Factory Navigation
 

I'm interested in adding the factory nav to my 04. When I bought the car I really didn’t think I would want it, but I've changed my mind. I'd be interested in hearing the thoughts of others that have already done this. Price paid, PITA factor and things of that nature.

Thanks in advance

Oh god--its very work intensive and expensive. Its like twice the cost to add it ordering parts from Mazda. Your best bet is to try to catch Mazmart when they get some RX8s with nav that they are parting out. Otherwise you can fabricate your own using aftermarket nav units plus monitors. If you could get a hold of a factory nav dash piece then you may be able to fabricate something together.

someone did an aftermarket install of the factory nav...search for it. I remember is was crazy and definitely not something I would do. With the hassle, you might as well go aftermarket

I have already talked with mazmart and that’s the route I'll be going. At the moment all they have is automatic donor cars and I guess the harness is different.

I have the factory navi on my 05 6MGT 8... And, quite frankly- it TOTALLY sucks ass compared to other navs I've seen & tried (Lexus, Acura etc.). The RX-8 navi re-defines "un-user friendly" and "piece of shit."

And, unless you have the exact freaking address of where you want to go, good luck trying to set a destination easily by searching for a general road, store name, or general location. I set it for the West Coast and couldn't even pull up a simple store like Best Buy, Guitar Center or shops like that w/o the exact address to a tee.. (What the f@ck is a nav for then?)

Good going Mazda [sarcastically]. I have to give them a big thumbs down and say they had their head up their asses on this one...

LOL---

I'd be just as content getting a hold of the dash top mechanism and going aftermarket some kind of way.

I have an RX-8 with Nav, and I also own a Garmin Street Pilot 2720 unit that goes on the dash. Guess what? I like the Garmin much better than the factory nav. It's not as sleek since it's not built-it. However, it works much better, and it only costs $850 from Etronics.com. I would highly recommend it.

I have the system and works just fine. I dont see how you can expect it to take you somewhere without an exact address? It's a computer, not a mind reader. Looking for a store or a general road isnt feasible, because 1) How many stores do you think exist in the US and who decides which ones should be put on the DVD? and 2) Mapping to a general road would be nice, but some roads are several, if not many miles long...depending on where your destination is, the route could be totally different. People here are generally not happy with the system, but mostly because it took several years for Mazda and Navteq to release an updated data disc ( I know this, because I led the charge to call Mazda and Navteq). I have lived in the South and now in New England and it has 99% of the addresses I have put it. I drove 1100 miles up the East coast w/o one single error. Any errors it does have are issues with the map, not the system. Its not like mapquest hasnt pointed me in the wrong direction either. As for the the user friendliness, I dont have a problem with the input..I think it is very user friendly...maybe not as much as other systems, but its not rocket science to enter an address either. I am not accusing Detrich of this, but if you are too lazy to get an address to your destination, then dont get the nav. Spend your money on a midget to sit in the passenger seat and look shit up for you on a good old map.

Lol :p

Wheres the LOL smiley when you need it?

Seriously though, the RX-8 nav is pretty bad compared to other systems that have a large point-of-interest database. The good nav systems tell you what is around you, not just how to get to an address. For example, one night I was out driving and thought to myself, "I need to pick up something at Best Buy" Other nav systems will find the nearest store, and tell you how to get there even if you have no idea what the address is. In short, the RX-8 nav system is only handy if you look up an address before you get in your car. It's quite often useless if you decide to go somewhere in the middle of a drive, and don't have access to Yahoo or Google. I keep a phone book in my trunk just in case, but of course that's useless if I leave my home city.

Well, it's not quite that bad. The nav system does have a Point of Interest database that includes restaurants, gas stations, atms, and dozens of other categories. However, it's missing the locations for most stores where you can buy stuff. That's a pretty big category to be missing in my opinion.

I agree that Mazda's factory navigation system is quite lacking in content and features compared to other factory or aftermarket units. The points of interest database is missing many recent or major destinations in So Cal like Fry's, Best Buy, etc.. The refresh rate of the GPS is also quite slow... BUT I think the flip up screen is tres cool. :P

Folks looking for an aftermarket navi should check out the new units that come as an option for the 2006 Honda Civic. It's a voice-activated all-in-one (gps navi, am/fm/xm, 6cd/mp3) unit with a touch screen, made by Alpine, and mostly similar to the ones found in the rest of Honda/Acura's navi lineup. The small size of the unit might even allow it to fit inside the Mazda factory nav flip up compartment, or as a double din replacement for the factory stereo.

The content issues are not a function of the system, but the software. if you want more Points of interest, then Navteq is the one who should be addressing it. I dont have the new map release...but perhaps they addded more. There is a sticky thread in this sub-forum. Some users here have the new maps...see what they think. Navteq supplies the data to the OEM NAV company (Panasonic for '03-'05) and they make that data work with system. I understand what everyone means. I almost bought an Acura TL and that Nav system is sick.

Any body knows the parts number for the dash board for the Navi model? i do want to build around the stock navi dash board and put a aftermarket navigation... Can anyone help me out?