MY E36 Double Din Touchscreen/DVD/NAV Install.........

[m3steve]

About 3/4 of the way done with this, working with a master installer good friend (Jesse). I let him know some of the areas of concern with the HVAC, and he somehow got everything working and installed. It's already looking sick and I'm EXTREMELY excited, heres a few pictures so far. The brackets for the HVAC have already been fabbed, just need to install the rest, we ran out of time tonight. HVAC all still works perfectly......... Oh and in case your wondering, its a Pioneer AVIC-D3.

[Steinkek]

thats so sick!!!! i wish i had that talent and know how to do something like that, but i dont and i dont want to pay someone alot of money to do it for me. but awesome job!

[stevesbmw]

I definitely am jealous and wishing I had that!

[turbodefrost]

sick man i love your steering wheel

[islanq]

Funny you mention that because I have some of this in my near future as well. How was the install (i ask because it looks like you did it yourself from the pics)

[m3steve]

Luckily your car has a kit you can buy for it. E36's do not, and I have only seen 1 picture of a completed install that was functional.We had to map everything out in terms of the HVAC controls, that was by far the hardest part. The air vent in the back that distributes the majority of the air had to be molded and cut, then actually used dynamat to make the cut part flexible but keep it sealed off. Most everything was crafted by my buddy Jesse at work.
The last thing I wanted was a Nice D3 in there, but with my vents having air pressure at the psi of a squirrel breathing........

[islanq]

You think if I installed a single din flip out dvd head unit it would be much easier?

[m3steve]

thats an understatement. Single din installs are typically pretty easy. The only thing is running the GPS Receiver, and you will have to mount a "brain" somewhere as an alternative. Any major retail electronics store that does installation, will put something like that in for about 150 bucks. Pretty reasonable if you aren't familiar with your AV system.

[tvp]

Looks sick, must have been a lot of work.

[DEFKON99]

Looks clean! how deep is that unit?

[m3steve]

the chassis of the body is 6.5 inches. It has the brain built into it, which makes it quite a bit deeper then most when its also 4 inches high.

[m3steve]

Looks sick, must have been a lot of work.

Pretty much everything was done by Jesse Bennett. He's starting a local edition of Unique Whips

[993 911]

How much would something like that run anyway? If I decide to keep my car I was just going to do new speakers, amps, sub(s), and put a new HU in the glove compartment box and keep it looking stock on the dash, but that looks really clean.

[m3steve]

How much would something like that run anyway? If I decide to keep my car I was just going to do new speakers, amps, sub(s), and put a new HU in the glove compartment box and keep it looking stock on the dash, but that looks really clean.

PM Me........... You would have to bring your car up to seattle........

[m3steve]

1. Installed the Ipod cable. The unit has a built in ipod interface on the screen, it also plays any videos on the ipod, right on the screen which is awesome, I essentially can have 30gigs of music and movies anytime (also keeps the unit charged)

2. Ran RCA's and Remote wire for future amp/sub install

3. Ran Video Cable for Backup camera. I'm still trying to figure out where I am going to put the camera. I don't want it anywhere that is noticeable.

[tvp]

what type of tail lights do you have i saw this on where he mounted it in one of his back up lights in place of the bulb. he had clear lenses.

[drsides]

Thats really nice. I like the look of the double din a lot more than the pop out/ fold up single din units. I looked up the cost of the Pioneer AVIC-D3 on crutchfield: $999- which means you can get it for probably $700-800 at other places on line (crutch is spendy). For that money, that is a great unit: big screen, double din, gps, dvd, mp3. awesome.

I'm personally looking for a single din head unit that has bluetooth on it... but your install makes me jealous.

[ThipN]

Very nice! That's the same head unit I want for my GTI.

[m3steve]

Thats really nice. I like the look of the double din a lot more than the pop out/ fold up single din units. I looked up the cost of the Pioneer AVIC-D3 on crutchfield: $999- which means you can get it for probably $700-800 at other places on line (crutch is spendy). For that money, that is a great unit: big screen, double din, gps, dvd, mp3. awesome.

I'm personally looking for a single din head unit that has bluetooth on it... but your install makes me jealous.

The only thing I would caution you on is there are a TON of grey market dealers in the car audio world. Whoever you order it through, just make sure that they are an authorized dealer. I can tell you from experience that if you don't have proof of purchase from an authorized dealer, pioneer won't service your unit if you have a problem. They make great products that typically exceed their competition, but they stand behind their authorized dealer stance pretty firm.

[m3steve]

*************UPDATE***************
well its pretty much done for the most part. I did a double din touchscreen nav dvd install in my e36, which is extremely difficult to do, anyways, there is a 9/16" Space between my OBC and where I relocated my HVAC Controls. Right now there is a fabbed piece of ABS plastic there, and I am having an engraving shop make me a special piece that will fit in there. I am trying to preserve the OEM look as much as possible without it looking ricey, so I didnt want to just slap a badge onto it.

So I will have a custom made emblem that will look like the following. I had to do some slight pchopping for the silver lines, but I thought it would look sick with the silver lines extended.
The dimensions are as follows:
Width: 7 7/16"
Height: 9/16"
Depth: 1/8"

THIS IS WHAT THE PIECE WILL LOOK LIKE

[MyMach5]

It's kind of like art. Really amazing. It'll definitely be one of kind when you're done.

[m3steve]

It's kind of like art. Really amazing. It'll definitely be one of kind when you're done.

I'm excited to get it finished, and looking forward to getting some finished pictures up. I don't need major speed modications to my car, but I do want it to be unique and one of a kind. I don't mind some simple bolt ons, but I have a family, and don't need to be driving stupid fast, but I do want to show people that I take pride in my car, and ultimately, I want to try and win a Councours de Elegance with aftermarket interior parts. The trick is getting them to feel that it still maintains an OEM look. The local CCA is actually pretty good about respecting tasteful modifications.

[MyMach5]

Can't wait to see the pics when you're done.

[nhm3bimmer]

So I will have a custom made emblem that will look like the following. I had to do some slight pchopping for the silver lines, but I thought it would look sick with the silver lines extended.
The dimensions are as follows:
Width: 7 7/16"
Height: 9/16"
Depth: 1/8"

THIS IS WHAT THE PIECE WILL LOOK LIKE

[/quote]
This looks great, I have always wondered if anyone has done one of these sills but with a light up emblem instead? Thsi one still looks amazing though. Nice work

[m3steve]

So I will have a custom made emblem that will look like the following. I had to do some slight pchopping for the silver lines, but I thought it would look sick with the silver lines extended.
The dimensions are as follows:
Width: 7 7/16"
Height: 9/16"
Depth: 1/8"

THIS IS WHAT THE PIECE WILL LOOK LIKE

This looks great, I have always wondered if anyone has done one of these sills but with a light up emblem instead? Thsi one still looks amazing though. Nice work[/quote]

I ended up cutting abs, and wrapping it stitched in OE patterned Vinyl to fill the piece....the m logo looked to ricey.