Cables/Adapters needed to fit a Kenwood stereo

[f1fan]

I'm going to fit a Kenwood DDX4023BT to my mk5 GTi.  Can anyone point me in the right direction of the cables/adapters needed?

My car doesn't have steering wheel controls or rear camera.  I don't want to spend a lot of money on an adapter that does things I don't need.  I've seen some for £10 and some for £50?!

Also does anyone know what aerial adapter I would need too?

Thanks guys

[S4nup]

I bought this exact same headunit over the weekend and am just getting the fitting bits together.

I've seen on ebay some kits with everything in it for about £90 but i think they contain bits we dont need (cage for starters as the unit comes with one)

I've been debating between the cheap and expensive ISO looms...the main difference between these two are the cheap one doesn't interface into the CAN...so its cheap, but you lose a couple of things:

• Speed Sensor Wire
• Reverse Wire
• Illumination Wire
• and the ALL important Switched Live

depending if you are ok in missing some of those things (mainly illumination and Reverse wire) if you are not fitting things further down the line(reverse cam), then you can go with the cheap one, BUT you do need to run a switched live wire to the loom from a fuse / cigarette lighter. I decided to invest the money and paid £30 for the CTSVW002 from a supplier on ebay. i am looking to put a camera in, so it just made sense to go for this loom as it puts the reverse cable near the headunit, rather than having to run to the reverse lights / gearbox.

If you go for the cheaper cable, as i said, you just need to run a switched live from somewhere appropriate.

Also you need one of these (i think) http://caraudiosecurity.com/ct27aa25-vauxhall-vw-audi-twin-fakra-aerial-adaptor-to-iso.

and then any additional USB / IPOD cables. If you have an iPhone 4 and want to take advantage of video / app mirroring mode, then get the KCS-IP202 cable (theres the original one for £30 or a copy which looks like it works for £10...i ordered the £10 one for now) if you have an iPhone 5, you can't output video / apps from it as they limited the output from the standard dock connector so you have to use the lightning adapter (i'm not actually sure if you can use the lightning cable by itself or whether you have to go for the old dock connector with the adapter.

HTH...Sorry for the long post!

[f1fan]

Hi

I decided to go for the CTSVW002 in the end to be on the safe side, the ignition issue was the deciding factor and I have the option for upgrades like the camera in the future.  I bought it from Fit Car Audio for £29.99 with free P&P which wasn't too bad.  I've just this second ordered the Kenwood DDX4023BT and the KCA-iP202 cable from Road Radio for £297.96 delivered.

I've ordered the fitting kit from Enfig Car Radio in the USA, they do a model that has a seamless single piece front that should blend the stereo in nicely.  Was about $90 including postage to the UK, expensive but worth it I hope.

How do I know which aerial type my stereo has without removing it first?  Some websites say 2008 onwards have the double Fakra connection and earlier cars a single connection, my car was made in Mar 2008 so I'm concerned it could be either?!

[S4nup]

Hi

I decided to go for the CTSVW002 in the end to be on the safe side, the ignition issue was the deciding factor and I have the option for upgrades like the camera in the future.  I bought it from Fit Car Audio for £29.99 with free P&P which wasn't too bad.  I've just this second ordered the Kenwood DDX4023BT and the KCA-iP202 cable from Road Radio for £297.96 delivered.

I've ordered the fitting kit from Enfig Car Radio in the USA, they do a model that has a seamless single piece front that should blend the stereo in nicely.  Was about $90 including postage to the UK, expensive but worth it I hope.

How do I know which aerial type my stereo has without removing it first?  Some websites say 2008 onwards have the double Fakra connection and earlier cars a single connection, my car was made in Mar 2008 so I'm concerned it could be either?!

Ah thats not a bad price for the unit. Its a shame, cos CarAudioSecurity were doing the unit for £240 and the cable for £20 over the weekend.

I'm going to look into the Enfig fitting kit...sounds good from what you mention. what is the model number of the one you ordered?

As for the Fakra...i actually didn't realise it was different depending on model year. I assumed they were the same. I've got a 2006 so i'm now confused about what i need. don't really wanna pull out the HU just to check and then have to wait a few days for the item to come in.

<Edit> just checked this post: http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=46060.0; and it seems it wasn't by year but by model. I have an RCD300 so according to that post, i think i need the twin to iso as i posted earlier.

[f1fan]

Twin fakra it is then, I'll order that tomorrow.

I went for the RMK8-VW07 which is the matte black one, fingers crossed I got the right one. 

http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_RMK8_VW07.html

[S4nup]

Twin fakra it is then, I'll order that tomorrow.

I went for the RMK8-VW07 which is the matte black one, fingers crossed I got the right one. 

http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_RMK8_VW07.html

Great...let me know how you get on.

Also...you did use the discount code...didn't ya?? (APRIL25OFF) i think it gives $12.50 off the item.

Man i hate it when shipping costs more than the product!

[f1fan]

Yes I used the April discount code, shipping was about $10 more than the cost of the kit! I inspect I'll have to pay another £10 in import taxes when it arrives too. It better be worth it! 

I'll try and post some pics when it arrives and I manage to fit it.

[Rob.]

I was wondering...what does that Enfig fitting kit have that one like this (for example) doesn't?

It looks pretty similar from the photos.

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/con-ct23vw01a-ct23vw01a-double-din-facia-plate-for-volkswagen.html

[S4nup]

Hi
The ending one has a bigger fascia, in that (and correct me if I'm wrong) you don't use the trim that comes with the stereo.
In my picture, there's the thin rectangular trim that came with my kenwood. I think with the enfig one you wouldn't need to use that trim

[f1fan]

You're right the Enfig one doesnt need then stereos own extra trim piece however the car audio direct one looks very similar, I can't quite tell for sure.

I went for the Emfig as I'd seen the finished result and it looked great plus the colour match is meant to be very good though I'm nervous about that and will find out in a couple of days when it arrives!

[Rob.]

As soon as I actually decide on which double DIN head unit I want, I'll buy the CAD fascia adapter to go with it and post pics :)

[f1fan]

Well my Enfig jit arrived from the States yesterday, so guess what'll I'll be doing tomorrow!

After an initial look at the kit I was impressed, it has a nice finish and a nice contoured design.

I'll post some pictures once it's in.

[f1fan]

Well it's fitted, 3.5 hours later!  Pretty pleased with it though.

I forgot to take a photo before I started, this is after removing the top of the dash.  The RCD300 and the Parrot CK3100 are going.



The Parrot was a bitch to get out.  The main bluetooth module was buried  under the ashtray section of the dash.



Eventually the old stuff is out, the new Enfig surround fitted and the Kenwood stereo in with a iPod cable through to the glovebox.

[Rob.]

Looks smart :)

[Leebo310]

Looks really good mate, I've just bought a mk5 and this is the stereo I'm looking at getting for it!

How hard was it to remove the top dash panel by the way?

Can I ask a couple of questions about the unit itself too? I'm interested in the App mode. My wife has an iphone 5 and I was under the impression (maybe wrongly!) that by downloading a certain Garmin app, we'll be able to view the Iphone sat nav on the unit itself. Is that correct?

Where have you placed the microphone for the unit? Is the call quality at both ends any good?

Also how much control do you have over the actual eq of the unit? I believe there are the normal selection of presets (rock/jazz etc) but are there also options to adjust the frequencies above the basic low/mid/high?

Apologies for the amount of questions!

Leebo