E46 Sat Nav Options (Alternative to OEM)

[derek328]

Hi guys not posted in a while, but feeling the need to investigate some modifications for my car and theres no better place to seek advice than here:D

I know some of you have aftermarket sat-nav/DVD/head unit's installed in your E46's. I was just looking for some advice and feedback on the alternative options to OEM.

Thanks

[Moe]

The pioneer x3bt is very good has sat nav ipod ready and has bluetooth connectivity to use your phone and stream music i have installed and love it

[alexsh1]

Mate, you have to do a proper double din :)

http://forum.evotechnik.net/showthread.php?t=24641

[XKaLiBaR]

Whats the reason to going aftermarket?

[alexsh1]

Whats the reason to going aftermarket?

We are not going to have an agruement here that aftermarket isn't better than the original BMW, are we? The reason is the same as when you have decided to go for aftermarket brakes. :D

[Amuro]

We are not going to have an agruement here that aftermarket isn't better than the original BMW, are we? The reason is the same as when you have decided to go for aftermarket brakes. :D
Is that mean OEM isn't as good as aftermarket??..:p

[derek328]

No bias to OEM or aftermarket, just wanted to get a feel for what was out there other than the BMW option :)

[alexsh1]

Is that mean OEM isn't as good as aftermarket??..:p

Absolutely! ;)
I am not saying its not good, I am saying its not as good as aftermarket.
Well, you have done ICE on several cars, you know what I mean

[Saqib]

You have 4 options for after market nav:

1. Portable Nav
2. Double Din head unit that has nav
3. Vehicle Hub with mybimmer.net bezel
4. Flip out single din head unit that has nav.

The portable nav is the cheapest and obviously has the benefit of being portable, however the processors are comparatively slow and the screens are small, often with no integration to the cars sound system.

The double din head unit has a fairly factory look, huge screen, nav that is integrated with the car's speakers and music and a selection of options to go for. Most aftermarket double din navs such as alpine, JVC's, kenwoods and pioneers are pretty awesome and feature rich. Kenwoods is made by garmin. The pioneer HD3 double din head unit has what I believe to be the most comprehensive double din nav in existance. Only downside of double din is that modifications need to be made to the heater box in the e46 and the unit is not removable. On a plus side though you'll also get better sound quality from your music with the mentioned aftermarket units.

The vehicle hub is pretty much the same pros and cons as the double din units except has a much more stealthier look and looks a lot more factory. Only downside is you will have to get the alpine nav so won't have the option for going with anything else. The alpine nav IS good in its own right, however no additional maps or locations (such as speed cameras or B&Qs..etc) can be added to it, only the ones that are already in the system. Also, as its DVD based the nav is only updated once every year, but even to get this every year you will have to buy the new alpine nav disks for that year... around £150 - 200.

The final option of the motorised single din screen will have the same nav and music options as a double din unit, except on the motorised slide out screen. It does not look as nice as double din and I personally feel is quite tacky looking, although the BIG plus side is that it is removable so no worries of it being stolen!


Anyway, they're my views. Hope is helps!

[derek328]

You have 4 options for after market nav:

1. Portable Nav
2. Double Din head unit that has nav
3. Vehicle Hub with mybimmer.net bezel
4. Flip out single din head unit that has nav.

The portable nav is the cheapest and obviously has the benefit of being portable, however the processors are comparatively slow and the screens are small, often with no integration to the cars sound system.

The double din head unit has a fairly factory look, huge screen, nav that is integrated with the car's speakers and music and a selection of options to go for. Most aftermarket double din navs such as alpine, JVC's, kenwoods and pioneers are pretty awesome and feature rich. Kenwoods is made by garmin. The pioneer HD3 double din head unit has what I believe to be the most comprehensive double din nav in existance. Only downside of double din is that modifications need to be made to the heater box in the e46 and the unit is not removable. On a plus side though you'll also get better sound quality from your music with the mentioned aftermarket units.

The vehicle hub is pretty much the same pros and cons as the double din units except has a much more stealthier look and looks a lot more factory. Only downside is you will have to get the alpine nav so won't have the option for going with anything else. The alpine nav IS good in its own right, however no additional maps or locations (such as speed cameras or B&Qs..etc) can be added to it, only the ones that are already in the system. Also, as its DVD based the nav is only updated once every year, but even to get this every year you will have to buy the new alpine nav disks for that year... around £150 - 200.

The final option of the motorised single din screen will have the same nav and music options as a double din unit, except on the motorised slide out screen. It does not look as nice as double din and I personally feel is quite tacky looking, although the BIG plus side is that it is removable so no worries of it being stolen!


Anyway, they're my views. Hope is helps!

Thanks Saqib that was very helpful.

In terms of portable nav, does anyone know of any nice solutions in terms of sleek fitting on to the E46's dash board? I'm not mad on suction fixing on the windscreen and would probably steer me immediately away from the portable nav option if there were no cleaner ways of fixing to the cars interior.

Moving on then I'm looking for something that isn't permanent and could be DIY install and uninstall when i sell the car. So i assume this rules me out for the double din option?

I appreciate the single din won't look as good as a double din screen but im assuming this process is easily reversible when time to part out?

And what sort of price range am I looking at?

Thanks

[alexsh1]

Moving on then I'm looking for something that isn't permanent and could be DIY install and uninstall when i sell the car. So i assume this rules me out for the double din option?
Thanks

If you are looking for something that isn't permanent then its Tomtom full stop
If you after something way much better than its double din. It all depends on your level of DIY.

[Moe]

Thanks Saqib that was very helpful.

In terms of portable nav, does anyone know of any nice solutions in terms of sleek fitting on to the E46's dash board? I'm not mad on suction fixing on the windscreen and would probably steer me immediately away from the portable nav option if there were no cleaner ways of fixing to the cars interior.

Moving on then I'm looking for something that isn't permanent and could be DIY install and uninstall when i sell the car. So i assume this rules me out for the double din option?

I appreciate the single din won't look as good as a double din screen but im assuming this process is easily reversible when time to part out?

And what sort of price range am I looking at?

Thanks
Yes the single din is reversible and not the hardest in the world to do. Price depends how much you want to spend the alpine satnav and screen combo will be about £1500 and the Poineer which i have is £1000.

They are the two i know of teh top my head more research and you may find others more suitable

[Saqib]

Moe is a bit off with the Alpine pricing there, the alpine d106r is about £500 and ray smith do the nav for £500 so total is £1000, same as the pioneer.

They are all reversible. In my old e46 i had done a double din install, then i switched to the hub, then returned it all back to standard to sell. Reversing is not the problem, doing is the hard bit.

With double din you need to cut out the heater box and insulate it which is the difficult bit. With the hub you need to wire it up as its a lot more complicated then a conventional head unit, and you need to mount the screen to the bezel which is very delicate procedure as it involves taking the screen apart!

With regards to the portable nav, i've seen hardwired stands for tomtoms that you can have sitting near the gearstick. Im sure a search would bring some up, or maybe ebay?

[jurka]

Another option to get alpine screen- as alpine D106R and portable Alpine navigation- Blackbird. With docking station. So its sits in a dock giving you everything on a touch screen of the headunit with traffic lights and speed camera locations. But at the same time you can eject it from there and use it in a different car as portable navigation. Navigation with docking station can be bought for £400.

[derek328]

Thanks guys as always thats just the advice i was looking for. I now have some ideas and a much better idea of what's out there.

Hoping to try and upload some photo's this weekend. few more mods since my last upload most notably the rear smoked LED's I got from Teddy.