Last night I wrapped up a long three days of work on the roadster, swapping in all of the double-din interior pieces, and installing a Pioneer 8100NEX with all the bells and whistles. I must say that the double din conversion is DEFINITELY not for the faint of heart. There's quite a lot of cutting and trimming involved including cutting the aluminum dash rail, cutting/fitting the new vents into the dash pad, drilling/riveting the new top brace inside the dash, and finally trimming the double din dash panel to sit flush once it's clipped into the dash.
Ultimately though, I'm happy with the outcome. The 8100NEX supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, has two USB and one HDMI inputs routed below the center console, a rear view camera, and SirusXM via a radio module I installed.
Some helpful tips that come to mind at the moment:
Feel free to ask any questions if this is something you're interested in doing. Just don't expect it to be a one evening job.
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Forgot to add one thing. Here's a listing of the parts I ordered, all of which are required for the conversion EXCEPT for the last line item. Those are clips for the fabric wheel well liners that I also needed. You won't need those for a stereo installation.
Ultimately though, I'm happy with the outcome. The 8100NEX supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, has two USB and one HDMI inputs routed below the center console, a rear view camera, and SirusXM via a radio module I installed.
Some helpful tips that come to mind at the moment:
- There's no reverse signal wire in the dashboard area from what I've seen in the wiring diagrams and confirmed by my local service center. I had to tap the taillight wire with the brown stripe and run that wire through the wheel well area full of electronics, fish it through the door sill, and then up into the dash. This is the signal needed by the head unit to know when to display the rear view camera automatically.
- The stock JVC head unit has a truckload of modules attached to it and they are all tucked down to the left of the driver's feet. Pull off the door sill trim and waterfall, and you'll see a cavern full of wires. Those ALL come out and happily go into the trash lol.
- When removing the SiriusXM module from that area, leave the antenna wire in place. You can plug it into your new SiriusXM module for the new head unit and it will work just fine. It's a great location for the antenna, and would be a royal pain to remove anyway.
- It's quite easy to route USB/HDMI cables down to the center console. Just remove the center console and then remove the HVAC panel right above it. The HVAC panel just has a few screws along the bottom edge and then pulls straight out towards you. You'll see an opening inside on the left side, that goes right up into the area you need it to. Wrap your cables though since there are sharp edges in there.
- Dont bother re-using the stock microphone location down by your right knee. I did, and it's a useless location for voice commands while driving. I either need to relocate it, or wait and see if some sound insulation in the car helps matters.
- ADT-VA133 - 2DIN Installation Kit | Pioneer Electronics USA This kit is essential, and provides the frame that your new double din head unit will slide into. It protrudes a few millimeters further forward than some others, so you'll need to trim the new double din dash panel from tesla (the one that looks like a frog face with the vents), so that it sits flush when installed.
- The Tesla wiring harness for the JVC is horrible since it uses the same color wire for many different signals. Be careful and re-wire one wire at a time or you'll screw yourself.
- Trimming the dash pad sucks. If I had to do it over again I'd probably pay Tesla the ~$1000 they wanted for a pre-cut one. I chose to add a bit of glue to mine, in order to seal up some areas where cold air would have just leaked inside the dash. Be conservative here, since I had a tiny bit leak onto the visible surface on top of the dash and now it will forever bug me (even though most people probably won't even notice).
- The new hex bolt you use to bolt down the dash pad onto the new cross brace (the one you rivet), is way too long. You'll need to trim it down by about 30% using a dremel or some other means.
- When riveting in the cross brace, it's nearly impossible to drill the rivet holes vertically into the top surface. You'd need a right angle drill or something. I just drilled the two horizontal holes into the front surface, and riveted those. It's plenty of support and IMO the top rivets aren't necessary. This isn't a structural piece by any stretch of the imagination.
Feel free to ask any questions if this is something you're interested in doing. Just don't expect it to be a one evening job.
- - - Updated - - -
Forgot to add one thing. Here's a listing of the parts I ordered, all of which are required for the conversion EXCEPT for the last line item. Those are clips for the fabric wheel well liners that I also needed. You won't need those for a stereo installation.
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