tifosiv122

My unit is a bit older now, 2 years old, and I'm going to go with the Z1 in the next few months when the price falls. I have no reason to pay the high rate right now. Anyway, I haven't hooked up a speed sensor in my last few systems. The road comes up about 1-2 seconds quicker then it shows on the screen. No big deal because the navi tells you about the turn much earlier then that, so it essentially has no effect. I have yet to see another Navi system (stock or aftermarket) with the amount of features the pioneer offers. They have a ton of add-ons and plenty of neat built in features like gauges. Mine has a Navi, DVD, ipod, XM, Sirius, 6 CD Changer, TV, AM/FM...all off of one seemless unit. The Z1 adds bluetooth, a hard drive, ability to rip music to the hard drive, and you can scan your music by voice....just amazing.

Erik

METC240

I have the D-1 on my wifes car and we live by it. I would check you cables and GPS antenna. We had issue where on the parkway it had us on the north bound whe we were going on the south bound. I called Pioneer and they sent a rev upgrade and had the installer check the GPS antena.

at the end the GPS anena was not getting good signal so I paid $45.00 for a better one and now it works great....


good luck...

METC240

I have the D-1 on my wifes car and we live by it. I would check you cables and GPS antenna. We had issue where on the parkway it had us on the north bound whe we were going on the south bound. I called Pioneer and they sent a rev upgrade and had the installer check the GPS antena.

at the end the GPS anena was not getting good signal so I paid $45.00 for a better one and now it works great....


good luck...

sunnyvali

I am thinking of getting the D2 installed in my wife's 2002 C320 wagon. Will the D1 fit this car? I was at best buy and they said D2 will not fit and I should get the N2... which was $400 more.

I prefer the D2 as it gives a custom look.

Thanks for your help.

fanito

First of all do not get it from Best Buy... If you are somewhat familiar with radios and installation and have the time to do it you will be saving $500 by purchasing it somewhere else. The D2 is ~ $995 and the N2 is ~$1140. I personally I prefer the Z1 but that is $1500, I will get that one sometime soon (I hope). Probably the double-din installation kit from Metra could make it fit just fine. STFF first!

sunnyvali

I would love to install this myself, but I am not sure about kits I will need as I have BOSE system in the car. Someone had mentioned it connects via fiberoptics, etc. It seems a bit complicated as I am not familiar with Benz at all.

Does anyone know what all I will need to install D2 in 2002 C320 wagon?

Oh, the D2 was on sale at BB for $1100.00

Thanks!

tromar1

SunnyVali...

All of the above about bestbuy is correct...Glad my man Bay Coban could help you with the D2...

I on the other hand is loving the Z1...

rrpnow

how hard is it to install into a 06 c230... any double din... i took my car to a side shop, he said its gonna be quite expensive, almost as much as the headunit just to make a support frame... because the headunit area is curved, and quite large...

tromar1

There is no aftermarket installation kit made for the 06 model yet. As such, there are two options, the installer can use a flat installation board (black) and do the cut out, then install the unit. Or, a good installer can do a fiberglass customization to match the curves and paint etc.

A standard aftermarket kit goes for approx $15 - $40. If it's going to cost as much as the headunit...not worth it in MHO...but I think the installer is full of it. Then again...which headunit are you looking at?

Couple years ago I wanted to put the AVIC N2 into my Bimmer and no kit existed...intaller told me approx $200 to $250 for him to fabricate a kit. After hitting the internet...a poster on e46 fanatic pointed out that the radio in my X3 was the same as the radio in the Z3, and a company called Metra had a Z3 kit. Still have the Z3 (perfect fit) kit in my X3 today...Funny thing is, I called Metra and told them that the Z3 kit fits the X3; yet, they still tell customers that they don't have a kit for the X3.

cla 1000

I tried to find out and I searched on the forum but did not find what I needed.
So here it is: I have a c 230k Coupe, 2002 and it has the Bose system in it. I would like to get a dvd double din with navigation. I want to know exactly what can be done and how much it would cost me to do that.
Will I be able to swap just the head unit, or I will need to change other stuff as well?
I would really apreciate your help. Thank You.

jedcred

In a word: don't!

Let me explain. Unless you are willing to almost completely rewire (or pay someone to do so), you won't be able to swap out the regular radio for a aftermarket unit because of the nature of the Bose system. The Bose system sends audio data from the head unit to the amplifier by means of a fiber optic cable. That means if you want to use an aftermarket HU, you need to run wire to the speakers. Unfortunatly Bose doesn't use standard-impedence speakers, so you run the risk of damaging them, which means you need to replace them with standard-impedence speakers (basically any aftermarket speaker you can go buy). It would be better if you got the OEM Nav unit from Steve@MBenzNL (about $2200 last I checked). AFAIK, that just plugs into the Bose system and retains all of the functionality, including the steering wheel controls.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that all of this has been covered on these boards multiple times. Just spend some more time searching. You may find more relevant information than I have provided here.

tromar1

Everything jedcred said is true. However, If you wanted to replace the headunit that means you have already considered the OEM option. Also, jedcred was correct regarding the search.

I replaced my headunit. I didn't have to replace the OEM speakers and they work perfectly with my AVIC Z1 doubledin. For your car, there are aftermarket installation kits that fits perfectly in your car...price is anywhere between $20 to $50 depending where you get it plus shipping. Most online sites have them back ordered and the only get it when you order it. I happen to get 2 and only used one...PM me if you need it. (it is the same exact fit as your car...both the C230 & C240 have the same opening for several model year.)

Also, if your set up includes a stock amp, then you'd need to bypass the amp because of the fiber optics and replace it with an aftermarket amp. Honestly, i was a little scared prior to embarking on my project...that was because of all the doom and gloom I read about the fiber optics. But after talking to my tech advisor at the dealership, they said it wouldn't be a problem if done by a pro. They were correct.

What kind of double din unit are you thinking of using? if the OEM unit is $2200, then you can do better with an aftermarket for considerably better with better function and sound...MHO...

cla 1000

Thank You. I did search and all I found was stuff from like 2002 and I was hoping fon something more recent. How much does AVIC Z1 cost. I was actually thinking to get the Kenwood 6019. The price is decent and I love Kenwood. I olso have a jeta and that is what I have in there.
I was also thinking at puting like a costom enclosure in the trunk like on the side with a 10 or 12 inch sum. My friend has one of those in his GTI and it looks and sounds great.
I rely apreciate all the info that I can get. If you guys can give me a link to some pictures of what you have it would be awsome.
thanks again.

amdeutsch

1) Why do you want something more recent? You found stuff from your MY.
2) For pictures and pricing search the forum. Plenty has been posted on that subject matter.

tromar1

check out my sig...I joing in Jan 06. I have posted pics since then so the 2002 posting wasn't me. I really enjoy coming on the site daily to read what other have done and to share insight if I can help...but you truly need to search. I wouldn't mind posting a link, but I don't really know what you are looking for. In a recent post, we discussed cost of the units, where to get it, who to call, some of the expected issues that may arise...yada, yada, yada.

With that said...Z1 retails for $2300...but you could get it for about $1450 +/- a couple of dollars. The Kenwood is good, but I really like the navi function on the pioneer better...each his own...

Ultimately, if you like your friend's setup, then have an installer duplicate the sub enclosure. Keep us posted.

cla 1000

thank you again. I looked at your setup and it is great. The Z1 is a super cool nav unit. I read a lot about it today.
When I was asking for more info I was just hopeing that I will get more responds and that I will be able to see more than 1 or 2 setups. I liked yours a lot. I searched and did not find what I wanted.
Mr moderator I understand you are doing your job making people to search the forum. I do not understand what is it so bad in the fact that I wanted to see some more recent posts on the subject. Engeneering changes and evolves from month to month, so I shure hope that producing companies come with newer stuff for us than the stuff they were giving us in 2002.
I hope you understand my logic here

c230kracer

You can definetly change it...I loved my change out. I got the Kenwood 815 with NAVI, and its beautiful, one thing is, i would love to edit the headunit somehow so i could change the backgrounds or add other cool functions but how much can i ask for..The change was awesome, it took some time but, the sound coming from the BOSE speakers and the Subwoofer are awesome, subwooferr is of course still weak, but a lot better than before with an external amp mounted on top of it. Check my pictures, i have my set up there. Good luck!

cla 1000

Thank you Kracer. With all the searches that I did I did not find you there so I guess that searching does not do it all sometimes.
Your setup is very nice and clean. I just like the way double dins look.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELP. I will post pictures when I will have it done.

fanito

Ok, thanks to all for your patience, moderators, you can merge the other thread with this one. I would like this post to be the first one so people don't have to dig around the thread. Maybe this could be "sticky worth it"

First of all, a disclaimer: Use your best judgement. I am not responsible for what you do or don't do. Sometimes depending where you live using the navigation system is prohibited while in motion. These instructions are only for informative purposes and what works for some might not work for others. Needles to say I am not responsible if your equipment breaks or fails. It worked for me the way I explained it. For any installation if you feel uncapable of doing it get professional help. Ok, with that being said let's get started....

Without further ado, here is the HOW-TO install the PIONEER AVIC Z1 in a W203







































Many thanks to cntrylvr79 and ducatiboy from www.avic411.com, the nicest people ever.

ChaRgeC230

wow nice.. thanks for taking the time to write this... will come in handy next month...

white_w203

this is the best write up step by step process ive ever seen. i love the fact you used a fake radio faceplate to deter thieves....never would have thought of that one. install looks great!

OCJeff

FYI... You are not supposed to cut up the magnetic plate provided by Pioneer. It's stated in the instruction manual.

Although I did just the same thing, and haven't noticed any side effects.

-Jeff

powa

lol i did actually thinking about putting a fake face plate for security issue. But i was thinking about taking a stock HU picture, custom made the frame, sticks the Stock HU picture to the frame, whenever i need it just slides it down (you know like garage door). Just my guess though, donno if that will work lol

gaiex

No steering wheel controls rigth???

I think I saw some adaptares some where...

fanito

yes, but I got my hand-slapped by the moderators because I wasn't a sponsor so I can't divulge anything about that, sorry...