Things i want to upgrade on my car

[jjb]

Hello,

I have just registered!

I been looking around the last few weeks at the different ways to upgrade my astra j 2014, i see there are some people on here that have been doing this successfully.

Is there anyone located in the West Sussex area who would be interested in doing the following upgrades?

- head unit to include DAB, Nav possibly rear camera (i have the standard cd400 i believe)

- electronic wing mirror controls

- convert back door windows to electric

James

[tucpal]

Welcome to vxoc the closest to you is rusty bit of traveling to get to him but he is your man

[Rusty2009]

Welcome to VXOC

[jjb]

Thanks for the welcome.

Just browsed through your progress thread and I'm very impressed doing things I never thought of.

I'm debating with myself whether to just get a DAB upgrade, a factory look head unit upgrade or something like the kenwood system you have.

What made you choose that?

I've got a arm rest coming that I should be able to fit myself so I am starting my upgrades.

[Rusty2009]

Thanks mate,

The reason I went with the Kenwood was I had one them Chinese units and it was awful, the Bluetooth would only pickup road noise above 30MPH, the maps where years out of date and can only be updated illegally, also the unit would just crash when playing music from the SD card & the warning chimes you could never hear.

Hence the Kenwood upgrade.

Did you buy the add on armrest or did you get the proper center console with armrest?

[jjb]

Ok fair enough, perhaps ill just go for the DAB upgrade as i have bluetooth as standard and that works really well and share a sat nav with the Mrs! That would be the cheaper more sensible option I guess but it wouldn't look as good.
A camera would be cool though as i had that on my last car.

In regards to the arm rest it is apparently 'specially made' for the astra j and i went with recommendation from another forum I was browsing. The pictures with it fitted look good as well and fitting also appears simple. I did ask a company about getting the proper centre console but they came back really expensive.

[Rusty2009]

They are not cheap new but they do come up on ebay for around £60+ do you have the EPB or manual handbrake?

[jjb]

Manual handbrake

[Rusty2009]

They are like rocking horse S**t to come across

[sheppy1]

I bought a proper Italian leather arm rest which you could customise to your liking on their site rite down to the stiching colour and it was a breeze to install, had it installed for over a year now and it's brilliant! Out of interest, which one did you go for [MENTION=338]jjb[/MENTION]?

[jjb]

Think the same type as you, white stitching on mine the same as my seats.

I ordered it exactly a week ago from Italy, so im thinking maybe within the next 2 weeks hopefully. How long did yours take to arrive?

[sheppy1]

Yeah sounds the same as mine anyway you won't be disappointed by it, it's well made and easy to install.

Ermmm around 2 - 3 weeks if I remember rightly

[jjb]

Came home from work to find it had arrived!! pretty darn quick.

the leather looks to be the same as my seat leather or very close and the stitching matches as well.

got it out of the box and I'm happy with it, i look forward to putting it in tomor, will post a pick once I've worked out how to do that.

soon to be my first mod/upgrade/retrofit whatever its classed as.

[tucpal]

sounds good

[jjb]

Arm rest fitted like a glove

Now onto DAB sat nav with a shark fin i think

[sheppy1]

Arm rest fitted like a glove

Now onto DAB sat nav with a shark fin i think

Told you they were easy to fit! good though aren't they, mines still solid as a rock after over a year of use too

[tucpal]

Well done lol

[jjb]

So.........

Rear parking sensors to be fitted next week, and alarm next payday.

Window tinting to be done nearer summer when it's warmer apparently.


The thing I'm struggling with is head unit? Factory look (tucal) Or a 2nd screen added in the middle (rusty) Or just settle for a dab install and keep the same look? (Cheapest)

I really want a shark fin, think it would look smooth on my car but heard the signal gets weaker when the aerial is moved?

Any advice on the above is appreciated.

I found a neighbour who an experienced "modder ". But appreciate the guys opinions in this forum based on your results!

[tucpal]

the only way to get the sharkfin is to go ahead with the DAB retro fit but that means changing the rear glass
i did it and it is real good but not that cheep

the set up rusty has would be the better option and i am sure he would help you out with that

[WhelanUK]

I have DAB with the standard CD400. Just removed the standard arial and replaced with a shark fin. Looks much better. Lost the am/fm but never used it before and haven't missed it since.

[tucpal]

i did retro fit the shark fin to work as FM but the signal was ok but not the best
i just got a shark fin and swapped the circuit boards over and made a make shift antenna inside the shark fin
but this would only be recommended if you have DAB and want to keep the FM but dont use it much

[Rusty2009]

I'm going to buying a shark fin soon when the funds allow it. I'm just stuck as to which one to buy.

http://www.npautoparts.co.uk/car-audio-c...ial-p79676

http://www.npautoparts.co.uk/car-audio-c...ial-p79678

[jjb]

Cheers guys,

Definitely want DAB, might do a whelanuk first, those multi functional head units like rustys are expensive. I know it's personal preference I'll hopefully decide soon

[bhalay207]

Wow, those sharkfins aren't cheap!!

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[Rusty2009]

Wow, those sharkfins aren't cheap!!

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That they are but you get what you pay for and I've tried a few cheap ones upto £45 and they are rubbish in built up areas and through the new forest.

I've a connects2 mast at the minute which I must say has been 100%
http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/universal...erial.html

[bhalay207]

Very true. I've never had one myself but I've heard that the cheaper units are a bit hit and miss signal wise.

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