Fitting a satnav / tv system into a 2003 M3- help required
Discussion
Hi Ticker
Your post isn't immediately clear..
Are you trying to fit an aftermarket double DIN head unit into your car? - if so, look at Connects2 and Celsus websites as they do the fascia to fit such units from the likes of Alpine, Kenwood, Sony and Pioneer etc etc. You'll also need the heater control panel relocation kit. Please check the M3cutters website for more information on this..
If you are trying to retrofit the OEM TV/Satnav modules into your car, this is fairly complex and requires you to have all the modules and looms and antenna's etc and to remove subtantial amounts of your interior to make it all fit etc. Again, please check on the M3cutters site for more info.
Cheers, Dennis!
Your post isn't immediately clear..
Are you trying to fit an aftermarket double DIN head unit into your car? - if so, look at Connects2 and Celsus websites as they do the fascia to fit such units from the likes of Alpine, Kenwood, Sony and Pioneer etc etc. You'll also need the heater control panel relocation kit. Please check the M3cutters website for more information on this..
If you are trying to retrofit the OEM TV/Satnav modules into your car, this is fairly complex and requires you to have all the modules and looms and antenna's etc and to remove subtantial amounts of your interior to make it all fit etc. Again, please check on the M3cutters site for more info.
Cheers, Dennis!
DennisCooper said:
Hi Ticker
Your post isn't immediately clear..
Are you trying to fit an aftermarket double DIN head unit into your car? - if so, look at Connects2 and Celsus websites as they do the fascia to fit such units from the likes of Alpine, Kenwood, Sony and Pioneer etc etc. You'll also need the heater control panel relocation kit. Please check the M3cutters website for more information on this..
If you are trying to retrofit the OEM TV/Satnav modules into your car, this is fairly complex and requires you to have all the modules and looms and antenna's etc and to remove subtantial amounts of your interior to make it all fit etc. Again, please check on the M3cutters site for more info.
Cheers, Dennis!
Dennis, thanks for that, in your opinion, is this an option worth doing if not considering doing it myself? Seems like a massive task.Your post isn't immediately clear..
Are you trying to fit an aftermarket double DIN head unit into your car? - if so, look at Connects2 and Celsus websites as they do the fascia to fit such units from the likes of Alpine, Kenwood, Sony and Pioneer etc etc. You'll also need the heater control panel relocation kit. Please check the M3cutters website for more information on this..
If you are trying to retrofit the OEM TV/Satnav modules into your car, this is fairly complex and requires you to have all the modules and looms and antenna's etc and to remove subtantial amounts of your interior to make it all fit etc. Again, please check on the M3cutters site for more info.
Cheers, Dennis!
Dave
Hi Dave
I Have an E46 M3 with the Nav/TV option. If it were a straightforward swap I would do it, but as it's not I wouldn't bother largely due to the Satnav being crap. Also the TV is an analogue system so you would also need the upgrade kit from a 3rd party.
From what I've read there are plenty of OEM looking double din units available that do a far better Job and drop straight in.
HTH
I Have an E46 M3 with the Nav/TV option. If it were a straightforward swap I would do it, but as it's not I wouldn't bother largely due to the Satnav being crap. Also the TV is an analogue system so you would also need the upgrade kit from a 3rd party.
From what I've read there are plenty of OEM looking double din units available that do a far better Job and drop straight in.
HTH
I would say that if you have the time and patience then fitting the OEM stuff is possible and a google of satnav retrofit will let you know how complex it is. running the loom is a PIA but easily possible, and the OEM widescreen is fine. That said, the new double dins are also compatible with the steering wheel controls and have lots of options. I am not a great lover of having lots of boxes on the dash. With a Mk4 Dvd nav computer you can even have the speed camera database. The non std unitis are a single drop in box usually these days.
I already had the widescreen and tv so looked into the OEM bt option, http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=221... had a few ideas, and I got the kit from Fabdirect. It hasn't been easy as I have an early car and they don't have the 54 way plug.
There are a couple of options using the Parrot, connects and a little wiring to get an almost OEM BT Kit as well. The cost of a BT setup is about £100 if you make the loom yourself.
I do like a challenge!
I already had the widescreen and tv so looked into the OEM bt option, http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=221... had a few ideas, and I got the kit from Fabdirect. It hasn't been easy as I have an early car and they don't have the 54 way plug.
There are a couple of options using the Parrot, connects and a little wiring to get an almost OEM BT Kit as well. The cost of a BT setup is about £100 if you make the loom yourself.
I do like a challenge!
Hi,
It appears you do indeed want to retrofit all the oem modules to your car..
There's various threads dotted on the M3cutters and E46zone sites about changing an E46 with say perhaps just the radio cassette unit to the 16:9 widescreen satnav/TV system.
Is it worth it ? well to those who've done this - it obviously is, to those considering it, perhaps - only you know it is actually is!
It is a complex job in terms of what needs to be done and fitted up etc, if you are confident and competent enough, on posts where it has been DIY done perhaps think of a whole day 10 or so hours from start to finish.
Don't forget in this evaluation process, that the modules you'll get are perhaps 6-10 years or so old, no warranty or guarantee and of course are now outdated. They still 'work' to an extent of course. The analogue TV tuner will be useless now if you live in an already 'switched off' area or will be by the end of next year. When they do turn up, expect to pay around £450-600 for an oem hybrid analogue/digital TV tuner. An aftermarket plug and play system exists as well, around £500 to purchase, but I think does need it's antenna's mounting somewhere in/on the car (unsure if they've updated it to use the oem antennas) - if you want the Bluetooth module as well, again it can be fitted and will 'work' however do keep in mind it's electronics are from 5+ years ago. So, this means more and more of the latest handsets as they come out may well not work well or at all with older versions of Bluetooth, so may well be when the iPhone 5 or 6 or 7 comes out, it just won't work with the car. Expect another £275+ or so to get hold of the last bluetooth version modules.
On top of that, no one uses cassettes anymore - some of the E46 monitor's have a CD transport in them too though, more expensive to pick one of these versions up. CD changer, still in use with many cars but on a downward usage trend now that iPod's are favoured. To get a good OEM iPod interface, such as the excellent Intravee setup, you'd be looking at another £275 or so.
The cheap chinese all in one replacement units are available. They look quite close to oem and bundle everything into one unit you install in the dash. The best of these is the Dynavin unit. Do have a look around on the various forums including E46 fanatics.com where there's plenty of threads about these sorts of units. You'll tend to find that getting a unit that works 100% correctly from purchase moment is 50/50. So chances are high that you'd get a unit and perhaps this or that function doesn't quite work or doesn't work properly etc. Plenty to read up about here!
I'd personally go for a premium brand unit and setup - Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer etc and sacrifice 5-10% of oem dash looks for a properly made and supported product(s).
The choice, as they say, is yours!
Cheers,Dennis!
It appears you do indeed want to retrofit all the oem modules to your car..
There's various threads dotted on the M3cutters and E46zone sites about changing an E46 with say perhaps just the radio cassette unit to the 16:9 widescreen satnav/TV system.
Is it worth it ? well to those who've done this - it obviously is, to those considering it, perhaps - only you know it is actually is!
It is a complex job in terms of what needs to be done and fitted up etc, if you are confident and competent enough, on posts where it has been DIY done perhaps think of a whole day 10 or so hours from start to finish.
Don't forget in this evaluation process, that the modules you'll get are perhaps 6-10 years or so old, no warranty or guarantee and of course are now outdated. They still 'work' to an extent of course. The analogue TV tuner will be useless now if you live in an already 'switched off' area or will be by the end of next year. When they do turn up, expect to pay around £450-600 for an oem hybrid analogue/digital TV tuner. An aftermarket plug and play system exists as well, around £500 to purchase, but I think does need it's antenna's mounting somewhere in/on the car (unsure if they've updated it to use the oem antennas) - if you want the Bluetooth module as well, again it can be fitted and will 'work' however do keep in mind it's electronics are from 5+ years ago. So, this means more and more of the latest handsets as they come out may well not work well or at all with older versions of Bluetooth, so may well be when the iPhone 5 or 6 or 7 comes out, it just won't work with the car. Expect another £275+ or so to get hold of the last bluetooth version modules.
On top of that, no one uses cassettes anymore - some of the E46 monitor's have a CD transport in them too though, more expensive to pick one of these versions up. CD changer, still in use with many cars but on a downward usage trend now that iPod's are favoured. To get a good OEM iPod interface, such as the excellent Intravee setup, you'd be looking at another £275 or so.
The cheap chinese all in one replacement units are available. They look quite close to oem and bundle everything into one unit you install in the dash. The best of these is the Dynavin unit. Do have a look around on the various forums including E46 fanatics.com where there's plenty of threads about these sorts of units. You'll tend to find that getting a unit that works 100% correctly from purchase moment is 50/50. So chances are high that you'd get a unit and perhaps this or that function doesn't quite work or doesn't work properly etc. Plenty to read up about here!
I'd personally go for a premium brand unit and setup - Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer etc and sacrifice 5-10% of oem dash looks for a properly made and supported product(s).
The choice, as they say, is yours!
Cheers,Dennis!
I thought this ipad 2 install was one of the sweetest I've seen.
I have DVD nav in my M3, it's upgraded to 3d and has 2012 maps. It's pretty good, but knowing how involved an OEM install is, if it wasn't fitted to my car from factory I'd probably do the ipad2 setup above or Dynavin. Everything else looks a bit "cheap" as the aftermarket facias for double-din monitors don't blend well.
I have DVD nav in my M3, it's upgraded to 3d and has 2012 maps. It's pretty good, but knowing how involved an OEM install is, if it wasn't fitted to my car from factory I'd probably do the ipad2 setup above or Dynavin. Everything else looks a bit "cheap" as the aftermarket facias for double-din monitors don't blend well.
david_h said:
I thought this ipad 2 install was one of the sweetest I've seen.
I have DVD nav in my M3, it's upgraded to 3d and has 2012 maps. It's pretty good, but knowing how involved an OEM install is, if it wasn't fitted to my car from factory I'd probably do the ipad2 setup above or Dynavin. Everything else looks a bit "cheap" as the aftermarket facias for double-din monitors don't blend well.
David H,I have DVD nav in my M3, it's upgraded to 3d and has 2012 maps. It's pretty good, but knowing how involved an OEM install is, if it wasn't fitted to my car from factory I'd probably do the ipad2 setup above or Dynavin. Everything else looks a bit "cheap" as the aftermarket facias for double-din monitors don't blend well.
That iPad 2 looks sooo good, any ideas who could install that piece of kit ?
Dave
Hi,
DavidH - long time no see! hope all is good with you ! a very clean and well executed install for the iPad
when the iPad 7 inch comes out.. things could get interesting !..... 
Ticker - Please give Carl at studioincar a call http://www.studioincar.com/ - tell him that I sent you! He's the installer who did the project you see above. If you decide not to go for the iPad, then do take a look at his E46 M3 and audio install
Cheers, Dennis!
DavidH - long time no see! hope all is good with you ! a very clean and well executed install for the iPad
when the iPad 7 inch comes out.. things could get interesting !..... Ticker - Please give Carl at studioincar a call http://www.studioincar.com/ - tell him that I sent you! He's the installer who did the project you see above. If you decide not to go for the iPad, then do take a look at his E46 M3 and audio install
Cheers, Dennis!
I've known Carl for around 5 years, he's a top guy and his work on installs is of very high quality.
I was really impressed with how cleanly they managed to install the ipad 2.
His own boot install on his M3 is similarly refined, check the blog/gallery on his site that Dennis linked above.
I was really impressed with how cleanly they managed to install the ipad 2.
His own boot install on his M3 is similarly refined, check the blog/gallery on his site that Dennis linked above.
I installed the OEM unit and all the wiring about 3 years ago into my M3. Took a whole day and did involve removing seats and so on but its not really super hard, just time consuming and you do need to ensure you have all the parts you need.
I do hear people moan that the BMW Nav is rubbish and a TomTom is better etc but I cannot agree. I've seen modern systems from Honda, Volvo, Toyota, etc and none are as good as my 11 year old BMW system. The modern BMW system is better but I would expect that. I've upgraded the Nav unit to a MK4 and use a disc with Post Codes on but other than that...
Its alot of cash to retrofit though, I'd say about £1k just for the bits you need. So it probably goes without saying that any other option would be cheaper.
I do hear people moan that the BMW Nav is rubbish and a TomTom is better etc but I cannot agree. I've seen modern systems from Honda, Volvo, Toyota, etc and none are as good as my 11 year old BMW system. The modern BMW system is better but I would expect that. I've upgraded the Nav unit to a MK4 and use a disc with Post Codes on but other than that...
Its alot of cash to retrofit though, I'd say about £1k just for the bits you need. So it probably goes without saying that any other option would be cheaper.
Cemesis said:
I installed the OEM unit and all the wiring about 3 years ago into my M3. Took a whole day and did involve removing seats and so on but its not really super hard, just time consuming and you do need to ensure you have all the parts you need.
I do hear people moan that the BMW Nav is rubbish and a TomTom is better etc but I cannot agree. I've seen modern systems from Honda, Volvo, Toyota, etc and none are as good as my 11 year old BMW system. The modern BMW system is better but I would expect that. I've upgraded the Nav unit to a MK4 and use a disc with Post Codes on but other than that...
Its alot of cash to retrofit though, I'd say about £1k just for the bits you need. So it probably goes without saying that any other option would be cheaper.
+1 it looks the best IMHO and works well with a mkivI do hear people moan that the BMW Nav is rubbish and a TomTom is better etc but I cannot agree. I've seen modern systems from Honda, Volvo, Toyota, etc and none are as good as my 11 year old BMW system. The modern BMW system is better but I would expect that. I've upgraded the Nav unit to a MK4 and use a disc with Post Codes on but other than that...
Its alot of cash to retrofit though, I'd say about £1k just for the bits you need. So it probably goes without saying that any other option would be cheaper.
Cemesis said:
I installed the OEM unit and all the wiring about 3 years ago into my M3. Took a whole day and did involve removing seats and so on but its not really super hard, just time consuming and you do need to ensure you have all the parts you need.
I do hear people moan that the BMW Nav is rubbish and a TomTom is better etc but I cannot agree. I've seen modern systems from Honda, Volvo, Toyota, etc and none are as good as my 11 year old BMW system. The modern BMW system is better but I would expect that. I've upgraded the Nav unit to a MK4 and use a disc with Post Codes on but other than that...
Its alot of cash to retrofit though, I'd say about £1k just for the bits you need. So it probably goes without saying that any other option would be cheaper.
I retro fitted mine last summer (so had the chance to get dynavin etc) It took about half a day and you only need to unbolt the pass seat to move it about a bit and also remove the rear 1/4 trim and rear seats. So not too bad. I weighed up the options and have to agree with the above the I find the OEM setup with the upgraded OS/MKIV and Intravee a superb set up. I do hear people moan that the BMW Nav is rubbish and a TomTom is better etc but I cannot agree. I've seen modern systems from Honda, Volvo, Toyota, etc and none are as good as my 11 year old BMW system. The modern BMW system is better but I would expect that. I've upgraded the Nav unit to a MK4 and use a disc with Post Codes on but other than that...
Its alot of cash to retrofit though, I'd say about £1k just for the bits you need. So it probably goes without saying that any other option would be cheaper.
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