For those of you who have taken the stock head unit out and replaced it with a screen,
which one would you recomend? And how much did it cost? Im looking into doing this
and just wanted some insight. Thanks!

 

Not to be vauge...but basically whoever answers you is going to say the brand they have is the best. So oddly enough this is going to be one of those rare cases where you are going to have to look beyond the main fuctionality at the other things that the system will do in order to decide on what you want. Your cost is going to be in the same general neighborhood reguardless of which system you go with, about $1600 or so, give or take a hundred in either direction.

I went with a Kenwood double din setup. I like the double din over the fold out units personally. But that is just me. The navigation is separate from the head unit, and the head unit will play DVD media, meaning that I can throw 4.7gig of MP3s on a DVD and play them in the head unit. Plus, the head unit wiring can be "modified" so that DVD movies will play and full navigation functionality is accessable while the vehicle is in motion.

The Eclipse is a bit more pricey than the Kenwood setup. It has ( if I remember correctly ) two disc slots behind the screen. One for a navigation disc because the navigation is built in to the head unit, and one for DVD. Not sure about being able to make the Eclipse play DVDs while the vehicle is in motion. I "think" you can, but I could be wrong.

The Pioneer solution is kind of priced around the same as the Kenwood. It does not play DVDs, and has the navigation built in also. I believe it has a single disc slot meaning it is either navigation, or CD, but can't do both at the same time without purchasing a separate CD or DVD changer.

You will also need to consider whether or not you will have interest in satellite radio, and which system you may want..XM or Sirius. Not sure on the Eclipse, I "think" the Pioneer is XM ready ( once again, might be wrong on that ) and I know for sure the Kenwood is Sirius ready. Meaning all you need to purchase is the receiver box, the head unit will control it and display the station/song info.

So, don't know if any of this helped you out or not. But at least you have a bit more information to work with and consider.

 

Well I have put one of these in before about my stereo, and I agree with Hawgman about doing some research on your own. For me I installed a Pioneer Avic-D1, which is a double din. So far I have been very happy with it and no complaints. I bought mine online for $1025 for the deck and $220 for the xm antenna with xm traffic. Also expect to pay quite a bit for an install if you don't have the knowledge or connections. I think my install was like $200 for the deck and antenna.

The only problem I have read about is when you don't have XM and you try and use the navi. you have to disconnect the IP port (I think but check on your own). If you don't disconnect it a screen pops up every few seconds on the navi screen saying "XM UPDATING". Mine did that until the XM was set up and then it went away with no problems since. This stereo looks great in my car and the controls are in a good spot so when I rest my hand on the shifter my fingers are in a good area to change it.

 

i am getting a gps system also and i was looking at the kenwood one too, do you have pics?

thanks

 

Hawgman got everything right except for the prices.
Eclipse actually has 2 different units out. The first is a DVD based nav system (double din) and the second is a hard drive based system. The hard drive system Has all of the nav info stored internally, no discs, and you can even load your own media into the memory for later play back. Both systems can be set up to be viewed while driving.
I am the sales manager for a car audio shop in the New Orleans area and I carry all three double din NAV brands in stock, and believe me, they will look great in your stang flushed into the dash. Here's the breakdown:
DDX-7017 Kenwood double din $1299
DDX-8017 Kenwood double Din $1699
KNA-DV4100 Kenwood Nav system (discontinued, new unit expected in march) $1099
AVIC-N2 Pioneer double din w/NAV $1299
AVN-5435 Eclipse DVD based NAV $1899
AVN-5495 Eclipse hard drive based NAV $2499

 

I have the Pioneer AVIC-N1 and you can play DVD's on it. It can also be rigged to play them while in motion. The N1 is a single DIN style head unit with a 6.5" flip out screen. The thing I like about the Pioneer systems is that it has the NAV already built in so you don't have to go out and purchase a seperate NAV unit to hook to your monitor. I also like the Pioneer units because they have the screen that allows you to track some of your vehciles specs. Things like speed, g forces, and turning angle can be displayed in real time. As I said I have the AVIC-N1, but Pioneer has sinced released the N2 and D1. The N2 is basicly the same as mine but now has the ability to give you real time traffic reports and detour you around traffic jams. The D1 is the same as the N2, but it is a double DIN style head unit instead of the single DIN with flip out screen. Overall I love the Pioneer units, but I'm pretty sure everybody else feels the same way about their systems. Good luck with your research, there are a lot of products to take into consideration.

 

Er...uh.... those must be your shop's prices, because they are definitely cheaper around here. Shoot, I even compaired your prices to Crutchfield. In some cases, Crutchfield was at least $200 cheaper.

 

F00Mustang How much is the Eclipse AVX 2494 going for? it doesnt have nav but it has a 20gig HD for storing all your music on it? Thats the one i was looking at getting this spring, but there are no Eclipse dealers around here :-\ so i have no clue how much the unit even is..??

 

I have crutchfield beat on both Pioneer units.
As far as eclipse, My units come with a 3 year waranty and even have a 1 year theft waranty.
I wonder why crutchfield doesn't carry any of the radios, only the 3 nav pieces?

 

So you can beat crutchfield on the pioneer units.. but does that include your 3 year waranty for those too or only the eclipse?