Gauging Interest... Dash insert for aftermarket radio
 

Hello all.. I have been working on this for a couple months now through some suppliers overseas. I have the plastic dash piece created and going to a company later this month to get setup for Plastic Injection Molding to create the part. I have the AC Control module interface made and have a supplier overseas that can start shipping within 7 days of order. The wiring harness and mounts are done... I should have a working prototype in about 45 days... I am targeting around 275-300 shipped any where in the lower 48.... Just curious how many people will be interested once I get it all done.. The cost might be a little lower if I can buy some of the components in bulk.....


and by the way.. I will ship out a couple freebes once I get them done to get some feedback and marketing... :)

Of couse people will be interested.

It will obviously have to be a quality product made w/ quality parts. It has to look good, fit well and be guaranteed to work properly w/ the AC controls etc. the first production run, not 18 revisions later. I recomend single and double din options. Oh, and get rid of the side spacer looking pieces of $hit that are on the Corksport Kit.

Pics would be cool. Freebies are always nice!

Quality will be as good or better than the other kit.. Thought the side spacers were crap as well... and they have already been deleted... I should have some pics up in the next few weeks once I get the mold made for the plastic pieces and get a few made.. Got some pretty good money already invested, so just want to make sure some people want this other than myself..lol... I have 10 sets of the ac controls that I had produced and all 10 worked like a charm. I have the manufacturer working on giving me a 1 year warranty on the electronics as well...Will be creating a double din first and single din within 30 days after... I will update as everything comes to fruition..

will it be avaliable in piano black and will the a/c work on the climate control equiped vehicles? i can try if you like ;)

I'm looking to install my aftermarket radio and this would be great. Really can't see myself spending 400+ on a dash kit. If I can be a freebie try out, or even try it out and a cheap price...I would love to.

Joe

ps I'm stationed in Hawaii.

Once I get a little closer.. say 45 days or so from now I will send out some samples :)

This will be in Piano black to start and other possibilities once I get it into production. Will work with AC.. Already have some working samples of that piece in hand.

Also maybe have the option of buying the kit w/ out the electronics & wiring.

I can do that as well.. Thanks for the input, this will help alot once I get it all together.

any pics of your prototype? thanks!

Depending on the quality I'd be in. Not a fan of the piano black finish but whatever. Noticed one thing though...no word on the steering wheel controls. Got the wiring harness for that as well?

I'll take one of those free bees.

i know you mentioned it will work with the a/c, but im talking about the 'jap spec' climate control, from memory it is different from the 'us spec' air con

LEt me know if you have it available, show us some pics !

There's something called the CorkSport kit. Look that up.

I would be interested, but price will be one issue as will (as XLR83N mentioned) if it will work with Aussie A/C.

lol. I own a Corksport kit and I think they are overpriced. My goal is to sell a kit 100 to 150 less than there kit with the same or better quality.

I will only work on the US version of the AC controls for first run, I will start working on Japanese version after I get the US version into production.

I do have the wiring created for the steering control and it will be included as long as I can keep my production costs down.

No pics yet, I have my prototype boxed up to ship out today to Pastic Injection Molding business to get mold and first runs done. I am going by later this month to pick it up. I will take pics as soon as I get some back.

I'd be all over it assuming quality fit/finish. Corksport is too expensive for what it is and the side fillers cheapen the look tremendously.

Definitely would love to get one. I go to meets in the new England region I could market it for you there. Plus I own a mazda dealership and my 8 is always on display

I would be happy to "test" for you. I have the rest of my stereo already done...less the head unit. I couldn't stomach the price of the install kit plus an after market stereo/head unit so I kept the OEM one in (Man I miss blue tooth).

Take care,

Brian

I'd be interested too... must look good and be a quality part though.

no there's something called the Kanatech kit, and Corksport is the sole distributor for it, it's not their product, they were just the only ones smart enough to sell it (and a bit steep at that)

good to see I'm not the only person lobbying for an alternative, with this and the metra kit coming perhaps people will no longer be forced to spend 400+ bucks through one single distributor for one kit and we'll have options now, yippee! :)

Metra is making a kit too? Hope it's good quality... though somehow I doubt it :-/

Metra ans Scosche kits are fine for older cars, but they don't blend well with new cars. We need someone who will pay more attention to detail and actually make it blend -- ie the nice Piano Black finish -- with the cars and do so at a reasonable price.

My goal is to make a better looking product less price. From all the numbers I have ran through so far with my manufacturers I do not see any reason why I cannot come in quite a bit cheaper than the Corksport kit. When I get some working samples I will send some out to a couple people. Be patient with the production piece, this has taken me alot longer than I originally thought it would. I started on this project back in September and I am still working on it. It has to be perfect before I start producing them. Any input is welcome in what you do and don't like about the other kits, I will make changes if need be.

Sweet! Here's my list

1. High Quality Piano black finish = good
2. Ability to reuse your stock electronics (ie: HVAC controls) is a plus, else the kit should be made with the actual mazda parts
3. Works with: Auto climate control, Steering wheel controls, BOSE system

I'm definitely in for one once you get it made!

A metra kit fit and blended perfectly w/ my brothers brand new Sky Redline.

I work at a Subie dealership and alot of their cars have a dash setup like the RX8...
I noticed today that somebody came in with an aftermarket setup in his '07 Legacy and it looked completely stock... A quick search looks like it may be the crutchfield dash-kit...
The cost for that is a measely $19.99... I would have to think they they have less issues when it comes to removing their original stereo than we do with the RX8 (A/C etc...) But what a massive difference in price compared to the Kanatech/Corksport kit...
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1xUke9u...px?i=120998901

this is cool. i like the look of the corksport but i was completely shocked at the price.

$20 seems a bit on the cheapy side, but $450 is ridiculous. even $300 is ridiculous. a piece of dash plastic should not cost more than $100.

kersh4w, the $400 isnt for just a piece of plastic. Its for a pices of plastic and the A/C controls. The fact they are hard to come by is the reason they are so $$$.

Cheers

Andrew

The $450 isn't for much of anything actually. By actually configuring it for my car it gets up to $711, just because I could really live without Piano Black.

Here is the breakdown...

Piano Black = $30
Bose Adapter = $115
Steering Wheel Control = $153
Automatic Climate Control = FREE

Are you saying that the $450 for the corksport kit doesnt include anything but the plastic?

no, he is saying that the $450 kit just comes as the basic model, plastic finish with the a/c controls. to add the extra bits and pieces, like piono black, bose and swc, it all costs extra which bumps the price up to almost double the 'base' unit price

which is even more ridiculous, because i really dislike the stereo in the rx8. i had a really nice setup in my previous car, 6 polk speakers (2 tweets, 2 mids, 2 3ways) + 3 rockford fosgate amps. and an 8" bass tube.

the bose lacks any clarity of highs or real lows. :/

i've seen the 2009 rx8s stereo with a double din setup. so im hoping that enclosure will be swappable into the 04-08s. for a decent price. >$200

From some posts I found on other forums...supposedly there has been a double din dash kit available through Mazda in Japan as early as 05. Im sure someone has at some point...but has anyone recently looked into this?

i'm interested in a freebie, maybe even a cheapie. :lol:

so these will be ready sometime in May? are there any prototype pics yet?

yummy, subscribing.

If everyone that wants a freebie sends me a dollar, I should be able to be the first to buy one!

hey sign me up for the beta testers. i would also be willing to pay for testing it (at a discount of course ;) )

We got an update on this or any pics yet?

What part of 45 days from 3/19 didn't you get?

very intereested..would be willing to buy and be a test monkey for it.

Update.... Dropped off my prototype and they will be creating a 3d Cadd drawing sometime next week to create the mold. As soon as I get my Cadd drawings back I will post them so everyone can critique them before I get the mold created.... which is a chunk of change.. I will post them as soon as they send them to me.

I don't know if you thought about this or not...but have you considered different dash layouts than the factory design? I don't know what possibilities might exist...but was just a thought. Based on the way everything is layed out behind the dash piece I don't even know if it is even possible. Some examples would be different dials/knobs/buttons for the HVAC, removal of the ash tray location to include removable panels for non-smokers, maybe HVAC controls over the radio instead of under, built in ejectable iPod dock, etc. *shrug* Might be more of a hassle then it is worth in the end...I dunno. Just throwing it out there.

Wow, look at that, an update just a few hours after I posted. Don't you feel like an ass?!

lol.. sorry for that.. didn't see that post above.. Thanks for being patient..

I never thought about rearranging the layout.. Could probably be done.. What layout would everyone want to see? I need to make any changes before I have a mold made. The cost for the mold is ridiculous.... Thanks for the input and keep it coming

Changing the layout would probably be more of a personal / custom / one-off thing... One thing you might consider for people who insist on a different layout is selling the electronics and a blank panel separately.

My post came at 8:30 AM. Sorry I was not awake at 2:30 AM to respond to your post.

That's the thing...I don't know what all would be possible. Based on what is behind the face plate, do you think that we can lower a double din stereo at all? Maybe a pocket above to hold an iPod? Maybe a spot to move the HVAC controls if we change them out, maybe even all digital controls? Maybe lowering the HVAC controls to add something else? Or maybe we move the cig. lighter up and make the ashtray into a bigger/deeper pocket? Im sure some of the guys would love to be able to throw gauges in it. Can it be two/three separate parts?

I was going to say the "3/19" part as we only have 12 months in a year down here :p: Joking

thank god....i was about to give up on my stereo...too bad love the car...hate friggen proprietary bs...you get the kits in im on board...

I'll be interested too. Once it is posted on the Group Buy I'm sure you'll have a lot of people wanting this.