Changing Head Unit
 

I have been searching for days and really cant find anything. I am going to make a custom face plate, but I need to know how to make the AC Knobs work, since they are intergrated into the factory radio. How will I wire them? I have seen it done, but have no clue how to do it, PS: my factory radio doesnt work.

you will have to remove the a/c controls and extend ALL of the wires that connect it to the head unit along with the head unit harness aswell. Oh yeah, a working head unit helps. I wouldn't try this mod unless you had one or two.

You need this
 

http://corksport.com/content/00/01/0...ages/DIN-2.jpg

corksport.com

^Is that kit actually working yet? I heard that Corksport had problems with it centered around the HVAC controls. Have they gotten it sorted out yet?

Sorry, I'd not heard that there were problems.

Supposed to be fixed. They have a new version for US Version of our cars.
A couple of guys ordered the newest corksports kit. Don't think they've installed it yet.

ok, if I am going to extend all the wires, How do I by pass the OEM head unit for the A/C controls to work with the new radio? Where do I extend the wires too? The radio will just plug into the existing harness....but the a/c??? I do not know where these need to go to work right. Thanks!

^^ the a/c controls plug into the HU circuit board (total 3 plugs) you will need to cut them and solder pure silver-low impeadince wire to extend them to where ever you wish to locate the factory HU. The radio harness can be extended with regular 18 gage wire.
Cut and tap into the factory speaker harness as if you were executing a regular radio install ( unless you have Bose ) in that case you'll have to catch them at the amp and relpace the speakers because the bose speakers run at 2 ohms which is too low for a aftermarket radio (unless you plan on running them with an amp) in which case it will work as long as the amp is 2 ohm stable. hope this helps.

Thank you that was a huge help!

guys, i know that this is an old post, but dont you find it a lot expensive to buy this from corksport for $700 to be functional with BOSE/Steering wheel's controls and be Piano black as stock?

Anyone tried to create a new dashboard with fiberglass ? what would somebody need to buy if he could manage to create the fascia his self?

Yes, this kit is working 100%. They did have a small problem with the temp control nob, but that has now been fixed. The kit is great! Well worth the money!

I have it in my car too - and ordered after RX8 guy so they had the temp control problem fixed - i had no problems at all! and the intstall took about 3 hours!!! you can't ask for anything easier than that.

you can ask for little piece of plastic to not be 700 dollars

it is a little more than that... here is your chance corner the market..

beers :beer:

Well, do you want an after market radio in your car!??! There is a price you gotta pay... Thank Mazda. Its not just a piece of plastic... unless you don't want your A/C or Heat...

I am one that sorted this issue out for a customer before there was any info on the issues. Having said that, the amount of modifications to be done plus the custom work to the dash easily makes the Corksport kit worth every penny. At least you can resell the Corksport kit when you put the vehicle back to stock to recoup some of the investment, try that with the custom dash route......

I'm planning on going the corksport route. Of all the options it is the best one out there.

BTW, you might want to check this thread out:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-interior-audio-electronics-24/corksport-new-stereo-kit-85326/page14/

For those of us trying to go the custom route, ie rewiring the parts of the stock radio that are needed for the HVAC which is what I am in the process of doing. Is anyone selling just the custom face plate with no black box controller?

Reason I ask is I have someone who is wiring the boards up for me to reinstall. I am confident that between the two of us it will be working. Just a matter of time and testing, etc. But then I need to figure out how to make the dash look stock again.

Cutting the stock trim is an option, but if I can buy a double din faceplate and a blank or pocket to convert to single din for the time being, I would. Even it was retailing for $99 for the "piece of plastic." At the end of the day I want it to look good, and sometime I don't have the time, or care to spend the money to have someone do it custom.

What a joke. to pay 700+ for a kit then turn around to have to buy a radio. thats over a grand. lol come on now. Tell me how thats worth EVERY penny. The have just about every option there is that can be added on to the factory deck nowadays

I gotta agree. It's just too much. I want to add a Pioneer Z2 to my car. I can snag the unit for $1.5k. A hard pill to swallow in itself, but an LCD unit that plays CDs/DVDs, built in NAV AND hard disk drive..... I expect about that. Now add another $700 on top just to make it work in my RX8..... I don' think so. Gimme the control box so the A/C works and I'll have a custom faceplate built. At least I could get some cool switches or SOMETHING built in there with it....

I put the Z2 in my car, and it's INCREDIBLE! i know the install cost me over 2000 (with corksport, Z2, bluetooth, sirius, steering controls)- but i do say it is worth it! come up to Nashville, TN sometime and I will show you.. or maybe i can make a trip to the sunshine state, that would be fun =)

without being able to experience the sound, this picture is a start... and that thing on the steering wheel is the pioneer add on steering wheel controls

http://i11.tinypic.com/680pb41.jpg

totally agree, I'm all for NOT going with the kanatech kit, I want to do this myself on my own terms and not have to spend almost 2 grand just to get a better radio in my car. My installer buddies and I have been customizing for years, we can easily fabricate our own custom dash pieces, I just need a way to yank my radio and keep the a/c, hell, if I didn't drive the car every day I'd have pulled it and been done with it by now. Everywhere I look for info. on killing the stocker, all I see is "buy the corksport kit", well that's a solution, but it's not the only solution. Can "forbidden" or someone post up a definitive thread on what all needs to happen to kill the radio w/o buying the corksport? Pictures or diagrams or something would help out tremendously, just saying "extend the wires" and such isn't very helpful at all. I know the corksport is the easiest way and blah blah blah, but maybe not everyone has 700 bucks to blow on an install kit, hell, maybe not everyone likes to do things the easy way anyway. If nothing else I can still figure this out, but it sure would be nice to get some help from someone who already has. (a wiring diagram or pinouts for everything would really be shweet) :)

Just let me know when and we'll grab a beer or 10...:puke: :)