What HU should I buy?

[DarkPira7e]

Originally Posted by HRTROB

After using three Pioneer 2 DIN radios I have finally settled on this cheap Chinese Android head unit. I love the look. It looks like a modern factory Toyota radio. I also love the rotary knobs. Initially I had problems with bluetooth A2DP music skipping when the radio was connected to my phone’s hotspot. All that changed when I got the carplay dongle - I don’t even have to use my phone’s hotspot or even connect to bluetooth anymore. I can make calls and send messages by just being connected through the lightning cable. There’s a wireless Carplay dongle but I settled for the wired version. I currently have the dongle connected to the stock usb port but this weekend I’ll be relocating it inside the dash, placed in between the radio and factory usb port.

Sorry for the crappy photo. The forum has a pretty low image size restriction.

It's Chinese, fills the gap, is cheap, works... What is the brand/model?!?

[YamahaR86]

Problem with Android HU imo is the slow cold bootup times and maybe audio connections if you want to hook up more like coaxial speakers/sub combined with audio quality RMS outputs. Otherwise, it's a cool gadget if you don't care for sound quality. All of your apps are there and you can run torque gauges.

[Irace86.2.0]

I ended up buying the Kenwood DDX919WS. I think it'll be best for all the features I want. It wasn't the cheapest, but I think it'll be worth the price. What sold me was the following features:

--Flush fit
--Wireless AppleCarplay
--Capacitive touchscreen
--HD pixel density
--Sound quality

Other perks

--CD player
--Ability to control/view multiple cameras
--Gesture controls
--Steering wheel controls
--Tunability
--Tilt functions
--Etc

I also ordered the OEM Audio Plus Reference 500Q kit. I'll need to get some Dynamat and maybe some other things like cameras. We will see.

[YamahaR86]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

I also ordered the OEM Audio Plus Reference 500Q kit. I'll need to get some Dynamat and maybe some other things like cameras. We will see.

Grats. I would say sound deadening helped me a lot. Noticed it helped improved stock setup before I started upgrading everything. I only did the doors, rear seats, trunk shelf, and trunk. Didn't do the roof or flooring.


I would like to do the roof but not sure about removing the liner. Every time I park under a tree or something and an acorn drops on the hood it's so loud I bet sound deadening it would help.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by YamahaR86

Grats. I would say sound deadening helped me a lot. Noticed it helped improved stock setup before I started upgrading everything. I only did the doors, rear seats, trunk shelf, and trunk. Didn't do the roof or flooring.


I would like to do the roof but not sure about removing the liner. Every time I park under a tree or something and an acorn drops on the hood it's so loud I bet sound deadening it would help.

Did you use Dynamat?

[YamahaR86]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Did you use Dynamat?

Nope. Too rich for me, I used Noico 80 mil. The mids and bass sound more like a focused "punch" than a smack.


I'm not an audiophile, but a car is a terrible sound-stage to try and get perfection in. Recently got some entry level headphones (Sennheiser HD 58x) and music sounds amazing so nothing can really top them unless you're doing a full living room theater setup.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by YamahaR86

Nope. Too rich for me, I used Noico 80 mil. The mids and bass sound more like a focused "punch" than a smack.


I'm not an audiophile, but a car is a terrible sound-stage to try and get perfection in. Recently got some entry level headphones (Sennheiser HD 58x) and music sounds amazing so nothing can really top them unless you're doing a full living room theater setup.

Yea, I just started pricing Dynamat, and it is more than I want to spend on sound deadening.

[Irace86.2.0]

https://caraudiologic.com/dynamat-al...ive-comparison

[neilr]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

I ended up buying the Kenwood DDX919WS.

Where did you end up buying it from? There's a retailer based in Australia (I think) that does some nice comparison videos between the generations of HUs, but I haven't followed through on finding out if they sell to the US.

If you do the install yourself, a writeup would be awesome. I know there are some others on here, but more is better. :-)

[Pizzachicken]

Since I see the Sony XAV's mentioned a bit, just wanted to share what I recently installed. Was on the same boat as yall, didn't want a cheap Android tablet in my car, and AX7000's minimal look doesn't scream aftermarket too bad. Mounted with modified metra brackets and it doesn't look too off imo, since the HU is pretty bezeless. The Scoche trim didn't fit my '16 FRS.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by neilr

Where did you end up buying it from? There's a retailer based in Australia (I think) that does some nice comparison videos between the generations of HUs, but I haven't followed through on finding out if they sell to the US.

If you do the install yourself, a writeup would be awesome. I know there are some others on here, but more is better. :-)

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...=119040&page=9

From this thread, the two most common places were the Austrailia based Carbon Car Systems and the Malasian based Fasmoto. I bought mine through Amazon via Fasmoto. I did this mainly because I was going for a locker delivery, but that wasn't available, and because Amazon's return policies give me piece of mind.

I am still trying to figure out what harnesses I'll need. From the thread above, it is hard to tell if this system is mostly plug and play with a few exceptions. It appears that there would be a need for an antenna adapter, the adapter to hook into the stock USB, and if someone has a rear back up camera with 6V like OEM then a 12v to 6V adapter. I'm still researching this.

@YamahaR86

I bought the Noico 80mil sound deadening mat (36sqft). I also bought tape and a roller. I plan on doing the doors and the trunk and then I will see how much material is left over. Did you do any of the plastics and did you do inside the door? I don't know if I want to pull the carpet, front seats, headliner, etc to do the whole car, but would imagine that I would need at least another roll or two to do that. What did you do and did you just do patches of matting or full covering? I hear that it isn't necessary to lay it down completely; 25% coverage on a panel might be enough to reduce 90% of what full coverage would do--something like that.

[Irace86.2.0]

I purchased the adapters:

--Metra 40-LX11 Toyota antenna adapter (blue wire isn't used)

--PAC USB-TY1 USB retention cable

--Since I will be installing an aftermarket backup camera, a 12v-6v adapter isn't necessary.

--I might be getting the Kenwood dash cam, but I haven't decided yet. My wife might get if for me for Christmas too.

[YamahaR86]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

@YamahaR86

I bought the Noico 80mil sound deadening mat (36sqft). I also bought tape and a roller. I plan on doing the doors and the trunk and then I will see how much material is left over. Did you do any of the plastics and did you do inside the door? I don't know if I want to pull the carpet, front seats, headliner, etc to do the whole car, but would imagine that I would need at least another roll or two to do that. What did you do and did you just do patches of matting or full covering? I hear that it isn't necessary to lay it down completely; 25% coverage on a panel might be enough to reduce 90% of what full coverage would do--something like that.

36 Sq Ft is what I used as well. I removed the door panels and did the doors and inside (where the windows rest, was kind of a pain). Removed the backseat side panels and did those. Can't remember if I did the bottom of the rear seats but they're easy to remove.


I also did the rear shelf (where the 3rd brake light sits). In the trunk looking upwards where the trunk light is, the trunk itself (my first gen base model doesn't have one of those fancy liners and lastly under the trunk mat where the spare tire sits.


I would think you need another roll or two if you wanted to do the roof and floor, but like you mentioned I've never removed those items before and not sure if it's held on by a glue that I don't want to disturb. I did mention earlier when I park under trees and acorns fall on my roof I can hear the stock "ding" sound instead of a solid "thump" when you don't have the deadening. It's pretty interesting, you should experiment by knocking lightly on a panel that doesn't have the sound deadening, apply it and then knock lightly again to hear the difference.


I cut mine up into weird squares and rectangles and slapped them on. There is about an inch between each strip or so it looks a little odd but you can't really see it (the trunk one you can).

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

I purchased the adapters:

--Metra 40-LX11 Toyota antenna adapter (blue wire isn't used)

--PAC USB-TY1 USB retention cable

--Since I will be installing an aftermarket backup camera, a 12v-6v adapter isn't necessary.

--I might be getting the Kenwood dash cam, but I haven't decided yet. My wife might get if for me for Christmas too.

I used Metra 40-LX11 as well, different USB though. I wanted the ability to use AUX if I had to and my "premium" 2013 one didn't have the cable for some reason. I used Metra AX-USB-35EXT.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by YamahaR86

36 Sq Ft is what I used as well. I removed the door panels and did the doors and inside (where the windows rest, was kind of a pain). Removed the backseat side panels and did those. Can't remember if I did the bottom of the rear seats but they're easy to remove.

I also did the rear shelf (where the 3rd brake light sits). In the trunk looking upwards where the trunk light is, the trunk itself (my first gen base model doesn't have one of those fancy liners and lastly under the trunk mat where the spare tire sits.

I would think you need another roll or two if you wanted to do the roof and floor, but like you mentioned I've never removed those items before and not sure if it's held on by a glue that I don't want to disturb. I did mention earlier when I park under trees and acorns fall on my roof I can hear the stock "ding" sound instead of a solid "thump" when you don't have the deadening. It's pretty interesting, you should experiment by knocking lightly on a panel that doesn't have the sound deadening, apply it and then knock lightly again to hear the difference.

I cut mine up into weird squares and rectangles and slapped them on. There is about an inch between each strip or so it looks a little odd but you can't really see it (the trunk one you can).

I used Metra 40-LX11 as well, different USB though. I wanted the ability to use AUX if I had to and my "premium" 2013 one didn't have the cable for some reason. I used Metra AX-USB-35EXT.

I haven't used the Aux cable at all since owning the car. Because of Bluetooth and USB, it was never necessary.

I believe I will be doing the same spots you said, but I was also considering lining some plastic trim. Did you do any of those?