The Lotus Cars Community banner
1 - 20 of 46 Posts

· Roberto Giannini
Joined
·
87 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 · (Edited)
Again I say 2000+ but this upgrade can be done to most years of production. For this job it is a little time consuming approx 3 to 4 hours conservatively, as well you must be semi mechanically inclined and know a little on car and stereo wiring. This is one job maybe best left to the professionals, but if you are like me (a jack of all trades master of none) you will only trust yourself in doing it :p

Stereos in super cars are always a hot topic as purists say "who needs a stereo just lower the windows and yadda yadda yadda :rolleyes:) But most of you I'm sure are like me and you like to listen to music while driving, or use blue tooth phone, or at least have GPS all integrated in one system.

The interior of my Esprit is good but tight, that means you have little room to work with. The stereo they were only able to install was a single DIN player. A single DIN means it takes the space of a normal car stereo, unlike moat of todays double DIN systems which incorporate GPS, reverse camera, movies etc..

Now that doesn't mean you can't din an excellent single DIN unit with a 7"inch touch screen with all the bells and whistles. Problem lies in the fact that for some odd design feature on the Esprit none of the regular flip "UP" systems will work as the will hit the top where the light switches are located.

I am and have been an Audiophile all my life, I always have decent system in all my cars. My Diablo was one of the worst cars for sound, 2 sets of speakers and a ****ty sub. After I was done with it with simple upgrades is sound amazing. But enough of me toot toot tooting my own horn :D lets get to business.

Because of the unique layout of the stereo and dash in the Esprit I began a long and tedious search for the right system for the car. My final choice IMO looks great. It looks stock, it adds to the interior and updates it to the 22nd century.

The stereo is an Ouku single din flip "down" 7"inch touch screen, gps, bluetooth, reverse camera etc etc. The key word here is flip DOWN, most systems flip up with screen this does the opposite which works fantastic for the Esprit. Now I know you're saying to yourself "you moron you will hit or block off the climate control knobs" after you see the pics you will understand better.

The reason I chose this not so well known brand is simply because it is the only one that will flip up. There are other single DIN with a down 7"inch but none that flip back up or with GPS Blurtooth etc etc etc...
When you need to access the climate control you simply press a button and it lifts up to 90degrees making the climate control knobs easily accessible at any time. I only use my car in summer time so I hardly ever touch the climate control, so they do not need to be visible 100% of the time.

The Stereo itself is quite good, the touch screen works easy, it has pre programed graphics, a built in GPS for north America (sorry this will not work for Europe) bluetooth, SD slot, CD, CD-R, DVD, Iphone hard wire hook up or bluetooth music playback for all other devices, reverse camera input, built in EQ, subwoofer out, 45watt output from unit. Graphics are good, ease of use simple, sounds good not fantastic but if you add a sub (which I am working on) it will sound great.

Install was straight forward wiring, mind you I have done this 50 times in my lifetime so it comes easy. Be patient and have all the right tools, zip ties, clamps etc do not just use electrical tape as you will surely fry something ;)

The way this stereo is designed when it is in down position it has a 1/2 space behind it where the climate control knobs sit. This is still not enough to clear so when you install the gage that holds the system you need to have is set out by another 1/2 inch giving you 1 full inch which is what size the knobs are. Take your time, be patient, and have a little imagination on how to finish it so it looks stock. I pre painted black the cage and around the stereo 3" roughly, this becomes apparent when the final install occurs you will not see the aluminum silver cage.

Job took me 3 hours, I hard wired my Ipod as it sounds better than bluetooth, also reverse camera and outputs for future powered sub. Always think ahead and a few steps beyond like wiring the mic for the phone in the pillars above my head. It does have a pretty good built in mic on the unit but since I will be playing my volume at 11 :cool: thought I needed an exterior mic.

This is pretty much final result, I might still do something about being able to see the blue color of the temp controls, it's not a big deal but I'm anal that way rotfl

I apologies I was so excited wiring the system I totally forgot to take pics of install my bad.

Here are the pics of the stem already installed
1-shows the Ouku deck complete with Ipod to the left
2-shows unit closed
3-shows unit opening
4-shows unit and accessibility of the climate control knobs
5-shows unit lit up
 

Attachments

· Roberto Giannini
Joined
·
87 Posts
Discussion Starter · #2 ·
More pics of the unit installed and the unit it's self

Here is the head unit for sale on Ebay, great price average is $230 which is ridiculously cheap considering the one in my Lambo was $800

There are 2 models available

one with full GPS etc (again this is only for North America customers)

the other no GPS

Single 1 DIN 7" in LCD Car Stereo DVD CD MP3 4 Player GPS Navi iPod Genuine Map | eBay


My next projects in the coming future is LED headlights, with projector lenses and halo lights to update look as well as being able to see at night time.

A simple small powered subwoffer just to add a little bottom end to the sound.

Rocket launchers with laser beams and a submersible aquatic frame and torpedo's -eek-:D:facepalm
 

Attachments

· Wingless Wonder
1988 Esprit Turbo; 2005 Elise BOE Supercharged
Joined
·
7,121 Posts
THANKS for all the lighting topics you are posting!:cool:


Question regards the GPS (and why I've never felt the need to use a "built-in" one).

Are the maps upgradeable? And how (thumb-drive)? Cost?

For a GPS system in a pleasure car, you wouldn't use it that much, and I could see it becoming out of date over the period of a few years.

That's why I like the windshield mounted accessory GPS. $100 last time I purchased w/lifetime map udates and I don't have to keep it in the car all the time...
 

· Roberto Giannini
Joined
·
87 Posts
Discussion Starter · #8 · (Edited)
THANKS for all the lighting topics you are posting!:cool:


Question regards the GPS (and why I've never felt the need to use a "built-in" one).

Are the maps upgradeable? And how (thumb-drive)? Cost?

For a GPS system in a pleasure car, you wouldn't use it that much, and I could see it becoming out of date over the period of a few years.

That's why I like the windshield mounted accessory GPS. $100 last time I purchased w/lifetime map updates and I don't have to keep it in the car all the time...
Answer your questions:
Yes maps upgradeable, it has an 2 SD card slots, one for audio the other maps.

I live in Canada, very vast highways, I use my car lots, I love knowing what is coming up around the bend. On my Lambo I can tell you that GPS system saved my ass many O time simply because I knew where the bends of the road where coming up at speed.

Windshield mounted hardware on performance cars should never ever be used!!
These have tendency of eventually failing, and if you are a driver like myself it will happen the time when you're accelerating really hard. They will fly off, you get distracted and POW!! or worse get caught under your pedals. Windshield mounted anything is meant for minivans not supercars, I highly advise you to change it.

Do you have trouble hitting screen in 1st and 3rd gear? See my 1 DIN unit where the LCD goes UP - the knob (light blue outline) still would hit ANY LCD position - mounted HIGH or LOW?
Answer to your question:
No not at all, even with it in up position it does not interfere with shifting.

Not quite clear on your last question ? But I think your dash is the older style correct ? So I am not quite sure how to answer your question without me physically looking at the problem. My deck works fine for the new style dash, but I don't think it will for the older style.
 

· Moderator
Joined
·
4,422 Posts
[snip]
Answer to your question:
No not at all, even with it in up position it does not interfere with shifting.

Not quite clear on your last question ? But I think your dash is the older style correct ? So I am not quite sure how to answer your question without me physically looking at the problem. My deck works fine for the new style dash, but I don't think it will for the older style.
After looking more closely, my 88 radio is much closer to the shift knob than your 2000. Your set back is much deeper and the radio appears to mounted higher.

I like the solution - too bad it won't work on the earlier cars.:(
 

· Roberto Giannini
Joined
·
87 Posts
Discussion Starter · #15 ·
OK.... so be honest..... how does the Lotus compare to the Lambo.... as well as any other cool cars you might have??
I will try to answer best I can, here is my first drive in the lotus thread this explains lots.

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f164/shes-finally-home-184010/

As for close comparison I will leave to answer than tomorrow unfortunately, as I am running late for a function today.

Maybe Rhyno can chime in as well he owns same Lambo as I do.
 

· 2000 Esprit TT
Joined
·
42 Posts
I can't compare yet as I haven't picked up my Esprit. I will be picking her up on monday and will have a 400km trip to get home. It will be interesting to see how they compare to each other but I think they will be very different!
 

· Moderator
Joined
·
4,422 Posts
Why wouldn't this work on an earlier Esprit?


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
If you look at my 88's radio bin (the green line), you'll see the radio actually sticks OUT about 1/4" past the edges - you can see the side of the radio.



But on the 2000, the radio is up higher AND is set back at least 1/2" INWARD.




That's at least 1/4" +1/2" = 3/4" deeper set from the shift knob compared to my 88.

So even if the flat screen dropped down, it would be even closer to my 88 shift knob.
 
1 - 20 of 46 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top