[1QuikWS6]

1st off - congrats on becoming a forum sponsor

Well, this looks to be their best solution to date. I like the fix regarding the fitment to dash, but the fact that the DVD/CD unit is now separate to enable this is kind of inconvenient...

Couple questions:

• I already have the USB 6FL option, as I don't know how the OEM is wired to the HU - is it possible for Dynavin to use the existing USB port in center console instead of the one provided out rear of Dynavin - either directly thru the supplied Dynavin wiring harness, or indirectly by connecting existing USB 6FL harness to radio in some way? or is the only option for console located USB the optional Flush Mount USB Ext?
  
• Can I use the OEM BT Mic in any way, or do I have to use the included Mic?
  
• I will be needing the relo kit. Can't go with LCI HVAC controls that have the integral heated seat buttons as I have more than just seat buttons on my existing strip (HDC, Rear Sunshade). Is the relo kit done in aluminum as shown in the instructions on your site, or black as I have seen elsewhere?
  
• How do you personally rate the quality/speed/ease of use of the Nav? Is it comparable to say a Navigon unit as far as: 3D view capability, overhead view option, ability to customize, voice directions - does the unit auto cut out radio for Nav voice instructions, etc.?
  
• How do you personally rate the processor speed of the unit - say, compared to a Pioneer, Alpine, or Kenwood?
  
• How would SAT radio be connected - be it OEM or aftermarket?
  
• Finally, will you be offering a package deal or GB on the HU + DVD/CD player when it is released?

I realize some of my questions you may be biased as you are selling the unit, but I would assume you would give your honest impressions since after a couple of these go out there will no doubt be reviews from actual customers anyway...

[jeffb335]

Good questions.....

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

1st off - congrats on becoming a forum sponsor

Well, this looks to be their best solution to date. I like the fix regarding the fitment to dash, but the fact that the DVD/CD unit is now separate to enable this is kind of inconvenient...

Couple questions:

Its my expectation that most people will actually opt to not have the CD/DVD player...and for those who DO need one, there is a way to do that. Its one of those weighing the compromises things....and I think this is definitely the best compromise.

• I already have the USB 6FL option, as I don't know how the OEM is wired to the HU - is it possible for Dynavin to use the existing USB port in center console instead of the one provided out rear of Dynavin - either directly thru the supplied Dynavin wiring harness, or indirectly by connecting existing USB 6FL harness to radio in some way? or is the only option for console located USB the optional Flush Mount USB Ext?
  
  Its possible I suppose but not built in, since its all just wiring it would just be a matter of identifying a few wires and making a few splices. Not for everyone but pretty straightforward for any decent installer or DIY weekend warrior.
  
  
• Can I use the OEM BT Mic in any way, or do I have to use the included Mic?
  
  No, the oem and dynavin mics are different types of mics, you CAN use the oem location though, this is what I did in my own car. Popped out the oem mic and stuck the aftermarket mic in there, used a little double sided tape. I found that I was getting a lot of ambient noise from above the mic (keep in mind its up inside the roof) so I looked around my garage and found some self adhesive weatherstripping tape and covered the back side of the mic to insulate it from the noise above. I would think any dense foam, sound deadener (like dynamat), etc... could be used. OR if you dont care about hiding the mic just clip it to the front of the headliner/top of the pillar and be done with it.
  
  
• I will be needing the relo kit. Can't go with LCI HVAC controls that have the integral heated seat buttons as I have more than just seat buttons on my existing strip (HDC, Rear Sunshade). Is the relo kit done in aluminum as shown in the instructions on your site, or black as I have seen elsewhere?
  
  Dynavin told me they were going to all matte black on the relocation/ashtray (they used to be gloss black or silver) but I have not seen one yet. I personally painted the one you see in my pics flat black to better match my cars interior so I obviously agree with their change to matte. If you dont want to go the ashtray route there are other options out there as well, Metra makes a storage tray version of the relocation part that moves your buttons down and gives you a tray instead of an ashtray (some E9Xs are like this oem anyway). I like this option if you want to do something a little custom with an ipod connection, aux in, etc... as it would give you some space to work with.
  
  
• How do you personally rate the quality/speed/ease of use of the Nav? Is it comparable to say a Navigon unit as far as: 3D view capability, overhead view option, ability to customize, voice directions - does the unit auto cut out radio for Nav voice instructions, etc.?
  
  Its iGo primo, its a great program but you dont have to take my word on it, its one of the most popular multiform nav programs out there, countless devices that use it Its, not fancy, just simple and effective, similar to garmin, navigon, tomtom etc... and yes it does all the things you mention. Its easy to update at naviextras.com when the time comes, plus they offer regional worldwide maps, POIs, 3D buildings and a bunch of other extras there so you are not stuck with anything. We have been using them for a few years now and get almost no complaints about the nav.
  
  
• How do you personally rate the processor speed of the unit - say, compared to a Pioneer, Alpine, or Kenwood?
  
  Seems fine.....ive never found myself saying "I wish this processor was faster"....it does everything as asked. The nav renders nicely and seems to run at a higher frame rate than it did on the older D99 dynavins, the screen is responsive and the menus/sources open quickly.
  
  As mentioned earlier there is a 20 second boot time although due to the boot at door unlock its mostly unseen, the nav takes maybe 10 seconds to boot up (if it isnt already running), and sources like SD and USB have some load times depending on the size of the drive, but other than that there are no "lags" that I have seen.
  
  
• How would SAT radio be connected - be it OEM or aftermarket?
  
  Two options, run the siriusXM app on a smartphone and stream the audio via bluetooth or the aux in...OR...run a stand alone sat radio tuner and feed the audio to the dynavin via the aux in.
  
  
• Finally, will you be offering a package deal or GB on the HU + DVD/CD player when it is released?
  
  As a rule I dont do group buys, Ive found the past they are always a mess, lots of time and headaches for both me as the seller and you guys as the buyers, on a product like this the margin is not big enough to give any meaningful discounts anyway, plus since there are a lot of technicalities to consider I need to address every customer personally. Sure we could just sell them for $50 more, then offer a $50 group buy discount, everyone can jump through hoops, etc.... OR....we can just give you the price up front and skip all the BS.
  

[jeffb335]

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

I realize some of my questions you may be biased as you are selling the unit, but I would assume you would give your honest impressions since after a couple of these go out there will no doubt be reviews from actual customers anyway...

I think if you do your homework on me you will find that Ive got a 5 year history in this business on the forums (mostly in the E46 world) and my intention from the beginning was give you guys an honest place to go for things like this (I was originally just a dynavin customer and forum "guru", that led to me being dynavin's US distributor).

Ive learned from my time here though that everyone's understanding, knowledge and expectations are different....so while people's reviews may vary, what I like to do is stick to the facts, honest pros and cons, and the best way to set things up to meet each persons individual wants and needs. This unit wont be the right thing for everybody so getting all the information out there accurately is the best way to make sure people get the right solution for their needs.....and that is good for business....

[1QuikWS6]

Thanx

I appreciate your detailed reply - hopefully some of my questions, & your answers will also help others.

I'll look in to the Metra relo kit, I currently use the brushed aluminum center console trim - if all else fails & I don't like the looks of the supplied black, I can wrap the Dynavin kit with brushed aluminum Dinoc (which I already have) or go with a CF trim which would look better with the matted black...


Are the Nav maps on an SD card? Just wondering the process as to updating the maps when necessary.

Keep us posted on release date...

[jeffb335]

I personally think black looks fine since all the other center console inset parts are black.

But....I've still got a bunch of the silver relocation parts on hand so if you end up needing one just let me know, I've got enough to last a while....


yeah, maps are on an SD card, easy to update when the time comes, just put the card in your computer and go to naviextras.com, jump through a couple hoops and you will be presented with a "menu" of upgrade options and costs. Make your selections, update, and put the card back in the dynavin. Done.

[1QuikWS6]

Originally Posted by jeffb335

I personally think black looks fine since all the other center console inset parts are black.

But....I've still got a bunch of the silver relocation parts on hand so if you end up needing one just let me know, I've got enough to last a while....

Cool!

I got all kinds of options now

[knihaza]

Does anyone know if ANY Dynavin products, D99, N6, etc. allow you to retain the factory BMW chime sounds & PDC without having to relocate the oem stereo. The documentation on this new N6 model says it will but is this a new feature? Were previous versions unable to etain these sounds? Lastly, does anyone know if the warning chimes are some Dynavin sound or the authentic OEM BMW sounds?

Any input on this would be great.

[jeffb335]

Originally Posted by knihaza

Does anyone know if ANY Dynavin products, D99, N6, etc. allow you to retain the factory BMW chime sounds & PDC without having to relocate the oem stereo. The documentation on this new N6 model says it will but is this a new feature? Were previous versions unable to etain these sounds? Lastly, does anyone know if the warning chimes are some Dynavin sound or the authentic OEM BMW sounds?

Any input on this would be great.

Yes the N6 will have this functionality.

No, nothing else does, or has.

EXCEPT the D99 and later had the option to do PDC beeps.

We dont know what the sounds will be yet. The prototype I have been using does not yet have this functionality. Since the N6 unit itself will be generating the tones I dont expect them to be "authentic OEM BMW sounds" but they may be close (pure speculation here). Dynavin did mention to me a while back that the DSP chip is used for tones so they can be fairly complex, not just crude beeps.

Ill see if dynavin has a better answer....

[7786]

Not sure if this has been answered already, but would the $99 logic 7 adapater work for other aftermarket stereos/older dynavin units or is it specific to this new dynavin model?

[jeffb335]

its wired in as part of the N6 harness so its proprietary.

[cdgatti]

Originally Posted by jeffb335

its wired in as part of the N6 harness so its proprietary.

that was smart on dynavin's part.

[jeffb335]

Edit: I just added the following to the beginning of this thread so it doesnt get buried....





I thought I would give you guys an idea of what the install is like....pretty straightforward. I didnt cover EVERYTHING here as there will be some variation between installs depending on what you are starting with and where you are going....but what I cover here is pretty universal to all installs and should give you a rough idea of what you are getting into.


starting point, its a good idea to lay down a towel over your center console to avoid any accidental scratches while you are working.









Carefully use a screwdriver or trim removal tool to pop out the trim around the HVAC controls, be careful and use a towel if needed so you dont mar any of the plastic.









Unplug the HVAC controls, these plugs use a little rotating lever to push the plug out of the controls, If your car has the second row of buttons below the HVAC unclip and unplug these as well:






Unclip the HVAC controls from its surrounding trim piece.






Take out the two screws under the stereo, pull it out and unplug it.








Take out the screws holding the radio bracket in the dash and pull the bracket out.




Now you have a big hole in your dash, at this point you want to route your ipod/USB/aux cables or whatever else you might be running in your particular install to wherever they need to go. Glove compartment is the obvious place but you can do console, storage cubbys, ashtray, whatever... You will also need to install the GPS antenna and bluetooth mic.

If your car has the second row of buttons this is also the time when you would do the relocation of those to the console ashtray area using either the dynavin replacement ashtray assembly OR the metra storage tray kit. Not pictured here but basically you pull up the top console trim, take out the ashtray and replace it with the button relocation solution of your choice.

In my personal car I snaked the GPS antenna lead up to the center dash location (where the center channel speaker is on a L7 equipped car), with the older dynavin units I had the gps antenna on TOP of the dash in this location as putting it under the dash reduced the signal strength, So far with the N6 it seems to be running fine with the GPS antenna stuck on the metal crossbar inside the dash, under the vent/speaker assembly. Since I DO have a center channel speaker I have the antenna pushed off to the passenger side so its not under the speaker.

For the mic, for best results you may want to play around with the location a bit, in my car I ran it up the pillar and to the oem location next to the sunroof controls, I like this location for cosmetic reasons BUT its noisy as the mic is up in a cavity in the roof, only inches away from the roof panel and sunroof, so there is wind noise. To combat this I looked around my garage and came up with a "macgyver" fix for it.... I had some 3/4" adhesive backed weatherstripping foam laying around so I cut some of that up and put it over the back side of the mic, insulating it from the noise from the roof of the car. You could use any number of things for this, I would think some of the thicker dynamats would work nicely as well.....even carve out an old egg crate mattress piece....basically any kind of sound insulating foam cut to the right shape and stuffed in there behind the mic would work. Just make sure the business end of the mic is facing the grill and the cabin.


Take the HVAC controls and file off the corner of the tabs that stick out, this is not a critical part of the unit and allows the HVAC controls to fit correctly in the new trim piece as part of the dynavin. Holding the HVAC controls in position next to the dynavin should make it clear what needs to be shaved.



Snap the controls into the dynavin. Install the metal bottom clips onto the dynavin if they are not already in place.





Now its time to put everything back in, plug the radio antenna, the GPS antenna, the ipod/usb cord, etc...

Plug in the dynavins main wire harness and plug the canbus box into the harness as well.









Slide everything partially back into the dash and at this point turn everything on and make sure everything is up and running including the HVAC, if everything checks out, slide it the rest of the way back clipping the bottom spring clips into place and inserting the two retaining screws into place.





DONE!







One note on a small speedbump I hit in my install.....I dont know if this will happen on all cars or if it will be specific to certain HVAC controls, years/models/etc....

When I first pushed the unit back into place, the bottom (the part by the HVAC controls) would not go all the way back into place, it was sticking out maybe 1/8". I started looking around and it appears the HVAC controls were a little too deep and they were hitting part of the dash behind them, keeping the bottom from going all the way back and being flush. Specifically this little ear inside the dash where to the oem radio bracket mounts was in the way.




Closer inspection revealed that the part was upholstered with foam and vinyl, AND had a plastic nub on it. Both of these factors added more than 1/8" of thickness to the ear and was keeping the dynavin from going all the way in. So I simply trimmed the upholstery and foam off with a utility knife.




Then I snipped off the plastic nub with some diagonal cutters and cleaned it up with the utility knife.




As you can see the ear is still there, its just doesnt have all the "stuff" on it getting in the way




Did the same on the left side and I was then able to slide everything all the way back into the dash and the fit was great

[Wongway]

That looks wonderful!

We should get you to put that up in it's own post as a sticky down the line to make it easier for people to find!

[jeffb335]

Originally Posted by Wongway

That looks wonderful!

We should get you to put that up in it's own post as a sticky down the line to make it easier for people to find!

well.....in july when they are released and available ill probably start an official thread, im kind of holding off on that until they are on the shelf and a few are installed in the field before I do that.

So this thread can be the pre-release speculation and discussion thread and the official thread can be more for post release facts, usage Q&A and advice, reviews, etc....


Ill edit one of my first page posts though to include the install post above so that its easier to find in the meantime....so its not buried here on page 5....

[smithf80]

I just did a CIC retrofit (from no iDrive) for 1k, so they are going to have to get very competitive with pricing if they want to move these.

[jeffb335]

Originally Posted by smithe90

I just did a CIC retrofit (from no iDrive) for 1k, so they are going to have to get very competitive with pricing if they want to move these.

Thats about as "apples and oranges" as you can get!

[smithf80]

Originally Posted by jeffb335

Thats about as "apples and oranges" as you can get!

Maybe, but in this case everyone knows that Apples (CIC) is ALWAYS better then oranges (Dynavin)

[e90bmw328i]

Originally Posted by smithe90

Maybe, but in this case everyone knows that Apples (CIC) is ALWAYS better then oranges (Dynavin)

Sorry to jump into this. But I am not sure I want to rip out the entire dash to do a CIC retrofit. So dynavin is for people who want to avoid all that hassle of finding the parts, harness, days to refit and program the car.

[smithf80]

Originally Posted by Metblack328i

Sorry to jump into this. But I am not sure I want to rip out the entire dash to do a CIC retrofit. So dynavin is for people who want to avoid all that hassle of finding the parts, harness, days to refit and program the car.

Its alright, I know that this is sometimes for people who don't want the whole nav system but most people looking into this probably wish their car had one. I will say is not as hard as you think. It took me a week to find everything at a cheap price, and then many 7-8 hours to install. Its a good weekend project with a friend.

I will say if your car is base this will be a much easier way of adding bluetooth and iPod connectivity then if you did CIC.

[Wongway]

I'm going to wager that it's probably $2-300 cheaper and everything is pretty much right there, with a much easier install time.

The only thing I can think of that CIC has going for it, might be that it's easier to have factory work done on the vehicle with the OEM head unit.

[RoamPT]

Originally Posted by smithe90

Maybe, but in this case everyone knows that Apples (CIC) is ALWAYS better then oranges (Dynavin)

I'm sorry if I'm being rude but no one asked you whats better and whats not. You did the cic retrofit and that's fine, no one cares, some people don't mind taking the whole dash etc etc out some people do. I wouldn't never retrofit cic, this is a plug n play option in the market which is amazing. And your metaphor didn't make any sense lol anyway this is a great product as far as i can see and i can't wait to get it. I don't even know why you brought this up.

Anyway can't wait for this!

[smithf80]

Originally Posted by RoamPT

I'm sorry if I'm being rude but no one asked you whats better and whats not. You did the cic retrofit and that's fine, no one cares, some people don't mind taking the whole dash etc etc out some people do. I wouldn't never retrofit cic, this is a plug n play option in the market which is amazing. And your metaphor didn't make any sense lol anyway this is a great product as far as i can see and i can't wait to get it. I don't even know why you brought this up.

Anyway can't wait for this!

I don't know whats up your ass thats getting you so annoyed. I'm just saying that they really should make the price a little bit lower because they're coming close the the price of a factory nav retrofit.

How about the fact that this would a pain in the ass to use while driving always looking down and away from the road? It might seem great but these things always have one or two quirky issues which we aren't aware of yet because it hasn't been sold yet. And that wasn't my metaphor buddy.