goldwave84

Hi everyone!
I am new here, and wish to get an RX8 some time soon. I was just wondering, the audio compartment allow aftermarket parts? I saw this pioneer DVD player with 7 inch touch screen that would be sweet in the car. Can it be installed so I would have a comfortable view and touch from the driver's seat? What do you think about the tail lights? It would have been better if we had other choices, since those translucent ones just don't look good.

I did quiet a lot of reading here before joining, so I am real sorry if this question was asked before.

RX8 rules!

Ash

jisoo26

I asked my dealer before I bought mine about aftermarket audio in the compartment and he said it shouldn't be a problem, they have set-ups that fit the 8's space. Dunno if that's really true or not though. I like the tail lights

BunnyGirl

Some people on here have done stuff like that to their cars. Don't know how easy it is or not.

goldwave84

Cool.....I have seen shots of the interior many times, still have not seen a proper place for it. Where would it go?

Glyphon

aftermarket audio isn't the easiest thing. AFAIK, there isn't a drop in aftermarket replacement, as there are many systems (like ac/heat, fans, the lcd display) that are integrated into the the factory "stereo". i haven't read up in that section in a while, but what most people have done is add their aftermarket stereo someplace else and then rerouted the speaker lines to that headunit, leaving the a/c unit functional.

you can find out more info and possibly any new developments in the audio section.

zoom44

moving this to the audio sub forum

pieter3d

iTrader: (7)

Here is what I know:

You can only get a front panel trim for an aftermarket audio from japan, its for a 2DIN and wicked expensive. Also to preserve the AC controls you have to disassemble the stock head unit and pull out the board that deals with this. Then you probably have to mount it somewhere.

Basically the RX8 isn't very condusive to aftermarket audio, it's not a Ford!

rx8wannahave

This is the most annoying thing about my lovely RX8, what was Mazda thinking.....

Oh yeah, they could always sell us a upgraded one and over price it ROYALY!

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

as someone who has added to their factory system extensively I can tell you that currently it is not easy to swap HU's, it's not so much a space or fitment issue as it is the way that the electronics connected to the radio control a significant amount of functions within the car and there's no way to easily bypass this, so in other words the panel that controls your stock HU also controls climate control, the display above the radio, etc. and the onyl way to keep that stuff is to lengthen wires, and move it elsewhere in the vehicle. There is also the matter of mounting the deck, there is no "kit" available from what I know, or at least Metra,Hooker, and some others don't have anything yet, and they may not ever since everyone knows the deal and it's probably not profitable to them to make one. So this means you iwll need to custom fab a piece should you want to mount your deck in the dash in place of the factory one, one other alternative is to mount it where the factory nav dvd player goes (between the back seats) or elsewhere in the center console but again, you're looking at an extreme amount of custom fab and unless you can pull it off yourself that gets pricey quick. I personally have found that all my factory Bose needed was a kick in the (b)*** (hehe) to sound better, once I added my subs and gave it some solid bottom end it really seemed to come to life. If you have the Bose I would highly recommend adding a sub or two, if you have the non-Bose maybe try upgrading your factory speakers to something of higher quality and that alone would probably make a huge difference. If you really have your heart set on swapping head units, be prepared to do a lot of engineering to keep everything normal, and be prepared to spend a ton of $ as the labor is going to be extensive.

goldwave84

Ok, will do bub.