Tazman

OK, just a quick update: 6.5 speakers in front fitted perfectly (mdf mounts needed). Tweeters replaced oem ones (needed to get rid of some plastic under the cover though). The rear speaker covers have lots of height, so there was plenty of room for the 7x10s (mdf mounts made again). The only problem was the springy metal things for the boot rub against the magnets of the speakers (they are like dinner plates though). Now to the interesting bit: Took the dash to bits and found the oem amp. The 6 disk changer, which I was led to believe was meant to be Pioneer was in fact a Fujitsu. The slot's in the top and it's a 2003 model car. Never mind. We broke into the signals from the back of the head unit as per my previous post. Amp remote on wasn't a problem, and we got sound :D However, we had no control over the volume Jasper speculated that the head unit sends out a constant signal, and that the volume control affects the gain on the amp. Conclusion: you can't break into the head unit signal and use your own amp. To get it working, he slapped on a high-to-low converter and did it that way (It was 6.30 by this time, and they were supposed to close at 5.30), but it's hissy and sounds crap quite frankly (not surprised the route the signal takes: low-high-low-high). Now we've ditched the idea of using the oem head unit and Jasper's made me a facia out of MDF. Going in Weds to get it fitted, along with an Alpine 6893. No idea what it's going to look like, but Jasper seems quite pleased with the results. Will try and get some pictures if anyone's interested. The moral of this story, is that if you are thinking of running your own amp off the oem head unit in a new IS200, don't. Taz.

OK, most people recognise that the IS200 looks better than it goes, and could do with another 25-30hp. The question is, with a 2ltr straight 6, why did they only give it 153hp? Off the top of my head, I can think of loads of 4 pots with more welly: Clio Sport 172 - 2ltr 4 pot (180 hp next year) Celica - Up to 189hp - 2ltr 4 pot Focus ST170 - 2ltr 4 pot. If Toyota can give a 1.8 4 cylinder 180hp (with better fuel consumption), why can't they at least equal it with .2ltrs and 2 extra cylinders to play with? I would have thought the engine in the IS200 would be capable of at least 200hp. Other 6 cylinders manage it. The FSO has up to 200hp in the high compression version, and that's a six cylinder 24 valve. When I see people forking out upto £80 per hp (!!) for superchargers etc., wouldn't it be much better for Lexus to give us the performance for free? :flaming: Rant over. Needed to get that one off my chest! And I haven't even got the car yet! It won't spoil my enjoyment of the car, but it would have been so much sweeter if it could out-pull even a 1.8 Astra.

Thanks for the info. Not exactly what I wanted to hear though! :( Not really prepared to do the whole car, so we'll do the install and make a judgement when it's up and running. Not as anal about sounds as I used to be (must be getting old!). Volume isn't a major factor, so I'm not looking for eardrum-splitting SPL Just want a reasonable sound at mid-volume, without annoying vibrations ruining the experience.

Following on from my "how do I cram all my stereo stuff in an IS200" post, the spectre of sound deadening rears its ugly head. In fairness, my Golf was pretty much spot-on, so I didn't have any problems, and I didn't do a thing to it. Am I going to have to spend loads on Dynamat/Brown Bread/whatever to get a decent sound out of the IS200? If so, are there any particular areas that I will need to concentrate on? Any advice greatly appreciated. 17 days and counting 'til I pick it up. Yippee! :bounce:

Pins2

OK. Sorry for delay: been a bit busy in work. Pic1 attached. Pic2 in next post. Pinouts as follows: Radio Receiver Assembly Pins1.jpg: Connector "A" 1 = FR+ 2 = FL+ 3 = Ignition Switch ACC (Battery voltage) 4 = Constant (Battery voltage) 5 = FR- 6 = FL- 7 = Constant (Continuity) 8 = Radio Power Switch ON (Battery Voltage) 10 = Headlight Dimer Switch ON (Battery voltage) Connector "B" 1 = RR+ 2 = RL+ 3 = RR- 4 = RL- Power Amp Circuit Pins2.jpg Connector "A" 1 = FL+ 2 = FR+ 3 = RL+ 4 = WL+ 5 = RR+ 6 = WR+ 7 = BU+ (Battery Voltage) 8 = FL- 9 = FR- 10 = RL- 11 = WL- 12 = Gnd (Continuity) 13 = Mute (Battery Voltage) 14 = RR- 15 = WR- 16 = Ignition Switch (Battery Voltage) Connector "B" 1 = +B (Battery voltage) 3 = Amp+ Radio Power Switch ON (Battery voltage) 5 = Gnd (Continuity) 7 = Mute (1V or below) 8 = FL (1V or below) 9 = FR (1V or below) 10 = Ignition Switch ACC (Battery voltage) 14 = Gnd (Continuity) 16 = Beep (-) :?: 17 = RL (1V or below) 18 = RR (1v or below) Phew....RSI here we come! Hope this lot might actually help someone.

Saw your previous post Adeyb, and have C&P'd into a doc I'm taking down to the installers with me. Along with any other info I can get in the meantime. My slight concern with your colours was that your car is a '99, and mine is an '02. As I said, I've got the pinouts for the connectors on the back of the stereo, so we shouldn't have a problem there (cue terrible problems finding the right wires). Thanks for the hints TG. No SatNav, so there's one potential complication out the way. I'm not doing any of the work myself, just info gathering, so I've no idea of the different voltages required.

Right. Got photocopies of the tech sheet for the pinouts on the stereo. Will post them on ere when I've blown the dust off the scanner! Looks like it'll be a doddle: weld some phonos onto the preouts and Bob's you mother's brother. :o

Thanks for the info. I'm going down to the local dealer tomorrow, so will try and get pinouts for the head unit and amp. If I can get them, it'll give us a chance to hack into the signal before it reaches the amp.

I'm picking up my new IS200 in a month, and am trying to figure out how much of my current gear I can get in the new car. My current Golf Turbo was fine, 'cause it had DIN slots and a parcel shelf. I think the new car's going to be a bit of a 'mare in comparison! I'm resigned to losing the Alpine head unit and changer: The cars on contract, so I don't want to do too much re-modelling! The boggo OEM one should suffice, providing I can get phonos on it. Presumably we'll have to either intercept the signal before the OEM amp, or shove a speaker level to phono converter on afterwards? Turning the amp on might also prove problematic. The other kit is a 5 channel ALpine V12 amp, a pair of 6.5" Image Dynamic mids, DLS tweetwrs, a pair of luuurvely DLS 7x10s and a 10" Alpine R-Type in a box. Bass might be a problem with the box, seeing as the car's a saloon, so I might trade that in for a free-air one in the shelf. Apparently there's a cutout for an 8"? The 7x10s might also be a no-no, but we might have to look at the car to make a final judgment. The installer I've always used hasn't done an IS200 before, but they're pretty clever. I'm trying to give them as much info as possible before they get the car, so any advice/pointers would be greatly appreciated.