Has anyone considered or installed the AVIC-Z2? Considering adding to the list for this year.

Great unit, prices have dropped significantly online and it can be had for around under $1,500 with the ipod cable, BT module, and more. The benefits over the D3 is the hard drive so you do not need to use the sole cd slot for the navigation disk, and so that you can store music directly onto it. I believe the navigation processor is slightly superior too and voice control comes standard.

- Suneet

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- Suneet


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I have the AVIC-HD3 (the European version of the Z2). Having come from using the CDR24, I absolutely love it! It does everything I need of it (and more), but the huge bonus of course is that you can throw all your music on to the hard disk.

I am considering this as well on my 2008 Cayman S. I was quoted $2900 in NYC for an Alpine IVA-W205 with Blackbird Navigation unit, Alpine Amp to take the MOST out of the loop, all new wiring and impedance for the 2ohm Bose speakers (yeah Bose was not my choice it was a lot car I got for a song). I really like the Alpine unit but no voice and the limited 4GB storage concerns me. I am considering the AVIC-Z2 also.

Take a look at this guys review below. He claims the screen blacks out during driving!! I can see how thats possible. Can anyone comment on this?

Also what do you think of $2900 for the install including head unti, amp, labor? This does not include a faceplate, I am going to sacrifice my CDR24 for that.

Amazon.com: Pioneer AVIC-Z2 30GB Hard Drive GPS Navigation System with DVD Player: Electronics

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2008 Cayman S

This guy's comment is a load of $#%^&%"#. I can only imagine that it is not installed correctly because mine displays perfectly at all times. In fact because of the way it is wired, it will even play DVD video when the car is in motion, but obviously I don't use this.

It does take around 20-30 seconds to start up, but how long does it take to get your car going anyway? It's then ready for action.

I paid around £800 (around $1600) but that's because I fitted it myself. It wasn't difficult but I just needed to do some research to find a couple of connections. All the information is on CaymanClub. The only difference between mine and the Z2 is that you guys use a slightly different radio tuner. Let me know if you need to know any more.

That's what I figured, if it were true no one would ever buy the unit. I though about trying it myself but with the Bose and MOST fiber I dont want to mess with it.

I think the AVIC-Z2 is the clear winner for me. I dont mind the slow IPOD interface because I will use the 10GB local storage. Also the voice commands are a must for me.

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Yes, it's a good choice. I don't use the iPod interface - mainly because I don't have an iPod (I use other MP3s) but I prefer to just throw all my music on to the 30Gb hard disk.

Hope it works well for you.

It says you can only use 10 GB for personal stuff... or did I read that wrong? Have you tried sticking a CD or DVD with MP3 files on it in the DVD drive and see if it will play them?

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I'll need to check how much you can use for personal stuff. One of the disadvantages I do find is that the usual means of getting the music on to the disk is by CD or DVD

Yes, it will play MP3 disks - certainly on CD, haven't tried DVD MP3 audio disks. It plays DVD video well but you might find it won't work when the car is in motion.

Best piece of kit I've ever bought, apart from the Porsche!

Hey guys i've been doing some research and price grabbing and i think i'm sold on the avic Z2. I noticed you guys hate the 1k + prices that a lot of places have been showing. I just came across this one that had it for $899 new.
Pioneer AVIC-Z2 In-dash navigation/DVD receiver with 30 GB hard drive
I'll definately be buying it from there once i get caught up on bills *can't wait til rebate check comes in lol*
just wanted to share with you guys.

I have seen the comment above a couple of times about using an Alpiine amp to take the Most bus out of the loop. I have researched alpine and as far as I can tell none of their equipment has a most bus interface. All of the other bose installs leave the stock amp in due to the most bus loop and use a line out converter to the stock amp to connect to another amp. Am I missing something?

Iam Own a custom a/v shop in the bay area and have done a ton of these cars with multiple nav systems including pioneer,eclipse,alpine and kenwood. The Z2 is a nice piece however it does have its draw backs just like anything else. The bootup on the hard drive is a bit slow and it still utilizes the older pioneer ipod setup which is not as fast as the new d3 setup with there full speed cable. Also there has been some isues with the bluetooth module on the z2 where it wont read all phones although they did recently update software to help with some of the lockup problems and the bt compatibility.
Overall its a very good unit and good pricing right now, the d3 is a good unit as well and for the price its a steal.

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I agree that the unit does take a short while to start up, but by the time the car is rolling and you drive it out of teh garage, it's not a problem.

As for phone compatibility, my AVIC-HD3 (Z2) works perfectly with my iPhone.

The photos look good - that facia panel is a perfect match with the one heater controls - you've obviously painted both a different colour. It looks flatter than thw stock Porsche dash doesn't it?

Out of the loop meaning bypass. Perhaps "out of the loop" was not the best choice since the MOST is a loop. I simply meant adding an addtional AMP that will be used for the copper wiring.
I will be leaving the stock amp and adding the Alpine AMP.

Now to figure out if the demensions of the AVIC-Z2 will work with the CD24 faceplate so I dont have to drop 330 on a damn piece of plastic. The 2900 quoted did not include faceplate.

Wish I lived in CA because I would be running over to kingofcustoms shop right now The Z2, from his pictures, looks much cleaner then the D3 imo. I really like the look, his pics sealed the deal for me as I was still on the fence.

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2008 Cayman S