January 13, 2012 - 01:02 pm, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The only problem was that the steel frame was a bit wider, so inner top right mounting hole was about 8mm out, so didn't put the bolt in there, and the one remaining Metra mounting leg got in the way of the ashtray mechanism so it got the chop too!

So all the Metra kit offered was a better way to marry up the steel frame to the HU, and the pocket... Not worth the money, frankly, and disappointing to see such crap come out of the US. To be fair though, it's designed for Lexus SCs so some of the stuff in there is reversed, maybe the ashtray binding doesn't happen. Frankly, you'd have rocks in your head to use the Metra kit to mount a 2DIN HU, much better off reusing the std frame and filling the remaining 1/2 DIN with suitable pocket.

Pics will follow, not quite finished yet.
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1694
Reg: 07-2005

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Friday, January 13, 2012 - 06:41 pm, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Finally got it together, the last plastic leg on Metra kit "got the chop". The result is OK, better than a head unit sitting in a 2.5DIN hole, but not anything to rave about.

The wires in the pocket were for a digital ambient temp gauge which I may have knackered- had to extend the wires and got them mixed up.


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Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 6549
Reg: 10-2005

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Monday, January 16, 2012 - 12:58 pm, by:  Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Looks pretty good to me! Can always use some black foam rubber to fill any gaps.
Jesse Webber
Tinkerer
Victoria
JZZ31 3.0L N/A G-Pack

Posts: 12
Reg: 03-2011

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Monday, January 16, 2012 - 06:54 pm, by:  Jesse Webber (Jessewebber) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)


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This is the Metra 2 Din dash kit in mine, they're made for the left hand drive soarer, so you have too drill a few holes to make it fit perfect. The plastics kinda flimsy
and you won't be able to open the ash tray after it's installed, But I think it's pretty good.
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack

Posts: 1697
Reg: 07-2005

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Monday, January 16, 2012 - 07:48 pm, by:  Mike Triggs (Mikeandimah) Quote hilighted text Edit Post Delete Post Print Post   View Post/Check IP (Moderator/Admin Only) Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Looks good, Jesse. My objection to the Metra kit is a) cost from US b) its flimsy construction. If I were fitting a 2DIN stereo (I have a beauty in the back room- but it's Japanese radio freqs and I don't need the moveable face for cassettes and CDs because I don't use cassettes any more!) I would simply reuse the standard brackets, which are strong and beautifully made. They'd require only slight modification, in my view, such as grinding the "nipples" off, which face the inside to locate in detents in the sides of the std stereo.

The only really useful piece in the 2DIN setup is the nice surround...

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