Navigation system for C5

[my 1999 coupe]

Hi everyone,
Wondering if anyone has had an aftermarket nav system put in their C5. Double D in the US (Recommenced by the US corvette forum) can produce the double din bezel required but when I checked there was a lot of unhappy customers on the web. I have 1999 suburban and had Future shop here in Belleville do a great aftermarket install but now that Best Buy have taken them over the Future Shop is gone. Sound is not important to me as I only listen to the motor but knowing where I'm going is .
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Charlie

 

[Rruuff Day]

sorry Charlie. Can't offer ya up any worthwhile advice on this but there's a lot of members in Ont. Hopefully someone with some experience in this area will chime in. I think DaSilva Motorsports down there is mainly mechanical work but Manny (owner) may be able to recommend a shop. He's a super helpful resource. Good Luck.

 

[theboss]

Welcome to the forum. With today's technologie, If I was on the market to replace the head unit, I would pick one that have mirror effect with a smart phone, it use very little data for the GPS and it's live so no update and traffic in real time. I have travel a lot this way Canada and US with no issue and available deviation in case of traffic jam (if available), also live internet search, if you are looking for restaurant or gas bar, on a bigger screen + sound is out from the car speakers so you can hear clearly.
I dont know which to pick, on different forum the most popular ones seem to be Kenwood and Pioneer.

Good luck and post the result of your search and install, might help someone else

Stephane

 

[theboss]

Dasilva is now an authorise dealer for kenwood, I am sure the quality of its advise will match the quality of is work (that mean top notch)

 

[Rruuff Day]

There's a different forum???? Who knew...

 

[ariker]

I would try MASS electronics. They used to be the official GM supplier of all aftermarket electronics and they'll come to you. Worth a phone call

 

[robbob]

First time poster here. I have the same dilemma for my Vette. That said, I have experience with aftermarket NAV units in other vehicles. Summaries below:

I bought a Pioneer AVIC NAV unit but cannot recommend it. Pioneer uses their own custom NAV software. It is not user friendly. The sound quality (SQ) was very good.

I bought a used truck with an aftermarket Kenwood NAV unit. Kenwood uses Garmin NAV, so it is user-friendly and works well. The SQ is ho hum.

So, what would I recommend? Find a NAV unit that uses a name-brand navigation system (Garmin, Tomtom) and that also has good sound quality. I am trying to figure out what NAV system Alpine uses. If I had to pick between Pioneer and Kenwood, I would choose the Kenwood. An external amplifier might overcome the ho hum SQ.

 

[my 1999 coupe]

First time poster here. I have the same dilemma for my Vette. That said, I have experience with aftermarket NAV units in other vehicles. Summaries below:

I bought a Pioneer AVIC NAV unit but cannot recommend it. Pioneer uses their own custom NAV software. It is not user friendly. The sound quality (SQ) was very good.

I bought a used truck with an aftermarket Kenwood NAV unit. Kenwood uses Garmin NAV, so it is user-friendly and works well. The SQ is ho hum.

So, what would I recommend? Find a NAV unit that uses a name-brand navigation system (Garmin, Tomtom) and that also has good sound quality. I am trying to figure out what NAV system Alpine uses. If I had to pick between Pioneer and Kenwood, I would choose the Kenwood. An external amplifier might overcome the ho hum SQ.

robbob,
Thanks for the reply.
My initial issue is that like your corvette it comes with the GM 1 1/2 DIN set up so most major units won;t fit without a modified bezel. Do you know of any Double DIN bezel suppliers other than Double D in the states who seen to have a lot of unhappy customers? California Corvette will modify your existing bezel if you send it to them for about $500.00 but I would rather not do that.
Thanks
Charlie

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Guys, I am surprised about Double D, I thought they had a great reputation but I have not gone looking for bitching on the interwebby thing. I did read recently that DD has moulded for them new bezels and by their own admission are not 100% stock in design. Maybe go back and have a look, they were reasonably priced and you could end up keeping your own bezel if you ever wanted to revert to stock.

I would like to have an updated system but I just don't care for how the dash looks with the newer systems installed. Good luck with your search.

 

[robbob]

I saw some negative feedback for DD once I started looking. Bitching mostly involved slow delivery times for new bezels but not on the quality of the bezels themselves (he says up to 8 weeks and he means it). I would feel safe ordering a new one from DD, as opposed to getting them to mod the one from my own vehicle. Other bitching related to installs of other components, not the bezels.

Is it possible to fit a Single DIN head unit with a pop-out screen without modding the bezel? This might be simpler. I found this one but don't know if it is available:

Clarion NZ503

 

[my 1999 coupe]

I saw some negative feedback for DD once I started looking. Bitching mostly involved slow delivery times for new bezels but not on the quality of the bezels themselves (he says up to 8 weeks and he means it). I would feel safe ordering a new one from DD, as opposed to getting them to mod the one from my own vehicle. Other bitching related to installs of other components, not the bezels.

Is it possible to fit a Single DIN head unit with a pop-out screen without modding the bezel? This might be simpler. I found this one but don't know if it is available:

Clarion NZ503

Hi robob,

Yes they sound like the same complains I saw plus there were a couple of people wanting there money back due to quality / service and couldn't. I've also looked at the pop up versions. The only down side is when the screen is up it blocks the A/C vent. My installer won't use Clarion any more due to problems with a lot of there units. They did phone me just before Christmas and said there would be a Canadian company that will have a bezel soon but I haven't heard from her.
Thanks for your help and I will let everyone know what I find put.
Charlie

 

[my 1999 coupe]

Hi robob,

Yes they sound like the same complains I saw plus there were a couple of people wanting there money back due to quality / service and couldn't. I've also looked at the pop up versions. The only down side is when the screen is up it blocks the A/C vent. My installer won't use Clarion any more due to problems with a lot of there units. They did phone me just before Christmas and said there would be a Canadian company that will have a bezel soon but I haven't heard from her.
Thanks for your help and I will let everyone know what I find put.
Charlie

Hi robob,

Yes they sound like the same complains I saw plus there were a couple of people wanting there money back due to quality / service and couldn't. I've also looked at the pop up versions. The only down side is when the screen is up it blocks the A/C vent. My installer won't use Clarion any more due to problems with a lot of there units. They did phone me just before Christmas and said there would be a Canadian company that will have a bezel soon but I haven't heard from her.
Thanks for your help and I will let everyone know what I find put.
Charlie

Hi Everyone,

Just came from my installer and I saw a picture of the C5 bezel that will be coming to Canada . Looks good . The supplier wouldn't give me her supplier but said it was in Toronto.
She said it would be a supplier like the trim pieces she pointed to on the wall. I wrote down thew name on the packages and it was Metra . I googled Metra Toronto and 1999 corvette and up came a picture and P/N DP-3021B for the Bezel.
The supplier said she should have a price for me in the next couple of days , so I think we are very near to an alternate supplier for C5 Vette's. I will keep you up to date as I find out more. The picture looked like it was a double DIN opening which means nearly anyone's unit will fit.

Charlie

 

[Pyro]

Hi Everyone,

Just came from my installer and I saw a picture of the C5 bezel that will be coming to Canada . Looks good . The supplier wouldn't give me her supplier but said it was in Toronto.
She said it would be a supplier like the trim pieces she pointed to on the wall. I wrote down thew name on the packages and it was Metra . I googled Metra Toronto and 1999 corvette and up came a picture and P/N DP-3021B for the Bezel.
The supplier said she should have a price for me in the next couple of days , so I think we are very near to an alternate supplier for C5 Vette's. I will keep you up to date as I find out more. The picture looked like it was a double DIN opening which means nearly anyone's unit will fit.

Charlie

Very interested in this...not sure if I'm ever going to do the double DIN mod but it's definitely always on my list. Please keep up posted!

 

[Greg Smith]

I used Double D and was very pleased with the results. I bought a package from them that included the new head unit, modifying my bezel and an adapter to connect up with the stock Bose speakers and amps. I did the work myself over the winter so it wouldn't cut into my driving season. I removed the bezel and shipped it to them and they modified it to fit the head unit I purchased from them and they shipped the package back to me. One suggestion, I took my bezel across the border to buffalo and shipped it from there, our postal service wanted $200 to send it to DD and it cost me $20 including insurance from Buffalo and DD shipped it directly back to me.
It took me most of a day to make the modifications and it worked great. Since then I have gotten rid of the rest of the crappy Bose and installed Focal speakers and Alpine power amps. It sounds great but not as nice as the sounds from my new exhaust system. An extra fringe benefit is when the guy in the rice rocket pulls up beside you with his window shaking rap music playing, I can drown him out with some good music and then leave him in my dust. Life is good

 

[my 1999 coupe]

Hi C5 Owners,
The Metra DP-3021B Double D conversion kit for C5's is now available on line from e bay and other sites . I just ordered mine from E-Bay @ $304.00 US $ including shipping and custom duty of $50.00.
I will let everyone know what I think of quality when I get it . I'm sure it will be fine as I have used there products before.
If you go to the Metra site they now have a good installation manual on line. Now I just need to find a good Dpuble D Nav system to uses .

Charlie

 

[my 1999 coupe]

Hi Everyone,
In follow up to my post above I received my Metra Nav. conversion kit yesterday. The quality of the reproduction was excellent and the colour was also a good match. What didn't work for me was that it did have the textured finish that matched the rest of the dash so for me it wasn't good enough so I'm returning mine. If other users had a way of adding the textured look it would be perfect. I'm not saying this isn't an excellent product it just fell short of my expectations.

Charlie

 

[Black 03 Z06]

Disappointing to hear Charlie. Wonder why they could not have done the texturing on the part? While it may fit well if it stands out from the rest of the trim that would be a non starter for me as well.

Have you thought of getting DD to modify your existing piece or try to find a second one from a parts car?

 

[my 1999 coupe]

Hi Black 03 Z06,

Thanks for the comments. At this point I think I will just live with the existing setup and use good old paper maps like the old days.

Charlie

 

[MikeysZ06]

At this point I think I will just live with the existing setup and use good old paper maps like the old days.

Charlie

Nothing wrong with the old days Charlie. I have paper maps of both Alberta and BC in my car. Much rather have that open on the passenger seat.

 

[digi2t]

Hi, first time poster here...

I'm in the upgrade process, and through my research, I've had lots of feedback that the Metra bezel (depending on individual taste) left a bit to be desired. One of the points that kept coming up being the texture. Corvettenutz also sells 2DIN bezels, either independently made, or reworked, I'm not sure, but the consensus seems to be that the quality is above and beyond the Metra. I've bought one, and I'm awaiting it's arrival shortly. I can report back as to the quality when it comes in.
As for the nav system, I went with an AVIC5200. I'm not super fussy insofar as the sound is concerned. If it rivals the Bose, I'll be happy. Having a nav and bluetooth was way higher up on the need scale for me. I much rather prefer listening to the Corsa roar while blasting down newly discovered back roads. The radio usually only comes on when I'm stuck in traffic and bored, which is practically never.