Custom pop out faceplate (calling tightTT)

[audiFUEGO]

im getting a pioneer flip out dvd, navi, touchscreen, blah blah...

I really like the unit but i hate the aftermarket stereo look... what did you guys do about the faceplate?

could a pay someone to make me one?

[A4_2.8tuner]

haha why did you call those guys? i know Rob is still running a stock unit.


if you're reffering to the filler piece you need to make an aftermarket unit fit, you could use the kits you can buy, or if you wanna get creative, you could buy the kit, and then mold it in. just a thought.

[audiFUEGO]

i thought i saw rob with a pop out in some thread... anyhoo fixed, i know TighTT has a sick setup. His looks like its one piece all the way down to the a/c controls...

what are these kits you speak of?

[Jared71482]

why pioneer? For gods sake, pioneer is sold at walmart. Plus if u want something that will look more "at home" why go with one of the more "flashy" brands with with all the extra lights and crap? Get an alpine or kenwood or something GOOD.

[Mawhitey]

Thats how i did mine.
I moulded the aftermarket parts to the faceplate and then used a thim sheet of self adhesive carbon fibre to cover it. I then threw coat after coat of lauqer on it till the weave was no longer felt. With the odd rub down between coats. I then polished it up. Looks good IMO anyway

[AudiRacerS4]

alain, adams (tightt) car is the same is mine since we are pre-facelift we dont have a double din so we dont need a faceplate when going with an aftermarket headunit that covers the whole dash

[audiFUEGO]

why pioneer? For gods sake, pioneer is sold at walmart. Plus if u want something that will look more "at home" why go with one of the more "flashy" brands with with all the extra lights and crap? Get an alpine or kenwood or something GOOD.

well i already have the pioneer.... had it for a while... avic A-something..


Hey kyle, if i were to get a faceplate from a 99.5 car, would it work and fit in my dash and everything?

[audiFUEGO]

mawhitey, i was thinking about doing that actually. Someone posted a website that sells sheets of raw carbon fiber like that... he was gonna use it for his shifter plate... i gotta dig up that thread somehow...


How hard was it to do that? i thought the CF was hard to bend and get to stay bent?

[TighTT]

why pioneer? For gods sake, pioneer is sold at walmart. Plus if u want something that will look more "at home" why go with one of the more "flashy" brands with with all the extra lights and crap? Get an alpine or kenwood or something GOOD.

Wow...thats a great answer (rolles eyes). Pioneer is junk? After having/using almost every brand on the market of both NAV and regular radio headunits....I can say that Pioneer is good stuff. I have Eclipse in my A4 which is great and just put a Pioneer AVIC-D3 in my Touareg and it ROCKS. Its all about personal preference....as to how the buttons are oriented....how the menu's work, etc.
I guess you're after the "lights and crap"....rather than quality.

[TighTT]

i thought i saw rob with a pop out in some thread... anyhoo fixed, i know TighTT has a sick setup. His looks like its one piece all the way down to the a/c controls...

what are these kits you speak of?

As others said...I have a 98 (OLD center console) that I upgraded to a 99.5 console, which is newer design...but still uses a single DIN setup.

[a4_ohboy]

tell me if im wrong but the only years that you can put in a double din player is a 2001.5 with the NAV package.. and ive measured my dash and a double din is not going to fit even with alot of custom work...

[Tifun]

As others said...I have a 98 (OLD center console) that I upgraded to a 99.5 console, which is newer design...but still uses a single DIN setup.

Would you mind posting a pic of your setup please?
Thanks
-Keith

[4ringAR]

As others said...I have a 98 (OLD center console) that I upgraded to a 99.5 console, which is newer design...but still uses a single DIN setup.

i heard that it is really difficult to get the facelift 4-way flasher emergency triangle to work on a pre-facelift? did you run into any problems with that?

[docurley]

Here mine used a B6 face plate.
















But you can get a ready made unit of ebay.

[docurley]

Link

[TighTT]

Would you mind posting a pic of your setup please?
Thanks
-Keith

Out with the old:


In with the new:





These are the best pics I can do right now. Let me know if you need something in particular and I'll shoot some tonight.

[Kyle H]

Did you guys have to do anything special to get that trim around the head unit in? (prefacelift) I was never able to get it to fit right, so I just kind ghetto rigged in in there.

[AudiRacerS4]

Did you guys have to do anything special to get that trim around the head unit in? (prefacelift) I was never able to get it to fit right, so I just kind ghetto rigged in in there.

mine just slid right into place

[onemoremile]

why pioneer? For gods sake, pioneer is sold at walmart. Plus if u want something that will look more "at home" why go with one of the more "flashy" brands with with all the extra lights and crap? Get an alpine or kenwood or something GOOD.

You mean with more marketing or actually good? Mobil 1 is also sold at Wal-Mart. So are a half dozen brands of plasma and LCD TVs. Does that make them all bad or just pull all the credibility from your statement?

Pioneer has always been a solid brand. Even more so back in the day. I just retired a mini system that has been beaten to death for more than 15 years. It spent the winter in the garage and died in the spring.

If you want to talk about brands that are above the others then you need to look at names like Nakamichi and McIntosh. Kenwood is pretty lousy product. Alpine has incredible systems integration but their construction and component quality is nothing special. FWIW, I owned a shop and installed audio under my own name for more than a dozen years. That is how I learned to stay away from Sony.

[audiFUEGO]

i have a pioneer avic N-1.... is that a good one? Its touchscreen, DVD, MP3, Rear cam ready, navi, and even displays engine info if hooked up right.


Doc you are the man! thanks for the link. Do you how good the quality of that product is? How well does the color match up with the rest of the trim pieces?

[audisportnut]

ok, here is a quick question can i upgrade to the oem navigation if i have the 2000+ console and navigation? and will the climate control just plug in or is there wiring work involved ? car is a 99.0

[audiFUEGO]

hey adam, did you paint the trim around your shift boot black? any problems with scratches or anything?

[TighTT]

hey adam, did you paint the trim around your shift boot black? any problems with scratches or anything?

I did an air-dry powdercoat on it since it was plastic. So far so good.

[docurley]

i have a pioneer avic N-1.... is that a good one? Its touchscreen, DVD, MP3, Rear cam ready, navi, and even displays engine info if hooked up right.


Doc you are the man! thanks for the link. Do you how good the quality of that product is? How well does the color match up with the rest of the trim pieces?

Colour is good I have one of them.

[audiFUEGO]

Colour is good I have one of them.

Just ordered one

thats a sweet kit, comes with everything..

anyone know if the avic N-1 is a nice unit and how does it compare to a D-3? Also can i plug my ipod into the N-1?

[docurley]

Avic N1 Review

Link D3 Link review

[audiFUEGO]

wow the N-1 owns it!

Vehicle Dynamics mode clearly separates the AVIC-N1 from other navigation-capable receivers, and catapults it into the performance-equipment stratosphere. It'll give you readouts of your speed, force of acceleration, angular velocity (how fast you're moving sideways in turns), force of side acceleration, the slope of your vehicle (the relation, in degrees, of the height of the car's front end to the car's back end), and alternator voltage. This mode also can provide a compass and a clock.

Dynamics mode kicks ass!

Only two things im worried about is

1. Will it integrate with my ipod somehow?

2. will have to change speakers in my car since i have bose system?

thanks to all

[mark_2328]

CarPC ftw!

[audiFUEGO]

^^ nice set up


After some research i found out that the Metra Kit that Docurley posted up there has wire harnesses that are designed to integrate aftermarket HU's with the amplified bose systems. So it should be very plug and play right?

I really hope i dont have to change my speakers...

and i really hope i can integrate the iPod somehow....i cant live without that thing.

[20A4Audi1.8t01]

Here is a pic with my AVIC D3 and the ebay dash kit that doc posted

[Tifun]

I did an air-dry powdercoat on it since it was plastic. So far so good.

Wow, that turned out really well. So no heat at all to cure? It looks great, I noticed a difference between the two pics and wanted to ask, but I see someone else did. What did you do about cleaning or prepping it?????

[TighTT]

Wow, that turned out really well. So no heat at all to cure? It looks great, I noticed a difference between the two pics and wanted to ask, but I see someone else did. What did you do about cleaning or prepping it?????

Remove all the fake chrome...clean with alcohol.......go to town.

[B5Burn]

CarPC ftw!

Could you turn the system on so we can see how well the LCD's work in the sun?

:)

[BrokeDown[20V]]

Here is a pic with my AVIC D3 and the ebay dash kit that doc posted

That set up looks so clean. Makes me want one.

[20A4Audi1.8t01]

^^ Thank you looks even better in person works and sounds great!

[Jared71482]

Wow...thats a great answer (rolles eyes). Pioneer is junk? After having/using almost every brand on the market of both NAV and regular radio headunits....I can say that Pioneer is good stuff. I have Eclipse in my A4 which is great and just put a Pioneer AVIC-D3 in my Touareg and it ROCKS. Its all about personal preference....as to how the buttons are oriented....how the menu's work, etc.
I guess you're after the "lights and crap"....rather than quality.

thats why i have a $1400 Kenwood 7100 in my dash right now, right? Im saying that pioneer is all about lights and extra gizmos (like car performance computers, wtf) that are not needed. Besides the fact that they have used the same cd pick-up for who knows how many years (94db sn ratio, what the hell is that) in all of their units.

and it is personal preference... i was just giving my opinion, which is what this forum is all about. Then theres people that get pissed when people do voice their opinion. Oh well...

[Jared71482]

Remove all the fake chrome...clean with alcohol.......go to town.

brake clean works great to get the rubber-like stuff off.

[Jared71482]

^^ nice set up


After some research i found out that the Metra Kit that Docurley posted up there has wire harnesses that are designed to integrate aftermarket HU's with the amplified bose systems. So it should be very plug and play right?

I really hope i dont have to change my speakers...

and i really hope i can integrate the iPod somehow....i cant live without that thing.

Used the pre-outs of my kenwood and plugged it right into the car, sounds just fine (as good as its gonna get with the blowse still in there). I believe almost every higher-dollar head unit can integrate an ipod in one way or another.

[audiFUEGO]

brake clean works great to get the rubber-like stuff off.

does that work well on the scratched areas around the cigarette lighter and little compartments under the armrest?

[audiFUEGO]

Used the pre-outs of my kenwood and plugged it right into the car, sounds just fine (as good as its gonna get with the blowse still in there). I believe almost every higher-dollar head unit can integrate an ipod in one way or another.

Yea i found an ebay cable: IP in >>>> Ipod.

Looked on the back of my unit...and i have an IP in slot! what luck.