kbkura

Hello All,

I have a 2006 IS250 6MT with Navigation + Mark Levinson audio system. I recently purchased the VAIS Tech SL2i-UP iPod / iPhone Integration kit, but was unhappy with most of the conventional installation locations. I saw a thread (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...ion-maybe.html) that seemed to have a solution that I liked. And so, I purchased the Spec.dock soon after.

First of all, I have to give my thanks to Matt Turner from 2point5, LLC. He was helpful in getting me the product (Spec.dock) to me before it was on their website so that I could do a quick install and review. Overall, I feel this is a very clean solution that I'm sure many of you will really like. It fit the bill for what I was looking for perfectly!

For anyone who is doing this, please check out the Navigation hack thread (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...en-moving.html) for an excellent step-by-step of how to get to your car's electronic innards. Now to the actual install:

The toughest step of the install was removing the A/C vent cover... I struggled for over 45 minutes with this and ended up with a few nicks and dents here and there. Nonetheless, I'm happy that my trim didn't break as that seemed very likely multiple times during removal. I wish I had some secret tips for you guys, but it just takes time, patience, and a lot of wiggling it around.



Also, I have a 6MT IS250, so the tips from the Navigation hack thread regarding removing the silver trim pieces first were incorrect for me. Other 6MT owners should take note: THE CUPHOLDER TRIM COMES UP FIRST! I put this in caps because I have a lot of damage on my trim because I was trying to get the silver strips off first. After removing the cupholder trim piece and unplugging the seat-heater/cooler plug from undernath, then you can pretty much just yank off the shift boot / silver-side trim piece together (it's one piece). Make sure to remove your shift **** first!





Using a phillip's screwdriver, unscrew the two screws holding the cigarette lighter / ashtray in place. Slide it towards you and up to remove it being careful to remove the plug connecting the lighter from underneath. Put this aside and drill a hole through the bottom (after removing the ashtray insert) in order to pass the VAIS Tech cable through the bottom... you'll need to drill a relatively large, rectangular hole for the big piece attached to the VAIS cable (I don't know what it is or what it's called... sorry). I didn't have a dremel or the correct tools, so I had to ghetto-style it and drill a bunch of holes before knocking out the center... a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.





Once this is done, put it aside for the time being. You'll need to unbolt the four bolts holding the Navigation unit in; be careful with the bolts as they're very easy to lose if they fall down. Once you remove the head / navigation unit, plug in the VAIS unit as indicated in the directions you received with you SL2i-UP (or other) kit. I don't have pictures of this part as the Nav unit was unexpectedly heavy and I wasn't able to take pictures while I was plugging in the cable. Once we plugged the cable in and threw the Nav unit back into the dash, we made sure it was working properly before putting everything back together. I kept my SL2i-UP unit in "Simple mode" so that I would retain control of playback via my iPhone while still being able to use the skip forward/back and volume up/down buttons on the steering wheel. This is also a great opportunity to set your SL2i-UP unit to automatically get rid of the "I Agree" screen. Check for specifics regarding these settings in the installation manual that comes with your VAIS Tech product.







Once you slip the VAIS cable with the Spec.dock through the hole you made in the ashtray trim piece, slide it right back into place making sure to stuff the excess cable safely away from your shifter (it's pretty crammed back there). After getting it in there, slide the ashtray trim back in place and screw it down tight.



Afterwards, snap all the trim pieces back into place (make sure to reconnect the cigarette lighter and seat heater / cooler cables when putting back the trim).





And enjoy your cool new setup!



Thoughts:

1. If you don't have the F-sport QuickShifter, you may end up hitting the iPod/iPhone when you shift to 1st or 3rd gears (unconfirmed... just estimation),
2. I wish 2point5 would have made the Spec.dock with a universal iPod/iPhone adapter instead of the preset / standard one. Currently, I'm unable to use my iPhone with it's case on... some iPod accessories (like iHome alarm, for example) come with a universal slot that you can fit appropriate holders into... this would have been ideal for this solution,
3. 2point5 took my VAIS cable and glued it to the bottom of their adaptor (it's secured very well)... this is bad if I ever want to reverse this modification. Instead, I would recommend that they develop an adaptor/plug with a male end sticking up out of the ashtray and a female end under the trim where you would plug in your VAIS (or other) iPod adapter,
4. With an iPhone in place, it will block the AM/SAT, FM, and DVD/AUX buttons a little bit,
5. Overall, this is an excellent product. Sans the few suggestions made above, this is exactly what I was looking for. The end look is very clean and OEM.

I hope this DIY is very helpful to others. There are many innumerable people on this forum who have helped me out (too many people to list), so I'd like to give one giant THANK YOU to anyone who has given me advice during this install process! To anybody new to modifying (like me) who has questions, feel free to reply to this thread or PM me.

You can get a Spec.dock at:
http://www.2point5.com/

You can get a VAIS Tech SL2i-UP at:
http://www.vaistech.com/products/home.php

metalgear

very nice set up

kbkura

Oh, darn... I wish they would've done that for mine. I wonder if that was more expensive or something? I remember Matt mentioned two prices to me; perhaps the higher price was with the pigtail that you mention.

Either way, this came out exactly how I wanted it...

XprincoX

iTrader: (10)

looks good!

Sgt_K

What about if you take a turn to quickly? Will your Ipod fly out of the holder?

Lexasaurus

iTrader: (12)

Wow that looks awesome!

kbkura

Nope! I can confirm that my iPhone sits quite securely in the holder. I'm sure a serious accident may send your iPhone flying, but I took some pretty hard turns and it didn't even move a little.

autofreak

before i ask my question i gotta say great mod, after 2 newly purchased vents i finally completed this installation and left the vais box right in the transmission casing just in case i need to update or modify lol so do the astray lid close flush with the ipod dock now, because i am in love with this mod.

kbkura

Yup! The ashtray lid closes exactly as it did before. 2point5 did a good job with this Spec.dock and kept it within the specifications of the ashtray that comes with our cars. It sits quite flush and looks very OEM. The lid closes with no problems what-so-ever!

P.S. It's measured so well that they even included double-sided tape at the bottom that touches / sticks just right without allowing the module to stick up too high!

Maxx250awd

do the make one for a cassette tape player to plug in ad read out on the screen too?

isthrizzy

Since the VAIS unit provides all the operation of the Ipod thru the nav system, I don't see the point of having to mount the Iphone in this fashion. At first I was thinking it might be cool, but for $150 I am not seeing the value here.....I think I'd rather just keep the phone concealed.

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

That's kind of what I was thinking, but this is a pretty slick setup. I think I'm going to put it in the center console so I can easily access it but keep it hidden too.

Just to confirm. When your iPhone is plugged into the dock and interfaced with your Nav unit, you can still control your music from the iPhone itself right?

isthrizzy

Not sure about that, my VAIS kit is in transit and I haven't installed it yet.

I think the kit is slick, but IMO for what it actually does, I'd be willing to pay $25.... at $150 you got to be kidding me.

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

Apparently the answer to my question is no. You can do either or, not at the same time.