E38 Android based head unit upgrades

E38 Android based head unit upgrades

Author
Discussion

Lugy

Original Poster:

830 posts

182 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
I've been looking into options to replace the original 4:3 sat nav in my E38, at the moment the screen doesn't work and the general concensus is that it's either the nav unit or TV module.
Instead of spending time/money on fixing what I've already got, I've been looking into the Android based head unit like these ones;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Stereo-9753CU-Android...

I'm not too clued up on all the technical jargon but it seems like it'd basically be like having a tablet in the car giving me my Spotify playlists, various apps, bluetooth calling and could be tethered to my phone for Google Maps sat nav, plus it'd still be a radio/CD player. From what I've read so far it can be connected to my steering wheel controls.

A couple of potential issues I've seen is the possibility of losing the OBC functions and will I be able to listen to music and have Google maps running at the same time? (Probably a daft question but one I genuinely don't know the answer to!)

Any feedback from anyone who has one of these would be muchly appreciated.


StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
I would look at the Dynavin units, they are considered the best if you want a OEM look, if you don't there are plenty of named trusted brands out there that will do a similar job.

hamish88

161 posts

175 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
I just fitted one to my e46.
What a great bit of kit , does everything I need . Yes probably not as slick as the more expensive systems when you multitask but for what I paid it's been great.


I usually stream music by Bluetooth from my phone and when I load up the nav the music stutters for a couple of seconds but after that it is fine. The music drops to the background when the nav commands come on but the music comes back normally after the commands finished.

The screen is very sensitive and bright and also pretty sharp as on the website where I bought it from says it is only 800 by 480 resolution and that was one of the things I was worried about. Having using it though it's obviously a higher resolution than that.

All the buttons on the steering wheel work and you can even program them but I've never tried that yet as the standard is fine for me.
Buy a Bluetooth obc reader as well as they throw in the torque pro app and it's pretty useful, I've already reset a couple of warning lights.
Most things load quickly in fact there's not much difference in performance to my galaxy note 2.

It was pretty easy to install I just googled it and there are plenty of how to's on the internet showing precisely what you need to do.
One thing that does bother me is the screen glare is quite bad on a moderately sunny day but I just whack up the brightness and also when you fit it do plug in a external mic as the built in one is not great.

bigdom

2,072 posts

144 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
Not convinced the one in your link will fit, the e38 screen is different on the back, was a pain finding the correct oem 16:9 screen when I changed mine over.

StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
Any pictures Hamish, it sounds interesting.

Lugy

Original Poster:

830 posts

182 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
bigdom said:
Not convinced the one in your link will fit, the e38 screen is different on the back, was a pain finding the correct oem 16:9 screen when I changed mine over.
Hmmmm, I've just seen this on that ad...


That most likely rules this one out then, does anyone know of any that will fit? Everything else seems quite positive otherwise.

StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
No it wont, there will be an E46 variant somewhere, there is little point in buying this if it wont fit, thats why your paying big bucks, a normal DoubleDin unit to do all that is a lot cheaper.
The E46 one has a line/step in it.

StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
If you go to their shop, they do a E46 version, 300 snots.

Lugy

Original Poster:

830 posts

182 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
I've looked into the standard double DIN head units, but the adapter required doesn't really look too fantastic, otherwise I'd of considered one of the Alpine units.



DennisCooper

1,340 posts

170 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
Hi,

Unfortunately, there's no E38 specific cheap chinese replacement type head units. The E38 apparently does have innards which prevent these chinese units from fitting properly. I do believe there was also a revision at some point where the innards were changed to accommodate the later 16:9 oem monitor units and I believe affected RHD cars for which the monitor itself had a slightly different placed 'offset' of the cassette mechanism that 'sticks out the back' of the monitor. Due to these restrictions, none of these chinese unit's have an E38 model and is also down to the fact there's a lot less demand for such a unit as compared to the E46 3 Series and to an extent the E39 ones.

On every BMW forum, there's mentions of these chinese units, and where those who have purchased one, feedback indicates they're still low quality in every aspect. Thus, reliability of them is generally much lower than a premium brand unit. It's rare to find feedback like the one above, where a chinese unit works fully and properly and crucially, continues to do so over time. The chances of getting a unit with 'issues' is high. Even if there was an E38 version, it'd currently, be the same, you 'might' get a fully working unit or, you will 'most likely' get a unit with issues/problems.

Lugy - That's a picture I took of my Alpine unit in my E39 a few years ago! The responses above have looked at the E46, for which there's plenty of the cheap chinese unit's available. For the E38, the good news is that some owners have put the unit I currently have in my car, which is the Parrot Asteroid Smart, here's some links for you

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1...
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2...

The USA has enthusiasts willing to try stuff and as you can see, they've installed the Asteroid Smart successfully. Have a search through that forum for other posts, there's some where tablets have been used instead. The bezels have been modified to best hold the tablets and the Asteroid as well as a few other double din unit's where modifications to the airbox have been done, but don't look like the oem unit.

There's nothing else which could be an alternative really, unless you want to start going down the higher end customisation route.

Cheers, Dennis!

StuntmanMike

11,671 posts

150 months

Saturday 8th November 2014
quotequote all
Sorry OP, disregard all the bks I have posted so far, I got it into my head you had an E46....duhhh

hamish88

161 posts

175 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
quotequote all

Sorry for being so late , was working anyway here's a photo of the one installed in my e46 . I don't know if the one specifically to your car is a good fit but I looked at your link for the ad and presumed it's the same internals as mine as most of the advert is the same except for the fascia.

I have had no problems with mine whatsoever and its a boon when I'm waiting for my wife when she does her shopping and Im sitting in the car park waiting for her. If your wife/girlfriend is anything like mine you'll manage to get through a full film while waiting. And I'll tell you it's a lot better than just waiting with a paper to read.


dudleybloke

19,717 posts

185 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
quotequote all
These do them for E39 and E46 but one of the others might fit.

https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Car_DV...

Lugy

Original Poster:

830 posts

182 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
quotequote all
DennisCooper said:
Hi,

Unfortunately, there's no E38 specific cheap chinese replacement type head units. The E38 apparently does have innards which prevent these chinese units from fitting properly. I do believe there was also a revision at some point where the innards were changed to accommodate the later 16:9 oem monitor units and I believe affected RHD cars for which the monitor itself had a slightly different placed 'offset' of the cassette mechanism that 'sticks out the back' of the monitor. Due to these restrictions, none of these chinese unit's have an E38 model and is also down to the fact there's a lot less demand for such a unit as compared to the E46 3 Series and to an extent the E39 ones.

On every BMW forum, there's mentions of these chinese units, and where those who have purchased one, feedback indicates they're still low quality in every aspect. Thus, reliability of them is generally much lower than a premium brand unit. It's rare to find feedback like the one above, where a chinese unit works fully and properly and crucially, continues to do so over time. The chances of getting a unit with 'issues' is high. Even if there was an E38 version, it'd currently, be the same, you 'might' get a fully working unit or, you will 'most likely' get a unit with issues/problems.

Lugy - That's a picture I took of my Alpine unit in my E39 a few years ago! The responses above have looked at the E46, for which there's plenty of the cheap chinese unit's available. For the E38, the good news is that some owners have put the unit I currently have in my car, which is the Parrot Asteroid Smart, here's some links for you

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1...
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2...

The USA has enthusiasts willing to try stuff and as you can see, they've installed the Asteroid Smart successfully. Have a search through that forum for other posts, there's some where tablets have been used instead. The bezels have been modified to best hold the tablets and the Asteroid as well as a few other double din unit's where modifications to the airbox have been done, but don't look like the oem unit.

There's nothing else which could be an alternative really, unless you want to start going down the higher end customisation route.

Cheers, Dennis!
The Parrot unit looks quite interesting, the facia adapter looks a bit easier on the eye too - though a bit shiny from what I've seen! Plus it seems to have the main features I want, ie Spotify/internet radio/hands free/navigation.
One thing that worries me however is that someone has said they've had to change speakers and the amp, did you have to do this?
How do you find the unit? Can you get the same apps as any other Android device or is it limited to what's on their own Asteroid Market?

DennisCooper

1,340 posts

170 months

Sunday 9th November 2014
quotequote all
Hi,

I've been very very happy with my unit, works very well and very stable. I haven't loaded up any custom ROM's or tweaked around with the unlerlying operating system etc. You can 'side load' apps from the play store if you wish, I personally haven't any requirement to do so - I've only installed Waze from the Parrot Marketplace.

There is an on board amplifier, so you could run some aftermarket speakers directly if you wish. I've always used high quality dedicated car audio amplifiers and speakers so I don't use the on board amplifier. Over time, you could perhaps do the same with your E38, as the oem speakers will be well past their best with the age they are. I suppose as a stop gap you could try to run the oem speakers directly from the unit but don't expect any notable sound quality improvement - if there is any, then it's a bonus for you!

The Smart is very easy and smooth to use, feels very much like using a good responsive tablet PC. I have an unlimited data tariff with 3, so bluetooth stream audio from my smartphone and use the freeby 'tune in' radio app for when I want to listen to the radio. I also have 2 smartphones which both can be connected at the same time (it's called multipoint) so perhaps if you have your's and your partner's phone, you'd be able to do the same. Direct iPod control as well, just plug one in and within a few seconds you can scroll through your music, SD card slots if you wish to load up a card and leave them plugged into the back of the unit. GPS comes with iGo, and I personally prefer Waze. The GPS reciever is USB connected and I've placed mine just by the front passenger airbag area - it's just underneath it and easily accessible for when you fit the unit. I routed the mic cable and it's on my dash corner currently and I will re position it further up the A pillar soon. I've no requirement for steering wheel controls, but you can get the UNIKA interface at extra cost if you want that feature.

For now, the Smart remains the only premium brand shallow depth, fully featured touchscreen double DIN on the market and solves the issue of not having to cut/modify airboxes in BMW's. There's talk of a Version 2 coming soon, so you might want to hold out a couple months if you can for whenever it is available. When it is, I'll be buying one for sure!

Cheers, Dennis!

FilH

588 posts

143 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
quotequote all
DennisCooper said:
that'll be my install.


but as already mentioned it's the heater system that fouls the eBay units.


even with the parrot only being 3" deep, it was still a tight fit and I had to mid the heater unit casing a bit.

JPLandolt

31 posts

115 months

Saturday 25th July 2015
quotequote all
I am in the same dilemma, can´t find one that will fit a 1997 E38...

DennisCooper

1,340 posts

170 months

Saturday 25th July 2015
quotequote all
JPLandolt said:
I am in the same dilemma, can´t find one that will fit a 1997 E38...
This is due to the above, there isn't a chinese made, or premium brand Android based/capable head unit that will fit the E38 out there.

Since the replies above on this topic, then Alpine have released their shallow depth Apple CarPlay specific head unit which is the iLX-700. It's shallower than the Parrot Smart I have for instance. There's some USA based E38 owners (I'm sure there's other around the globe too!) who fitted the Parrot Smart with good results in the E38, so the Alpine item should be just that little bit easier to fit and/or have that little bit extra room.

The 'general' trend lately is that audio streaming has taken off in a big way and it's still growing. CD's are on the decline in cars, so I'd think over the next couple years, more shallow depth double DIN unit's will become available from more of the premium brands.

Cheers, Dennis!

JPLandolt

31 posts

115 months

Sunday 26th July 2015
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i recently saw a android k808 computer installed on a e39.
Does anyone know anything about it on a E38?

DennisCooper

1,340 posts

170 months

Tuesday 28th July 2015
quotequote all
JPLandolt said:
i recently saw a android k808 computer installed on a e39.
Does anyone know anything about it on a E38?
Link? information? I'm guessing it's a small car PC ?

If so, then Car PC's have been around for quite some time, but very very little uptake due to the extra aspects to make it work properly - proper car power supply to offer soft power starts/shutdowns, vehicle rated touchscreen display, vehicle rated computer case with anti vibration features, high quality audio output solution needed and then all the assembly costs (if someone isn't so DIY savvy) and then installation costs.

Cheers, Dennis!