confuzed

I'm sure you're right, no doubt a dedicated amp and speaker upgrade would sound better! I was just surprised at how much of an improvement there was from simply changing the head unit. As I said, I expected pretty much no change. This set up is good enough for me I think. I've swapped HU and speakers in all my previous cars, so who knows, maybe in the future I'll get tempted to swap the door speakers for something better... I quite fancy a pair of Infinity Kappa components

That's true, I'd forgotten about those... I couldn't find anyone selling them locally. They would help a lot with the remote connection. I would still rather go for a good soldered joint for the ground, personally.

The steering wheel controls for the volume and the up/down rocker do work. Obviously the bluetooth buttons don't, but I didn't expect them to. Compared to other ICE installs I've done, this was the most difficult. You'll want to be confident with wire stripping (to splice in to the wire, not stripping an end) and soldering. The ground connections in the harness were easy enough as they can be done at a work bench or table. The worst part was having to strip back and solder to three wires in the car. Those three wires make the connection for the steering wheel controls. Its a shame the ICT wiring adapter doesn't include a plug for this as it would be possible to do so. I really didn't like having to make such a permanent change to the car, but I wanted the steering wheel controls more, so it had to be done.

Well, my expectations for sound quality and volume were set pretty low... this way of changing the headunit means you're still using the Bose amplifier and obviously I haven't changed any speakers, so I figured the sound wouldn't change much. However, I have been very surprised at how much of an improvement there is! The quality is improved and the sound seems fuller. The balance of sound is improved. I guess the bass is better controlled at the source, as the sub isn't as wooly. So yes, IMHO this is a great improvement over the stock Bose system, I'm really pleased with it

And here it is in the car... Without the face... With the face...

Next, the wiring bits, to use the proper technical terminology. For anyone else considering this, I've shown how I've made the wiring ready to use: [*:w0klgcz0]crimped a spade connector on the blue/white wire on the ICT adapter to connect to the blue/white remote wire from the HU wiring harness [*:w0klgcz0]stripped back a section of the black ground wire on the ICT adapter, wound the black/white wire round it, wound an extra length of wire round it and soldered the join between those three wires. The join is well covered with insulation tape. The extra length of wire is the ground connection. I also crimped a ring connector on here for later. Its all easier to follow with the photo...

Right, I was able to get on with the install over the weekend and grabbed a selection of photos. First up, here is the head unit itself, and the rubber-touch fascia adapter. I'm very pleased with the fascia adapter. IMHO, the finish fits in better with the Zed's centre console than normal black plastic, plus the rubber finish is useful for "grip" in the little pocket. The adapter includes a variety of bits to allow for a variety of fitments. After a lot of head scratching and experimenting I decided to use the cage and the bezel included with the HU, but I very nearly added the side pieces to the kit to screw the HU in. You could also use the rubber-touch bezel included with the kit which would give a more "all in one" appearance, but with this HU it fouled the round bit around the control stick when flipping the face down to access the CD slot. I was tempted to try carving out that bit myself but soon decided I'd make a mess of it.

I've made it to the office today so I've got the head unit and bits, though I am wishing I'd left the Zed in the drive and worked from home again, it was hellish getting out of the village where I live. Anyways, fingers crossed I'll get on to installing over the weekend, assuming I make it home later!!!

Afraid not mate, the stereo is still sitting on my desk at work and I still haven't been in to collect it. I'm hoping to pick it up and install it over the weekend.

The headunit and bits have been delivered to my office and are sat on my desk. I've been snowed in at home. Typical!!! And you just know when I do get in to work and collect the new bits I won't have time to fit it!!!

DontPanic is right, I ordered the fascia from the same site. Obviously that's no good for a double-din HU. I'm hoping the "rubber touch" finish will be a bit nicer in the dash than the normal "hard" black plastic. I ordered the various wiring harnesses from Sextons. I haven't bought the PAC at the moment, I thought I'd try without first. I've found it very confusing trying to work out whether I'll definitely need it, there are stories on here with people fine without and others seem to suggest its essential when connecting a regular HU to the Bose.

Just ordered this little beauty... http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/pioneer- ... -9647.html Have also ordered the Connects2 fascia, with the "rubber touch" finish, and the various wiring harness adapters. Will let you know how it goes fitting it, when I get chance.

That's really impressive mate. Did you use a graphics tablet, or a mouse?

+1 Mine hasn't been properly clean since I collected it from the dealer, dirty wet roads around here Also love azure and GM .

Everything feels much more "solid" on the Zed compared to the Celica I just swapped from. I think its just part of the car's character. I don't think I'd go as far as calling it heavy though.

Pleased to hear you found your Zed mate, Thursday will be a day!

I believe you want 6.5" (I think that's 16.5 or 17cm?) speakers for the rears. Actually I think the main door speakers and the rears are the same size. In the future, I may actually do it the other way... replace the door speakers with something decent and set the fader to the front of the car. I guess it wouldn't cost much to put a reasonable pair of coaxials in the back too, for a bit of fill. I'm not sure just how much better it will sound changing the speakers, I wonder whether the Bose amp is any good? I wouldn't be looking for a big setup either, just better overall SQ. For now I'm more interested in a better head unit. I had a Kenwood DNX-7200 in my previous car. I still have it actually, I could put that in, but I'm tempted to sell it and get something new.

Gutted mate, that's terrible :-( Obviously not "the one" for you though, its much better to have seen it and walked away knowing you'll get a better example when you find it.

I believe they're actually 2 ohms, just to be awkward. They're 16.5cm. After a bit of looking around I noticed Infinity speakers are rated at 2 ohm, so they ought to be suitable as a drop in replacement on the Bose amp. This is only what I've found looking around, I don't know if anyone is actually running this setup. Have you already replaced the fronts? Whereabouts in Somerset are you mate? I've lived in Somerset most of my life, though I just moved from Ilminster to Dunkeswell so I'm in Devon now. Do you know of many other Zeds down here?

Excellent, have fun!

Well, the weekend is coming to an end, and my Zed is sat in the drive. I had the long drive home with it yesterday, and been out for several rides today. Yep, still grinning

A 2002 Toyota Celica T-Sport. Hasn't got the guts of the zed, but its a great fun car. Zips through corners nicely, and the dual-personality of the variable lift feature of the engine always puts a grin on your face. What are you swapping from?

Black 2005 GT... lookie here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=29392

Well I just phoned to confirm the time I'll be up on Saturday to collect my Zed and they told me that they've done the service. While doing so they reckoned the tyres were getting lowish so they slapped on some brand new rubber! Bit of an unexpected bonus!!

Good luck mate, hope you're all mended and can get your Zed on Monday. I'm picking mine up on Saturday so I know what you're going through, counting down the days!