iPod Installed! Comments/Observations

[Average Jae]

karpman9: glad you dig the new install now. i just bought my click wheel pod, and it's on its way from other end of the world.. hope it gets here by next thursday, before i leave for SF..

and i'm hoping to install the connector myself. and not in the glove box either. i came up w/ a pretty good placement (imo), but we'll see how that turns out. circle bmw was supposed to call me. i guess i'll drop a line next week sometime.

in the end, limitations and all, i think it'll turn out well. no track info sucks, but i'll just have to make good playlists.. ah well. now i'm looking forward to jamming w/ the pod within the next month, more than ever!

 

[andreyiv]

drkeng, I have heard a lot of things about alpine cd/mp3 players and all of it was good. I am going on other's advice and what I think of the osund quality of an Alpine HU a neighboor has. The things are just amazing. You get a lot for your money except the display is not that flashy which personally I like. Just today I was on the phone with crutchfield talking about what I should go with for my car and when I told him that I was going with an Alpine HU and then infinity kappa component set speakers he said they will match very good by the quality of sound and I don't know about you but as far as I know, the kappas are some of the better speakers around. Back to the alpines, personally what I would reccomend is try to go for the V-drive option, you can get an older model if you find one just try to go for something like 9813 (or 9815, same thing, better display) or 9833 or even the 9835 which is that same 9833 but with 100 dollars extra purely in the display. Personally, I wouldn't spend a lot on a newer model but a lower end when I can get the topper end model from last year for same or lower price, just not worth it. If you want more info on them, try crutchfield.com, they have good description for almost every little piece.

 

[andreyiv]

Oh, ra328i, don't worry about it, its ok. Thanks for the heads up though, I actually was calling the dealer to see if it would fit and checking this while on hold, talk about timing, the person told it will not fit about 2 seconds after I read that it won't hehehe.

esaheatac, thanks a lot for that link, I had no clue alpines were so versatile. Will sure look into that, do you by any chance know if it will work with a 2003 HU though? The site says it will work with the 2004 but nothing about 2003, I think I will try to call alpine about that tomorrow and update everyone here. But on the other hand I don't really care about it, I don't even have an iPod and something tells me it owuld be cheaper to go for XM radio for only 10 bucks a month rather than getting the iPod and then all that.

 

[subsilver]

So I went to the BMW dealership to find out why the heck it's taking SO LONG for them IPOD connector to come in?!?!?! They told me that the shipment that they received had bad wiring? something like the pins didn't line up, and BMW of Austin is having to wait for a new shippment.
Has anyone heard about this? I was thinking about buying the connector from eBAY but now that I hear about this pin problem, I don't want to get one of those.
Also, is there any good links out there on how to get into your dashboard to hook things up to your headunit? I don't want to just go tearing things apart. I have an '04 325i

Thanks!

 

[rickhuizinga]

I received mine from Circle BMW on Friday and installed it on Friday night.

It took me about 2 hours to complete the install, but this included some time to do some Google searches on how to remove certain items when I was having trouble.

The awkward part was disconnecting and later reconnecting the cable harness going to the head unit since there wasn't much slack in the wires.

I have an iPod Mini so I installed the dock connector cable to the sunglass compartment above the ashtray rather than running it to the glove box. I figured I wouldn't have to reach across the car whenever I wanted to disconnect it.

Tip: Be sure to order the pin removal tool as this will make it easier to swap pins in the wiring harness. If you don't have the climate control removal tools, you can pop it out once you have the radio out by pressing firmly from the back of the climate control unit.

 

[subsilver]

See... that's what I'm talking about... this whole pin switching thing... that's what i'm worried about. Maybe i should just wait. Where did you get the tool?
can you post the link to the docs you found for the installs. the 4th generation ipod fits in the sunglass holder too. Can you post pics of the install?

 

[karpman9]

COST OF IPOD INSTALL UPDATE:

I have yet to hear back from my BMW service consultant (I left a message last week), which means I have yet to pay for the installation and labor costs of my iPod adapter. Although the prospect of a FREE iPod adapter and install is VERY appealing, I felt it necessary to make another call to BMW in order to close the open invoice, either by paying or by hearing those magic words, "it's on us". Either way was fine, I just wanted to be honest with BMW and enjoy my car.

My consultant as I mentioned once before is very cool. He asked me if I was enjoying the iPod and if I wanted to keep the installation intact. I told him absolutely, "YES".

I then asked him about the Sirius? He goes on to tell me that we should talk more about it on Monday, so he can get a chance to ask his service manager if BMW would BUY BACK my Sirius radio! In other words.....I may make out ahead my iPod install!!!! That would be so welcomed at this time! Just got my NEW wife an 2004 RX330, from her old Altima.

I'll let everyone know my final outcome on Monday

I can't believe her RX330 is "worth" more than my ZHP in $$$.
.

 

[rp911t]

Dude, i cannot believe you got the damn ZHP in a freaking Steptronic, that is absolutely terrible. It is a cardinal sin! You should be taken behind the barn and beaten seriously.

 

[karpman9]

Dude, (rp911t)

It's not all about ME in my life anymore. I got married in May, and my wife may need to, or just enjoy driving my ride every now and then. She, and now we, also have a 7 yr old son. So again, life isn't just about me anymore. But I know what your saying.....and what my car would've been if I was still the single guy. However, I'd still rather drive my BMW, than any other make of automobile (under $85k).

Enjoy your Audi.

 

[rp911t]

Thing is, if it wasn't about you. You should of simply got the premium, sport, cold, xenon, steptronic packages instead of spending 3k for the ZHP package.

 

[karpman9]

Thing is....you're wrong.

My choice wasn't about the money. I can afford the extra $3k.

It was about my wife being able to drive my car effortlessly with an automatic transmission as opposed to a manual.

$3k is money VERY well spent for what I got in return........the extra fun........the extra horsepower.......the extra top speed of 155 mph, as well as the M3 front end, M-steering wheel, M-speedometer/tachometer, M-exhaust and exhaust note, different flywheels and camshafts, a different engine mangement program and last but not least, the unbelivably cool 18" M-rims. I got much better bang for my buck with my jet black ZHP than I would have given your suggestions. The cold package in Arizona?

$3k very well spent in my opinion and in my position.

How's that Audi working out for you? I see that you're looking to trade up for a BMW.

Regards.

 

[ra328i]

i just want to put in my 2 cents on the zhp steptronic thingy.... congratulations on your zhp bro!!!! if i had the extra dough i would've bought a zhp also,... and also not to mention, in steptronic. but seriously rp911... why are you flamin him about the steptronic? are you trying to say that he's wasting some "serious" power by going with the it? i'm sure he doesn't go to the track regularly. and let's not forget to mention for someone who has a daily job driving through traffic, it's easier to sit back, relax and cruise instead of having to shift all day long. so you see... for some, it's convenient and probably considered an extra luxury option to have in your car. oh yeah, if he wanted speed,... i mean if he really craved it... he could've easily purchased a 2001 m3 with smgII used for the same price as his zhp. i know i would!!!

 

[rp911t]

Thing is....you're wrong.

My choice wasn't about the money. I can afford the extra $3k.

How's that Audi working out for you? I see that you're looking to trade up for a BMW.

Regards.

Nevermind the whole set-up I gave you. I don't want to take the effort to explain what i meant to you.

Also, I never said you couldn't afford the extra $3k Those packages i told you about you'd spend an extra 1.8K. So clearly it isn't about the money.

My Audi is great, i enjoy it a lot. It isn't trading up nor down, more of a linear trade buddy. Trading for a Mercedes would be a trade down. I've just never owned a rear-wheel drive car before and would like to have one. I've owned an Audi A4 1.8T 01, BMW 325xi 02, and my current Audi. So went from Front Wheel drive to simply All Wheel drive.

 

[dsm363]

According to a salesperson I talked to, the E90 3-series will feature full iPod integration with song information and everything. Not sure if this is correct but it makes more sense since it seems Apple and BMW have been working together and the technology can't be that difficult.