Head unit discussion

bigaudiofanat

You solder the metra harness to the harness of your new radio, you cut 3 wires in the factory radio and wire them to a steering wheel control module (grounding 1 of them) to have steering wheel controls with your new head unit. Solder is the best way to join the harnesses and make all connections solid.

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Corsairprime

Yes, soldering the Dash kit wiring to the HU wiring is the magic here. I know, restating the obvious. It just depends on Bose or No-Bose. My thoughts are, if No-Bose. Do not solder the amp trigger wires together. Someone else can confirm or deny this for me. The Steering wheel controls are optional, kind of. But useful to have.

The only reason I say this is, it'll mean wire cutting in the dash to make the steering controls function. it's a tight space and the wires are tiny. I wanted to maintain the ability to re-install the factory Crap HU if needed. A personal preference.

Take it with a grain of salt.

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Jayhovah

Don't necessarily have to cut the OEM wiring to add a steering wheel remote adapter.. I just pinned my radio harness adapter for those connections. Since the Z has no rear speakers, I just moved those wires over to the steering remote pins.

Additionally, if you are running one of these chinese android units - most of them already have resistive remote inputs so no adapter (like a ASWC) is even needed.

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Teerex

Thanks guys for all the answers.

cavemancan

I was recommended this...might save the stock wiring...

Posi-Products Wire Tap

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cavemancan

OK guys so big update...Sorry I know it's been a long time since I posted but the install was gradual and slow plus been working alot.

Here is my Review of the items installed:

ATOT Chinese Head Unit

My thoughts: I really have a love hate relationship with this head unit but it could be ignorance because I am not getting the sound I want just yet but I will go into that later. My thoughts on the product are...

Screen: has a blueish tint that I do not like but is mostly noticeable at night. Other than that its nice.

Features: more features then I will ever need. I quickly learned that all I really want is Waze, Spotify, a good EQ, CD player for higher quality music, DVR, and rear camera. Everything else is a waste for me

DVR: I have the camera connected and it looks great but still havent routed the wires so it is not mounted. I will add additional comments once I start using it.

Gesture Controls: kinda cool but honestly I use the buttons more then anything. Perhaps if the gesture controls were a bit more accurate I would use them more often. Nice feature but don't think its completely there yet.

Sound: this is where I am struggling. At first it sounded horrible but once I figured out the configuration of the amp running the components it improved the sound drastically but I am still chasing an issue that I need help on! I am putting this under the head unit review cause I am not sure if it is being caused by the head unit or not. When the Cerwin Vega spare tire sub hits certain frequencies I feel like they are not being played and I am not sure if thats because the head units EQ only goes to 60 Hz on the low end or not. They advertise a frequency response of I think 45 Hz? I forget honestly but it's lower then the EQ's indicated 60 Hz. My point is when I listen to Rock there are moments where the song sounds like its missing bass but then other moments where its great. With electronic music its less noticeable but certain songs bring out the issue.

Component Speakers

JL Audio's 6x9's sound great but I am still tuning and figuring them out. I feel like may not be playing low enough but then again that could be that frequency issue I mentioned above. Something is missing here. Other then that SUPER LOUD and great sounding!

Cerwin Vega Spare Tire Sub

I was shocked how good it sounds. It bumps! I am having issues where I have to constanlty mess with the gain cause it is either too loud or not loud enough. Yes it is configured to be controlled by the HU volume wise and the EQ on the HU is set to 150 Hz (highest setting...had it at 100Hz and it sounded like crap). This gave me control over the range by the included remote. I usulally have the remote set to 75% gain, 0% Bass Boost, and 100 Hz.

Punch 300x2

I have this set to HP I believe around 100 Hz. I am not sure what the "Punch EQ" does so if anyone can chime in it would be appreciated. Amp is really really nice. Mounted where the old Bose Amp was. Will post pics maybe this weekend.

Final issue

I fubared my wiring...I am getting a whine coming into the speakers. I ran all the speaker wire down the center along side the shifter where the existing cabling is on the right (passenger side). I will post pics of that as well. I need to try and maybe relocate to the other side (driver side of the tunnel) away from existing wiring to see if that resolves the issue. Power was run on the right passenger side door guide then behind the ac fan and into the engine bay right next to the battery.

Future plans

I want to add the rear camera and attempt to wire the stock rear speakers to the HU. I also need help figuring out how to wire in the steering wheel controls cause that would be a game changer. Maybe some more dynamat in the rear.

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Mazda Rx8 MT Titanium - SOLD!
2009 370Z T-Sport MT Black - Takeda Intake, Swift springs, Rear Camber kit, SS B Lines, FI Exhaust, Z Speed CMAK Flywheel/Clutch Kit, Stillen Brake Cooling.