New radio/head unit

[michaelb]

Hi folks, I'm wanting to remove my original FL Toyota radio/CD and put in a nice new unit with Bluetooth, sat nav etc. Is there anything out there that directly fits in?

[Justin.D]

Nothing that's a straight fit, although it's not a tough job

The FL unit is wider than the Din (or Double Din) units. I'm guessing you're going Double Din if you're wanting Sat Nav built in?

All you will need is a set of little wings like ones in THIS thread. The rest of the fittings you need are already attached to your current FL unit (Brackets, surround)

The only other thing would be a wiring harness from ISO to Toyota - Assuming the FL is the same as my PFL then THIS will do - please check compatibility first though. Feel free to shout up if we can help further

Alternatively if you were to find a good surround from a PFL then that's a great fit

[michaelb]

Cheers mate!

[Enjay]

Just to echo: very straight forward.  I've changed the HU in 3 Roadsters; both double DIN and single.  The process is basically the same in both other than the size/shape of the adaptor that you need to get to fill the hole properly.  Both types are readily available.

The only bit of additional wiring that might be needed in a double DIN unit with a touch screen-type interface is that there might be a wire on the HU harness that is meant to be spliced to the handbrake cable.  It's usually a green wire, I think, and it's to enable/disable certain features when the handbrake is on/off. (e.g. The ability to watch videos is usually only enabled when the handbrake is on.)

[michaelb]

Cheers Enjay

[Eddie]

My experience: https://www.mr2roc.org/forum/index.php?topic=65331.0

[MR TWO]

I watched a new HUD being fitted by a master ICE tech this afternoon at Ding Day. If you need any advice on this you can also ask @jinxedkitten who made it all look very easy.

[jinxedkitten]

I watched a new HUD being fitted by a master ICE tech this afternoon at Ding Day. If you need any advice on this you can also ask @jinxedkitten who made it all look very easy.

Hah you mean an ICEnoob who's never fitted a new hud before [emoji23]

Via Tapatalk

[BahnStormer]

Hi folks, I'm wanting to remove my original FL Toyota radio/CD and put in a nice new unit with Bluetooth, sat nav etc. Is there anything out there that directly fits in?

Seriously consider a simple, 1DIN HU (with Bluetooth) and then use your phone or a tablet for the SatNav... I struggle to see the point in a SatNav screen that's 60deg down from where you should be looking and will be awkward as all hell to control if you're driving with any enthusiasm.

See the attached screenshot, where you can see the phone holder (photo was taken to show the new steering wheel just after it was fitted, before I took the gloss off the airbag) - I found that having the phone behind the steering wheel, near my right hand was the best spot: it means I only have to slightly stretch my hand from the steering wheel and everything in front of me is still perfectly in my line of sight when I'm looking at it. Not clear from the photo, but it's set so the phone just about touches the edge of of the instrument binacle when it is in position.

edit: as a backup, I put a 7"/8" tablet (in a sturdy stand-cover) into the centre cubby-hole. Not ideal, but it is a good backup if I've been tinkering with my phone or I want to see TorquePro dials and stats, it's a useful option. If I have that charging, then the micro USB just about keeps pace with the tablet on full brightness, running 4G + Bluetooth (loses ~5% battery per hour).

I run either of those with Waze + Spotify / internet radio and it works a treat.

[Enjay]

I have been debating single DIN versus double for some time.  I think I've got to the point where I agree that an LCD touchscreen type of display isn't for me, would probably be difficult to see (both angle-wise and sunlight-wise) in the default position in a 2 and, perhaps, it's not fully in keeping with the very 1990s/2000s look of the car's interior (IMO, of course).  However, I'm still considering a more traditional appearance unit.  Probably not this one, but this type of thing...



Nice big text and controls but with a more retro look.  Any modern things can be dealt with via my dedicated Garmin satnav or my phone.

Or maybe I'll stick with my single DIN unit.  I like the little cubby slot underneat it.

[Bossworld]

I have been debating single DIN versus double for some time.  I think I've got to the point where I agree that an LCD touchscreen type of display isn't for me, would probably be difficult to see (both angle-wise and sunlight-wise) in the default position in a 2 and, perhaps, it's not fully in keeping with the very 1990s/2000s look of the car's interior (IMO, of course).  However, I'm still considering a more traditional appearance unit.  Probably not this one, but this type of thing...



Nice big text and controls but with a more retro look.  Any modern things can be dealt with via my dedicated Garmin satnav or my phone.

Or maybe I'll stick with my single DIN unit.  I like the little cubby slot underneat it.

Are the controls and display really much bigger than a decent single din though? The volume knob being centrally positioned probably helps access, but that display only looks to be 1.5 lines at best and it's still like a calculator. That's my biggest bug bear with aftermarket ICE, cosmetically it's barely moved on from the 1990s.

I've got a Pioneer x8700DAB single din for mine. Mum's got a cheapo £60 Kenwood one in hers.

[Enjay]

Controls, possibly not but display, maybe. 

If I was to get one, I'd make sure it was one that could display information like track title and artist (as a minimum) at the same time and in decent sized text.  Most of my listening is from MP3s on a USB and I set up the tags to be as useful and accurate as possible.

I do have a nice Pioneer single DIN unit that more-or-less does that but it's display is blue (and not colour adjustable) and I'm a bit fussy about illumination harmonising with the rest of the car.  Also, bigger text would be nice.



Loads of information on display, including a progress bar, and it's configurable to a bunch of different settings and combinations.  It's a really nice unit and does most of everything that I want from it, except display in an orange/amber light.  I haven't been able to find something similar with adjustable light colours.  However, I do have it in my MR-S at the moment and I had it in another car for years before that, driving a pretty loud, amped and subbed system.


I've got a Sony MEX-N5100BT in my MR2 and it also pretty much does what I'm looking for but, as you can see, it only has a single line of display information.



The Pioneer unit has better menus and controls, but there isn't a massive difference in usability IMO.  I'd just like a little more at-a-glance info on screen at any one time.

I've also got other units in other cars and those are nice big touch-screen units, so I'm not against the format (not at all).  I just think the older fashioned units look better in the 2.  Each to their own.

[Bossworld]

Controls, possibly not but display, maybe. 

If I was to get one, I'd make sure it was one that could display information like track title and artist (as a minimum) at the same time and in decent sized text.  Most of my listening is from MP3s on a USB and I set up the tags to be as useful and accurate as possible.

I do have a nice Pioneer single DIN unit that more-or-less does that but it's display is blue (and not colour adjustable) and I'm a bit fussy about illumination harmonising with the rest of the car.  Also, bigger text would be nice.



Loads of information on display, including a progress bar, and it's configurable to a bunch of different settings and combinations.  It's a really nice unit and does most of everything that I want from it, except display in an orange/amber light.  I haven't been able to find something similar with adjustable light colours.  However, I do have it in my MR-S at the moment and I had it in another car for years before that, driving a pretty loud, amped and subbed system.


I've got a Sony MEX-N5100BT in my MR2 and it also pretty much does what I'm looking for but, as you can see, it only has a single line of display information.



The Pioneer unit has better menus and controls, but there isn't a massive difference in usability IMO.  I'd just like a little more at-a-glance info on screen at any one time.

I've also got other units in other cars and those are nice big touch-screen units, so I'm not against the format (not at all).  I just think the older fashioned units look better in the 2.  Each to their own.

Take a look at the X8700 I mentioned above, it is colour customisable. I've got the display set to yellow and the buttons set to orange. The screen is full pixel and you can choose to show up to three lines of info (I just have it set to one larger one). I had a 6900 (I think) about 10 years ago and that had the same type of display.

Only downside/trade off is the lack of buttons - I've got the card style remote but haven't settled on a place to put it in the car. But looks like the Pioneer you've linked to above has a similar multi jog control.

Cosmetically, I think a DEHP77MP would look lovely in our cars but sold mine for about £50 10 years ago and it looks like they've kept their value.

It just grinds my gears how little the technology has moved on, particularly at the cheaper end of the market. I think it goes some way to explain why old head units still sell for £30 upwards on eBay. The factory Visual Boost unit in my Mini is 8 years old and is still light years ahead of most aftermarket kit

[Justin.D]

Cosmetically, I think a DEHP77MP would look lovely in our cars but sold mine for about £50 10 years ago and it looks like they've kept their value.

I had the P77MP in a couple of old cars. Fabulous looking thing - Simple, retro and an amazing sound. Sold on Ebay for just over £100 spares/repair as the CD had stopped reading

Now have the Pioneer DEH80PRS. Loads more features than the 77 but I don't think the sound quality is anywhere near as good from a 'Reference' series unit. Still good though and I'm running Network Mode with a sub under the dash

Both screen and buttons are colour customisable, multi line display, battery voltage on the display - could tick all the single din boxes (Apart from no DAB)

[Enjay]

Good recommendations.  Thank you.  I'll need to look into Pioneer's current range a bit more thoroughly I think.

[Justin.D]

You could consider the Pioneer DEH-X8700DAB. Halfords have it on special (Clearance) currently. When it's gone it's gone, great price. Just got one for Sarah's car as her dreaded Peugeot standard thing has thankfully given up

http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/pioneer-deh-x8700dab-car-stereo

[Bossworld]

You could consider the Pioneer DEH-X8700DAB. Halfords have it on special (Clearance) currently. When it's gone it's gone, great price. Just got one for Sarah's car as her dreaded Peugeot standard thing has thankfully given up

http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-stereos/pioneer-deh-x8700dab-car-stereo

Yep they're a good unit.

DAB aerial was about a tenner from eBay and works well.

As above I've got a card style remote that I previously secured onto the passenger side of the centre console but still tying to determine the best position. Logic dictates the old Sony RM-X4S remote would work, but they are crazy expensive

[BahnStormer]

I would avoid anything with smoothed / touch surfaces... as much as people take the p!ss out of the Fisher Price head unit, there's a lot to be said for big, well spaced buttons that you don't need to look at.

I'd gladly take that ropey Sony head unit (FL OEM setup) if it had a 2x20RMS amp and Bluetooth - the screen doesn't need any details as I do EVERYTHING through the phone other than the initial Bluetooth pairing, certainly in terms of looking for tracks / changing channels, etc.

The only time I actually interact with the head unit is to hit skip fwd/back and to change the volume... and that's purely because I want to be able to do that without looking away from the road.

This is just my use-case and each person has their own preferences on how they use their headunit.

[shnazzle]

I agree. I had a touch screen and it lasted less than a year. Impossible to safely handle.
I opted for the Sony WX-GT90BT (now replaced by a newer model) because of its big letters on screen, good amp and outputs, big volume knob and Bluetooth.

That paired with a Sony remote stalk off ebay and my phone as the actual screen/player...perfect.

I never touch the actual radio. Volume and track all from the remote stalk by my lights

[Bossworld]

I agree. I had a touch screen and it lasted less than a year. Impossible to safely handle.
I opted for the Sony WX-GT90BT (now replaced by a newer model) because of its big letters on screen, good amp and outputs, big volume knob and Bluetooth.

That paired with a Sony remote stalk off ebay and my phone as the actual screen/player...perfect.

I never touch the actual radio. Volume and track all from the remote stalk by my lights

The RM-X4S still easily clears upwards of £25 on eBay, hence I gave up and bought the Pioneer card remote. From previous research the resistance is just about within spec for Pioneer headunits as well hence they're desirable.

Might start the hunt again as leaning forward is getting on my nerves and I don't want to damage my new(er) centre console by bonding Velcro to it like the last one. That also meant you had to know where the buttons were on the card remote by touch lol

[shnazzle]

I agree. I had a touch screen and it lasted less than a year. Impossible to safely handle.
I opted for the Sony WX-GT90BT (now replaced by a newer model) because of its big letters on screen, good amp and outputs, big volume knob and Bluetooth.

That paired with a Sony remote stalk off ebay and my phone as the actual screen/player...perfect.

I never touch the actual radio. Volume and track all from the remote stalk by my lights

The RM-X4S still easily clears upwards of £25 on eBay, hence I gave up and bought the Pioneer card remote. From previous research the resistance is just about within spec for Pioneer headunits as well hence they're desirable.

Might start the hunt again as leaning forward is getting on my nerves and I don't want to damage my new(er) centre console by bonding Velcro to it like the last one. That also meant you had to know where the buttons were on the card remote by touch lol

I think I paid 30 and it's worth every penny

[BahnStormer]

I never touch the actual radio. Volume and track all from the remote stalk by my lights

I've considered a remote/stalk... ultimately I use the phone as all the media source (Gogole music / Spotify Premium / internet radio) as I run Waze ALL the time for the traffic alerts, camera alerts, etc and it fades in and out with the music that way My headunit also came with a handsfree telephone (incl mic) that seems to work, even with the roof down at motorway speeds (I wouldn't have paid for a mic as past experience said that cabriolets are too noisey, roof up/down, but I've been very pleasantly surprised by it!)