aftermarket screen placement?
 

ok i didnt order the factory navigation, i dont really have a point for it, but i would now like to have a screen in my car, does anyone have any suggestions for the placement of a screen? as i dont want to take out my stock unit, where the air, radio controls are etc....

any help would be appreciated!

thanks


andrew

order the center dash piece made for the navagation car and then you have a place for an aftermarket screen.

Where can you get this center dash piece? I would like to get one.

I wouldn't be too sure that those pieces will be readily available. The stock NAV has a motor controlled screen tilt angle, so the NAV is at least somewhat integrated into the "hood", and it might not even be available separately.

---jps

I asked my dealer and he said "don't even think about it."

Mazda is charging $2,000.00 and part of that money goes to making sure it will be hell for you to copy them to any extent. It's a cash cow I am sure. A nice cash cow, great system, but still a cash cow for Mazda.

If you just want a screen with no navigation you could try this:

I gotta say, that is just hideous.

Do yourself a favor and just get the Nav system or leave the dash clean. $2k is nothing but horrible riced interiors leave permanent scars.

SGC

I just talked with a friend of mine who ordered the dash piece for the navagation, it just might be a while before he gets it. It will be available for order.

so you order the dash piece, and buy the nav gear, and wire in the antenna, and connect the thing into your sound system, and how much did you save as compared to the $2000 factory system? Does it look as clean and integrated as the factory system? Where do you put the antenna and controls? Maybe you had no choice at time of purchase (if you bought from dealer stock) but I can't believe the lengths people will go to to avoid the $2K cost of an elegantly designed and integrated system to end up with something hideous and substandard in this otherwise beautiful car.

another aftermarket NAV location option
 

I wanted to get the Mazda NAV for my 8, but when I ordered my car, they told me it would put me in a later allotment b/c they had the color & trim I wanted in the first allotment. So, greedily wanting my car as quickly as possible, I didn't get it. I later found out you can't have it installed by the dealer at a later date :(

So, I am forced to consider other options for a NAV system. I think in this day and age, its kinda foolish to deprive oneself of such useful technology, if you can afford it.

As for NAV system type, I think its likely that I will go with a more integrated approach instead of the handheld / portable option.

Frankly, I don't really want to have one like the image posted earlier in this thread, because it blocks my forward view in a car which already has enough blind spots.

I think that there is room in the center of the dash where the stero system / AC facia is located to put an after-market NAV & DVD player w/ LCD screen, as long as you aren't stuck on the factory system w/ MiniDisc or CD changer. It would require a custom kit, obviously - but I think it will be done if there is enough demand for it - which seems likely. This is the kind of thing Crutchfield has been known to do.

One problem is getting the radio information routed to the LED readout area on the upper dash - this could be a monumental task.

Anyways, there are several nice after-market systems out there. Its the installation and integration that need to be hammered out. I won't be experimenting on my car, but I would be a buyer of such a system if someone hammered out a nice, clean kit-type installation procedure.

The stock system would be the easiest option but a lot of the aftermarket systems give you a lot more options (play dvd's). Ordering the dash piece gives you a great place to mount aftermarket system.

I originally thought the 8 would have a dash mounted bin if you had no NAV, ala Mazda 6!