[rajushank84]

I'm not much of an ICE guy but the stock stereo on my 370Z was terrible so as soon as I got the car I decided to change it. Not so much for the sound quality, more because I miss bluetooth, backup camera and navigation. This car's rear is one huge blind spot, you can't see anything when backing up so I decided to do it immediately.

Don't ask me how much it cost, I will just say an arm and a leg . Or "I refuse to answer that question on the basis that it will incriminate me "

The speakers are still terrible but I am not thinking about upgrading them for now. I am not exactly a music person. I listen to the news more than music.

I apologize if this is not the right place to post this. Though this is an international product, I figured this can be used on Indian cars as well so I figured its the right place.

So.. some pics.

Stock unit before the upgrade - this didn't even have MP3 playback - for a car made in 2012!! No USB either.


This is the new one installed:


A closer look at the home screen:


Radio (HD radio and has support for SiriusXM):


Music playback from my iPhone over bluetooth:


Phone bluetooth functionality:


Connect an iPhone and it goes into CarPlay mode:


The iPhone also goes into CarPlay mode and you can't use it for something else:

Waiting for iOS9 for CarPlay over Bluetooth.

Two separate slots for iPhone CarPlay and Android Auto:


Navigation (apparently its provided by HERE, seems to be very good):


Backup camera:


The unit swivels to reveal CD/DVD and SD Card slots:



Observations so far

• I love the fit. Doesn't look/feel like an aftermarket setup at all. In fact I am glad I got a car without the $3500 tech package (spent that money on sport package instead). The tech package not only has just half of these features, it also takes up the whole console and comes with a silly rotate-knob instead of a touchscreen. Since this is a non-tech-package car, it has the center storage box above the head unit and I still get to keep that storage!
• So far I really like the navigation. Its a HERE setup so works great, as good as google maps from what I can tell.
• The Bluetooth (both phone calls and music) are crystal clear. As good as my BMW's.
• The backup camera is functional. I can now see if anyone is behind the car, that's it. The lines are useless.
• CarPlay just seems to be a toy I'm not sure I'll be using. I guess its convenient though. Maybe I'll load some podcasts on it. Meh.
• I also briefly tried Android Auto, it works as seamlessly as CarPlay. Both the systems don't need any setup, you just plug in any phone and you're good to go.
• Its nice to know I have DVD playback capability but I'm not sure I'll be using that at all. Maybe my wife will use it on long drives.
• I'm glad there is an SD card slot. I will load my music on it. No USB drives sticking out like a sore thumb.
• My steering wheel audio and volume controls work with this new setup.
• I love the capacitive touchscreen. My last Garmin was a resistive and I hated it so much I made sure I got the top of the line model with capacitive this time.
• My only gripe is - the unit has hardware buttons for previous and next song, but there is no hardware button for play/pause (yeah really!). Theres one on the remote control but not one on the unit. I wish this button was there, I use it all the time on my other car. For now I am just using the "source" button to stop/start music (I source to aux mode and since nothing is connected to aux, its the same as stopping).

Oh and bonus pic of my car



I highly recommend this system. Its pricey and maybe has a few fancy features you won't really use, but works smoothly and gives me exactly what I need. Thumbs-up!

[Jomz]

Just curious, why didn't you use the stock USB locations inside the glove box??

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

I'm not much of an ICE guy but the stock stereo on my 370Z was terrible so as soon as I got the car I decided to change it. Not so much for the sound quality, more because I miss bluetooth, backup camera and navigation. This car's rear is one huge blind spot, you can't see anything when backing up so I decided to do it immediately.

My only gripe is - the unit has hardware buttons for previous and next song, but there is no hardware button for play/pause (yeah really!).

Looks great

Where did you get it installed from?

As for buttons, the stock ICE on both Accord & MDX doesn't have pause button for audio.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by Jomz

Just curious, why didn't you use the stock USB locations inside the glove box??

The car doesn't have USB ports. Those come with the touring package or the tech package. I should've got a Corolla instead!! (j/k)

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Looks great

Where did you get it installed from?

As for buttons, the stock ICE on both Accord & MDX doesn't have pause button for audio.

Thanks! Wow, really? You would think play/pause should be the most used feature.. I had it on all my cars so far. Hell, I even had it on the cassette player on my Maruti 800 . Well anyway I have got used to pressing "source" on the steering wheel once to stop play (goes to aux) and pressing it twice to play again (cycle through radio and back to bluetooth).

I got it done from a local shop called the Car Stereo Company in Mountain View.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Wow, really? You would think play/pause should be the most used feature..

Yep I too was surprised & used the source button just like you to Pause initially. Though to be honest I don't feel the need these days as phone & navigation are built in which mutes the audio when needed, worst case its the power button.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Yep I too was surprised & used the source button just like you to Pause initially. Though to be honest I don't feel the need these days as phone & navigation are built in which mutes the audio when needed, worst case its the power button.

Oh yeah, the thing is this unit doesn't have a power button that goes into sleep mode. You can long-press the home button to switch off, but that literally switches off everything and will take some 20 seconds to boot up from scratch again. I do use pause/play a lot when driving if someone starts a conversation I pause it and then when there is a natural silence I turn it on again.

#firstworldproblems

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

The car doesn't have USB ports. Those come with the touring package or the tech package. I should've got a Corolla instead!! (j/k)

I got a 2015 370z - base for a rental. It had the USB ports inside the glove box. It also had aux in inside the glove box.

But looking at your stock stereo, It does not even have buttons for USB. So maybe that was introduced only recently.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by Jomz

I got a 2015 370z - base for a rental. It had the USB ports inside the glove box. It also had aux in inside the glove box.

But looking at your stock stereo, It does not even have buttons for USB. So maybe that was introduced only recently.

Yeah they might have added it for 2015. "All new 370Z"

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Yeah they might have added it for 2015. "All new 370Z"

Yes, all now led strips on the bumper.