| slackass |
| I hope this works. I got the kit today and got it installed. It took me about 30 minutes. The kit is pretty nice for the price. There are several ways to mount the head unit to the kit. I chose to mount the head to the factory brackets and basically just used the kit as the face plate. I just like the head unit being good and solid and have never been a fan of the slide-n-snap cages. I hope the pics turn out ok. |
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| slackass |
| This shot of the kit installed with my Alpine IVA-C800. |
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| slackass |
| Pic of head unit opened. The only bad thing about mounting in the upper Din slot with a screen is the screen covers the trip computer. Makes it kinda tuff to get to the buttons. The black of the kit does not quite match but, it could be painted. It looks alot better than the pic. My cheap digital camera does not do sharp colors. I need to take some pics with my good camera. |
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| DaleB |
| So is the next step wiring adapters to plug into the stock Acura wiring? So we can take premium head units with decent built-in amps to power the 4 door speakers, and preamp outputs if you still want to use an external amp, and of course to run an ext. amp for the sub. |
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| ron@se |
quote:
Originally posted by DaleB
So is the next step wiring adapters to plug into the stock Acura wiring? So we can take premium head units with decent built-in amps to power the 4 door speakers, and preamp outputs if you still want to use an external amp, and of course to run an ext. amp for the sub.
Wiring adapters are currently available, and we even carry an adapter which will allow you to plug directly into the back of the factory headunit and run either a 2 channel or 4 channel amp, and not lose ANY functions, including the navigation/on star voice |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by ron@se
Wiring adapters are currently available, and we even carry an adapter which will allow you to plug directly into the back of the factory headunit and run either a 2 channel or 4 channel amp, and not lose ANY functions, including the navigation/on star voice
We have arrived. |
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| kishino |
quote:
Originally posted by ron@se
Wiring adapters are currently available, and we even carry an adapter which will allow you to plug directly into the back of the factory headunit and run either a 2 channel or 4 channel amp, and not lose ANY functions, including the navigation/on star voice
Ron, are you selling this adapter separately? I am very interested. I am still thinking about installing my Alpine 5 channel amp I bought from you awhile back for my old BMW. So this adapter should plug right into the back of the HU and then I can just run RCA wires to the amp? |
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| ron@se |
| Yup, we have a couple in stock, and that's all you do, unplug the main harness to the headunit, plug this harness and box in, and plug the factory harness back into this new unit. The unit has RCA's out, and adjustments for levels and everything...GREAT piece! |
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| kishino |
quote:
Originally posted by ron@se
Yup, we have a couple in stock, and that's all you do, unplug the main harness to the headunit, plug this harness and box in, and plug the factory harness back into this new unit. The unit has RCA's out, and adjustments for levels and everything...GREAT piece!
Just PMed you on the adapter plug. Reserve a plug for me!! |
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| neide |
When you say "loses no fuctions", I'm betting you're not talking about keeping the steering wheel radio controls?
And what brands of aftermarket radios do you have harnesses for? |
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| ron@se |
| You don't lose ANY functions of the factory headunit at all....nothing. The piece is a plug, which emulates the factory plug, and a 2 channel or 4 channel box, which the factory plug from the headunit will now plug into, and this box back into the headunit. |
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| foobar |
hi slackass,
i'm trying to get this part i have called 4 places around my area and metra - they're all no help to me (they either can't order 1 item or they don't sell it unless i also do some installation - but i have nothing for them to install, i just need the kit to replace my current "kit"). if it's not too much trouble i would like to know if you can get this for me. i will be glad to send you MO payment first and then you can order once you receive funds from me. if yes, please send me email at bly@castle.net / bly at castle.net - and we can take it offline. if not, i'll see if anybody else can help me.
thank you. |
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| slackass |
| foobar and ron@se...I sent you both some mail. |
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| pacpal1 |
| Guys (probably ron@se)...any advice on how to refinish this faceplate so it matches the factory grey plastic screen frame located above the radio? |
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| pacpal1 |
Here's my Metra kit, installed. I've never attached a photo on this site...let's see if I can do it first time up:
Image resized by Warzau |
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| Captain MDX |
| :eek: what did you do to that picture? I can barley see a thing. |
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| Warzau |
quote:
Originally posted by pacpal1
Guys (probably ron@se)...any advice on how to refinish this faceplate so it matches the factory grey plastic screen frame located above the radio?
Honestly, prep and then spray both with a plastic/vinyl spray paint. |
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| pacpal1 |
| Ooops...how bout this one: |
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| slackass |
| You know, Warzau has a very good idea. Take both units apart and spray them both the same color. That should make for a very good match. I am going to have to think about that one. |
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| pacpal1 |
Sorry about the photos guys...if anyone can explain to me how to attach a properly sized photo, I'll try again!
Anyway, as far as the Metra kit is concerned, I'm satisfied overall...it beats the alternative of fabricating a kit from scratch (I had recently removed the faceplate from my Bose radio and was VERY close to using it as the base for a customized faceplate). Once again, I prefer to do things the easy way, as long as it doesn't impair the sound quality of the system or look too cheesy. I think you can see from the photo I posted above (sorry for the size), that the Metra kit is not EXACTLY the correct size...it's a milimeter or so too small around the edges. However, the curvature is correct...and that's probably more important. In addition, it has a rough finish that doesn't exactly match the frame of the navigation screen. I think Metra tried to impart this rough finish to mimick the slightly orange peel finish of the navigation screen...or maybe the finish helps the kit retain paint. Anyway, if I had it to do over again, I'd sand down the face of the Metra kit very slightly. Given the time savings and my overall result, I can certainly live with the slight size issue that's visible around the edges and the slightly more orange peel finish on the Metra unit.
You might not even be able tell from the photo attached above, but I painted the navigation screen frame the same color as I used on the faceplate (it's kind of a metalic grey)...I did because I decided that I'd never be able to match the factory color (look carefully under sunlight...it's a very unusual mix...sort of a grey/brown with red metalic flakes). So, after much contemplation, I decided that the best solution was for the navigation screen frame color to match the Metra kit, in other words, I chose to eliminate the potential distraction that would exist if two adjacent dash pieces contrasted in color. I'm very pleased with this decision and recommend anyone following in my footsteps consider this strategy (unless you can get your hands on the exact paint that Acura uses). I had orignally hoped that the navigation screen disassembled so I could paint it without having to do any masking...this isn't the case...unless you are really confident that you can disconnect some very delicate looking electronics within the navigation screen. Instead, I used newspaper to mask the screen itself (on the edges, use one layer of narrow newsprint strips (1/4 inch wide)...wedge them into the area between the screen itself and the frame (push down a little on the screen...there's enough room to wedge one sheet of newsprint all the way around). Also use newsprint to mask the buttons. As long as your color choice is close to the original factory color, the factory color buttons won't stand out at all. Remember, don't over paint or you'll create a bond between the newsprint the paint and the navigation screen itself (I was very paranoid about this...and it didn't happen)! I was very careful to spray from at least 10 inches from the surface. I also used a primer coat just in case, although I'm not sure if it was necessary.
By the way, notice that I removed the pocket and enlared the space below the main DIN sized opening to accomodate the 11 band graphic equalizer. |
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