After Market ICE Units

[wixer]

Happy new year everyone.

I'm contemplating whether to change the standard cassette/radio for a more modern unit, with satnav, bluetooth etc. So I'm interested in what members have done, what units & whether they would recommend their choice.

Thanks

Wix

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Really depends on the user interface for the input, what features/operations you want inside the cabin and what level of audio quality for the output.

I'm not an audio guru so I'll leave the discussion such as wiring, AMP, speaker, DSP, etc.

You can leave the OEM head unit as it is and never use it again.
Instead, install Bluetooth receiver, smart devices, etc somewhere inside the cabin.
Connect mobile phone, touch display or whatever I/F and use voice command, etc to control the source, volume, etc.

The technology is still evolving every day and there are already 1,000s of devices available.
It's up to one's creativity/idea on how to configure these to achieve one's demand.
The car manufactures, authorities, etc are looking into how to connect the car to the net in order to improve safety, traffic flow, etc and 5G is one of the early phase for this.
Thus, something achieved today could be outdated within short period.


Some owners went with Willmans head unit modifications.
If you search using the keyword ' willmans site:nsxprime.com ', you will find many examples.
One of them here; http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/206705-Willmans-Kenwood-replacement-head-unit


If your existing OEM head unit/amp/speaker are still healthy and operational, you could connect audio adaptor at the CD changer port and use the buttons/knobs of the OEM head unit to control the source, volume, play list, etc.
The popular choices are the GROM and the USA Spec devices but I think the latter one is NLA so probably GROM is the safe choice.
GROM also offers the Bluetooth receiver.

GROM example;
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/blog.php?1811-Today-at-Atelier-Kaz-Private-NSX-Enthusiast-ex-Honda-R-amp-D-engineer-with-F1-Indy-CART-background&tag=grom

USA Spec example but most likely NLA so just information only;
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/blog.php?1811-Today-at-Atelier-Kaz-Private-NSX-Enthusiast-ex-Honda-R-amp-D-engineer-with-F1-Indy-CART-background&tag=usa+spec


Above are just some examples to get ideas and you can do many things even with the current technology.
The cost and the looks are different story....


Kaz

[britlude]

It depends entirely how comfortable you are having your own centre console chopped up to fit a double din unit in if you want the benefits of a satnav screen in a single unit!

You can get the nav pod option, but then you still need to sort a screen that'll fit it and the associated wiring etc to get it working..

Depends entirely on what way you want to go, OEM look, keeping the existing stereo and trendy cassette player, or use one of the hundreds of stereo's out there!!!

[wixer]

Thanks for the replies so far, Kaz & Jon.

I'd try & source another console, so I can put back to standard when I needed to. I'm thinking of direct replacement for the head unit, with a link lead into the standard harness connectors, so an off the shelf aftermarket unit is preferable, that has all the 'mod-cons' built in, so there's no need for link leads etc.

I've looked at the Willman conversion before but I think it's a bit expensive & I'd rather have the original unit ready to be put back in, rather than have it adapted.

So basically, if anyone has fitted a more modern double din unit, with sat-nav, bluetooth DAB, what did you fit & is it any good ?

[Pride]

I've looked at the Willman conversion before but I think it's a bit expensive & I'd rather have the original unit ready to be put back in, rather than have it adapted.

So basically, if anyone has fitted a more modern double din unit, with sat-nav, bluetooth DAB, what did you fit & is it any good ?

Having owned a car stereo shop for many years it would be very wise as you can imagine to stick with the big brands if you want almost total reliability and best quality.
It is a real mine field of choice out there so if you can find a quality incar entertainment speacalist around Coventry or Birmingham at least you will be able to narrow it down on ease of use.
My order of preference in make would be:
Alpine
Pioneer
Kenwood

I used to fit customers own supplied far eastern/Chinese all singing all dancing head units and most had sound quality issues (interference and distortion) or just poor reliability, although as you will no doubt see on line the price is the big draw to buy.
But as I always told the customers "you only get what you pay for", and that's particularly true with micro electronics devices.

I personally kept the oem Bose head unit and installed devices of the back of it including everything and more of what you're looking for.
Good luck anyway.

[Pride]

I managed to dig out the magazine review from year 2000 (20 years ago would you believe, unbelievable) and the system is still going strong:

13840 13841 13842 13843 13844

Hope you can read it Wixer and it gives you some sort of idea of what I mean.

[nobby]

Everything in responses so far is 100%

I went the double din route and have a Pioneer unit installed in my car for a number of years now and its been great.

when i bought my car the previous owner(s) had taken the original system out and put a single din in. it was not installed properly and all a bit of a mess so i had to fix it. so i opted on the back of the same reasons as yourself, sat nav, mobile connectivitiy, proper audio (cassettes are dead). Even though i never had the original system in my car I still would have done an update. I use my car and have done plenty of miles and I love my music etc so this was DEFINITELY a change for me

I am hoping to update my headunit at somepoint in the near future and will either go for Alpine of Pioneer.

Keep in mind Kaz's info re the Bose speaker system and how it is powered etc as your head unit will have its own amplification etc.

I removed the Bose system from my car as its old and really the qaulity is nothing compared to newer component systems. I run a Pioneer H/U wuth JL Audio component speakers, subwoofer (6" custom box similar to OEM in passenger footwell) and amplifier. My car retains original interior look and no alterations to door cards etc was made.

Keep a healthy budget in mind when doing this as stated above. You get what you pay for especially in ICE.

Please keep us posted on what you decide. Any other questions fire away!

[Heineken]

Maybe just one small note from a "keep it stock" guy (like me)

The OEM head unit's front is not perfectly square but slightly wider on the top than at the bottom. This was very likely done to give it a nice proportional look as the center console gets narrower further down, too.
When an aftermarket unit (with a perfectly square front) is installed it looks a tad bit off but that's just my 2 cents :)

[wixer]

Update to my thread, as I've got a bit of time on my hands at the moment !

I decided on the Grom interface option, rather than a replacement head unit, as I only really listen to two radio stations in the UK and listen to music from a USB device, which is what I would listen to on any Euro trip. I also included the Bluetooth interface option as well.

Installation, pretty straight forward, just remove the centre console and associated units, found a place to mount the Grom unit and wire in the phone microphone next to the rear view mirror.

I could've done the whole thing in one day but the Mrs suggested that I might want to drag the job out over a few weeks, as the chances of getting the car back on the road for the beginning of April, was not going happen. So the job was started a month ago and finished this morning.

13883

Mounting the Grom unit.

13884

13885

Routing the wiring for the microphone.

13886

13887

Testing the USB.

13888

USB connector in centre console.
13889

[scottg]

I was considering a Grom for my car there is a vendor on ebay. It looks like you get the unit and the wiring but they do not specify one for an NSX, can I ask where you sourced yours please


Update to my thread, as I've got a bit of time on my hands at the moment !

I decided on the Grom interface option, rather than a replacement head unit, as I only really listen to two radio stations in the UK and listen to music from a USB device, which is what I would listen to on any Euro trip. I also included the Bluetooth interface option as well.

Installation, pretty straight forward, just remove the centre console and associated units, found a place to mount the Grom unit and wire in the phone microphone next to the rear view mirror.

I could've done the whole thing in one day but the Mrs suggested that I might want to drag the job out over a few weeks, as the chances of getting the car back on the road for the beginning of April, was not going happen. So the job was started a month ago and finished this morning.

13883

Mounting the Grom unit.

13884

13885

Routing the wiring for the microphone.

13886

13887

Testing the USB.

13888

USB connector in centre console.
13889

[Kaz-kzukNA1]

Don't know from where wixer got his but other owners went with the official GROM distributor for UK market, the carputer-shop.
They have their own shop website but for GROM, they run https://gromaudio.co.uk/

If you visit the GROM audio official site (gromaudio.com), they are listed as the sole partner for UK market.

I installed the model #USB3 for other owners and as far as I know, all of them bought the product through gromaudio.co.uk
If you scroll up to my old post #2, you can find extra info by visiting the link in there.

There are only 2 models available from GROM for NSX, BT3 (GROM-BT3-MBUS) or USB3 (GROM-USB3-MBUS).
As mentioned in post #2, selection depends on what you are after.
For NSX, please make sure to select HON92 as the adaptor cable.


Kaz

[wixer]

Yes, got mine from where Kaz has said.

[scottg]

Thanks Kaz



Don't know from where wixer got his but other owners went with the official GROM distributor for UK market, the carputer-shop.
They have their own shop website but for GROM, they run https://gromaudio.co.uk/

If you visit the GROM audio official site (gromaudio.com), they are listed as the sole partner for UK market.

I installed the model #USB3 for other owners and as far as I know, all of them bought the product through gromaudio.co.uk
If you scroll up to my old post #2, you can find extra info by visiting the link in there.

There are only 2 models available from GROM for NSX, BT3 (GROM-BT3-MBUS) or USB3 (GROM-USB3-MBUS).
As mentioned in post #2, selection depends on what you are after.
For NSX, please make sure to select HON92 as the adaptor cable.


Kaz