A few visual, audio and cosmetic upgrades.

[01slowbra]

Instead of renewing I just replaced headlights with a TYC set. Really great fit and makes the car look 100% better

.

Went really dark with 5% tint all around and 50% on the windshield.


Double din Pioneer with Infinity Speakers.



I'm going to have to get a different faceplate kit because the gap between climate control and radio is unbearable.

 

[fabrizio]

Hi!

It happened to me too.
Just add a spacer.

You can adjust the climate control position, it has 2 screws , 1 per side.
The climate control has 2 tip , some times you have to cut them.

This is how mine looks.

best regards!


--If you use the factory amplifier don't forget to adapt the remote signal adding a resistor of 1Kohm

 

[01slowbra]

Nice. Yours fits a lot better than mine. I also wired in a resister that drops the factory amp turn on down to 5 volts. I also snipped the climate control tabs down a bit. Mine had 3. And it also had 2 screws on each side instead of 1

 

[G-RELL]

does it not work with this face plate?

 

[G-RELL]

better pic

 

[01slowbra]

That looks really good G-RELL. The one I used works but the fit is horrible. Nothing lined up with the factory metal brackets. I can't remember the brand name off the top of my head, American something. It was from Crutchfield

 

[joegr]

I suggest this dash kit for you: Metra 95-5000B Double DIN Installation Dash Kit
http://www.amazon.com/Metra-95-5000...&qid=1430331759&sr=8-1&keywords=Metra+95-5000

 

[01slowbra]

Thanks joegr! I've been doing some research. Is this one you've used before?

 

[joegr]

Thanks joegr! I've been doing some research. Is this one you've used before?

Yes, except I used the Metra 95-5000S, which is silver to match the gen II. The fit was perfect.

 

[01slowbra]

Good deal! Thanks for the look.

 

[fabrizio]

Yes, the pastic bracket does not line up.
I had to drill the metal brackets.

This does not line up. I own this.



radio's Metal brackets



I could not get this one.

 

[Telco]

Bleah, don't like that Pioneer the way it's mounted. I think I'd try mounting it so it sticks out a bit further, and use the bezel that comes with the Pioneer. The way it's mounted right now it looks like the hole is square but the radio is hexagonal, leaving ever increasing gaps from the center to the corners on the sides. The Pioneer bezel mounted against the mounting bracket might solve that issue. The picture of the Pioneer on the box, using the bezel, looks a lot better the way it lines up the sides. G-Rell's stereo, while not the sort of thing I would want for myself, looks a lot better on the install and looks like it should have been there.

Personally I like the older single DIN stereos over giant distracting screens in the center of the dash. I consider my stereo to be there to listen to, not to look at. Plus, car thieves look at single DIN stereos as not worth the trouble these days and won't break into mine to take one.

Finally, while I've not used one on my LS I've also used Metra adapters in the past. They've always done an excellent job of designing their adapters to fit the car they are going in and make the stereo look nice.

 

[01slowbra]

I got s good deal on the Pioneer and have always had good quality and dependability with them. I'm not keen on the looks nor am I on spending a ton on features I'll never use. To each his own I guess

 

[1LoudLS]

and use the bezel that comes with the Pioneer.

there is no bezel (or "trim ring") that comes with the pioneer x700 or x720 (or really any DD pioneer in the last decade or so)

pioneer is under the assumption that if you are buying a Double Din radio, they either your car already has a DD radio like a subaru, nissan, or toyota where you will just unbolt the factory radio and bolt in the new radio without needing any adapters or you have a car that is close to DD and you will be buying a dash kit to make it fit like the factory does.

basically if you have one of the five cars like some VW's that use a true DD radio but doesn't use metal brackets to hold it in or you are adding a radio where there never was one before, then you need to purchase a separate DD mounting kit that come with brackets, a cage, and a trim ring.

like this
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Q1vKEPlJDSo/p_130ADTV133/Pioneer-ADT-VA133.html

I will say that the shape of that specific radio does drive me crazy because it never seems to fit/look right in any application, I'm not really sure what was behind the ideal to make the radio a different shape than every other radio that has ever been built...

Plus, car thieves look at single DIN stereos as not worth the trouble these days and won't break into mine to take one.

actually, most cars that come in to get a stolen radio replaced tend to be cheap cars that are easy to break into with radios that are clearly aftermarket, a lot of the double din radios with screens tend to be harder to tell that they are not factory radios and therefore are not as desirable... YMMV

 

[1LoudLS]

better pic
View attachment 828472459

one thing that has always drove me crazy about this dash kit is how far the radio is pushed back, even when slid all the way forward...

if you ever remove your radio for anything, you might want to consider trimming a little plastic off of the back edge of that kit where it touches the radio, depending on the radio, a good 1/4" to 1/2" all the way around allows the radio to be pulled out a little further making it more flush with the dash kit.

it was an absolute necessity to do when i had my pioneer F series due to the volume knob, it was just large enough and too close to the out side edge, it was very hard to adjust the volume with the way it say back in the dash (your volume knob look smaller so its probably not as big of a deal for you)

 

[G-RELL]

funny you say that... it IS a pain sometimes. But it was a free upgrade from my foldout, so it's hard to really complain about it!

Not a fan of it being flush, but coming out a bit would work...I'll keep that in mind on the next unit upgrade...(after this weekend's other upgrades maybe )