Downsides to going with aftermarket head unit?
 

I've purchased a Pioneer AppRadio 2 and am planning on swapping out the factory 16:9 navigation head unit and DSP amp with the AR2 and an aftermarket five-channel amp to the factory speakers. I know I'll lose the ability to interface with the on-board computer through the head unit, but that doesn't seem a like a big loss to me. The information will still appear on the MID in the cluster, right? And with the OBD adapter and an app like DashCommand, I'll be able to pull up even more detailed info on the car, engine, etc. than the factory computer currently gives me.

For those of you who have made the switch, are there any other negatives that I'm not thinking about? Biggest regret, if any, in getting rid of the factory system?

Well, besides the fact that it will look less then appealing, you will also lose the ability to set and reset everything that was done in the mid, ie. Clock, date, etc.

i believe you will also lose your steering wheel controls. thats why i stayed with the stock head unit/navigation and upgraded everything else around it.

You can retain SWC with aftermarket peices if they have an input. Most do. It will require a additional module/install/programming however. Pretty easy to do.

Indeed, and I'm planning on doing so.

The AR2 has a giant digital clock display on its home screen, so I'm not very worried about time/date functions through the car. I've got the Metra double-din dash kit for E53s. To me, it looks pretty good in person, and the pictures of installations I've seen online look fairly nice. Not factory, but I'll deal with a less-than-stock look in exchange for 2013 technology in my dash as opposed to 2005. No offense to those who still enjoy trying to remember which CD is in which slot of their six-disc changers, though. ;)

Keep in mind that it is not only clock and date functions. It is any functions that you directly input through the mid, all of those functions will be lost. There is quite a bit. I figured the same as you when I gutted my e39 and installed an entire aftermarket system in it, the function of what I got was well above the form. I wont be taking the same approach with my e53 however, If I need nav, which it looks like I will, I will be doing a factory retrofit. I assume you had the standard mid in yours? Also, if I could say one thing about the dash kit you get, go with the Janus Designs one, they are hands down the best looking kit which retain the factory lines of the e38/9/53 cars. They are a little bit more expensive, but again IMO worth it. If you are creative enough, you can order a factory bmw kit and modify it to fit a double din...thats what I did with my e39.

good luck!

I have factory navigation. Having tried to live with it for a few weeks, I personally would prefer just about any aftermarket option over it. (And I don't even really need to use it very often at all.) Extremely clunky interface, no touchscreen, very dated-looking maps, fonts, etc. I gave up on it and just started using Google's free turn-by-turn on my phone.

Besides setting the time and date, fuel consumption/range is the only other thing I've seen on the OBC menu that I would use. And as I said above, an app like DashCommand is going to give me much more detailed information than the factory OBC through the current head unit. Other than that, I'm really not sure what else I'm missing that would be a big loss.

I have seen some other dash kits, including a very nice-looking but completely comical price-wise model from Japan...literally twice the cost of the new head unit I'd be putting in the middle of their lovely piece of plastic:

BMW x5 E53 Double DIN Dash Kit Factory Nav | eBay

The Janus is nice, and maybe I'll change my mind after I live with the Metra kit for a while. But right now I'd rather put the extra $120-130 different in cost toward a better five-channel amplifier. Or a JL Audio Stealthbox to replace the factory "subwoofers".

Do you have any pictures of your custom E39 kit? I have to say I'd probably do more harm than good if I tried a custom job like that. But if yours looks good enough, it might inspire me to try to overcome my craftsmanship deficiencies.

Ha Ha, yes I agree with you, "clunky" at best. This time for me, I believe the looks overcome the function so I will be doing the retrofit.

Heres a pic of the Bezel I made for my E39, she's in the garage torn apart a bit so when the dash is armor all'd there is no color difference between the bezel and the dash. It worked out pretty well, but I have been working in the car audio field for most of my life.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f1...ps6a776dea.jpg

I did the titanium inserts at the same time.

I will also be doing a JL SB in mine, everybody I have talked to in the industry says its the best way to go. The only thing I dont like is that it comes with a W1, I may switch mine out to a W3, I dont think theres enough room to fit a W6.

I went a bit of a different route, mounting the head unit in a more "natural" angle --- it points more toward the driver and les toward the roof. Made the bezel myself as well. I was never a fan of any of the dash kit solutions....here's mine :):

http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/t...9F1B1B6946.jpg
http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/t...9F15613840.jpg

CLEAN looking install X5SND, but don't you find the angle looking *down* on the head, relative to seating position. PLUS, it sorta kills the flow of the console.