Researching head units with Android Auto (and Apple Car Play)

rc8173 · 08-01-2020, 01:18 AM

Hey all.

I'm looking to get a new 2-din head unit with Android Auto and Apple Car Play for my AU1 XR8.

Does anyone have experience with retro-fitting these into older cars? Thanks.

foxtrot3 · 08-01-2020, 08:06 AM

Hi. Aerpro now do a double din facia/mounting kit with almost everything you need (FP9240/1K) ( https://aerpro.com/vehicles/ford/for...iii?src=plugin ). About the only thing you need on top of this is the headunit and maybe the plug from the headunit to the ISO connector for the series 2 and 3. For the series 1 you need to buy the facia as a seperate part and add the right harness and steering wheel interface required ( https://aerpro.com/vehicles/ford/for...s-i?src=plugin ). Cheers MD

NCII40 · 08-01-2020, 09:42 AM

yep i have 1 in my v8 fairlane

you got premium sound ?

Same as foxtrot said, plug the arepro into your factory harness plug then you will have to cut off the other plug on the end, so that way you dont damage the factory wiring only the arepro

reason is

The Android units come with plug to unit, then bare wire out, so you will need to do some joining into the arepro

They slide in fine no dramas

i didnt hook up my steering wheel buttons

heres my setup

**Peuty** · 08-01-2020, 09:56 AM

I installed one of these literally last week - https://www.streetsoundvision.com.au...roid-auto-flac

And took the time to install a reverse camera as well. Highly recommend the upgrade - others on here have bought the equivalent Pioneer unit which seems to be same same but different. Unsure about the Pioneer unit, but Alpine have reduced the chassis depth, which gives you plenty of room for activities behind the dash.

Check my thread for some pics and stuff - post 1148 onwards http://fordforums.com.au/showthread....231252&page=23

As others have said, the Aerpro facia kit makes life very easy, as too does the ISO harness and steering wheel control harness.

rc8173 · 09-01-2020, 04:17 PM

Thank you foxtrot3, NCII40 and Peuty for your replies!

Looks like the key is getting kitted out with all the necessary stuff from aerpro.com, plus finding the right headunit.

Ideally, I want the head unit to have an analogue volume dial. Using the steering wheel buttons will be ok for slight volume adjustments, but I'm worried it will take too long to mute.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCII40

you got premium sound ?

Not sure what you mean. What is "premium sound"?

**Peuty** · 09-01-2020, 04:18 PM

The Alpine (and I'm sure the others as well) has a dedicated mute button on the facia.

I had the same concern as you, as I do like a good analogue volume dial, but so far I haven't found it to be an issue.

rc8173 · 09-01-2020, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peuty

The Alpine (and I'm sure the others as well) has a dedicated mute button on the facia.

I had the same concern as you, as I do like a good analogue volume dial, but so far I haven't found it to be an issue.

I suppose that will work. Thanks.

I notice the Alpine unit you installed has a cool new feature called "The Swipe", described as follows...

"A two-finger swipe motion moving up, down, left, or right will control volume up, volume down, track skip forward, and track skip back. The two-finger swipe can be done at any location on the touch screen, eliminating the need for the driver to search and touch a specific area for each command." Sounds good!

**Peuty** · 09-01-2020, 04:54 PM

Yes that's true - but hilariously, it doesn't seem to work in CarPlay mode. I'm hoping a future firmware update may rectify this.

rc8173 · 20-01-2020, 09:37 AM

Update: I had a Sony xav-ax5000 ($699) head unit installed last week by Tim at Autobarn, Dural (Sydney). It has Android Auto and Apple Car Play. Installation was $125 and Aerpro kit (including steering wheel button harness) was $75. Tim had all the Aerpro parts ready for the installation.

Sony XAV-AX5000: https://www.sony.com.au/electronics/...ers/xav-ax5000

The reviews for this unit on the Sony site had me concerned, but after looking at the comments, I could see that they all had problems connecting their phones. I've used Android Auto in my wife's car for a few months now and have experienced trouble connecting, but it was always due to using cheap USB cables, so the negative reviews are not warranted. I paid a little extra for a high quality cable ($25 Bing Lee) which hasn't given me any trouble yet.

I'm very pleased with the results of the Sony head unit so far.

The steering wheel buttons can be programmed to anything, so I set the SEEK button to be ATT (semi-mute). This took care of my concerns about reducing the volume in a hurry.

The only thing that bothers me is how low it sits. The screen is facing the gear stick. Ideally, I'd like the screen to be tilted up a little, if not for any other reason other than looking at the Google map. Maybe a future or different model will allow this. Everything else is awesome though.

Tip: On Google Map, enable Satellite mode. It's like the car has a camera drone 500m above and behind the car. It's an amazing perspective!

Cheers!

**Peuty** · 20-01-2020, 09:59 AM

Good stuff mate. Do you know what steering wheel adaptor was used?

I'm guessing this one https://aerpro.com/aswc1 if you are able to program the button functions.

rc8173 · 20-01-2020, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peuty

Good stuff mate. Do you know what steering wheel adaptor was used?

I'm guessing this one https://aerpro.com/aswc1 if you are able to program the button functions.

Thanks! Actually, the Sony head unit allowed the programming of the steering wheel buttons, so all I needed was the APP053 harness https://aerpro.com/app053

APP051: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/a...for-ford-ef-el $15 < Get this harness if your head unit DOES allow programming the steering wheel buttons
ASWC1: https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/a...trol-interface $129 < Get this harness if your head unit DOES NOT allow programming the steering wheel buttons

Looks like Sony having it built in saved me $114 (using JB-Hifi prices)

**Cav** · 31-01-2020, 10:39 AM

This is my Sony single DIN headunit in my Fairlane Sportsman.

When I bought it a few years ago I didn't want the CD player and this model also came with all the latest interweb tech stuff like Pandora

At the same time, I upgraded the front speakers but left the rears, including the subwoofer alone.

I also got the cable that links into the audio controls on the steering wheel. This is the best feature.

The phone thingy is rubbish though. When it decides to work people complain about too much background noise.

The other problem is my wife. When she tries to reduce the volume, she bumps the control thus sending it into menu mode.

Which brings me to another problem - I can't see the writing on the unit, or in the display making changes while driving impossible. The answer was to set it all up before embarking on a trip.

All is forgiven though when you crank up the volume, hit bass boost and watch the mirror and rear screen beat in time with the music.

Best played when you are in the car by yourself.