# Installed the wife's Christmas present today... **URL:** \ **Category:** Shift518 Automotive\ **Created:** [December 30, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094 "2011-12-30T21:09:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![offroadzj](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/offroadzj/32/6428_2.png) [@offroadzj](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/offroadzj)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/1 "2011-12-30T21:09:51Z")
Back when I was at C.City, I bought a display Pioneer Avic Z1 in dash double din that had zero parts with it… but I got it for dirt cheap. So for the wifey’s christmas present this year I bought all of the parts for it including the bluetooth adapter, back up camera, and an upgraded Z3 hard drive to bring it 100% up to date. And today I actually had some time to put it all in… so the fun began… I started off with the back-up camera since that involved the longest run of wiring and probably the most work out of everything. So I pulled down the plastic trim piece on the hatch. ![http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/011.jpg](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/011.jpg) Then I worked on figuring out where to run the wire for the camera. There were no exposed grommets or factory holes to run it through, and I didn’t feel like drilling so it was time to go hunting. Knowing that the plastic release handle cover had to have wiring coming through for the plate light and window release, I decided to remove that whole piece. ![http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/012.jpg](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/012.jpg) Success!!! Found a good grommet to run the camera wire into the cab. Routed the camera video wire as well as some speaker wire for the power/ground along the hatch and through the 3rd brake light access hole. Then fed the wires through the factory hatch boot to keep everything well hidden. ![http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/013.jpg](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/013.jpg) ![http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/014.jpg](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/014.jpg) Then had to pull every pillar panel off (A,B,C,and D) to route the video and power wires along the top of the pillars just behind the headliner and then down the A pillar and through the dash to the radio “hole”. Wired up the harness using an XSVI harness which produced the required reverse signal wire and speed sense wire through the data connection. Made the install a little bit easier. Wired everything up and connected the harness. Also ran the GPS antenna from just above the windshield on the driver side, in through the door jam, through the dash, and behind the radio. ![http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/016.jpg](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/016.jpg) Ran the microphone to pretty much the only place I could find to hold it at the right angle and still be in a good location to pick up the driver’s voice well and not get too much interference from wind, heater vents, etc. ![http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/018.jpg](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/018.jpg) Got everything all connected up, installed the new HDD, and put it all back together. Wasn’t the hardest install ever, but wasn’t the easiest either. All of the panels were still virgins so they fought me every step of the way… nothing wanted to come apart. But in the end it came out nice and works great! ![http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/023.jpg](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/023.jpg) ![http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/025.jpg](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f367/offroadzj/Kyra%20Jeep/025.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ilya](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ilya/32/6404_2.png) [@Ilya](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Ilya)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/2 "2011-12-30T21:13:35Z")
Nice. I had a Z2 that I upgraded to a Z3 (via the HDD as you did) and it was nice. I then switched to a Kenwood DNX8120 which IMO is far superior, but man…both of these units are fantastic in their own way. She’ll love it. To be honest, if I could easily switch out my DVD-based OEM navigation for the Pioneer/Kenwood system, I’d drop $2k right now to do so. ---
**Author:** ![AMD\_IS\_THE\_BEST](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/amd_is_the_best/32/6342_2.png) [@AMD\_IS\_THE\_BEST](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/AMD_IS_THE_BEST)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/3 "2011-12-30T21:14:56Z")
Badass. Nice install man! ---
**Author:** ![offroadzj](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/offroadzj/32/6428_2.png) [@offroadzj](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/offroadzj)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/4 "2011-12-30T21:24:21Z")
> [@wtb ford 8.8](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/wtb-ford-8-8/47564/9): > > Nice. > > I had a Z2 that I upgraded to a Z3 (via the HDD as you did) and it was nice. > > I then switched to a Kenwood DNX8120 which IMO is far superior, but man…both of these units are fantastic in their own way. She’ll love it. > > To be honest, if I could easily switch out my DVD-based OEM navigation for the Pioneer/Kenwood system, I’d drop $2k right now to do so. I have a Z2 with the Z3 HDD in my STI right now and I love it. I’m not a huge fan of the Pioneer navigation, but it gets the job done. Just wish it was a little more user friendly like a Garmin. Searching for points of interest is a crap shoot… sometimes it finds everything I need and other times it finds nothing… lol ---
**Author:** ![Ilya](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/ilya/32/6404_2.png) [@Ilya](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Ilya)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/5 "2011-12-30T21:26:53Z")
That’s why I switched to the DNX8120 :lol. Exactly that reason. Garmin GPS FTW. The Z series is a nice unit in and of itself though. If you got a great deal on it, even better. ---
**Author:** ![offroadzj](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/offroadzj/32/6428_2.png) [@offroadzj](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/offroadzj)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/6 "2011-12-30T21:32:23Z")
Yea, I got her Z1 for like $50 or so (+ the $500 in parts/HDD/bluetooth) and I got mine when I worked there and we got the accommodations from the dealers… so I got mine for like $600 I think. ---
**Author:** ![crazybrew609](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/crazybrew609/32/6319_2.png) [@crazybrew609](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/crazybrew609)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:59am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/7 "2011-12-31T06:59:27Z")
due to this install, i am never driving on central ave, or near Stuyvesant plaza ever again for fear of my life ---
**Author:** ![Wayne64SS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/wayne64ss/32/6365_2.png) [@Wayne64SS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Wayne64SS)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:26am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/8 "2011-12-31T07:26:06Z")
I want a pioneer so bad. I need a flip out for the viper and i’d like a double din for the tdi. ---
**Author:** ![offroadzj](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/offroadzj/32/6428_2.png) [@offroadzj](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/offroadzj)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:08am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/9 "2011-12-31T08:08:01Z")
You can find the flip outs and double dins fairly inexpensive (compared to retail) on amazon. ---
**Author:** ![whitecivic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc29f/32.png) [@whitecivic](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/whitecivic)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 9:09am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/10 "2011-12-31T09:09:57Z")
I have an n1 in the garage that I have had for a few years that I don’t use anymore if you know anyone looking for a flip out. It comes with a DVD changer and voice command add on too. The install looks good Kenny. ---
**Author:** ![offroadzj](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/offroadzj/32/6428_2.png) [@offroadzj](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/offroadzj)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 9:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/11 "2011-12-31T09:37:03Z")
Yea, I have an eclipse flip-out hat I used to have in my truck just sitting in some bubble wrap in my electrical storage bin…well, one of the bins. lol. ---
**Author:** ![Vovchandr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/vovchandr/32/6275_2.png) [@Vovchandr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Vovchandr)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 9:51am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/12 "2011-12-31T09:51:36Z")
Oooh, fancy! ---
**Author:** ![Jammer](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jammer/32/6349_2.png) [@Jammer](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Jammer)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 10:33am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/installed-the-wifes-christmas-present-today/262094/13 "2011-12-31T10:33:26Z")
Nice work Kenny. I have work for you…