subject: How You Can Help Your New Car Head Unit Fit In [print this page] Aftermarket car stereos are built to a standard. While this means they will fit almost any type of car, it also means they're not designed to match the style of any discrete brand. Fascia adaptors are plastic, clip-on frames which blend your new head unit into the existing design of your car.
Buying a new car stereo can be an integral part of upgrading your car. Whether you want top sound quality, if you want to be able to listen to digital radio on the go, get better reception or an integrated SatNav, it can be an exciting purchase. Some people, however, are in for a nasty surprise once they've fitted the new stereo; it doesnt look right. To fit your new stereo youve had to take off the fascia that surrounded the old one, and now it wont fit back on again. A fascia adaptor can help. Theyre available in both single and double DIN sizes and will help blend your new car stereo into your old car dashboard.
DIN stands for Deutsche Industrie Norm and is, as as those of you who speak a little German will have guessed, the standard measurement for all aftermarket car stereos sold in the UK. A DIN is 2 1/8 inches tall and 7 /18 inches wide - the depth is dependent on the design. A double DIN stereo is twice the size and is generally the dimension used by the more showy car stereos boasting LCD screens, SatNavs, DVD screens and the like.
If your car stereo socket is a standard DIN, then, yay, happy days, enjoy your new head unit. If, however, it isnt - as is the case with most retail cars - then you will need a DIN adaptor kit/double DIN kit. These arent complicated; they fill in the empty socket left by the removal of your original car stereo, leaving a socket into which your new DIN or double DIN aftermarket stereo can be fitted. It's incredibly simple, handy and versatile.
But now there is a new problem; your stereo doesn't fit in with your rest of your car. It's obvious that you've pulled off part of the dashboard and just stuck a new stereo in. You might have better sound, but you've cheapened the appearance of your car.
Well, of course not. Your new car stereo was designed to work with any car into which it might be put. While that gives the head unit itself a wide range of adaptability it also inevitably means it isnt going to be uniquely suited to any one car design. This is where fascia adaptors come in. A fascia adaptor is a plastic frame designed to fit around the outside of the new head unit, blending it into the design of the dashboard. The genius of the piece is its simplicity. It doesnt obscure the display or controls of the stereo, but it does make it look smart. DIN and double DIN fitting kits allow you to fit an aftermarket car stereo without radically altering the appearance of your cars dashboard. Fascia adaptors are available for a wide range of major car brands, including Seat, Nissan, Smart, Jaguar and Vauxhall.
Please do note, however; some fascia adaptors will require you to buy the appropriate cage to hold your stereo and fascia in place. If this is the case, ensure that your fascia adaptor comes with the cage, as it could otherwise prove a headache to find a matching one. Quality suppliers of car stereo paraphernalia should offer this combination as standard where it is appropriate.
If you want the best quality stereo for your car, but dont want to sacrifice style and elegance, then you need a fascia adaptor. Like all great ideas, it is simple but effective. You dont need any technical expertise to fit the adaptors, its a quick process and any small instructions you might need should be easily available online.
