[TheLimitedProject]

Well, I drove my STI Limited back from Seattle Monday/Tuesday, and had the OEM HU out and the new Pioneer Avic Z1 in right away.

The install was a breeze. I had pre-connected the aftermarket wiring harness to the Z1's wiring so it was simply plug and play.

For everyone's information, the VSS wire is the green/black striped wire in the right-most wiring harness behind the gauge cluster. The wire is also found on the very right of the harness itself.

The bypass was quite simple. Following Ducatiboy's instructions from Avic411.com, I removed the "cell phone mute wire" from the main wiring harness and inserted into the bottom right pin location on Connector 1. I grounded that wire as well as the parking brake wire, and I've got flawless video-in-motion as well as full Navi functionality on-the-go. See my live U2 concert DVD in action below

I also installed the bluetooth adapter and the iPod adapter. I'm very impressed with the speed of the iPod adapter and am also really happy at being able to see all song titles and have full control of my iPod from the HU.

The bluetooth works great... minus the terrible echo all callers report. I have to either find a new mic or try something else. I tried changing the volume setting so that a callers voice only comes out of the right speakers while the mic is hidden in the gauge cluster on the right. The idea was to block the sound with the gauge surround... doesn't work. I'm going to research a better mic alternative.

Anyway, onto the installed pics.

[LightWerkz]

Pimp as hell....

[Pastapuck]

Very nice....

[donewithfuess]

I've been debating to go with the Z1 or the kenwood DDX 6019...I've been teetering back and forth over the past few days and now I think I'm leaning towards the Z1. By the time you throw on the navi with the Kenwood, the price differential isn't all that great. Its good to hear someone (for once) say that the ipod interface with the z1 doesn't suck, too.

btw, congrats on the new car and sweet HU.

[Nachos Libres]

Looks good. I just installed my AVIC-D2 as well and install was a breeze. Of course the Z1 screens look a little bit better and I kind of wish I had gotten the Z1 but I just couldn't justify the cost difference. Very nice setup.

[4banger]

Guess I might have to try the ipod adapter now. I've heard rumors that there is an software upgrade due out soon. Hopefully that will fix your bluetooth problem.

[scubadiver424]

looks really really good man! Nice install!

[TheLimitedProject]

Thanks everyone! I'm happier and happier every time I get in my car to use it.
The video-in-motion is so great... all my music DVD's sound just amazing.

Anyway, I've also read/heard that there's going to be a software update end of the month or early next month to deal with the Bluetooth echo. I'm not certain a better mic would fix anything because the echo cancelling will have to happen at the unit itself... not the mic (unless it's powered also.)

[haroman311]

i wanna get incar dvd screen so bad, just dont feel safe with it in there.

[ELD4AU6]

very nice, is it slow in scrolling through songs on the ipod like some reviews said? interested in selling the old hu?

[TheLimitedProject]

^^Depends on your version of "slow." I'm more than happy with it. Yeah, it might take a few extra seconds after 3 or 4 songs to refresh the song info, but it doesn't hurt my feelings.
The only dissapointing part about the iPod interface is having to scroll through Artist names without being able to jump via a letter. So, for me, having 12,000 songs on my iPod with many, many artist names, I might have to scroll for a long time if the artist name begins with "M." Like a really, really long time.

I'm holding onto the OEM HU for now... not sure if I'm going to keep it for down the road when I decide to sell the car. I may tire of that idea and just decide to sell it... I'll let all know via the classifieds.

[Garo666]

can u tell us where u got it from . . . lol

im in the market for the avic-z1 as well hahah . . . Shelvin (drumminstud06) also just installed his in his evo . . . loooks amaizing . . .







*Not My car . . . its Shelvins*

[reeksti]

wow thats hawt, i want one too, where did u get it from??

[reeksti]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-eS5ms29...00&I=130AVICZ1

[TheLimitedProject]

^^Lol, Shelvin and I have had a few chats about his Z1

Anyway, I got mine off eBay - IndoAudio. Nothing but a good experience. A whole lot cheaper than Crutchfield, but then Crutchfield is an authorized seller.

Reek -
1) The Navi is very accurate. No problems yet. There's a bunch of different map views that are really cool too.
2) The brightness is adjustable, and there is also a night mode (headlights on) that darkens all the screens, and a daytime mode that brightens everything. No worries.