Zune in car? TWO how to's and some professional tips....

GarciaM25 · 12-30-2007, 12:15 PM

so you love your Zune and want to put it in your car, but these "car kits" are overpriced and expensive pieces of crap that turn your extraordinary sound quality to AM radio....

have no fear, i'll show you two ways to put Zune in your car the way i've done for my vehicles! with 10 years experience in customizing cars and the help from a friend with as many years in high-end car stereo, i've got just the solutions for you on a budget AND wanting the same high quality sound you're used to with the Zune players! the only downside is that neither one of my solutions allow to connect the Zune to a factory headunit (car stereo / radio) unless you have a "Auxiliary IN" plug to run the RCAs to 3.5mm headphone jack....

Plan A - Home A/V Kit

For my heavily modified 2003 MINI Cooper S, i wanted a dockable way to mount the Zune, charge it and play it through the speakers with some quality to it as well.... is that too much to ask? not if you know what you're doing with car stereo! simply get a hold of the Home A/V kit, i just bought a 2nd one to be used for my home from Buy.com for $33 shipped - a hell of a drop from $75 or even $99 for low-quality "car kits!" find a good place to put the docking base, and nail it down good with velcro tape or something similar; i suggest the glove box or armrest consoles, but other places that will work are cupholders if you're handy enough to mount it there or with a little bit of work, building an entire center console with an "8 track style" slot to shove the Zune into like i did:

Click here to see the Zune in-dash dock

Click here to view more pics of the MINI

Connect the RCA cables to the input of your radio - just the L and R for radios without a screen or all three for radios with a screen, and select the input! power it by using an inverter, plug in the power, and off you go - a complete dockable way to play the Zune in your car, have a remote control for it, and charge it all while listening to high quality sound! for a stereo shop to do this for you, they'll probably charge around $250-600 for installation alone, depending on the method of mounting the dock.... for designing what i built, i wouldn't charge anything less than $800, so don't expect a miracle unless you know someone in the industry!

Plan B - Scosche bluelife Bluetooth Car Kit

I thought long and hard about what to do for my daily driver and how to connect my Zune to the factory radio - since my 2004 Acura RSX Type-S doesn't have an Aux IN, i bought a new radio on eBay with that capability, and went from there.... now without making another docking station, what could i use? on eBay again, i found the Scosche bluelife car kit, a $250 kit, shipped for less than $23, brand new in box.... while you might not get so lucky (only one left on eBay at time of writing), you can find them for $40-60 on the intrawebz somewhere!

simply install the bluelife the way it says to in the instructions - plug it in to the cigarette lighter, tuck in the Bluetooth receiver, find a place on the dash to mount the transmitter, mount the microphone for the Bluetooth cell phone kit, and connect the unit to your aux in for the radio.... i was SHOCKED about how well this unit works, a bit of fine tuning on the receiver is necessary to get the right volume level, but once you've got it, you're golden - now i have hands-free cell phone AND a completely wireless Zune to connect through Bluetooth to my car for the passenger to remove from the dash and play with if they want to!

optionally, i mounted a hidden cigarette lighter plug behind my glovebox, put on a two-port cigarette plug, and connected a two-port USB charger so i can charge the Zune and my cell phone via USB AND power the Scosche bluelife system.... don't be scared that the bluelife is designed for the iPod - it connects via the 3.5mm headphone jack (and thus can play ANY player), so just tuck in the iPod charging plug so it can't be seen.... for a stereo shop to do this for you, they'll probably charge around $200-250 for installation alone, which is a good bit cheaper than Plan A above and gives you more functionality with the system

EDIT - here's a picture of the charging plug you can buy on eBay for less than $7 shipped, but this, connect Zune USB plug to it, and charge up your Zune since the bluelife kit doesn't come with a Zune charger! just search "USB Car Charger Adaptor Microsoft Zune" on eBay, and try to get one with dual plugs like this - i used this on BOTH applications above

if you have any questions, shoot them on here and i'll try to help out as best as i can! pics of Plan B with the bluelife kit coming soon!

RZ7X · 12-30-2007, 01:20 PM

if my car doesn't come with the headphone jack how much would it cost to build one in..if possible?

GarciaM25 · 12-30-2007, 05:37 PM

most likely there won't be an option to do that - some cars have the optional plugin jack from the back of their radios, but the rest of them have no way of doing such a thing.... my Acura, for example, had NO possible way of doing any type of AUX IN, so i just bought a new radio, it cost $130 shipped and came with HD Radio built in! give it a thought because 50W x 4 channels sounds WAY better than whatever factory radio you've got, no question about it....

saab900 · 12-30-2007, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RZ7X

if my car doesn't come with the headphone jack how much would it cost to build one in..if possible?

Your best bet there would be to get another stereo. Wow GarciaM25, thats a nice Mini, and that is a great article. Thanks!

Diazari · 12-30-2007, 08:09 PM

This kit? http://cgi.ebay.com/Scosche-IUBCKH-U...QQcmdZViewItem

GarciaM25 · 12-31-2007, 07:13 AM

@saab900 - thank you! its not for everyone, but hey, why be like everyone else?

@Diazari - that's the one alright, its not listed as the "bluelife," but that's even better because then its harder to find in the searches, meaning only people who KNOW what they're looking for find it.... i can't tell you how many deals i've found on eBay because people are too dumb to put the correct listings in the subject lines and grabbed stuff for 10% or less of the retail pricing!!!

ACE · 12-31-2007, 10:07 AM

dude!! This is sick! I wanna put this up on the front page!!!

RZ7X · 12-31-2007, 10:20 AM

thanks guys

BrianLikesZune · 12-31-2007, 01:02 PM

I should show you guys my carkit. got a graphic equalizer hooked up on the dash , while zune sits atop it. its pretty badass. I'll hook you guys up with pics if you want. (or vid).

oh, and + rep this guy.

foxman · 01-01-2008, 06:53 AM

Now thats a sweet setup. Sort of blowes away my nasty dirty 03 silverado with factory head unit.

I do have my zune wired into the unit FWIW but I had aux. inputs.

Love it.

GarciaM25 · 01-01-2008, 03:58 PM

@ACE and foxman - lol, two years worth of work will do that i suppose! we've built way nicer rides over the years, but i just wanted something simple and kinda factory looking.... thanks for the comments

@BrianLikesZune - bring the pics!!! many people won't get the idea unless they see it, which is where most of my ideas come from, seeing other people's setups and figuring out ways to change or improve on them.... show us what you got!

DeadlyAgent · 01-01-2008, 04:17 PM

Thanks dude this is really helpful I have to try this out!

skalogre · 01-01-2008, 04:23 PM

I have been running a first gen dock for my Zune 80 in my car for a little while now, works fine. Charges and plays.
http://www.zuneboards.com/forums/zun...-good-use.html

BrianLikesZune · 01-01-2008, 05:56 PM

YouTube - Zune Car Hookup

Just a short clip. all the pics sucked.

It was nighttime. So yeah.

song is
This will destroy you- the world is our ___

I used

1.

+

2.

Obtain
1.http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2599
($5.16)

2.http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5248
($8.68)

jaybee · 01-01-2008, 06:45 PM

My 2001 RAV4 has a cassette deck so I just run it thru there...I know its not the uber-mods that you guys are doing especially Gracia, but I don't have any imagination...

Gracia that's an awesome mod...

BrianLikesZune · 01-01-2008, 06:50 PM

YouTube - Zune Car Integration

Also really cool.

GarciaM25 · 01-02-2008, 11:10 AM

man i really need to take some video don't i? i'll start working on it when it isn't freezing cold in FLORIDA, what's that all about?

Diazari · 01-02-2008, 12:33 PM

So what all does bluelife do?

Could you just buy something like the belkin radio transmitter and then plug the stereo cord into your radio? (Is there anything like the belkin radio ac adapter for the zune 80?)

As well, anyone know what a good radio is to buy which comes with the input option?

I think I'm leaning more toward the bluelife especially since it is so cheap on ebay, but I need a new radio with the auxilary input first. Can you still charge the zune with bluelife if needed?

BrianLikesZune · 01-02-2008, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GarciaM25

man i really need to take some video don't i?

heck yeah you do!

12-30-2007, 12:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
GarciaM25 Jr. Zuner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 36 Reputation: 25 $zB: 2 Donate	Zune in car? TWO how to's and some professional tips.... so you love your Zune and want to put it in your car, but these "car kits" are overpriced and expensive pieces of crap that turn your extraordinary sound quality to AM radio.... have no fear, i'll show you two ways to put Zune in your car the way i've done for my vehicles! with 10 years experience in customizing cars and the help from a friend with as many years in high-end car stereo, i've got just the solutions for you on a budget AND wanting the same high quality sound you're used to with the Zune players! the only downside is that neither one of my solutions allow to connect the Zune to a factory headunit (car stereo / radio) unless you have a "Auxiliary IN" plug to run the RCAs to 3.5mm headphone jack.... Plan A - Home A/V Kit For my heavily modified 2003 MINI Cooper S, i wanted a dockable way to mount the Zune, charge it and play it through the speakers with some quality to it as well.... is that too much to ask? not if you know what you're doing with car stereo! simply get a hold of the Home A/V kit, i just bought a 2nd one to be used for my home from Buy.com for $33 shipped - a hell of a drop from $75 or even $99 for low-quality "car kits!" find a good place to put the docking base, and nail it down good with velcro tape or something similar; i suggest the glove box or armrest consoles, but other places that will work are cupholders if you're handy enough to mount it there or with a little bit of work, building an entire center console with an "8 track style" slot to shove the Zune into like i did: Click here to see the Zune in-dash dock Click here to view more pics of the MINI Connect the RCA cables to the input of your radio - just the L and R for radios without a screen or all three for radios with a screen, and select the input! power it by using an inverter, plug in the power, and off you go - a complete dockable way to play the Zune in your car, have a remote control for it, and charge it all while listening to high quality sound! for a stereo shop to do this for you, they'll probably charge around $250-600 for installation alone, depending on the method of mounting the dock.... for designing what i built, i wouldn't charge anything less than $800, so don't expect a miracle unless you know someone in the industry! Plan B - Scosche bluelife Bluetooth Car Kit I thought long and hard about what to do for my daily driver and how to connect my Zune to the factory radio - since my 2004 Acura RSX Type-S doesn't have an Aux IN, i bought a new radio on eBay with that capability, and went from there.... now without making another docking station, what could i use? on eBay again, i found the Scosche bluelife car kit, a $250 kit, shipped for less than $23, brand new in box.... while you might not get so lucky (only one left on eBay at time of writing), you can find them for $40-60 on the intrawebz somewhere! simply install the bluelife the way it says to in the instructions - plug it in to the cigarette lighter, tuck in the Bluetooth receiver, find a place on the dash to mount the transmitter, mount the microphone for the Bluetooth cell phone kit, and connect the unit to your aux in for the radio.... i was SHOCKED about how well this unit works, a bit of fine tuning on the receiver is necessary to get the right volume level, but once you've got it, you're golden - now i have hands-free cell phone AND a completely wireless Zune to connect through Bluetooth to my car for the passenger to remove from the dash and play with if they want to! optionally, i mounted a hidden cigarette lighter plug behind my glovebox, put on a two-port cigarette plug, and connected a two-port USB charger so i can charge the Zune and my cell phone via USB AND power the Scosche bluelife system.... don't be scared that the bluelife is designed for the iPod - it connects via the 3.5mm headphone jack (and thus can play ANY player), so just tuck in the iPod charging plug so it can't be seen.... for a stereo shop to do this for you, they'll probably charge around $200-250 for installation alone, which is a good bit cheaper than Plan A above and gives you more functionality with the system EDIT - here's a picture of the charging plug you can buy on eBay for less than $7 shipped, but this, connect Zune USB plug to it, and charge up your Zune since the bluelife kit doesn't come with a Zune charger! just search "USB Car Charger Adaptor Microsoft Zune" on eBay, and try to get one with dual plugs like this - i used this on BOTH applications above if you have any questions, shoot them on here and i'll try to help out as best as i can! pics of Plan B with the bluelife kit coming soon! __________________ GarciaM25 second gen80GB Zune first gen80GB Zune To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. if you're going to call me a fanboy, at least know the facts: PS3 > XBOX360 > Wii Micro$oft > Apple, thus, Zune > all iPods Blu-Ray > HD-DVD Beretta > everything else Clemson University > your school Last edited by GarciaM25 : 01-02-2008 at 06:52 PM.

12-30-2007, 05:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
GarciaM25 Jr. Zuner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 36 Reputation: 25 $zB: 2 Donate	most likely there won't be an option to do that - some cars have the optional plugin jack from the back of their radios, but the rest of them have no way of doing such a thing.... my Acura, for example, had NO possible way of doing any type of AUX IN, so i just bought a new radio, it cost $130 shipped and came with HD Radio built in! give it a thought because 50W x 4 channels sounds WAY better than whatever factory radio you've got, no question about it.... __________________ GarciaM25 second gen80GB Zune first gen80GB Zune To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. if you're going to call me a fanboy, at least know the facts: PS3 > XBOX360 > Wii Micro$oft > Apple, thus, Zune > all iPods Blu-Ray > HD-DVD Beretta > everything else Clemson University > your school

12-31-2007, 07:13 AM	#6 (permalink)
GarciaM25 Jr. Zuner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 36 Reputation: 25 $zB: 2 Donate	@saab900 - thank you! its not for everyone, but hey, why be like everyone else? @Diazari - that's the one alright, its not listed as the "bluelife," but that's even better because then its harder to find in the searches, meaning only people who KNOW what they're looking for find it.... i can't tell you how many deals i've found on eBay because people are too dumb to put the correct listings in the subject lines and grabbed stuff for 10% or less of the retail pricing!!! __________________ GarciaM25 second gen80GB Zune first gen80GB Zune To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. if you're going to call me a fanboy, at least know the facts: PS3 > XBOX360 > Wii Micro$oft > Apple, thus, Zune > all iPods Blu-Ray > HD-DVD Beretta > everything else Clemson University > your school

12-31-2007, 10:07 AM	#7 (permalink)
ACE iPoods suck! zB Writer Section Staff Super Zuner Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Fresno, CA USA Posts: 1,843 Reputation: 140 $zB: 133 Donate	dude!! This is sick! I wanna put this up on the front page!!! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. I'm an To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. ...Do you know what the original ZuneMarketplace looked like?

12-31-2007, 01:02 PM	#9 (permalink)
BrianLikesZune Zune Fuhrer GFX Crew Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 511 Reputation: 49 $zB: 48 Donate	I should show you guys my carkit. got a graphic equalizer hooked up on the dash , while zune sits atop it. its pretty badass. I'll hook you guys up with pics if you want. (or vid). oh, and + rep this guy. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by ACE : 12-31-2007 at 09:50 PM.

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12-30-2007, 01:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
RZ7X Zuner Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Giants Stadium Posts: 65 Reputation: 12 $zB: 0 Donate	if my car doesn't come with the headphone jack how much would it cost to build one in..if possible?

12-30-2007, 08:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
Diazari Experienced Zuner Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 240 Reputation: 15 $zB: 7 Donate	This kit? http://cgi.ebay.com/Scosche-IUBCKH-U...QQcmdZViewItem

12-31-2007, 10:20 AM	#8 (permalink)
RZ7X Zuner Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Giants Stadium Posts: 65 Reputation: 12 $zB: 0 Donate	thanks guys

01-01-2008, 06:53 AM	#10 (permalink)
foxman Jr. Zuner Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 42 Reputation: 10 $zB: 0 Donate	Now thats a sweet setup. Sort of blowes away my nasty dirty 03 silverado with factory head unit. I do have my zune wired into the unit FWIW but I had aux. inputs. Love it. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-01-2008, 03:58 PM	#11 (permalink)
GarciaM25 Jr. Zuner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 36 Reputation: 25 $zB: 2 Donate	@ACE and foxman - lol, two years worth of work will do that i suppose! we've built way nicer rides over the years, but i just wanted something simple and kinda factory looking.... thanks for the comments @BrianLikesZune - bring the pics!!! many people won't get the idea unless they see it, which is where most of my ideas come from, seeing other people's setups and figuring out ways to change or improve on them.... show us what you got! __________________ GarciaM25 second gen80GB Zune first gen80GB Zune To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. if you're going to call me a fanboy, at least know the facts: PS3 > XBOX360 > Wii Micro$oft > Apple, thus, Zune > all iPods Blu-Ray > HD-DVD Beretta > everything else Clemson University > your school

01-01-2008, 04:17 PM	#12 (permalink)
DeadlyAgent Jr. Zuner Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 39 Reputation: 12 $zB: 0 Donate	Thanks dude this is really helpful I have to try this out! __________________ My Zune Card To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-01-2008, 04:23 PM	#13 (permalink)
skalogre Squirt Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 11 Reputation: 10 $zB: 0 Donate	I have been running a first gen dock for my Zune 80 in my car for a little while now, works fine. Charges and plays. http://www.zuneboards.com/forums/zun...-good-use.html

01-01-2008, 06:45 PM	#15 (permalink)
jaybee Experienced Zuner Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: In my own world... Posts: 188 Reputation: 17 $zB: 35 Donate	My 2001 RAV4 has a cassette deck so I just run it thru there...I know its not the uber-mods that you guys are doing especially Gracia, but I don't have any imagination... Gracia that's an awesome mod... __________________ I zune therefore I am... To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

01-02-2008, 11:10 AM	#17 (permalink)
GarciaM25 Jr. Zuner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 36 Reputation: 25 $zB: 2 Donate	man i really need to take some video don't i? i'll start working on it when it isn't freezing cold in FLORIDA, what's that all about? __________________ GarciaM25 second gen80GB Zune first gen80GB Zune To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. if you're going to call me a fanboy, at least know the facts: PS3 > XBOX360 > Wii Micro$oft > Apple, thus, Zune > all iPods Blu-Ray > HD-DVD Beretta > everything else Clemson University > your school

01-02-2008, 12:33 PM	#18 (permalink)
Diazari Experienced Zuner Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 240 Reputation: 15 $zB: 7 Donate	So what all does bluelife do? Could you just buy something like the belkin radio transmitter and then plug the stereo cord into your radio? (Is there anything like the belkin radio ac adapter for the zune 80?) As well, anyone know what a good radio is to buy which comes with the input option? I think I'm leaning more toward the bluelife especially since it is so cheap on ebay, but I need a new radio with the auxilary input first. Can you still charge the zune with bluelife if needed? Last edited by Diazari : 01-02-2008 at 12:57 PM.

01-02-2008, 06:35 PM	#20 (permalink)
FlatTopFoley Squirt Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Maryland Posts: 22 Reputation: 10

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