Hello Everyone,

I have just bought my first Bonneville (2004 SLE) and I am in need of upgrading the stereo and possibly the speakers. So, I thought I'd ask a few questions / allow others to throw me some advice and suggestions lol. I know I want to replace the stereo with a double DIN aftermarket, eventually I'd like to upgrade the factory speakers, and I do plan on installing at least 2 10 inch or 2 12 inch subwoofers.

My "must have" list:

I want the steering wheel controls to continue to function properly. I want the beeps, boops, and chimes to all remain functional as well. So, I know I am need of some adapters for this I'm looking to be pointed in the right direction of these. I do not really trust walking into Best Buy or somewhere and having them give me their sales pitch of this and that, etc. haha.

What type of features/specs should the HU have? I aim to have Bluetooth, mp3 (etc.) and the sort, but this question is mainly asking about output, input, amperage, etc. Are there specific specs needed to keep the factory/stock car settings/functions? Also, do I need the car's "radio security code" for any of these upgrades?

I've seen posts about figuring out the type of sound system in the car... I've seen the SLE supposedly does not have the stock amp setup, but for a factory system the bass really isn't too horrible. It can give my rear view mirror some OK vibrations so I want to assume there is an amp in the car. Also, I do see tweeters in the front doors near the top of the dash, the 6 inch (or whatever size) speakers in the front and rear doors, and the 6x9s in the rear window, however I do not see the stereo light up and say Bose or Monsoon or anything.

I am looking to keep the stock wiring when I can replace/upgrade the car's stock speakers. So, my plan is to just clip the wiring off the stock speakers, install connectors on the wiring and attach to the new/upgraded speakers. I've done this in a couple cars, namely my 98 Honda Accord, and have had no issues. I would not be returning to the stock speakers and if I sold the car I don't see someone requesting to reinstall the lower quality stock speakers.

In regards to running the 10-12 inch subs, how will this work? I've read a couple people piggybacked off the car's stock amp, but I was wondering if my aftermarket amp can be ran through the stereo (RCAs plugged into the HU, etc. like in an older style car)? I'd rather not cut and splice into existing components/wiring as I'd like it to remain as "stock" and straight forward as possible. My idea was to buy amp kit and go ahead and run the wires from the HU when it is installed to be ready to "plug and play" the aftermarket amp and subs.

Off the top of my head, that is all I can think to consider right now. I'm sure more questions will follow as I get some replies and/or advice from others, so start posting! I look forward to it and having quality audio running through this beast haha.

Thanks

SLEs do not have amplifiers. This is what you need to keep chimes:
http://www.amazon.com/Axxess-GMOS-05-In ... B0040PPAGU

Get a steering adapter of your choice once you decide upon a head unit. You will need to cut the dash plastic behind the factory radio in order for the new unit to sit flush. The security code is not necessary for any of the procedures in the install.

If you plan to run an amp for the speakers, you will need to run new wiring. If not, don't worry. Stock wiring works fine. But I strongly suggest an amp for the mids and highs. Get component speakers of some type, so you can get rid of the awful factory paper woofers and tweeters.

You need an aftermarket amp for subs, and run RCAs from the back of the head unit to the trunk where the amp will be in order for the subs to work. As mentioned above, the SLE has no amp to piggyback off of.

I'm so glad I upgraded my SLE's stock system, there is nothing left of it at this point. Hahaha.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

It must be one decent stock HU then haha. The bass really isn't too bad for the age of the car, but definitely needs more.



Will any HU I choose be able to run a compatible adapter? Or, does the HU need to specify "steering wheel controls compatible" with the use of an adapter?



I've seen/read about how much of a pain it can be to run new wiring the doors on these cars, so that is why I had no intention on changing out the wiring. I don't want wires hanging out exposed in the door jams. So, I will probably not run an additional amp for the "stock" speakers... just the subs. I figured once the speakers are upgraded from stock, I'd get the better (or at LEAST the same) mids/highs performance as with the stock HU.... ? I will ask about component speakers/setup.



Ok, this is what I had hoped even if there was a factory amp. I've ran audio in a few cars pre 2000, so without a factory amp this should be pretty straight forward for me... I just wanted to double check this as running my subs' amp in the trunk off the HU seems like the cleaner way to do it. I've got a decent JBL (I think) amp, although it is a little old by now haha. I haven't used it in a few years because it was too powerful for my Honda Accord (4cyl).



Haha. I just got my taxes back finally so I'm in quite a hurry to get this ball rolling by getting the HU and possibly subs installed. One day, I will make it this point and all speakers will be upgraded.

The amp is a JL Audio...

I'll leave the rest of the questions alone but I do have a solution on this particular one for you. In my Dodge Nitro, I had no room to run new wires so I installed the 4 channel inside the dash and pulled the pins out of the harness adapter for the corresponding speakers and hooked them up from there... I hope that makes sense, maybe someone has a diagram to help??

_________________

2004 Bonneville GXP Crimson Tintcoat- Casual fuel gauge | Brake Performance drilled/slotted rotors front and rear| Retrofit Morimoto mini H1 | clear corners | disabled DRL | 3000K HID fogs | 5% tint | K&N | Yakima rack with fairing, bike rails and kayak rack | Intermittent radio display
1995 Bonneville SSE Deep Amethyst Pearl- SSEI tails | 5% tint | 3 12jlw3v2 in custom enclosure -Gone
1991 Bonneville LE Blue- Alloy spokes -Deceased(deer)

Running wires into the front doors isn't easy, but it isn't terrible. New speakers and HU will be a great improvement over stock, but they need more juice to really sound their best. The average head unit puts out 10-20 watts RMS and the average speaker set calls for at least 40.

Look around Sonicelectronix, when you pick out a head unit, they show you in the accessories section which steering wheel adapter will work with it. If all else fails, just post here before you buy, and one of us will confirm. Don't hesitate to ask any questions!

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Cool. It makes it more tempting then haha but I will probably make that a project for later as I'm trying to conserve some cash throughout this whole upgrade.



Thanks for the heads up. I ran to Best Buy on my lunch break and grabbed a HU. Of course, once I come back and see this message I find it on their website for about $50 less haha. And, it appears they have a deal where I can buy the HU and steering wheel adapter for $300 which is the same as what I paid for the HU alone at Best Buy. So, it looks like I will be heading back to Best Buy to return it and go through SE. My only question, is that SE shows 2 steering wheel adapters in the related accessories... is the one they have bundled in the "bundled savings" the correct one for the SLE? Would anyone care to take a look?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_910 ... 270BT.html

Can anyone suggest a dash mounting bracket for a double DIN?

Input your 2004 SLE into the the website. When you buy the HU, they'll give you the mounting bracket and antenna adapter for free. You'll also get a cheapo harness, which you won't be using since you want to keep the chimes. So you'll need the one I linked above.

The steering wheel adapter its bundled with should work no problem. There's a blue wire underneath the hush panel on the driver you tap into for signal.

You'll also need RCAs if you don't already have them, for the sub.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Yeah, I saw that about the mounting bracket and such so that seems helpful as it will save me about $30. I will be grabbing the harness you linked to and I have a friend that has amazon prime so hopefully I can get everything over the weekend. I will be cutting it close buying from SE but I am going to see if Best Buy will price match them because the SE expected delivery date is Monday.

I have no RCAs yet, but I plan to just grab an amp kit from Autozone or something to have everything ready.

Would this be everything needed to just mount the HU and it be working (no amp stuff yet)?

Steering Wheel Adapter
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IDH ... DS8AIU9VMR

Antenna Adapter
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009 ... PDKIKX0DER

Wiring Harness (to keep bells, chimes, etc.)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040P ... CW1GQY516A

Dash Mount Bracket
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003D3 ... PDKIKX0DER

Stereo
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O8B ... BWJRGGMG9W

Looks good to me.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Good deal. If I buy everything through Amazon (although 3rd party sellers for the most part) I save about $45 compared to Sonic Electronics as shipping dates will end up being about a day difference because of when the GMOS-05 adapter will ship from Amazon. If I buy from SE, I can get everything on like March 2/3 but the adapter from Amazon still won't be here until March 4/5 so I may as well save some cash and wait an extra day or two...

Well, parts are ordered. Actually, Newegg had the stereo on sale for $200 and Best Buy ended up matching them. So, stereo is in hand, and the adapters will be here next week at some point... So, once the install is done, I will try to report back with results haha. I have looked at replacing the factory speakers a little bit and may go ahead and take that plunge... Looks like I have a couple days to decide...

Thanks for all the help!

The doors and rear deck speakers are pretty easy to replace and well worth it in my opinio , just make sure you get components for the front. Also id suggest if you think you'll amp the doors in the future just buy a second set of RCA's and run them at the same time. And when you run the RCA's and power run them seperate, power on the passenger side and rca's on the driver to avoid alternator interference.

_________________

-Austin-
1988 LE, Intercooled L67 loading......

2000 SSEi R.I.P. Dead now :( INTENSE FWI, polished LIM, P&P supercharger, custom radiator, standalone trans cooler, trans-go shift kit (donating to the 88)

2002 2500HD Silverado with the 8.1 Vortec and Alison tranny. Likes to eat GT Mustangs and lots of tires, and all while stock!

I had signal cables on the passenger side and had a slight whine, very annoying. Only really noticeable without music, but it was there. Now the passenger signal wires and RCAs are running in the middle of the car under the center console. No more noise!

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Yeah, I started thinking about it last night and will probably just buy two amp kits to run both sets of RCAs and then I will have the extra pieces for later if I decide to run an amp for the door speakers. I will definitely be grabbing components though as they are not nearly as expensive as I thought and I'd like ALL factory speakers to be replaced.

I think I always ran the RCAs and signal wire together down one side of a car and then the power wire down the opposite side of the car. Or, I may have ran the RCAs with the power wire. I can't remember what I did on my Honda as it has been a number of years... Does it matter which side I run the wires as long as they are separated?

There is a main power bus thing that runs on the passenger side of the car, you need to run the RCAs either under the driver side sills, or under the center console and to the back.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Cool. Will do.

No offense carl but were your rca's like cheap ones from a kit? I get all my stuff from a local audio shop and my rca's are like triple shielded and twisted wires so i could probably run them around the power wire and be fine lol.

_________________

-Austin-
1988 LE, Intercooled L67 loading......

2000 SSEi R.I.P. Dead now :( INTENSE FWI, polished LIM, P&P supercharger, custom radiator, standalone trans cooler, trans-go shift kit (donating to the 88)

2002 2500HD Silverado with the 8.1 Vortec and Alison tranny. Likes to eat GT Mustangs and lots of tires, and all while stock!