Ford radios

[ryanshelton]

Seeing as everyone on here is so friendly on here thought maybe somebody may know the answer to my question :smile:

As you may know the last car we had has gone to the scrap yard. Brought a 2002 ford focus lx yesterday but the stereo in it is awful. Stands out and is generally naff.
swmbo wants to replace it with the factory fitted type, except of course she wants to connect her ipod to it. I know the majority of ford stereos fit into the majority of ford cars but what im not sure about is how to connect a ipod to it? Oh and she also wants to be able to change tracks from the head unit so a simple aux in wont wont.

As usual does she want the impossible?
Thanks all

 

[stu]

having recently had a fancy brand new Focus (Zetec S, gadgets galore, DAB and so on), certainly the one I had not only Bluetooth, but also USB/Ipod control.

On the other hand, Ford stereos are notoriously expensive (They always have been).

So you're probably better off with something different.

A quick Google tells me that Car Audio Direct (I've used them years ago and they were great then) do an Alpine head unit from £80

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/head-un ... d-control/

 

[ryanshelton]

having recently had a fancy brand new Focus (Zetec S, gadgets galore, DAB and so on), certainly the one I had not only Bluetooth, but also USB/Ipod control.

On the other hand, Ford stereos are notoriously expensive (They always have been).

So you're probably better off with something different.

A quick Google tells me that Car Audio Direct (I've used them years ago and they were great then) do an Alpine head unit from £80

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/head-un ... d-control/

She wants to keep the original look of the car hence the original radio( I think its to do with the fact they never quite fit properly and you need to fill in the space below)

I have to admit ive got a 2011 focus sport and thats got sat nav bluetooth ipod etc etc and I couldnt be without it!

 

[stu]

I think that's the problem. You won't be able to fit a 2011-> system in a 2002 car.
There might be a 2002 premium upgrade floating about, but I doubt it will have the functionality you want. Not to mention it would probably cost more than the car is worth.

 

[ScottM]

The only way to do it and have control is to upgrade the stereo. Can't be done on the fly without some way of controlling the ipod separate from the headunit as only the newer fords have the capability. All of the headunits will most likely plug in and function fine, but the fascia's will be very different.

If she is OK with controling via the ipod then something like a griffin itrip would probably suffice (wireless FM transmitter).

 

[andybrew]

or you could buy one with a usb portnd use a memory stick, much easier to carry round and you'll get all the functions you want

 

[ScottM]

or you could buy one with a usb portnd use a memory stick, much easier to carry round and you'll get all the functions you want

He wants a stock Ford radio bud.

 

[alawlor66430]

You get a wee radio transmitter thingy that runs on batteries and plugs into the earphone jack on your I pod, you set a frequency on it that's free from radio stations in your area then simply tune you bog standard radio into that frequency and you get the I pod coming through your radio, my dad gave me one for my ex's car and it worked braw

 

[ryanshelton]

Mmm fm transmitter is out the question weve never had one that actually works properly.
Ive managed to persuade her she doesnt need a factory fitted one if we can find a nice aftermarket one.
Would prefer one that fills all the gap so no blanking plate required but as fords are not a single din or not quite a double its tricky!

 

[ScottM]

Mmm fm transmitter is out the question weve never had one that actually works properly.
Ive managed to persuade her she doesnt need a factory fitted one if we can find a nice aftermarket one.
Would prefer one that fills all the gap so no blanking plate required but as fords are not a single din or not quite a double its tricky!

The griffin i-trip is fantastic. Not 100% sure but I believe they were taken off the market at one point, as they were too good, due to breaking the 10m broadcasting rule (or something like that).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focus-98 ... 2ec67f2fae

This makes it a double din which would burst your options wide open with regards to a good stereo.

The single din options aren't as good looking

 

[ryanshelton]

Mmm fm transmitter is out the question weve never had one that actually works properly.
Ive managed to persuade her she doesnt need a factory fitted one if we can find a nice aftermarket one.
Would prefer one that fills all the gap so no blanking plate required but as fords are not a single din or not quite a double its tricky!

The griffin i-trip is fantastic. Not 100% sure but I believe they were taken off the market at one point, as they were too good, due to breaking the 10m broadcasting rule (or something like that).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focus-98 ... 2ec67f2fae

This makes it a double din which would burst your options wide open with regards to a good stereo.

The single din options aren't as good looking

i was looking for the conversion kits because i knew it could be done but couldnt see how. Now it does open up a few more possibilities.
although, with a good double din at around £100-£150 and £50 for the fascia adaptor i could just put one of these in
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230939185797? ... 1423.l2649

:hmm: :hmm:

 

[ScottM]

Mmm fm transmitter is out the question weve never had one that actually works properly.
Ive managed to persuade her she doesnt need a factory fitted one if we can find a nice aftermarket one.
Would prefer one that fills all the gap so no blanking plate required but as fords are not a single din or not quite a double its tricky!

The griffin i-trip is fantastic. Not 100% sure but I believe they were taken off the market at one point, as they were too good, due to breaking the 10m broadcasting rule (or something like that).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focus-98 ... 2ec67f2fae

This makes it a double din which would burst your options wide open with regards to a good stereo.

The single din options aren't as good looking

i was looking for the conversion kits because i knew it could be done but couldnt see how. Now it does open up a few more possibilities.
although, with a good double din at around £100-£150 and £50 for the fascia adaptor i could just put one of these in
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230939185797? ... 1423.l2649

:hmm: :hmm:

You could, the extra money goes to the extra bit of class though

You will get the same, or similar, features on the single din. But you could get a screen on the double if you fancied that. Or nice, big, easy to operate physical buttons like on the stock stereo. You can also get a more stock looking double din than a single.

I've always had single dins as my previous cars would only take those. Now that I can put a double din in I wouldn't dream of a single.

 

[ryanshelton]

double din seems to be the way to go swmbo likes the idea of a screen, although ive told her she cant watch hollyoaks on it while driving :rofl:

now just need to find a decent double din radio. All this just to keep her sweet while ill order my BIAB kit :

 

[joe1002]

All this just to keep her sweet while ill order my BIAB kit

The things we have to do ay :lol: :lol: