[mosx]

Originally Posted by skinrock

I forgot to mention that - I agree, he should have that on the site. I only found out because I saw another thread about it. I would be pissed if I order that and found out it wasn't ready out of the box.

Needless to say I was pissed. Rich and I went round and round over it until he finally offered to make one for me. Right now my Double DIN and climate controls are hanging in the dash wedged in and propped up by towels to keep it from moving around. I hope he hurries.

[skinrock]

Originally Posted by mosx

If you want something like Rich's kit without all the headaches there is a company in Germany that makes something very similar for about the same price except it comes with the "kit" you need to install it your dash. If Rich wasn't going to cut the wood for me I would have returned it and bought this instead

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E...mZ220841722145

EDIT:
Here is their website in case you stumble on this thread years after I wrote it and that ebay link is expired:

http://www.janus-design.net/english/...edin/index.php

Now that's sweet. I may just buy one and hold on to it, lol.

[plokij]

so i'm also prepping for this mod. got my gps head unit picked out already, but am struggling with the dash kit.

i really don't like the nav unit on the bottom. it's blocked by the shifter in 1, 3, & 5 positions.

so i found this install kit:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-CT23BM01.html

it seems to fit flush to the dash and retains the correct positioning of the radio on top.

only problem seems to be the "trimming" that has to be done in prep, including cutting some pieces of plastic off the sides of the hvac unit.

what tools could be used to get this done?

this company also make a handy steering wheel and rear park distance control adapter for those connections. that's pretty cool.

EDIT: for E90 & E91 only....

[skinrock]

That one looks like: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...1&postcount=12

And you can tell by the shape that the bottom part sticks out, just like in the picture above.

[plokij]

you're right, it is the same. that company also offers the metra one (metra is their usa distributor). it seems to fit a little better, but still not ideal.

if it's not snug, then i'm definitely not going through all the trouble to shape the parts.

in this picture, the bottom layout for the head unit doesn't look so bad, but when i sit in my car i can just tell it won't feel right. then again, with one of the above solutions, the hvac is too low as well. rock-and-a-hard-place.

i will probably cave and get the bottom layout variety, though....

[dHuyzeeN]

what if you have seat warmer options? guess i'm shit out of luck huh nothing's going to fit.

[mosx]

Originally Posted by plokij

so i'm also prepping for this mod. got my gps head unit picked out already, but am struggling with the dash kit.

i really don't like the nav unit on the bottom. it's blocked by the shifter in 1, 3, & 5 positions.

It's not really blocked. If you get a unit that folds open it may keep it from fully opening but you can just put it in neutral when you want to insert a disc. Otherwise its at a perfect height to use when your hand is resting on the shifter.

so i found this install kit:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-CT23BM01.html

it seems to fit flush to the dash and retains the correct positioning of the radio on top.

only problem seems to be the "trimming" that has to be done in prep, including cutting some pieces of plastic off the sides of the hvac unit.

what tools could be used to get this done?

You could use a dremel. I didn't want to cut anything because I want to reverse this some day, so I went with having the head unit sit lower.

[mosx]

Originally Posted by dHuyzeeN

what if you have seat warmer options? guess i'm shit out of luck huh nothing's going to fit.

The kit I posted includes a seat warmer relocation piece. It relocates them to the front ashtray/sunglasses tray. Metra also provides a kit to relocate to the front ash tray but you lose the use of the tray.

[neocleous]

I have the Metra kit and to be honest it looks fine but I am struggling to install it properly as for the modding that people are worried about its all invisible and when you do revert you wont be able to see any of it.

[nks_bb]

Anyone find a solution they're happy with?

[bmw325i]

IMO the Metra kit is still the best thing out there right now, and its the cheapest and easiest to find. Sure the bottom sticks out a little. It doesn't look bad though, and at least the head unit is where it should be.