Just finished swapping out the Shaker 1000 for a Pioneer AVIC - Z1. It's funny, the local installers would not even discuss keeping the Ford amps/subs. They all wanted to "bypass" everything. I ordered the wiring harness from Crutchfield and the Pioneer unit from SonicElectronix. The only issue is that the system uses 12 volts to turn on the factory amps and they require only 5 volts for turn on. A couple of resistors did the trick and no more loud pops at turn on. (A 1k and 360 ohm in series; picking off the turn on voltage in the middle.) The Pioneer unit is hands down the best nav unit I have seen. The system sounds much better than stock with Blue Tooth and XM sealing the deal. Don't let someone tell you that you can't swap out the Shaker and keep the factory amps...it was easy! TicketMeRed05GT
I want pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am definately going to be getting that head unit shortly after I get my car.
I have the Avic z-1 in my Avalanche, sorry that's a chevy and all, but I love the truck and it's styling. Anyway, I agree the Z-1 has the aftermarket nav world in it's pocket. You mentioned two key sellers in the blue tooth and XM, lets not forget you can run sirius as well, Ipod inputs are available, you can download CD's to the hard drive and play directly from it, numerous other auxilary inputs for things like game stations, secondary dvd players and the like. Also rear camera input, TV tuner connectivity, stock ticker and sports scores over your satellite service, and downloading of map and music notes are as easy as making a cdr. It's got endless possibilities.
Here's a pic of it in my avalanche.. Really comes off as factory, I think it would look real nice in the stang. A few shots of it in action: Shot of the phone book off the hard drive:
http://www.mobilewhack.com/reviews/pioneer_avic-z1_all-in-one_navigation_system.html $1500 bucks...I think I'll stick with the stock head unit
I guess it how you look at things. The standard upgrades done on stangs can get close. (CAI/Tuner/exhaust mods) Heck, even a decent set of rims and tires usually go for more.
Agreed...I guess it just all depends on where you like to spend your money. I personally would rather go faster than have a head unit. ALTHOUGH, that head unit is awesome! Learns what routes you normally take and uses that to help you when you are going somewhere, live traffic updates, 10gb music library (goodbye CD's!), and it looks like stock. Now if I had the money for performance mods and this, I'd definitely get it. Pretty nifty piece of audio equipment.
Sorry...been out of town. One great feature of the device is the ability to display fore / aft and side / side g forces. The unit has accelerometers that let it track g's as well as a center speedometer. Here are the pics of the install. See if you can guess the movie...
FWIW, the stock Shaker 500 rear speakers are 25W/4 ohm and are made in China. I have no idea on the specs of the speakers (freq response, RMS wattage, cone material, etc...) other than that they work great just like my other Ford stock speakers (no complaints). They're not as good as the high end stuff but I wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyhow. Once I get on the highway, the wind noise, road noise, exhaust, and engine noise all drown out the high frequency sounds anyhow. The DVD/Nav systems look nice but not at the prices they are asking. I wouldn't even pay for the stock Ford factory DVD/Nav systems! The Shaker 500 was above my budget, but I wanted something OEM and installed very cleanly. The door subwoofers have impressed me! You can feel the air waves on your legs being pushed around by the subs. It will impress your lady friend if she's sitting next to one
