Ah, that would explain it.
I have a '97 but it's not the collectors edition.
Thanks!
80 series head unit replacement (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter fj40crusher
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I have a '97 but it's not the collectors edition.
Thanks!
After watching This Video on Youtube by Aussie Arvos, I've been looking at the S8 10.1" ATOTO. Since you've had this unit for a while do you have any complaints or praises?
No complaints. It’s simple and works. Really just use it for CarPlay and the cameras.
Do you have any issues with lagging while using the touchscreen, slow processing on map zooms/navigation, or the ability to easily see the screen in full daylight? The video I posted had a Sony XAV3000 installed and mentioned these issues.
How do you like the size of the 10.1"? Do you ever wish it wasn't in the way of some of the buttons on the console?
Nah it doesn’t block anything to complain about everything is accessible enough and the big screen is awesome
I see my screen quite well in daylight, I don't have any lagging with the touchscreen. I haven't used the navigation so I can't report back on that but overall it just looks really good in my 80 and I'm going to put one in my 2000 Tacoma next.
How have you been liking it? I'm thinking of installing the same one but wanted to ask what setup you went with for speakers. Thanks!
Is the wiring a PITA in the atoto units?
Specifically reverse/park, etc?
Sounds like the Kenwood and pioneers have some tricky liability nanny stuff and I'd prefer to avoid splicing in reverse etc if avoidable.
Nah it’s easy just buy a Toyota harness on Amazon. You have to splice for reverse camera on one of the taillights if you want it to automatically turn on when you reverse.
Cool cool - does it feel snappy - no lag, etc?
Kinda stuck between this and just ram mounting a tablet with a simple Bluetooth HU.
Edit- it seems you already answered this early. Thanks for the info!
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All good. Seems fine I have other cheap head units that lag more. I don’t daily drive the 80 so it’s not like I’m using it everyday.When I do it’s 99% carplay
A couple ideas / suggestions:
- consider a unit with a volume knob. The touch screens are a pain in the a$$ to find the mute button (like at a drive thru) or to find the volume up/down buttons while driving. There aren't many CarPlay units that have a knob... I think Sony makes a couple but I've never tried one. Boss makes several that are relatively inexpensive. There are a few other brands but several get very pricey.
- it's brand specific but there are ways to override the parking brake connection. Many units theoretically require the parking brake to be engaged to access certain software specific menus, all intended to keep the driver from playing with the stereo when they should be driving. Different brands have different ways of dealing with it... I think several you can ground the parking brake lead from the head unit harness to trick it into thinking the parking brake is engaged. Others you need a parking brake bypass module - easily found on Amazon or Ebay and usually in the $15-20 range.
- consider a unit with a volume knob. The touch screens are a pain in the a$$ to find the mute button (like at a drive thru) or to find the volume up/down buttons while driving. There aren't many CarPlay units that have a knob... I think Sony makes a couple but I've never tried one. Boss makes several that are relatively inexpensive. There are a few other brands but several get very pricey.
- it's brand specific but there are ways to override the parking brake connection. Many units theoretically require the parking brake to be engaged to access certain software specific menus, all intended to keep the driver from playing with the stereo when they should be driving. Different brands have different ways of dealing with it... I think several you can ground the parking brake lead from the head unit harness to trick it into thinking the parking brake is engaged. Others you need a parking brake bypass module - easily found on Amazon or Ebay and usually in the $15-20 range.
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Does it block anything on the dash?
I'll second this about having a knob for volume control.
I sat in my friends Cruiser; he has a full touch Apple Carplay HU...no knob. And leaning over to hit the volume is PITA. With the HU I was gifted (old, never used Kenwood double din Bluetooth/cd/dvd/usb/camera), I have the knob. It's at just the right spot where i can rest my hand on the shifter while driving and touch it. Makes it so much easier while driving.
I will say, however, the skip function is on the touchscreen and is a pain. I'm debating getting the universal remote for it so I don't have to look for it. Double pain because wearing my polarized sunglasses, the screen completely disappears.
Most of the remotes I've seen aren't useful replacements for knobs or to help the driver control the stereo while driving. All of them I've seen have a bunch of tiny, similarly shaped buttons that aren't easily identified by feel. They still have a use if you want somebody in the back seat to be able to control the head unit or if you want to control the head unit from outside the car (e.g., playing music at a campsite). While driving, however, the ones I've seen take the driver's attention away even more than just reaching over to the head unit.
I'm thinking, for me, just to skip songs. Once I know where the button is, I can find it by feel.
But I completely understand what you're saying
I looked for a while for a head unit with a volume knob. There's one Sony with a knob but it's discontinued and uses a resistive screen (I'd rather have capacitive.)
The happy medium I found was this Sony - it has volume up and down buttons and skip forward/back buttons. Sony XAV-AX5500, also discontinued but essentially the same as the new XAV-AX5600 (which added an HDMI input that I didn't need.)
I know Boss makes a couple CarPlay units including some with oversized screens that have knobs. They're affordable, but I've never seen one in person. I think they do have capacitive screens and seem to check off all the right boxes, but the Boss brand makes me uncomfortable. I generally prefer sticking with one of the big boys for head units, especially a CarPlay unit where software or firmware updates may be needed down the road to maintain compatibility with the newest phones.
My only experience with Boss was a few months ago. I was replacing 4" dash speakers in my Prado and figured at that size, there couldn't be much difference in sound quality so I went with an inexpensive Boss model. They were awful... worse than the 28 yr old paper cone speakers I was replacing. I ended up throwing the Boss speakers in the trash and bought a bigger brand that finally did the trick (I think this time I experimented with Kicker, but I usually go Infinity, Alpine, or Polk for car speakers).
My only experience with Boss was a few months ago. I was replacing 4" dash speakers in my Prado and figured at that size, there couldn't be much difference in sound quality so I went with an inexpensive Boss model. They were awful... worse than the 28 yr old paper cone speakers I was replacing. I ended up throwing the Boss speakers in the trash and bought a bigger brand that finally did the trick (I think this time I experimented with Kicker, but I usually go Infinity, Alpine, or Polk for car speakers).
