Pioneer AVIC Z1...installed

[NextGen]

rlouis - your setup is different from mine as I have the dsp amp. I had to completely bypass the factory amp. I am glad you figured out the problem.

I saw a thread here on the roundel install. I liked it a lot. I would want to get another roundel as the test pig though. When you say you took the camera out of its metal casing are you talking about the Pioneer ND-BC1?

[Kryptonite]

Okay, so Im in Houston, and I go to a local car stereo installation place tha't pretty high in recognition for their work. I run down the list of the things I will need installed (being that I have/will have all of these parts myself):

AVIC-Z1
Ducatiboy Bypass
Ipod Interface
Bluetooth Module
PACS Steering Wheel Controls
XM/NAVTRAFFIC Unit
iLink iPod Connection (For Video & 3rd party GUI)
Rear View Camera (w/ Night Vision)
Front View Camera (w/ Night Vision) ["Look Ma, no headlights!"]
Directed Electronics Video Switcher
7" Headrest Monitors
DLS-UP6's in front and rear
JL-Audio Stealthbox
Zapco Reference 360.4
Zapco Reference 350.2

The guy at the counter hits the calculator and comes up with a figure: $2990

Im thinking WTF? I mean, come on - im not asking for custom speaker pillars or some tricked out amp rack - you got to be BS'ing me with 3k for labor only. Did i have written on my face? So, i politely took his card and told him that I would get back to them. Afterwards (and while still in digust), i call another car shop (Mobile One), and they give me a price for under 1K, with a custom bezel for the unit and possibly a falso floor for the amps. The only thing they won't do is bypass the Z1 for full functionality in motion.

What do yall think about this ...

Kryptonite


(Im also pushing this post to a seperate thread, so I won't still anyone's thread thunder...)

[karloz0001]

did you need to wire up a special harness so you can use your factory speakers.

[NextGen]

Originally Posted by karloz0001

did you need to wire up a special harness so you can use your factory speakers.

No. If you have the regular amp then you can connect the Z1 (or any aftermarket radio) directly to it. Just get an aftermarke radio harness. If you have the DSP amp, like I do, then you have to disconnect the speaker wires from it and connect them directly to the Z1.

For now I have directly connected my Z1 to the factory speakers by running speaker wire from the Z1 to the speaker wires that were connected to my DSP amp. Next year I plan to upgrade this setup and connect my Z1 to an amp and then the amp to the speaker wires.

See the 2nd post in this thread for a picture of my wire taps.

[detailersdomain]

wow that is a very nice set up.

[ljnlaw]

Looks great and full iPod integration wow, not easy to find that in many aftermarket head units. I have the Eclipse AVN7000 and not having full iPod integration really sucks. I can only move forward and backwards in a playlist nothing more. Every time I want to switch a genre or playlist I have to unhook the iPod and manually reset is then plug it back in.

[NextGen]

I finally have some time to try and finish up stage 1 of my AVIC install. The next step is the steering wheel. As I mentioned earlier I don't want to cut the steering wheel wire so that something like PAC SWI-PS works properly. Instead I opted for the Z1 remote, the CD-SR1. I have to admit I felt this was a long shot as I don't like how it looks on the steering wheel and I was concerned that it would get in the way of normal driving.

One thing that is weird about this remote is that it has buttons on the front and the back. I can only guess that they did this to minimize the size of the remote while maximizing the number of buttons.


After trying several different positions I ended with it on the side near the head unit. It works best on this side as the remote needs line of sight to communicate with the head unit. It is an infrared red remote.


After a few days of using the remote here is what I think of it.

Pros:

• It is well integrated with the Z1
• It works well on the steering wheel (from a button press standpoint)
• The numerous buttons make it easy to access a lot of features

Cons:

• Infrared red remotes don't work in direct sunlight (very frustating)
• No backlight at night
• The two straps use to hold it in place takes away from the look of the interior
• There is no button to toggle between the navigation map and the current AV source

At the end of the day what I really want from the remote is to control the volume and navigate my music sources. This is where the remote shines. There is no mute button however when you hold one of the volume buttons the volume changes very quickly. So I am okay with volume control.

The 4-way buttons on the remote make it easy to navigate XM when in category mode. XM category mode places all the channels in a category. Pressing up or down on the 4-way cycles the categories while pressing left or right allows you to cycle the channels in the category. This is so convenient that I don't have any channels preset. Navigating iPod is easy for me because I just let the iPod randomly access all songs on it. If a song comes up that I don't want to hear I just click the track button and go to the next song.

Also the remote allows you to access voice control. Earlier I mentioned that it would be nice to have a button that toggles navigation and AV source, well with the voice control button I can click it and say "AV Screen" or "Navigation Screen" and it will go there. I can also say "iPod", "XM", or any valid source that is hooked up. Before you get too excited about this feature there is an issue with how it works.

1.You press the button
2. You wait about 2-3 seconds for the system to beep
3. Now you tell it what to do

I don't know why they put the wait in there. It should beep about 1 second after I press the button. With that said, when I am on a busy freeway it is nice to be able to keep my eyes on the road at all times and still be able to change the source.

When I get bluetooth in stage 2 of my install then I will really be happy with keeping this remote instead of trying to integrate with the steering wheel.

My last 2 steps is to properly hook up the reverse wire and get a bezel.

Oh, I purchased the remote from Tweeter.com for $19.99. For some reason if you go to their website and search for it, the website won't find it, but google does!

[NextGen]

I have attached the owner's manual for the CD-SR1. If you do decide to install it I recommend that you do not cut the straps as the instructions say to do. I found myself needing to readjust the location and it was much easier working with the full straps. I was able to tuck the straps out of the way without cutting them.

PioneerAvicZ1_CDSR1OwnersManual.pdf

[dr.jay]

Did you get a bezel yet?

[NextGen]

Originally Posted by dr.jay

Did you get a bezel yet?

No, not yet. I can't decide if I want all black, all wood, or a combination of both. Right now there is a piece of cardboard surrounding the radio. The guys at BMW service got a big kick out of that when I took it in for my Inspection I service!

I don't have photshop but I did tinker a little in MS Paint.