Sup everybody, happy Friday! I just got a 99 GS400 and the only issue with it the radio you can’t see what station it’s on so I’d like to change it for an aftermarket unit with apple car play if possible. What’s the best one now and days for the 2GS? Any and all help appreciated.

 

There is no such thing as the best aftermarket radio in 2020 because it’s subjective, so buy whatever suits your needs and wallet. I would recommend a double din over a single din.

 

Is there any difference between single and double? Will I lose any controls? I mainly just want apple car play if possible and good music playback i don’t want GPS so just looking for recommendations there’s so many choices. Something with lighting or Bluetooth for music

 

I prefer double din in case you wanted to do the old school dvd while driving hack (I think that I just aged myself lol) and it fills up the space. I would go with a simple Pioneer, JVC, Jensen, etc. that meets your needs. Back in my day, there was a huge gap between Jensen and Pioneer, but now all of their entry level products are comparable.

 

I like Pioneer’s double DIN headunits a lot. They’re easy to use as well. Kenwood/JVC, Sony, and Alpine are good choices too.

If you have a Best Buy in your area, they have a lot of headunits on display that you can play with. From there, you decide on which features you want out of your radio: wire CarPlay, CD Player, sound quality, and things like that.

 

Oh I most definitely need car play. I’m going to order one so I guess pioneer double din with car play is what I need

 

In less than two yrs i ditched an AVH390BS and went with a Hikity Android 9inch from Amazon a few weeks ago.

I tried a 10" first but the 9 inch is perfect above the ashtray needing no plastic facia filler etc. 10inch too big.

108usd bluetooth like an android phone or tablet. Play store youtube two usb gps bt music from phone...i love it!

Put the Pioneer in a Hilux but it did bt phone wireless. Cant recall if music had to go through usb from phone

Both clean buy i use an amp so cant say much about power but both have good specs.

Fit in the console is good. Not perfect but good

Have yet to try back the ash tray

Thats a mask on the right hanging 😁 hopefully nostalgia in a few years.

 

Which size would provide the perfect fit? 9 inches? I was looking at pioneer but I’m sure there’s something better since pioneer is what the stock radio is and the LED went out so I can’t see anything on it

 

OP needs CarPlay, so an Android head unit isn't going to meet the requirements. Now technically, CarPlay could be done on an Android head unit, but it's a less than optimal user experience and not for someone who just wants something to work without tinkering. Even I wouldn't be inclined to do it myself and there isn't a phone I've owned that I haven't ****ed around with, even predating smartphones and rooting on Android.

Most double DIN head units will have a screen size of up to 7" and are meant to be used with a trim plate like this one:


The major brands for double DIN head units that support CarPlay are Alpine, Kenwood, and Pioneer. This is probably your best place to start researching:

https://www.crutchfield.com/g_462350....html?tp=72357

Pioneer being the OEM of the 2GS's factory stereo 20+ years ago has nothing to do with the quality of their aftermarket parts then and now, especially not with regard to that old factory LCD screen. I have a Pioneer AVIC-W8500NEX (superseded by the AVIC-W8600NEX this year) and I chose it for having all the inputs I wanted, a capacitive touchscreen, and having the most modern and aesthetically clean native user interface (IMO) out of the big three.

 

It depends on your preferences - Do you like push button controls or would you like a **** volume control? Car Play? Do you need it to read discs?

I recently put one of these in my GS:
https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Gwqkn9...XAV-AX100.html


Sony sells a new model but you can pick one of these up new on ebay. I've been very happy with the features- Car Play and the head unit power does better than the factory amp. If you need any help feel free to IM me.

 

thanks bro yea car play is a must and whatever one would have the best fit and no lag that drives me nuts! I don’t mind spending more if it’s truly better. Whatever one is the best and fits the best in the dash. I plan to keep this gs4 forever there truly is no better car i have a 2017 rx f sport and it’s a piece of **** in comparison. The v8 gs is a true legend of a car. Wow man good point now that I think about it I need a **** buttons would drive me nuts

 

You must have purchased a lemon because the RX trumps the 2GS in every category possible. I bought my wife a 2018 RX 450h and it’s so much better than my 2GS, which it should since it’s 16 years newer.

 

the 450 is different I have the 350 awd. Besides the transmission being absolute garbage and I can say the same about the 8 speed in the new GS as well since my friend has one and his hesitates as well. The car has so many minor issues but the deal breaker for me besides the transmission was that you can only adjust the camber in the rear not the front and my camber was off for whatever reason and I’m not about to spend money replacing control arms to figure out which one it is. The rx is not built to last like the v8 GS was. It’s their top selling model that they cut corners on to save money. Also it’s built off the Camry platform. The Gs feels more solid in every way and that’s talking about a 20 year old car vs a 3 year old car. The 450 is definitely a lot better then the 350 but even then the Gs just feels more solid all around then the RX. The chassis is 10 times better

 

Understood. I’m going to pick up a 350 loaner this weekend, so I’m looking forward to comparing all models against each other

 

[QUOTE the RX trumps the 2GS in every category possible.[/QUOTE] You must be joking!
What a Monumental stretch to draw a comparison between a 2nd Gen GS, a bloodline successor with classical Italydesign Giugiaro roots, to the overly tech laden, Zigzag styled, Camry chassis'd, RX SUV.

DMPesso, said it Best.....
"Besides the transmission being absolute garbage and I can say the same about the 8 speed in the new GS as well since my friend has one and his hesitates as well. The car has so many minor issues but the deal breaker for me besides the transmission was that you can only adjust the camber in the rear not the front and my camber was off for whatever reason and I’m not about to spend money replacing control arms to figure out which one it is. The rx is not built to last like the v8 GS was. It’s their top selling model that they cut corners on to save money. Also it’s built off the Camry platform. The Gs feels more solid in every way and that’s talking about a 20 year old car vs a 3 year old car. The 450 is definitely a lot better then the 350 but even then the Gs just feels more solid all around then the RX. The chassis is 10 times better"

In summation, the RX, especially those made in the last ~10 years, are No Where Near the class and build quality of a 2nd gen GS!