Factory Nav or Aftermarket Unit...Advice

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felixgun

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Thanks that's the kind of advice I was looking for. Kenwood Nav on the way.

Yea the kenwood uses Garmin nav app which is by far more superior then pioneer or GM's navigation. My next vehicle will definitely have the flagship kenwood.
 

felixgun

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New to the site and looking for some direction….First off my Tahoe is a 2008
Without Nav…I have remote start and back up sensors. I want to add factory
Nav to it but in all my reading….Need to change the VCIM for Bluetooth, loose
On Star…then get factory nav unit then purchase lockpic….To have everything
Covered and working like factory….is this the best way to go? Or buy a nice
Kenwood nav system with Garmin GPS….Looking for suggestions. Also forgot
I want to add a back up camera at the same time. thanks in advance

I had the same setup as you and went the factory nav + gmx-550 lockpick route w/ a CCD rear cam kit for a factory-esque rear cam. Honestly I hate it. I frickin hate it. WISH I woulda went aftermarket like I did in the past. Go kenwood flagship nav model with the built in garmin. Factory GM nav = poo technology.
 

AaronIROCZ

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I've gone through both routes. On my 08 Tahoe LTZ I went the aftermarket route with the pioneer AVIC-Z110BT and PAC SWI-PS and PAC OS-4 controllers to retain bose/onstar/steering wheel controls. When I sold it I bought an Avalanche LTZ and put in the factory nav unit with the GMX-550 LockPick. IF I could do it again, I would definitely go with the aftermarket route. The factory nav unit is a *************. It's old/outdated and extremely slow. The GMX-550 LockPick is also buggy and on par for being a P.O.S. Trust me on this-- go aftermarket. I suggest the DNX9980HD from Kenwood or the newer Pioneer AVIC nav screens. As far as the rear cam, neither my Tahoe I had or Avalanche came with it, but for the tahoe I bought the corresponding Pioneer rear cam which works great but for my Avalanche going the factory route, they sell an aftermarket rear cam kit that has the guiding/tracking lines that are green/red/yellow that you can install on factory nav units if you buy the LockPick... so you can definitely still have the rear cam on either aftermarket or stock units. I personally like the guiding/tracking lines because it really does help.

As the owner of a factory navigation unit, I agree with your accurate description. I'd like to flush those moron GM "programmers" down the nearest toilet. :Plugged:

The new 2012 OEM Hard drive units are a night and day improvement compared to the 2011 and older units in my opinion, just saying.
 

felixgun

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That's good to hear. I'm glad gm improved their nav screens. My post was mainly talking about the 07-11 nav screens I guess!
 

CYKBC

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i concur with aaron. on my '13, i gotta say the graphics quality and added functionality r finally up to ***** compared to the '11 i had for a few... days. aside from the typical wiring labor and integration shortcomings... the things i don't like about aftermarket units r... 1) they look aftermarket in the dash no matter what; 2) the interface is really... proprietary

i hope the next gen steps up to compete with new Fords, Audis, and Toyota interfaces. i'll be happy with mine for the life of the car however.
 
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felixgun

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Hmm I dunno when I had the pioneer avic-z110bt in my Tahoe it looked pretty factory :imo:

nav2.jpg

Next vehicle I'm def going aftermarket. Regardless of how clean the factory nav I still think aftermarket takes the cake.
 

savegas52

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Hmm I dunno when I had the pioneer avic-z110bt in my Tahoe it looked pretty factory :imo:

nav2.jpg

Next vehicle I'm def going aftermarket. Regardless of how clean the factory nav I still think aftermarket takes the cake.

wow that does really look close to factory nav....

i have been actually searching for a new headunit and when i finally decided to pull the trigger on the unit I wanted they are out of stock. now its wait unless something i find I can wait to have...

do you know how much the unit u posted pic of cots? do you have a link....?

thanks
 

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