Spoony

I almost got the glue gun out to make it even more secure, but figured :tsktsk: it!

Well, I've done it. Awesome bit of kit. The xcarlink USB works flawlessly with my 13906 head unit and does not seem to have any of the auto lights problems that was reported with the Grom. How did I sort the mute problem? Just stripped the wire, twisted, doubled back on itself and shoved in the hole. Low tech solution, but isn't going anywhere and works a treat! :winky:

Bought the USB/SD card version of the xcarlink mp3 adapter today as I don't have an iPod and USB sticks are plentyful and cheap. It came ready to plug into the external autochanger with the type-2 toyota plug, however I've wired my Parrot mute in there and there's no pin in the plug on the xcarlink adapter to hook the Parrot mute up once it's installed! So I need one of two things; 1. An alternative place to hook my Parrot mute up so that it mutes the rear speakers. 2. Advice on how to get connection to the current mute pin with the xcarlink header installed. Anyone have any ideas?

That question was for reeves btw! :) Seems that eitehr solution has problems with the 13906 head unit. I dont want to replace the head unit, but want mp3 ability. Whaddya reckon?

Did you ever get anywhere with this? I'm wanting to buy my mp3 solution now, but am in two minds for what to go for...

Here's my install in my 2003 IS200 Sport

I'd suggest you install them under the bonnet. Seriously tho, if the Altezza anything like the IS200 i can send you pics of where I fitted mine...

Wouldn't bank on it. You can have a feather-light foot and yet never get to see the dizzy heights beyond 38mpg! I agree with this statement whole heartedly. I did a 300 mile round trip of motorway/dual carriageway in a 220d with the cruise control fixed at 70mph and it averaged 37.5. I can get 35mpg out of my petrol IS200 at the same speed. I've also experienced the awful 6th gear of the 220d. AND it sounds like a bag of spanners, no matter what the dealer says. On the plus side, there acres of torque and 2nd gear is great fun, if only for a short while. In short, if I was gonna buy a new IS it would be some form of petrol IS250 with a manual box...

Check and re-do your ground connections. If it's still bad, it sounds like you have a leaky ballast. Sling 'em back!

I bought the £46 set from the diane-shop on ebay. Been installed for 2-3 weeks now and so far have functioned flawlessly. Fitting took less than 30 mins (probably less if you know what you're doing off the cuff!). Probably the best upgrade you can do on your car. Just be aware of the potential legal implications (which have been discussed to death here, so I'll not repeat them).

Welcome to the club - lets see some piccies of your new toy!

I noticed that when I had one for a few days from my dealer. 6th was useless when using the cruise around 70. Sounded awful too. Only managed 37.5mpg too.

996,611

Looks doable. Don't really care how much it costs (within reason) so long as it works. I'll wait to hear from you before placing my order ;)

Get a room you two! :winky:

I get 35mpg easily on a long run @ 70 in my manual IS200 Sport.

Test drive the 220d before taking the plunge. I thought they were awful - felt really heavy, sounded like a bag of spanners and only managed 37MPG on 120 mile trip with the cruise control on 70 - I can get that out of my IS200 Sport if driven in the same fashion!

Thanks for the advice bud. Got a link to the Grom alternative?

Finally got around to completing the install today. All working nicely. Geoffers was 99% right about the wire colouring. Seems that the silver stripes were throwing me off, but on closer examination the colours do match up with what he says should be correct. Audio mute works a treat and the rear speakers are now silent when making a call. It was just a case of hooking up the yellow mute cable from the Parrot to pin 4 of the CD changer input on the back of the 13906 head unit. Thanks again to reeves for pointing me in the right direction. I've also installed the external GPS antenna and tidied up that bit of cable so its now all going through the button mounting. Here's some pics; This is the head unit's input connector. I've marked which pins are ground/power/ignition in case anyone needs clear info in the future. Here's the connector from another angle. You can clearly see that the brown ground wire has a silver stripe along the cable. I've hooked the power wires into the connector's wires by way of those blue blade connectors. The +12v battery connector is also a blue/yellow striped wire with a silver band along it. And here's the other side of the connector with an even clearer view of the brown/silver ground wire. The grey +12v ignition wire is also visable, and has a silver band around it. Here's the organised mess that's hidden behind the head unit. The Parrot mute box is just temporarily taped up the top out of the way. Once the head unit is fitted back in place, the Parrot mute box sits nicely on top of the head unit. It's wedged in there quite nicely, so there was no need to attach or fix it to the dash in any way - it doesn't rattle. Here's the tidier install of the Parrot display. The unit's cable and the GPS antenna wire are now fed back behind the unit into the switch blanking plate. I've mounted the GPS antenna at the top right hand corner of the windscreen, using the pillar facia to hide the cable. Job done. Much nicer without that cable going around the side as in my previous install. Time will tell if the GPS antenna is actually any good. Doing lots of miles next week, so I'll find out in due course! Thanks again for all your help guys. Next project is to install parking sensors, and maybe one of those Grom Audio boxes!

I've done an experiment over the last few days with MPG. I know its a well covered subject, but I just thought I'd share my findings with you all. I've started driving at a strict 65-70 MPH to see how much difference it actually makes to fuel economy on my '03 IS200 Sport. I filled my tank and then did a 186 mile round tip on Monday and filled up after the journey. I averaged 32.13 MPG! The today I did a 261 mile round trip, filling up before and after again - this time I've managed 34.38 MPG! This is up nearly 10 MPG from my average cruising speed of ~80 MPH and I still arrived at both destinations a few minutes quicker than TomTom originally estimated. So I'll reiterate - driving 10-15 MPH slower on the motorway makes a massive difference to economy and bugger all difference to travel times. If you get paid by the mile (as i do) then this has a direct impact on your monthly expenses! This can only mean more money for mods. Woohoo! :winky:

I got my HID set from eBay (no. 300192720069) last week and fitted them the same night in a mere 30 mins - they rule! Best £46 I've spent in ages!

Thank you all for your responses. Sounds like I'll go for it. I have my eye on ebay item 150213642975, but before I purchase it I'd like some advice on the install. I'll be fitted 4 in the front bumer and 4 in the rear bumper. What's the best way to go about installing the wiring? Can anyone recommend a cabling run? I want to install this so its completely out of sight - cables and all. What's the best/secure way to attach this? Also, can anyone recommend a good way to make sure you get all the sensoer fitted straight? Of course I'll measure things a bazillion times, but it would be good to hear some tips if anyone has any.

Looking on ebay there's a whole load of cheap parking sensor kits. They say they can colour match and even supply the hole cutter with the hit. There's clip on your rear view mirror ones. Others that beep. Lots of choices. I don't fancy being a guinea pig tho - not up for drilling holes in my bumpers and going through all that effort just to find that they're rubbish. So, has anyone else here installed after market parking sensors on their IS?

IS200 Sport 2003 52k

In hindsight I should have bought the autoleads cable. I'm not going to buy another cable though, partly because of the crazy price they are, but mostly because I value my hand and don't want to injure it further messing around at the back of the amp! I think I'll just wait till I have the right tools. The guy whose socket set I borrowed now has them back.