sk8er251cc

I was thinking about getting an alpine head unit but I'm afraid of losing the cleaness of my car. Has anyone gotten a new head unit and gotten someone to install a custom wood trim around it? Please send pics.

flipspeed

ive seen a head unit installed with custom wood trim but i cant seem to find the website or a picture. i remember the guy who installed it saying he took a piece of wood trim and did the cutting and trimming with a lazer! if u go to any car audio shop, the owner will give u a funny look and say, "oh no! its one these things!" making a custom plate is pain in the a$$ b/c of the way the air vents and aircon buttons line up in a slight curve. a simple plate made of mdf and vinyl will cost u $200! imo, if you're more concerned with appearance than sound, dont go for the head unit. the stock audio unit is very decent. my reason for changing my unit was because my car didnt come with a cd changer and i though it would be cheaper to go with an mp3 unit instead, but that wasnt the case.

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

hmm.. my friends audio shop does it for $100 (make the mdf wood & vinyl trim) but he made it for me for $50... if you go with a new head unit.. make sure its a very knowledgable shop...

alpine isnt so great IMO

The_Hitman

I don't remember who, but someone around here uses the stock radio face with the wood on it, and just puts it on top of the aftermarket head unit, so it conceals the new head... If that makes sense.

GATO

iTrader: (1)

i would keep it stock if i were you it just looks cleaner..plus it doesnt stop you from having nice sounds out of the stock head unit..Im runnig 2 rockford fosgate 12's w/ a punch amp and it sounds great.nobody knows i have sound until i turn it on.

The_Hitman

Yeah, I definitly like the look when you keep it stock... So much cleaner then having a big black area then this ackward little head unit staring back at you.. Anyway, just my opinion.. that's why I liked the setup I described earlier.

lexusk8

I would keep the HU the way it is, especially with the unique stock wood trim. The '00-'01 ES stereo is already pushing 195-watts, pretty substantial for a stock system IMO. The placement of the button controls and dials on the stereo matches well with the rest of the interior, something that I'd hate to mess around with

SC4Hundred

I would keep it stock as well, it is very clean

Stefwilli

Keep it stock man, lexus radios have great highs already, just add subs.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

in 90% of the cars i'd say chunk the factory system, however that is not the case in a Lexus. Our systems are comparible with %70 of the aftermarket head units on S/N and power output. No need to change, just upgrade the rest with high end components.

squarehat

I'd keep it stock, I love the easy-to use buttons on the stock unit, and the bird's eye maple on the Platinum Series is just too gorgeous to replace. And I agree with Lexusk8 and OLT about the high quality of the factory Pioneer unit.

RX469

iTrader: (1)

sk8er251cc,

Just a thought but, the picture you posted shows what looks like to be a large 'double din' factory radio. If it is in fact a double din, then you could replace it with an Alpine double din radio and flush mount it so you don't have to replace the maple trim. Then the volume **** on the left of the radio can just be there as a dummy to keep the stock apearance.

I have been using Alpine for approx. 23 yrs and I just love them. I think they sound really great!


Good luck!

squarehat

The radio is actually trapezoidal (the part with the wood and the part with the plastic are one unit. The area that the wood covers does give the illusion of a double-DIN (see the area I circled in blue), but alas, does not pull out separately

lexusk8

That's an interesting observation squarehat, I never really paid attention about that. I think this actually makes it more difficult or nearly impossible for a thief to steal the ES stereo

tiguy99

I wouldn't say to steal it because its not that hard to remove....however I'd say its a challenge for them to move iut on the black market. (You'd have to find a lexus owner looking to replace their headunit with the exact same one...well not a super hard thing to do if you stand outside of the dealer and try to scalp it LOLZ)