Awesome info, thanks! Wish Alpine made a navi unit like that with all the sound features of my old 9835. The 5-band parametric and time-alignment is kinda nice to have.

 

If I get a chance I will take pics tonight and maybe just put together a FS thread. In the mean time there is a post on these forums going back where a guy has the EVO-R installed with an alpine deck wich is exactly what it looks like. Go to google and put in 'EVO-R dash kit alpine" and it should be the first link that comes up. In fact that's exactly what my setup looked like with the only difference being that I had the IVA-W505 compared to that fella that had the IVA-502 which has blue instead of white illumination much like mpboost.

 

^^ Looks like the Evo-R kit matches the dash much better, but since he had to use that stupid trim ring it doesn't look quite as nice as your setup, imo. Guess the 2 decks must be slightly different, if he needed to use it with that kit, while you didn't?

 

Okay since some people are PM'ing me asking about the difference between kits I will break it down for you since I have used every dash kit on my EVO with the exception of the Metra which is by far the worst kit and shouldn't even be considered.

JDM Kit:
Advantages:
-Perfect fitiment, perfect color and texture match.
-Overall pretty decent looks.
Disadvanatges:
-Very expensive at $240 it's nearly half the cost of a decent double din deck.
-The opening is too recessed (sits too far back) and depending your the deck it will protrude far out of the opening looking unfinished.
-The opening is larger than double Din so you have to ensure that your deck comes with a trim ring or you will have nearly a 1/4" gap around your deck.

EVO-R Kit:
Advantages:
-Very good fitiment.
-The top of the kit meets with the dash nearly perfectly unlike the Scosche or Metra.
-Texture is a perfect match.
-IMO it's the best looking overall design.
Disadvanatges:
-While fitiment is very good asthetically it is a very tight fit and really the width of the kit needs to be reduced by 1/16" as it pushes up against the instrument cluster too tightly.
-Color is a little off compared to the JDM. It's barely noticeable but I'm a stickler so I notice these things.
-The trim ring that comes with it is a smidgen larger than double din size so you may see a 1mm or so gap around your deck depending on manufacturer.
-I paid $140 for mine so they aren't exactly cheap and they aren't readily available.

Scosche Kit:
Advantages:
-It protrudes very far from the dash which makes for a good fit with a deck that protrudes outward like the Alpine INA-W900.
-It's the only dash kit that doesnt require a trim ring as the opening is nearly perfect size.
-Good color match.
-At $35 it's very inexpensive and the most readily available.
Disadvantages:
-It protrudes very far from the dash and on a lot of decks makes them sit too deep and gives off a look that the kit has swallowed the deck.
-The gap. I can't understand how they couldn't make it meet the top of the dash a little closer. It bugs me because you can instantly tell that it's aftermarket. If it didn't have the gap it would be the best kit hands down on price point alone.
-While color is a close match the texture is a little too smooth on the top. Add this with the top gap and again you can tell instantly it's not an OEM piece.
-The fit is not very tight. I have noticed a little rattle when I hit hard bumps that wasn't there before. The kit doesn't snap in as snug as the other kits or the OEM radio.
-The overall design isn't asthetically pleasing. It's not ugly and looks a little better in person than in pictures but it does bulge up too much on the top. It kind of looks like the design that should have finished in a close 2nd place not 1st when Scosch was coming up with a bunch of deisgn for this car.

So as you can see when it comes to dash kits for the 2008+ Lancer owners don't really have a clear cut best dash kit as they all have their flaws which is partially due to the fact that the Lancer dash was not really designed with a typical aftermarket deck in mind so compromises are built into every design. Also personal tastes vary from person to person so do your research and look at pics of each kit before you make your decision as you may disagree with my personal assessment of looks.

 

^^ Thanks a ton, really appreciate the info!

 

nice clean setup... How is the alpine as oppose to a Pioneer?

 

Pros and cons to both. The Alpine boots up faster and has a more user friendly interface and IMO the best iPod interface. Top of the line Pioneers have built-in Bluetooth and more customizational features/bells and whistles.

 

nice setup. I have the same thing minus sirius. I figure i have pandora on the iphone for free, dont need sat or HD radio. My fronts are infinity kappa components and stock rear. the addon power brick does make a difference. clean sound a decent listening volume. im not a basshead either but i like to hear everything. I agree with you as well about the lack of customization. in order to fine tune EQ or time alignment i need the imprint addon. i want to tune more than just treble and bass. well it does let you set the center frequency but eh. i need more control. I cant comment on the dash, as i have a ix. Enjoy your headunit.

 

Can we see how big the gap is on the scosche kit from the top of the dash?

 

That is the Chinese navigation system. Plug and play and custom designed for the Lancer. You'll find it on Ebay and other places for about $500.

 

Looks better than oem!

 

yeah, but how well does it perform? i've heard that while those units look nice installed the screen resolution isn't good and they're buggy units.

 

I have the imprint processor I just haven't had time to install it. I will follow up though.

 

Never know about the differences in the dash kits. Good to know, thanks for the info, heavyD.

 

I just installed an AVICZ110BT in a 2008 GSR for an *************** member. He supplied the JDM dash kit and a Pioneer mounting kit and unfortunately the bezel did not fit so there are big gaps around the deck because of the larger than double din opening of the JDM kit. If you are going to use that kit make sure your deck has a bezel that clips on to the deck without the cage (not the case with pioneers).