Woodsman

Have you noticed that the warning message does not come on if you get in your rig and you are continuing on a previously programmed route? It seems like one of you hacks ought to be able to trick the system into thinking that it is always starting with a route continuation rather than a route that needs to be newly programmed. Just a thought. Maybe it will spark some creativity!

Megacab eh. Those things are friggin beasts. Nice, but damn they don't fit in the shop. BTW if you're going to relocate a cup holder over the avic, mak sure you seal the area between the bottom of the cup holder and the top of the avic. A lot of subarus have cupholders over the stock radio. And I can't tell you the number of coffee soaked radios I've pull out of them things.

You're right about them not fitting in the shop. I just ripped out my 7' doors and put in 10 footers. I hope I don't get the urge to jack it up more than that!

Look closely and you'll see that it says NA my friend! Had to give up the real thing many years ago.

Here's the rig that the 2 Headed Monster will be in.

Here you go Nicky Carts. Its far from being finished but I'm getting there slowly but surely. Unless you owned a Dodge Ram you wouldn't notice that I relocated the 4 buttons in the dash under the radio. The buttons are for: 2 seat heaters, an exhaust brake, and the rear sliding window. It took a lot of monkey business to get it to fit underneath the radio and still look right. I moved it because I absolutely love the cup holder in the Ford Excursion and I had to have a place to put it. I will be installing it, as you see in the picture, where the 4 buttons used to go. I will paint the dash and cup holder (I hate the silver look). Now I will mount the Z2 right underneath the cup holder and build a custom box around it that includes a pair of speakers. It will probably be made of fiberglass like Cntrylvr79's but I'll probably cover it with leather to match the interior. I'll get rid of the cup holders that came stock as they are on the floor on the tunnel and don't leave much room for a 6th passerger to put their feet. It will take a couple weeks to get it finished but you can get a look at the floor plan until I do.

An honest mistake. The system was useful to him and he wanted to pass along his good fortune. It just didn't turn out that way for me. Everybody has a different idea of what the best system is for them. My friend is truly a friend. The kind you don't find everyday. He's gone way out of his way to help with some other matters. Can't knock him for trying.

wow 700.00 for your install you got truly ripped off i had the z2 and a drop down screen 4 headrest monitors a power adapter with video game input a rear and front view camera and a clifford 50.5 x alarm with tilt sensor and glass sensor plus the hood the doors the tailgate and the inbed trunk wired plus i had a radar detector put in and of course the bluetooth for the z2 and the stearing wheel controls and i paid a total of 180.00 for the install. car toys sounds like a true rip off how much do they charge for labor and how long to install a simple z2? all the places here in the bay area seem to charge 40 to 50.00 per hour what does car toys charge 350.00 per hour

Its kind of hard to forget Hwy #1 in Canada. Its the main hwy that travels from one end of the country to the other. The Z2 has no idea that it exists between Golden, BC and Revelstoke, BC and it will take you on a 10 hour detour around Jasper if you try and program through it. Lake Louise has got to be one of the top 5 of places to visit in Canada but the Z2 does not know that it exists. I spent over a week there and the Z2 was almost totally useless. I am not saying that OEM unit is superior to the Z2. In my case the OEM unit would have been a far superior option. Even though it looked like I would have saved money with the Z2 it ended up costing more after install, and the hassle factor is huge. The OEM unit also incorporates all of the AV functions that I love about my factory radio system and the Z2 does not. It is neatly fit into the dash and looks like it belongs, not like an added on POS. I've seen several of these installed in new Dodge pickups and they all look like after market add ons. The OEM nav unit is much larger so when the dash piece for the factory unit is used as a replacement to try and fit the Z2 there is a lot a space to fill and there is no way to fill it so that it looks right. The factory unit might have a few less bells and whistles (I actually heard that it is the 3 year old pioneer system) but I don't need all the bells and whistles. It would have been far better for me to go with a professionally and factory installed factory nav and av system. After going through 2 installers I can tell you that the Z2 cannot be made to look like it belongs in my Dodge. It will always look like the add on that it is. The Z2 is not right for everyone. I am one of those guys that it is not right for and I bet there are a lot of others out there buying this system that feel like I do. You go to the store and ask for the best unit they have. You ask for the best unit because from prior experience the best: Lasts longer, requires less maintanence, is EASIER to use, looks better, ect. We pay more for added convenience, not for added hassle. In the end I have only my self to blame for not doing more research before I bought. I couple guys seem high on the kenwood system. Its one I didn't ever research becasuse I was told that the Z2 was superior. My advice is to look before you leap.

OK---- So I took the hint and sat down and read the manual. Then I went back to Car Toys and had my RDS equiped factory radio re-intstalled in its original location. I instructed the tech to leave the Z2 dangling under the dash on top of the cup holders in my pickup (There went my $700 install job). I will create my own mounting bracket and new center counsol for the Z2. I will add a couple of speakers on the side of the counsol so that the Z2 can become a separate system that functions independant of my factory Infiniti system. In addition, I added a toggle switch so that I can, if so desired, run the nav system through the truck's Infiniti system. This is done by treating the nav system as an auxillary input to the factory sytem. I simply flip the toggle and put the radio on preset #6 and the entire sound system of the nav now goes through the truck system (7 speaker Infiniti) simultaneously muting the truck's music functions so that there is no feedback. What I have gained is:

A music system that is easily operated with a simple on/off power switch complete with RDS and presets that are easily found. This includes a Sirius connection that also has easily accessible presets and a free one year subscription with the purchase of my new Dodge. I have eliminated the hassle of finding music while I drive on my (still hated) Z2, and I have still retained the ability to access the AV functions of my Z2 if so desired (as of now there is not much desire).

I have also located the bypass and will install that myself in the next couple days making this system useable. I don't find any excuse for the lack of the Z2's ability to navigate properly in the Banff, BC area.

The bottom line is that there was probably 10 easier ways to accomplish what I have achieved but I finally have a sytem that works the way I want it to. It will still take a long time to warm up to a system that takes a catalog to explain how it works. But after $4000 I'm not about to give up trying.

I bought a new Dodge pickup and was convinced by a friend to forget about the factory nav and buy the Avic Z2 instead. I thought I would be saving money because I saw them listed on Ebay for around $1500 and they wanted about $2300 to add the nav as an option from Dodge. So far I have over $4000 ivestested in the Z2 and a set of Alpine headrest dvd monitors. I also thought I would be adding a superior system with additional quality options when I went with the Z2 instead of Dodge version. I know feel this decision was a huge mistake. When I bought the Dodge it came with a really nice am/fm radio and 6 cd changer. The seek button would seek out various types of music such as country, rock, jazz ect. I had to have it removed to install the Z2. What I am left with for tunes is the Z2 library system that seems to record whatever it wants at will, a single disc CD player, and a am/fm radio that does not have a power button to turn it off. The only way to control it is by decreasing volume or turning to the AV page and trying to find the mute button. It is also very difficult seeking radio stations while driving. Focusing on the digital readouts is getting increasingly difficult for this aging hot rodder. I absolutely hate the navigation part of this system. I just got back from a 10 day vacation in Canada and found the Z2 almost useless. I spent most of the time around Lake Louise, one of the most popular destinations on the other side of the border, but one that the Z2 doesn't even know exists. How many million points of interest is this thing supposed to have? What a joke. When I was in Lake Louise I tried to figure out the shortest route to a point in Washington. The Z2 failed to recognize that there is a road between Golden, BC and Revelestoke, BC and kept adding about 10 hours to any calculation so that the route could go through Jasper (no I did not have any of the avoid this or that options checked). When you pay several thousand dollars for a system such as this you shouldn't be forced to go to the forums to look for patches that will void your warranty to make the product useable. The parking brake issue makes this system a real joke. It is much easier to pull out a map and look than it is to pull the car over, put on the brake, type in the destination and then go; especially when someone is following you. My wife is in the car with me, why the hell do we need the brake to input destinations? This is especially irritating when you consider that there is a page full of verbage that you are expected to read each time you turn on your unit. How the hell can you read that BS when your driving? The bottom line is that my factory radio is far superior to the sound system of the Z2. I am now going to try and reinstall it and mute all the AV functions of the Z2. I'll have to create a new mounting bracket for the Z2 because I want the radio back where it belongs. To top it all off I had the original install done by a bunch of hacks at Stereo City in Clackamas. These guys didn't have a clue. They left such a mess I had to take the truck to Car Toys to have the install done right. This is all besides the point. If you are considering purchasing a Z2 I would strongly advise against it. There are plenty of other options out there that are user friendly and much cheaper. I can't believe that Pioneer is still selling so m any of these things.