Hi All,
I'm looking to get an aftermarket Kenwood double din headunit (DDX9907XR) but it's impossible to find one in the UK as far as I can see.
I have an opportunity to have a friend from the US to bring one over, but was wondering if there would be any reason why it wouldn't work in a UK car?
As far as I can tell, the only difference is that US radios use a frequency step of 200MHz instead of 100, but as I don't use radio that doesn't matter to me.
Is there anything else that would stop it working?
Also, if anyone is aware of an alternate headunit that has wireless android auto and a 720P display, please say!
Thanks!
US Headunit import
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Re: US Headunit import
The US cars only had manual a/c as standard.
UK cars all came with automatic climate control, which shares some of the circuitry with the fitted head unit.
That's why the original Metra double-DIN fascias don't work on UK cars.
Unless your car is a JDM import then the US head unit won't work either.
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UK cars all came with automatic climate control, which shares some of the circuitry with the fitted head unit.
That's why the original Metra double-DIN fascias don't work on UK cars.
Unless your car is a JDM import then the US head unit won't work either.
Sent from my Samsung using Tapatalk
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Re: US Headunit import
An aftermarket US radio should be perfectly fine? As long as the Metra interface is the proper one for the UK spec cars, that being with climate control, the only issues would potentially be the radio as suggested, since that would be a difference between the US and UKwarpc0il wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:02 pmThe US cars only had manual a/c as standard.
UK cars all came with automatic climate control, which shares some of the circuitry with the fitted head unit.
That's why the original Metra double-DIN fascias don't work on UK cars.
Unless your car is a JDM import then the US head unit won't work either.
Sent from my Samsung using Tapatalk
(And possibly any firmware sorta waffles, and it potentially saying "highway" rather than "motorway" )
Although to answer that question, if you're in a Series 1 car, the AC/heating will stop working, and the red display won't show much of use apart from the clock, which after swapping you won't be able to change. The Metra interface is needed for this to work properly
If you're in a Series 2/R3, you'll be fine as the only thing that'll stop is the info part of the red display and the ability to change the clock as before. A good interface for this remedy is the PAC RP4-MZ11, as I have installed in mine and shown in my guide here
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- Xarano (Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:35 am)
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Re: US Headunit import
Yes, im in an R3, and yeah ive been following your guide! Thank you for writing it.If you're in a Series 2/R3
Ive ordered the PAC module, along with the wiring harness and connect2 fascia. So im assuming then that all i need is the head unit?
If I do end up importing the kenwood im the OP, ill update your guide thread with my progress.
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Re: US Headunit import
Aye, that'll do you well. PAC and the fascia along with your new HU will be perfect
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- Xarano (Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:35 am)
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Re: US Headunit import
My apologies, I only saw your post on Tapatalk which doesn't show the poster profile, so didn't know you had an R3, which significantly changes the answer.
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Re: US Headunit import
Awesome! I'll look into getting this headunit shipped via "friend" mail lol.
No worries! It's good to know the differences between the S1 and S2. Seems like the S2 is just much easier to retrofit newer stuff into.
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- HarSc (Tue Jul 27, 2021 12:51 am)