New HU... *second* install completed :D

[CarlosCh]

Hi everyone... just wanted to share a little bit of a change I made to the Z...

 

Just a few days ago I took the decision to get rid of the Bose HU -which is actually a Clarion unit and I had not realized!- and started looking into something I had always wanted: an Eclipse HU.

 

The relatively new models for America are the AVN726E and the AVN4430. I chose the 726E and a coworker got the 4430 for his SUV. Both have more than enough features to be atractive and the only thing that does not really work and probably will not work anytime soon was the GPS, as there are no Costa Rica maps available for either HU.

 

Anyway, out of the *first* install, the unit looked like this (please note the horrible gap on all borders as the trim kit was unavailable at the time of install):

 

After the *second* install the HU looked like this (now there is no gap and only the CF console cover is a bit out of place, which I will correct with a bit of double-sided tape):

 

What cannot be seen on the pics is that there was a loose wire on the first install and was causing a hissing sound that resulted quite annoying. The sound after correcting that is really good and certainly better than the old good Bose but with the pre-amp the stock speakers are working harder and will probably need replacement soon enough. And that even though I do not like to listen to audio at really high volume.

 

There will be a *third* install I think, as the first one was done with a standard PAC OEM-1 harness and it should have been the PAC ROEM-NIS2 which I have been informed keeps functionality of the stock subwoofer and provides a cleaner install.

 

Since every wire is now tagged and the console has been taken apart 2 times already, why not a third?

 

Best Regards!

[fakeindian]

Very Nice

[narcotix]

That's a cool looking Head unit ..

 

I think I might do a bit of research myself to see what they're all about ...

 

Good job though

[srobrien]

Nice, where did you get your splash screen from?

 

R

[CarlosCh]

Nice, where did you get your splash screen from?

R

 

Made it myself in Photoshop to the exacting specs of Eclipse... you make the file with very specific measures and color scheme and then burn it on a CD-R along with a text file. The HU recognizes the text file and then loads the image file to substitute whatever you have on as splash screen.

 

Interestingly enough, depending on who you ask, this cannot be done Several people asked Eclipse directly and they were turned back, but someone from the NASIOC forums asked Eclipse as well and they even sent him a sample file to play with!

 

The mysteries of Customer Service never cease to amaze!

[sparky370z]

hi there,

 

if u dont mind me asking how much in total (inc shipping) was it. looks really cool.

 

has it got sat nav and rear cam? looks cool

 

Sparky

[CarlosCh]

hi there,

 

if u dont mind me asking how much in total (inc shipping) was it. looks really cool.

 

has it got sat nav and rear cam? looks cool

 

Sparky

 

Thanks!

 

Got it locally here in Costa Rica, so my price references would be all distorted by our taxes, or as you say... rubbish

 

I know that in the US the HU goes for US$800, the rear cam kit is worth US$170 and the iPod cable $35. You will also need an interface worth US$60 and the Metra kit (best fit I found) is US$15. So, about $1,080 before shipping.