Replacing Standard Stereo for an aftermarket

[redlion05]

Hi everyone,

Just curious if anybody has attempted a replacement of the standard vy stereo head unit for an aftermarket cd/mp3 player?

Also, does the vy vehicle have speaker holes that can fit 6x9 speakers without manually forcing it?

I'm hoping to place my pioneer head unit (which plays mp3s) and my 6x9 speakers in what could be my next car, a vy calais series 2

Thanks in advance

[dah_man_ben]

I am in the process of upgrading mine... I believe you can replace the factory unit with a single or double din unit. I decided to go with double din however it was more expensive. Both single and double din will need a 'Bracket' that holds the stereo in place in the dash and blends in with the dash colour. Single din 'brackets' have a pocket underneath so you can store stuff in it.

You say it will be a VY Calais, so it will already have factory 8" Subs in the back shelf. You will be able fit 6.5's in the front doors (with a bit of modification with some speakers). You will be able to fit 6" in the back doors and in the back shelf you can either keep the 8" Subwoofers (pretty average sounding) or you can replace them. The VY has the exact right size hole for 6x9s to be dropped into the parcel shelf. They fit very comfortably. In the Calais, you will have to remove the Subwoofers in order to chuck the 6x9's in.

Hope that helps.

Ben

[NVN07]

Hey mate...

The headunit can be swapped out.. just have a look around the my ride thread and you will find a couple who have done it. I have a double din unit in mine, you can have a look by clicking on the link in my sig to my ride. U can get the facia bit of ebay pretty cheap for either a double or single din.

As for the speakers I can't help you out there as i have not had a look at them yet.

[redlion05]

Thanks guys for your help.

I ripped my old pioneer speakers which hopefully should work after being involved in the car accident. Does the buttons on the steering work if you place an aftermarket headunit in though?

[Lumps of cheese]

You will need a steering wheel interface if you want to use your steering wheel controls. In my old vy i didn't bother as the interfaces were around the $150 mark, not sure what they are now.

[dah_man_ben]

I got my steering wheel interface done in my car for $250, bit cheaper I think though cos I got it in a package. Absolute waste of money but I really wanted the controls......

[redlion05]

Could you please notify me where you got your steering wheel interface done? Does this interface look any different to the original and is it a modifaction that can be done by yourself easily or is it touchy due to the airbags?

[dah_man_ben]

Got mine from strathfield - most strathfields arn't the best for anything really lol. But I do have experience with a local one and they are quite good at their job. Anyway, most car audio stores will sell the product. It's known as Cat10 device (it basically converts the signal sent from your steering wheel buttons into IR signal for the HU to receive). Don't know about installing it yourself, as in how hard it would be, but I got mine done professionally and couldn't be happier. They drilled a tiny hole for the IR transmitter just below the PWR button on my centre console, so it is pointing towards the HU. Works well, unless you have an iPod cable in the way or something. But even when my girlfriend is changing the CD and I want to turn it around, it still seems to get around her hand.

Ben

[rydogz]

Forget 6x9s mate just stick to 6s and or components and get your base from the factory(as mentioned above) or aftermarket sub. 6x9s are a waste of time. get a bigger amp than the rms of the speakers, set up your lpf and hpf and let the bass speaker do its job.

[redlion05]

I'm not really eager to replace all the speakers. I have taken my pioneer sound system from my old car and was hoping i could use it in my new car. Problem is, i'm worried that it'll look out of place since the cd H/U is silver and the surrounds of my car is black. Also, I dont want to lose my voice in function when i make a phone call. Btw, has anyone found there standard stereo H/U to skip disc so easily? My CD's that i once played in my Pioneer H/U perfectly fine are no rubbish since they skip every so often. Does it have to do with the recording speed when I burnt the CD's or the quality of the CD?