I came from a D1 which I was meh about. The eclipse Nav I had in my tC I felt was better less the NavTraffic. What was really bugging me about the D1 was the track ahead and track back "button". It was a pain to get it right when the car was moving. And the iPod controls left a lot to be desired. And being a geek, I have bluetooth everything. Sooooo enter the Z1.
I purchased the unit, the new iPod controller, and the Bluetooth adapter at Circuit City with a nice discount. I reused my XM / XM NavTraffic reciever from the D1. And, I bought Ducatiboy's flash circuit.
Since I had installed the D1 installing the Z1 was straightforward. The important wires (speed pulse, backup signal, etc) were already tapped, no hunting around with a multimeter. But, for those who may be hitting this post trying to figure out how to install it into your VW here are the important bits:
- The speed pulse wire is the white wire with a purple stripe behind the insturment cluster. Pull forward on the plastic trim in the middle of the cluster to reveal two torx scews under the cluster. Remove them and pull the cluster towards you to release it. You now have access to the wire.
- The backup wire is trickier. Rather than run a wire all the way back to the trunk I tapped it at the box under the dash. You're going to be looking for a grey/white wire. It's in connector C position 12. Here is a PDF for enabling a rear fog light on the car that has a diagram showing where the wire is located. Just don't relocate the wire like the instructions say :)
- Illumination can be picked up right at the headlight switch and is straightforward.
- Any of the aftermarket trim pieces are going to leave a lot to be desired. Be prepared with some bondo, sandpaper, and paint to get a factory fit look.
- You need the Z1 install kit to get a cage to mount it in. I just reused the one from my D1.
- You can get a switched 12V from the fuse panel at the side of the dash. Position 45 is empty and is switched. Use a add-a-circuit to tap into it.
For the non-vw owners: We have to find a 12V switched power source because the car and a lot of it's electronics including the radio are controlled via a can-bus network and it tells the radio to shut off when the key is removed. Since no aftermarket radios are can enabled we have to find a switched source on our own. This also means we lose steering wheel controls as well.
Or, you can purchase a Dietz Can adapter and it provides constant and switched power as well as the speed pulse, reverse, and parking brake signals. It also re-enables the steering wheel volume controls but, not the track controls, those are still being worked on.
Ducatiboy's flasher circuit worked great with one exception, if you have the key in ACC for awhile because you're listening to the stereo and yo crank the engine to start it the Z1 resets but does not pick up the flash from the circuit. However, Ducatiboy being the excellent guy he is heard about this and came up with a solution and sent me a new circuit. It works flawlessly in all scenarios. I can't say enough about Ducatiboy, he went the extra mile to make sure everything worked like factory with no side effects. I'd like to say we worked together but all I did was take readings and sent them to him. He did the reprogram and new circuit. All in less than a week. :D
The sat antenna is mounted at the base of the windshield just forward of the center air vent. Gets great reception. The GPS antenna is mounted behind the insturment cluster under the dash material. It still picks up a full compliment of satellites.
How do I like the unit? I LOVE it! The iPod controls are stellar compared to the D1 as is the display of information. Actually, the entire display is much improved over the D1. NavTraffic works the same as before and I love having 3 XM "bands" for all my presets.
The lighting matches the VW blurple color damn near perfectly. No more green illumination standing out on my dash. Everything is now blurple and red.
The phone integration is great except when I'm washing the car and listening to the stereo and I forget to disconnect the phone from the Z1 and someone calls. I have to scramble back into the car to talk to them.
Well, I've rambled enough, you can tell I really enjoy the Z1. Here are the pics.
First, the beast it's installed in:
Daytime shot with my modified trim:
And the night shot:
