Ok - after many weeks of going back and forth between "I'm gonna do it, no I'm not". I finally did it. I pimped out my MINI's stereo.
Here's what I put in:

• Pioneer AVH-P5200BT In-Dash DVD Multimedia AV Receiver
• Pioneer AVIC-U220 Add-On Navigation Device
• Complete Sirius Radio System for Satellite Ready PIONEER
• Kenwood - 1800W Class D Mono Amplifier with Low-Pass Crossover
• Kicker - 10" Single-Voice-Coil 4-Ohm Subwoofer with Enclosure
• Alpine - Type-S 6-1/2" 2-Way Coaxial Car Speakers

I purchased the Shokits.com Cooper Dash kit.

I decided to do the install myself, with the help of my wonderful man Bless his heart he worked his butt off on this. And for the record - I have NEVER seen so many wires in my whole life - what a cluster... luckily someone at my house knew what he was doing and what all those colors were

End result is absolutely AWESOME!!! And I'm soooo happy I decided to move forward with it. I now have NAV, Sirius, IPOD and all the other bells and whistles I wanted without a whole bunch of stuff hanging off my dash and getting in the way. The whole thing ended up costing me about 2k, but it was well worth it!!!

I would like to thank everyone on this forum for the many replies to my posts and questions. I never would have gotten up the courage to try this without all the input. I also never would have been able to figure out how to dismantle my MINI without all the "how-to's" that are posted all around.

Now all I have to do it bring my MINI into dealer to get that drasted airbag warning reset... because of course I left battery connected when I took seats out Didn't see that post until after... LOL

Thanks again to everyone on NAM!!

 

Pics?!?? Sounds awesome....

 

Yes, pics please!

Looks like a nice kit, and very reasonable price at $344: http://shokits.com/BMW-/-Mini/Kanate...ypage.tpl.html

 

Forgot to take some pics last night when I got home

But I did take some this morning with my blackberry -- so please excuse the poor quality - but this will give you an idea of what the install looks like.

The ONLY thing I'm a little bummed about is I Pioneer headunit & add on NAV apparently has a software control that WILL NOT allow you to put in an address while driving!! As soon as I go over 5 mph, the address option is grayed out and I cannot do anything. Which I understand is a safety thing - but really inconvenient. Must research and find a hack for that one

And of course - I've lost usage of my cup holders. Since the Shokits dash kit actually moved the dash out by approx an inch and down about 2 inches, it makes it that you can't put anything in cup holders. So I'm now in search of some contraption so I can get a cup holder back

Here are the pics

 

You shouldn't drink and drive

Sorry. Couldn't resist...

There was some contraption for mounting a cup holder on the upper right side of the dash... I can't remember for the life of me what it was called. I came across it in an article about legal autocross mods but I can't remember the d* name...

I'm not sure if it would work for you since the screen may interfere but it's worth a look...

 

Are you kidding? I have an hour drive into work each day - I'd have some serious road rage if it weren't for my coffee keeping me sane in the morning.

 

I drive an hour too - I leave off the coffee until I get into the office. It keeps me in that zen half asleep zone until I arrive. That and I end up having to use the bathroom while stuck in traffic and 30 mins from the office. Not a nice experience.

You could use the NASCAR solution - Duct tape. At least it has racing heritage!!

Still trying to remember the name of the attachment... and stalling for time...

 

Been waiting for a kit like this........... no idea why I missed this one. My wife is going to hate me cause this means that my new three way front stage may be achievable now !!!

 

make that 3 of us with an hour commute in the morning...1/2 a cup or so before i leave, and i can make it till i get in to work...

Nice looking install....BUT...its bad enough that you smoke....but in the mini????

 

Looks like you were smoking a whole pack of Marlboro's when you took those pictures

 

Kits been out for a while I believe. It's not an easy install. Or at least it wasn't for me. I took my whole car apart the weekend before I got all my new stuff as a "dry run" - by bfriend was laughing at me. But I wanted to know where everything was so when we started the "real" thing it would go easier. It took us 2 full days to do the install of everything. But that's only because I had to have EVERYTHING all at once. And we ran in snags that I'm sure others probably wouldn't. Like we dropped the amp fuse near the battery and couldn't for the life of us get it out. It dropped into an area that apparently didn't have a flow through to the ground!! Very frustrating. So had to go buy another fuse. Which you wouldn't think is a big deal, but I have to drive 30 minutes to get to any type of electronic store.

But I'm sure an experienced installed can accomplish a deck/amp/woofer install in a day.... Of course now that I've done it, I could probably do it again in no time at all.... lets hope I never have to Or at least not until the next MINI comes along.....

 

where does the kit ship from?

 

According to Shokits.com, they are located in Vancouver, WA.

 

i hope they keep them in stock

 

I received mine within 1 week of order.

 

So, everything to do with the factory radio is just bypassed?Sounds interesting

 

OK C OOL i got mine inthe mail and it came with a small speaker why?.... also does the old radio come out ro does the kit go over it?

 

Answers are in the specs of where you ordered it from:

• Factory audio becomes inoperable, but is still in place. The volume control, ON/OFF dial, and CD loading slot cease to function and are hidden by a cover.
• Display indicators: power supply, ON, AUX., do not to function.
• The factory audio steering sheel controls do not function.
• A speaker is included with the kit so that factory chimes are retained.

 

A speaker is included with the kit so that factory chimes are retained.

what does that mean?

 

The OEM head unit is left in place and is disconnected from the speakers in the car so by doing that the warning chimes can not be heard.

So that means that you have to connect the speaker they send you to the OEM head unit so that things like the seat belt chime, door chime etc can be heard.

 

I was sold on the whole thing until i read ''Factory audio becomes inoperable, but is still in place.''
That means that big ol' alpine head unit has to stay there and whatever head unit you want to ad has to go under it... There HAS to be a better way than that!

 

There is a better way and the Japanese do it. The move the OEM head unit to the secret compartment and with a special cable hook it to the speedometer. and then you have room for a single or double unit in the dash.

The only problem with the Japanese unit it its cost is $700+ and at last check getting it here was another $400+. Just not worth it at that kind of price.

 

do u happened to have the link to the japaneese website.....thanks

 

Here is a thread about it from back in Nov 2008 just above the picture of the plastics in post one there is a link to the company that used to have them. I don't read Japanese so I can not tell if they still have them or not. But you can check it out.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...pc-system.html

 

well i took my car to a professional this weekend to have the kit installed and he couldent figure out how to install the kit with out bypassing the hole factory unit so i lost all my chimes .... the question is was he being lazy or is it really that hard to install?... dont forget he claimes to be a professional