I bought a Garmin Nuvi 660 with a Kuda mount for my Mini. I'm very happy with the results. No drilling was required and it puts the GPS within reach of the wheel without blocking the controls or my view of the road.

The Garmin costs $670 and the Kuda mount costs $95 for leather mount and the Garmin adapter. No drilling is required and it was fairly easy to install. The hardest part is pulling off the dashboard pieces. The dashboard come off fairly easily, but having never done it before, I was worried about breaking something.

I was able to run the wires into the dash. While the Garmin was able to sink with the satellites, it was a little slow, so I got an external antenna. I ran the wire behind the dash and have it sitting in the front left corner of the dash.

 

That looks great. Did you take any pics of the install process?

 

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the installation. To remove the dashboard piece behind the steering wheel, drop the wheel down as low as possible and reach in with your fingers to grab the dashboard piece. Gently, but firmly, pull on the dash board piece until it releases from the pressure fittings. Then you can remove the 2 screws on that side of the speedometer. There is a small plastic piece on the other side of the speedometer hiding the other 2 screws. Open the "hidden" glove compartment. This piece is on the left side of the opening.

 

Seem simple enough. I really like the the mount looks and where it is placed. Does the steering wheel block any view of the 660?

 

hey bjacobso... where did you get your garmin?

the mini dealership i purchased my mini fr yesterday showed me the garmin when i was debating on the on-board nav sys. they had one of there installed in their showroom cars. they told me that it would cost about $900. i want to know where you got it for $670... this one had "MINI" inscribed on the bottom left hand corner.

 

The Garmin Nuvi 360 (which is what the MINI-branded GPS is) can be had online for as low as $469 shipped (although at that price, it would be wise to call about availability first). Add to that the $175 for the MINI GPS mount kit if you want to go that way, and you're up to $644, plus installation if you don't want to do it yourself.

 

I got my Garmin 660 from www.theNerds.net for $670. This is considerably bigger and brighter than the Garmin 360 that Mini sells.

The steering wheel doesn't block any of my view of the GPS and the GPS doesn't block the speedometer. For me, it's a perfect location.

 

1. Where did you end up sticking the FM transmitter for the traffic (I have the same 660)?
2. Did you use a RadioShack 12V to bare wire plug and where did you tap the power?
3. The GPS antenna location?
4. I plan to put a garmin MIC somewhere along the roof (my seat is pushed back quite a bit) - any thoughts?
5. Did you end up with the sound output in the Aux in? Wire path?

Thanks - MMM

 

That is Base (MINI Cooper-since 2007) # 092445 and pin (black CNM22) # 900042?

I see that there are 2 pins - CNM 22 and CNM21 (wider base - visible screws). Bet you thought on one vs the other... Why 22 and not 21?

Thanks - really great setup.

MMM

 

For now, I got a 12VDC 2-Outlet Car Power Y-Adapter from RadioShack and plugged it into the Mini's power outlet and still run other things. At some point, I'll hardwire a female receptacle in somewhere.

I put the external GPS antenna on the dash at the lower left corner of the windshield. I used a credit card to push the wire into the crack along the edge of the dash. I brought the wire up along the steering column. I'm using the antenna because it seems helps the GPS to sink faster with satellites. Sinking is only an issue if the GPS has been off for a while. I’m not sure how much the external antenna helps.

I'm not using the Garmin's microphone. I tried it with my cell phone and had a lot of complaints about the sound quality of my voice. My Mini has Bluetooth, which works great.

I did not wire the Garmin into my sound system. I just use its built-in speaker. Running it in the aux plug or using an FM channel would work, but I couldn't listen to music at the same time.

I have one more installation tip because the Kuda instructions bring new meaning to "minimal". The Kuda Garmin mount comes with both screws and bolts. I started to use the screws to attach the Garmin mount to the Kuda base piece, but there weren't strong enough. Instead, I drilled 4 small holes in the base piece and used the bolts.

I used the Kuda CNM22 Garmin mount, but the CNM21 would give a little more flexibility in changing the height of the GPS after the install. I don’t know if there are any issues using the CNM21.

 

Hey bjacobso, can you tell us what the Kuda part number is for the leather dash mount? I'm only finding the center stack side mount. thanks!

 

http://www.kudausa.com/kuda_mount_an...07-34-529.html

 

Thanks

 

For what it's worth... Sams Club now has the Garmin 660 at the stores only for $599.00 I haven't been able to find it for less anywhere.

Does anyone know where I can find the Mini icon to load in my new Garmin.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...2&postcount=29

 

Thanks for sharing! I'm going to order this same setup this summer sometime.

 

Many thanks to NOR CAL MINI and Mini Fireman for an excellent link.

 

I much prefer this dash mount to the downtube one...but does it HAVE to go in the location shown? I don't really understand how it attaches - does it screw into the dash? I think I need more/better pictures to understand before I order.

 

It doesn't need any screws or other hardware to mount securely. The end the GPS mounts to slips under the edge of the dash, and the other end slips under the vent in the center of the dash. I say "slips", but it really requires some effort to get both ends to snap into place. The result is a very solid mounting, though.

You can probably vary the mounting position by an inch or so, but there's really only one place to mount it where it will snap under both the edge of the dash and the vent, and where the underside of the mount will conform to the contours of the dash.

Oh, and just so you're not surprised if you get the mount, the colour is not a particularly good match with the MINI dash. The leather on the mount is black, whereas the MINI dash is really dark grey. The difference isn't too distracting, but it's noticeable.

EDIT - I'm describing the R53 mount - the R56 mount may attach differently.

 

I want to put it on the left side of the dash, near the pillar. I can probably do this with the suction mount anyway, but I like the look of the Kuda mount better. I might have to order it and play with it a little - the R56 one looks like it might actually do what I want if I force the issue.

 

Wow! I just finished installing my new Garmin Nuvi 660 and I am really impressed with my new toy. First of all it was almost $300 cheaper than the dealer and much better model than the dealers. The Mini icons that I down loaded really look great along with the new Mini Splash screen. The 660 has handsfree cellphone and mp3 music files along with slideshow of pictures to keep your passenger entertained.
If your looking for a GPS, this has got to be the best one I have found for the price. ($599 Sams Club).

 

Just bought a nuvi 350 from PC Nation.com. Cost $375 total with overnight delivery (best price/delivery combination I could find). I bought this after doing extensive research (best bang for the buck - it's not as large as the 660, but I think it'll do the job). It's nice to see that this thread also recommends what I bought. Ordered it yesterday - got it today. The truck drove up with it just as I was going out for dinner. Two things impressed me right off the bat: 1. Sitting against the far wall in the restaurant I was able to get plenty of satelite signal (5 green bars) to do the setup there. 2. After typing my address in, I set it on the passenger seat and had it direct me home using just the audio (I love the fact that it announces the streets (i.e. turn right on Layton Avenue). It worked perfectly. Very Cool.

I'm glad I found this thread. My next step is to mount this little beauty. Plenty of ideas here. Has anyone determined which mounting approach yields the best bang for the buck (it must look professional)?

 

Question: Can the unit connect via BT to the car's audio system (if you have BT) to broadcast the directions, or does it use it's own speaker? If so, can you pair your cellphone to it at the same time and use both?

 

I can also confirm that Sam's Club in this area (Baltimore) currently has the 660 for $599.00. They also have comprehensive and detailed spiral bound Map Books of the USA for $5.99!

 

Yes you can BT this unit, as a matter of fact it will interupt your music to give directions and you can use your phone handsfree.
Your address book will also be sync'd into your GPS which a pretty neat feature.
The audio for the GPS, phone and music files can be played through the unit or through your cars stereo.
As a added bonus you can change the accent of the unit to speak in an English accent, Australian or American. I do believe there are others but I thought the British accent was the most appropriate for the Mini.
Now if I could only find a way to connect my video Ipod to it and watch my videos on the GPS screen.

Hope this helps.