Car Audio Install - Phase 1 Options

[ehkewley]

Here is my first install for the '08 Santa fe. I was very nervous about ripping off the trim panel, but I must say the metal friction tabs are of much better quality than the cheap (breakable) plastic tabs from my last car ('01 volvo s40). Before I show the images, here's a quick rundown of the equipment:

Headunit: Pioneer FHP8000BT
- Bluetooth Phone with mic
- USB & Aux input
- Ipod controls
- 7 band EQ

Goodies: PAC SWI-PS steering wheel interface

I chose the SWI-PS over the SWI-X, because I hate the thought of having an infrared transmittor and wire sticking out into the vehicle (I already have to deal with placing the bluetooth mic somewhere). Luckilly the Pioneer head unit comes with an input for the SWI-PS that allows you to plug right in.

As mentioned before installation of the SWI-PS was the tricky part. You have to make sure you splice into the proper wires, and the HMAService website appears to have the wheel remote ground and signal wires (incorrectly) swapped. The pac-audio site was correct and made setup easy. The buttons are not as responsive as they were with the stock radio, but if you leave them pressed for 1/4 of a second longer than you're used to, it shouldn't matter much.

I have not had a chance yet to test the bluetooth phone capabilities yet, but I have read great reviews on them online. The aftermarket unit does wonders for the bass response of the system. Just remember not to crank it too loud. Boosting bass makes it easier for the amp to distort at the same volume.


Lastly I had to wire the speaker leads (from the wiring harness side, not the head-unit side) to 4 rca cables, and pluged those into the low-level inputs of the head unit. The Hyundai systems come with amps so feeding it a speaker level signal would be bad.

(IMG:http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss27/woodworker82/phase1_1.jpg)
Initial wiring. Looms helped clean up the wire mess.

(IMG:http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss27/woodworker82/phase1_2.jpg)
The swi-ps unit can be seen here, as well as the rca ends for the speaker outs

(IMG:http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss27/woodworker82/phase1_3.jpg)
Testing the unit. I really like the simple and clean look. The colors match pretty well.

(IMG:http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss27/woodworker82/phase1_4.jpg)
Everything installed (except for the faux-trim)




This post has been edited by ehkewley: Oct 23 2009, 12:31 PM

[ehkewley]

Minor update.. I got the Ipod installed, and added the mic for the bluetooth hands free feature. I made a couple of calls, and it became apparent that the microphone really needs to be placed somewhere near the rear-view mirror or driver sun visor. I'm not feeling adventeruous enough to run a wire through the headliner or A pillar, so it will have to do for now.

I did find a neat spot to place the Mic and Ipod however. My system came with the infinity 5.1 surround setup. I do not have a dvd player, and do not care for "surround" stereo, so I opted to remove the center speaker. This opened up a spot for the ipod and mic. I also slightly modified the speaker grill so that the grill can be easily removed for ipod updates.

(IMG:http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss27/woodworker82/phase1_5.jpg)

... and with everything back together

(IMG:http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss27/woodworker82/phase1_6.jpg)

This post has been edited by ehkewley: Oct 23 2009, 12:31 PM

[isav]

Looks clean - how does it sound with the stock speakers?

-SF

[ehkewley]

Thanks!

To me it sounds like it is capable of putting out much more bass as well as a cleaner sound. The background hiss is gone, and it can get pretty loud too.

[Pezman1]

Nice install.

I have a question for you. Did you just pry out the trim fascias with a screwdriver? I have to do this to get at a penny that ended up in the space behind the ashtray. It slides around and makes me crazy! Looks like I need to pry off the trim panel to get at the assembly.

The Hyundai service site says to "pry off the panels with a tape wrapped screwdriver to prevent marring." Not overly informative, so I thought I'd ask you about it.

[ehkewley]

I did pry the trim panel out with a screwdriver. The screwdriver was a thin flathead that was wrapped (like you stated) to prevent marring of the trim.

I was able to get easy leverage access to the "wood" trim by first removing the main panel below the steering wheel. This opens up a spot near the ignition, where the two panels meet.

[Pezman1]

Thanks for tip!

[torscotty]

Thanks for the informative post. So is your conclusion that the head unit is what adds the backround hiss to the Infinity system and not the amplifier?

[ehkewley]

Thanks for the informative post.  So is your conclusion that the head unit is what adds the backround hiss to the Infinity system and not the amplifier?
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I ran a couple quick tests on different settings, when no audio was produced, with the volume set at an otherwise uncomfortable level, and it was virtually silent. It's definitely the stock system.

[ehkewley]

I'm correcting myself here. The last test was made with the engine off. I was listening to some quiet music today, and the dreaded sound was noticeable. It was quieter than I remember with the stock system, but there nonetheless. I noticed with the volume at 0 the noise would go away. This leads me to believe that it's not the amp, but rather the power system is getting noise introduced into it from the engine. Once I shut the engine off the noise went away.

[Santa Rocket]

New user here. Looks like a great install. This is what I would want to do for my Santa Fe. I do have a question. Did you experience any issues with the steering wheel controls?

This post has been edited by Santa Rocket: Sep 23 2009, 04:05 PM

[ehkewley]

New user here. Looks like a great install. This is what I would want to do for my Santa Fe. I do have a question. Did you experience any issues with the steering wheel controls?

Thanks. I do experience a delay with the steering wheel controls. I tried searching online, and found mixed results. Some people say that it's true for all aftermarket head units, others say that some head units have more delay than others. I think there's about 1/4 ~ 1/2 second delay between pushing the button, and getting your result. If you hold the button down, of course it will react.

This annoyed me a lot at first (you can't hit it twice quickly to go foward 2 songs for example), but I got used to it eventually. It's better than not having the steering wheel radio controls at all.

This post has been edited by ehkewley: Sep 24 2009, 10:26 AM

[ehkewley]

Sorry about that folks. My webserver recently took a dive and had to switch over to Photobucket. Pics should be up now.