Leaving Stock Stereo In With Aftermarket Stereo

[djnewm]

I'm just looking for some concrete proof of this idea. Also, my friend thinks I'm full of crap by saying I'm right. He received this letter from GM stating that some Late Model GM Vehicles need to have the stock stereo integrated somewhere in the car when it is taken out and replaced with an aftermarket stereo. I guess GM thought it would be a great idea to have the stereo control some of the functions of the car, hence when it is removed, those features stop working.So am I nuts for worrying about this or not. The reason this issure came up is because I told him I wanted to bypass the M&T Amp. And he is afraid of what will happen so he won't touch the install. I just placed in order for the Metra 70-2056 and will be waiting eagerly for it. Will let you all know how it turns out.

[joatmon]

auton00b is right, some GM cars may be like that, but the Vibe is not. Enough people have completely replaced their audio system in their Vibes that there is plenty of empirical evidence that it doesn't need to stay in there. Bypassing the amp would also have no effect, since it is an optional component and there are plenty of Vibes (all the ones with no sunroof) that do not have the factory amp installed.So go for it!

[Jahntassa]

First, your friend is a *****. You can tell him I said that. If you're getting the 70-2056, the install goes about 30 times as fast. On MOST later model GM vehicles, you would need to do one of two things, get a Metra 70-2003T, or a device called a GMRC-01. Basically, on the later radios (known as the RDS Class II radios), they do integrate several functions through the radio. This may or may not include:1) Door chime2) Dome light controls3) Power seat controls4) Etc.So, Metra first came up with the 70-2003T. This would allow you to relocate the factory radio, while still keeping the car's functionality 100%. However, the factory wiring in these vehicles don't have 12v switched power, so you had to go down to the ignition harness and get switched power from there.Then came the GMRC-01. This is an actual Databus interface that recreates the doorchime and switched power all in itself. Costs about $60. This is ONLY for those vehicles with the ClassII radio. (Which, is not the Vibe) The newer GM vehicles all use the same harness (70-2003), but not all of them have the switched power. Most of them don't.So in pretty much any newer GM (Aveo, 00+ Cavalier, 01+ Grand Am, 01+ GM Truck, 01+ Malibu, Impala, etc), you would either need to relocate the radio, or get the interface module. You don't -need- to, but you'd lose your doorchime, possibly your domelights and power seat memory.Now, the issue comes is the fact that you have M&T. If you're putting in an aftermarket radio and bypassing the factory amplifier, you really NEED to replace the speakers in the front doors. Actually..you NEED to replace ALL the speakers.Reason being:The M&T speakers run at 2 Ohms. Aftermarket radios are not designed to run at 2 Ohms, they need 4 Ohms. So...your aftermarket stereo stands a good chance of simply not working after a short amount of time.2.The front door speakers are directly wired to the M&T amp, which has crossovers built into it. This allows the speakers to only get the frequencies they can handle. Your aftermarket radio can't do this, so you'd either need to buy external crossovers, or replace the front speakers. (Nevermind the 2 Ohm / 4 Ohm thing)So... you're fine with just a standard install. Now, you WILL still need a harness called the 70-2003 in order to connect the radio to power. The 70-2056 only helps you with the speakers. And, like I said, you'll really need to replace those.Also, don't forget to get the antenna adapter 40-GM10, otherwise you won't be able to plug the antenna into the new radio. Any questions? Let me know.Edit: It edited out my namecalling, so call him a wuss.

[djnewm]

Thank YouOh yeah, already replaced the door speakers, just not the tweets. Thanx for the info.

[damronjr]

I got the same story when I went to get a new hU for the first time. They told me that it would mess up a bunch of other stuff and that I had to leave it hooked up but move it somehwere else. I even went to the dealer and they gave me the same crap. They said, "why would you want to replace it anyways, it's a great stereo as it is." Later I started seeing a crapload of other Vibes with aftermarket stereos and thought "what the hell, they can do it, why can't I?" I think the first time I took it in they looked at the RCL button they thought it was the RDS. Oh well, ended up getting it replaced.

[remusrm]

i was told the same thing by best buy and circuit city...