after market indash navigation

**harryd14** · 11-07-2008 09:55 AM

i was wondering what ppl thought about after market indash navigation units, and if ppl are running them which one did you opt for and how do you like it. I currently just have symphony and have been thinking about switching to either just an after market flip out monitor or an indash navigation unit but dont want to drop close to 2k for the audi one! what are ppls opinions on this, and dont be afraid to be negative, just trying to get a feel for ppls responses! thanks

**Quattro** · 11-07-2008 12:06 PM

alpine iva-d310 and alpine nve 872a = 2k

i feel the alpine nav was waayyyy better than oem, but that is my opinion. It depends if you are going to be doing a sound system or not...if so, the output of the stock unit will not suffice well it depends what speakers you get as well.

Being, I am an audio whore I opted for oem nav and went the route of alpine.

Their is a large selection of aftermarket headunits that have navi, pioneer has theirs built in, but I havent followed how they are now. Before you needed to have the disc in to have navi, but you couldnt hear a cd or watch dvd. Last time I knew about pioneer, was you needed to set your destination and than it stored the information in the unit.

You could go with an unknown company such as jensen. The perks of this unit, is basically they give you everything you could want for a cheap price...just it is a jensen and some people (like myself) are name brand whores. Jensen will have a tv tuner, nav, etc.

Overall, I would suggest you do extensive research before you buy just any unit. OEM nav is awesome, because it gives you that oem look and functions well. I just needed something optimal for my sound system...for the money i spent I could have easily had oem nav. I know it could be debated that stock output with other modules could prob have as much output, but I dont like oem much =x

hope this helps!

**Sharkfin** · 11-07-2008 12:22 PM

do some searching, a lot of them have been done most common is the avic d3

**UFfitz56** · 11-07-2008 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by Quattro

alpine iva-d310 and alpine nve 872a = 2k

Their is a large selection of aftermarket headunits that have navi, pioneer has theirs built in, but I havent followed how they are now. Before you needed to have the disc in to have navi, but you couldnt hear a cd or watch dvd. Last time I knew about pioneer, was you needed to set your destination and than it stored the information in the unit.

Alpine makes a very good unit. Personally I like the menu's and ergonomics of the pioneer units a little better, and they are a lot cheaper. Check out the AVIC-F900BT. You can get it new on ebay for around 700 bucks. You will need an adapter for the steering wheel controls though. Plus this unit does NOT need the nav discs anymore. They have all the maps stored on flash memory.

If you want to spend $500 more you can get the AVIC-Z3 which has a 30gig HD to store mp3's and videos. It also appears to have a better NAV system but I personally don't have any experience with it.

**Vorsprung** · 11-07-2008 12:55 PM

has anyone installed any of the new pioneer f-series units yet?

**harryd14** · 11-09-2008 03:43 PM

yeah i am an audio whore as well and did a pretty sweet sound system in my old car (97 ford explorer) with head unit, speakers, sub and 2 amps all alpine (a little bias towards alpine here) and loved everything about it and miss it quite a bit. but with the audi i am trying to not put as much weight in the car so i havent decided about putting sub etc in. I currently have the symphony and it leaves much to be desired for me and i miss not being able to connect my iPod directly. i have looked at a few of the alpine built in nav units and have seen a few on ebay that have sparked my interest and have also looked at pioneed who have 1 or 2 that look good. anybody have any pictures

**blackbox619** · 11-09-2008 05:14 PM

i have the pioneer f900bt. its ok but id rather have my d3 back. the d3 has more functions and the display is MUCH better. im thinking of buying the oem rns-e instead. i shouldve gotten that instead of the aftermarket. but if youre looking for an aftermarket, id go d3 !!!

**yettavr6** · 11-09-2008 05:40 PM

I had a D3 and have a F900BT now. The D3 was nice, but the navi was horrible. It would always plan riduculous routes and would randomly throw me on nearby streets while driving down the highway. The F series has better nav, but its kinda slow, and i feel the sound quality isnt as good as it was on the D3. Pioneer has been pretty good about updating the F series to fix the bugs and speed it up, and they've made some good progress but it still needs some work. Update 2.0 just came out last week which sped up the boot speed and UI response, but now i've been having some random reboot issues. As long as they keep the updates coming it should turn out to be a great unit.

**wakedude** · 11-10-2008 12:16 AM

I have the Premeir AVIC-F90BT installed and love it. The voice control is pretty cool. Only downside is that it takes a long time to start up. Great for connecting my iPod and watching movies.