hey guys i just recieved my reenlistment bonus for the navy and im decking out my 2010 cobalt SS with all the goodies (love this car). what im looking for is a in-dash navigation with builtin bluetooth, dvd/rear camera, xm radio, and am/fm. the problem im running into finding things is that i want to keep onstar, dont want an additional antenna, and my steering wheel controls.

i know ill need the gm adapter but i also want a drop in that will fit nicely, without cutting at least from the front. working in the back is no problem.

anyone do this successfully?
thanks,
-ducksauce

 

Finding an in-dash with the stuff youre looking for shouldnt be a problem, just be ready to spend some $$$. Youre gonna need to do some cutting though, really simple, i just used a dremel with a cutting wheel and it took maybe like five minutes. the metal tabs behind your stock radio dont allow for much room. And yeah youre definitely gonna need to adapter, im not too familiar about the whole on star situation bc i didnt have to worry about that.

 

As sjc0013 said, be ready for HUGE spendings! Most of navigation headunites are like 1000$. For steering wheel controls, you need a Pac Audio steering wheel interface. You will also need the GM adaptor with Onstar retain. The only problem I see for you is that you do not want an additionnal antenna and you want XM radio... If you want XM radio, you need another antenna. However, you can just remove factory antenna and put yours so you won't have two antennas on your roof and you will get all XM functions. GPS antenna is actually inside the headunit most of the time. AM/FM radio will also need an adapter, but it is like 20 bucks! If you want to put all this money into this project, then there will be no problem to get all you want!

 

Oh yeah I forgot to add this, your gps may have an antenna that you need to use, idk mine did but its an older unit so yours may not. If it does, you dont need to route it outside the car, I routed mine straight up through the dash and it sits right beside the a-pilllar. Gets reception there just fine.

 

not having an additional antenna is key here. you will probably have an external gps antenna like sjc mentioned, making the current xm antenna work is possible sorta but requires some work. also most will have an external bluetooth mic

oh and i would look into kenwood nav units

 

thanks for the inputs guys, my pal was saying i could possibly route the antenna under my trunk lid but it doesnt seem like gps could recieve through metal? has anyone done this before? by the way could u link some headunits that for sure would work ? i have about $2000 available for this

thanks guys

 

There is a spot under the dash that you can mount the gps antenna to, its a metal piece. I get reception fine.

 

Kenwood - DNX6980

Kenwood - DNX9980HD

the best place for the antenna is outside of the vehicle, second best is inside the vehicle with only untinted glass in the way. Most those are the only 2 options because it needs line of sight with a satellite but thats not always the case. XM radio is line of sight thou

 

thanks guys im ordering the Kenwood - DNX9980HD with adapters and i have just two more questions, where can i find a lockpick for this unit to play video while driving? everytime i search i only find lockpicks for oem head units. also what are the cobalt SS's speakers rated for? like if i got an aftermarket amp how much could i safely push into the "premium sound package"? i would like it to last a long time
thanks again u guys rock,
btw got my stage 1 turbo upgrade for my balt the other day installed and i DEFINATELY notice the difference (torque steer!) sw33t

 

i honestly wouldn't. if you going to get an aftermarket amp then id get new speakers and do an amp bypass as well. you can do just new speakers an an amp bypass thou if you were worried about price but the way the stock setup is wired its best to either leave it or replace it all

it depends on how the gps works. try putting the parking brake on a switch and it might work it might not

 

with the kenwood 9980HD, all you do is take the green parking brake wire and tie it to ground and it will bypass the video lock....no switch or relay needed like the pioneers, etc.

 

^^this,