Help with headunit upgrade

[rf860]

Hi guys, i'm new to the VW scene having come from a BMW. I have bought a ED30 with the RCD500 headunit however, i'd like to upgrade to something a bit more modern.

I've read a lot of threads the last few days about this topic and tbh, i'm none the wiser!

Ideally, i'm looking to upgrade to the rns 510 unit. I'm not wanting sat nav, my phone meets all my needs in that department however, i would like bluetooth.

Could somebody please list out what i need for me to get this up and running in my car? My car doesn't have s/w controls, if that makes any difference.

Also, what the rough cost of this upgrade would be?

Thanks in advance. Ross!

[Moz]

Hi guys, i'm new to the VW scene having come from a BMW. I have bought a ED30 with the RCD500 headunit however, i'd like to upgrade to something a bit more modern.

I've read a lot of threads the last few days about this topic and tbh, i'm none the wiser!

Ideally, i'm looking to upgrade to the rns 510 unit. I'm not wanting sat nav, my phone meets all my needs in that department however, i would like bluetooth.

Could somebody please list out what i need for me to get this up and running in my car? My car doesn't have s/w controls, if that makes any difference.

Also, what the rough cost of this upgrade would be?

Thanks in advance. Ross!

Be cheaper to get an RCD 510 with a bluetooth kit than an RNS510

[rf860]

ok thanks. is the rns model for sat nav?

sorry if this seems obvious to you lot but to me its confusing!

[MC71]

^^^^ Yes. The RNS510 is the Sat Nav Headunit (as well as doing everything else that the RCD510 does)

As MOZ says, the RCD510 is the one you need if you don't want/need a Sat Nav.  

The RCD510 Headunit is also available with DAB function on certain models so something to look out for when hunting for one. Standard RCD510's go for around £200 and a little more for the RCD510 DAB. Add an OEM Bluetooth Kit and Bobs your Mothers Brother.

 Couple of peeps on the forum are experts in fitting all the bits. I had my Bluetooth installed and supplied by Eddie-NL. IIRC it's around £200 for him to supply and fit the OEM Bluetooth kit but you'd have to PM him to ask if that's correct.

[Squeeguk]

Or you could go after market with the Alpine ICS-X8, which is an app link unit which mirrors your phone so you can have Nav and apps from your phone on the screen and Bluetooth too all in one unit. Fitted one end of last year, customer is over the moon. You would then need the dash fitting kit and the adapter cable to integrate with the rest of the car, all plug and play. Big advantage of this is that if you ever decide to upgrade to an amplifier in the future, there are pre-outs and you can always take it along to your next car if you need to.

http://www.alpine.co.uk/p/Products/app-link-station3807/ics-x8_23559

[rf860]

^^^^ Yes. The RNS510 is the Sat Nav Headunit (as well as doing everything else that the RCD510 does)

As MOZ says, the RCD510 is the one you need if you don't want/need a Sat Nav. 

The RCD510 Headunit is also available with DAB function on certain models so something to look out for when hunting for one. Standard RCD510's go for around £200 and a little more for the RCD510 DAB. Add an OEM Bluetooth Kit and Bobs your Mothers Brother.

 Couple of peeps on the forum are experts in fitting all the bits. I had my Bluetooth installed and supplied by Eddie-NL. IIRC it's around £200 for him to supply and fit the OEM Bluetooth kit but you'd have to PM him to ask if that's correct.

Cheers, very helpful! Do you think it's maybe worth the extra for the rns? They go for about 450?

Or you could go after market with the Alpine ICS-X8, which is an app link unit which mirrors your phone so you can have Nav and apps from your phone on the screen and Bluetooth too all in one unit. Fitted one end of last year, customer is over the moon. You would then need the dash fitting kit and the adapter cable to integrate with the rest of the car, all plug and play. Big advantage of this is that if you ever decide to upgrade to an amplifier in the future, there are pre-outs and you can always take it along to your next car if you need to.

http://www.alpine.co.uk/p/Products/app-link-station3807/ics-x8_23559

My biggest problem with these is that they never fit/suit the dash 100% the way the OEM ones do. They probably are better than the OEM ones tho. Cheers.

[MC71]

With the RNS510 you would still need to add a Bluetooth kit.

RNS510 is the better headunit all told. If you go for a RNS unit then look for the Revision C or above as these are the LED screen versions. Expect to pay £450+ for a Revision C or above and from £350  for an earlier version. You can also add add a Rear View Camera to it which looks great and something else to think on.....

[rf860]

That does look better tbh. How much do you reckon for supply of all parts and fitting?

[MC71]

They pop up for sale on here so keep your eye on the for sale section or get one from eBay. Then buy the Bluetooth kit and get someone to fit it for you.

Look at around £400+ for Revision C and £170 for kit plus fitting on top.

[rf860]

cheers. very helpful. guess i better get saving :(

[MrDo]

Hi guys, i'm new to the VW scene having come from a BMW. I have bought a ED30 with the RCD500 headunit however, i'd like to upgrade to something a bit more modern.

I've read a lot of threads the last few days about this topic and tbh, i'm none the wiser!

Ideally, i'm looking to upgrade to the rns 510 unit. I'm not wanting sat nav, my phone meets all my needs in that department however, i would like bluetooth.

Could somebody please list out what i need for me to get this up and running in my car? My car doesn't have s/w controls, if that makes any difference.

Also, what the rough cost of this upgrade would be?

Thanks in advance. Ross!

I'm in the same boat and also came from a BMW.

The one thing to bear in mind is that earlier cars (pre 2007 I think) need the can bus gateway (a box that controls  the cars modules) will most likely need updating. I bought one from Eddie-NL, uncoded for £68 (borrowed vcds to code it).  Without changing this it likely your car will suffer from battery drain when upgrading the headset.

My 06 reg UK (model year, MY07) needed this change.

Now trying to weight up DAB RCD510 vs sat nav but no DAB RNS510. On my iphone I have TomTom W. Europe with audible speed camera alerts (audible camera alerts is not possible on RNS 510 from what i've read) and google/tomtom places live search etc which a non connected sat nav lacks. Although just over £100 - £150 more for sat nav is tempting just for completeness.

I read there are DAB RNS510 coming out, but these are over £600.

No mention of switchover dates yet, which is was mooted as 2017 at one stage. I find it hard that they could turn it off o fast as currently dab only accounts for 33% of listening.

Good luck :)

[rf860]

Hi guys, i'm new to the VW scene having come from a BMW. I have bought a ED30 with the RCD500 headunit however, i'd like to upgrade to something a bit more modern.

I've read a lot of threads the last few days about this topic and tbh, i'm none the wiser!

Ideally, i'm looking to upgrade to the rns 510 unit. I'm not wanting sat nav, my phone meets all my needs in that department however, i would like bluetooth.

Could somebody please list out what i need for me to get this up and running in my car? My car doesn't have s/w controls, if that makes any difference.

Also, what the rough cost of this upgrade would be?

Thanks in advance. Ross!

I'm in the same boat and also came from a BMW.

The one thing to bear in mind is that earlier cars (pre 2007 I think) need the can bus gateway (a box that controls  the cars modules) will most likely need updating. I bought one from Eddie-NL, uncoded for £68 (borrowed vcds to code it).  Without changing this it likely your car will suffer from battery drain when upgrading the headset.

My 06 reg UK (model year, MY07) needed this change.

Now trying to weight up DAB RCD510 vs sat nav but no DAB RNS510. On my iphone I have TomTom W. Europe with audible speed camera alerts (audible camera alerts is not possible on RNS 510 from what i've read) and google/tomtom places live search etc which a non connected sat nav lacks. Although just over £100 - £150 more for sat nav is tempting just for completeness.

I read there are DAB RNS510 coming out, but these are over £600.

No mention of switchover dates yet, which is was mooted as 2017 at one stage. I find it hard that they could turn it off o fast as currently dab only accounts for 33% of listening.

Good luck :)

I think in your case, i'd go for the rcd model since you already have a good sat nav :)

Thankfully, my car is a 2008 model, so it should have the control module fitted. One less cost!

[MrDo]

Just bought an RCD with DAB (made late 2012 with latest firmware) offering this seller £200 and they accepted. Says the have approx 50 units on rotation this week that will be out out for sale.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/turbo_herbie/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3686

Anyone know the part numbers of the Bluetooth kit required for RCD/RNS 510? I have a red mid line. I am happy to use phone via the radio unit, but this the correct part number 5K0 035 730 D (from what I understand the D supports bluetooth audio streaming too)? I would like it to work with  iphone.

How hard is the install? I can see this short guide on this fine site http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,5670.0.html and it looks like the kit needs a foam frame etc that don't appear on most eBay auctions. Is this needed?

[brookesb32]

Just bought an RCD with DAB (made late 2012 with latest firmware) offering this seller £200 and they accepted. Says the have approx 50 units on rotation this week that will be out out for sale.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/turbo_herbie/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3686

Anyone know the part numbers of the Bluetooth kit required for RCD/RNS 510? I have a red mid line. I am happy to use phone via the radio unit, but this the correct part number 5K0 035 730 D (from what I understand the D supports bluetooth audio streaming too)? I would like it to work with  iphone.

How hard is the install? I can see this short guide on this fine site http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,5670.0.html and it looks like the kit needs a foam frame etc that don't appear on most eBay auctions. Is this needed?

Yep the 5k0 kit is the one - have a word with EddieNL - he can normally do a great price.

Fitting is easy, hardest bit is being careful to get the mic wire up the pillar and across to the top light where it sits.

As for the foam holder it's not really necessary. When we installed it in my friends golf we out it under the passenger seat as easy to route behind the glovebox. We then just used Velcro to stick to the carpet.

In my car it was even easier - as I don't have the airvent pipe underneath the ashtray I just popped the box in there, which meant that the wiring just dropped down the back of the stereo - nice an easy 

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Simon