New to the forum...lurked for a while though

I have been contemplating a lot of modifcations to the car, but the one that seems to baffle me the most is the stereo system.

At first I was going to go aftermarket, then decided nah, I like the controls. But now I know there is an aftermarket wiring relay that will cause the controls to work. They stated that it "may not" function exactly as the oem (like the mute only quieting it, or not working at all). Anyone that has done the aftermarket thing have their controls hooked up by aftermarket control relay? and if so, are you happy with it?

I checked the forum for the aftermarket controls FAQ's and i don't think it covers the relay I'm talking about...this one hardwires in with your HU and actually works between the controls and the HU without an infrared. Not sure about the specifics.

I was going to leave the stock stereo in, but seemed to think that was ludacris, since I wanted to add rear speakers and a sub.

Thanks in advance, and hope I enjoy the stay!!

Oh yeah, 6 month owner of an '01 silverstone in immaculate condition...

 

The faq does cover the modification you are speaking of. In Alpine units you can use SWI-ALP which you can hardwire to your dash controls. I haven't done this mod, but from what I've read you are correct when you say that the dash controls will change a bit. Since the headunit you will be purchasing have more features and functions than the stock headunit, the SWI-ALP makes the necessary adjustments to get as many features as it can onto the couple of buttons on our dash.

There are also a couple of other mods you can use for other headunits. I think the most effective one would be adding a DCI unit from modifry. You can google modifry and it'll give you a link to his website.

 

I personally went with the ever popular JVC Nav unit..my controls work but are less responsive (ie you have to hold the buttons for about half a second instead of just pushing them)..its sort of annoying sometime..also, the mute button no longer works for me, which i didn't think was a big deal at first but as the saying goes "you never know what you've got until its gone".

The FAQ does not completely cover this topic, if anyone knows of an interface that can utilize all the OEM functions please post

..also, regarding the threadstarter, an aftermarket HU should probably be your first mod before you go with an amp or sub etc. Not only will it help with sound quality, but if you do decide to go with a sub/speakers etc, you will have a great deal more control over your power output and sound quality

 

Ah, I may be wrong...but from what I've read and heard, I thought the Modifry DCI hardwire unit does utilize all of the oem functions and then some.

 

Just installed the Modifry DCI on my Pioneer P6900UB That interface rocks! The only difference is now to go to the next track you hold the Mode button then push up on the track select- which took only a few minutes to get used to. Everything else works like stock. I might tap into the speedo wire later on so I won't have to adjust the volume whenever I come to a stop or speed up.


Now I'm looking for good 5 1/4 speakers for s-pods

 

I was told to just stay with coaxial speakers on the s-pods, components are overkill and expensive.

But to each his own.