stereo fitting problem
 

hi, i have just tried to fit my stereo into my 2001 bug eye impreza but the silver surround is not wide enough to fit over my stereo once the stereo is fitted.
do i have to file down silver plastic trim to get it to fit over my stereo ?
what did everybody else do ?

Is it an aftermarket stereo? If so, what make? And is it going into a DIN socket, or double DIN, or custom?

My Sony came with a surround, which fits the DIN socket perfectly.

its a chinese stereo but it is exactly the same dimensions as any other aftermarket stereo.
the fascia on the standard subaru stereo is smaller than the case so it can fit neatly into the silver dash surround but my fascia on the aftermarket stereo is not smaller in dimensions of the case .
someone must have had this problem before ?

forgot to mention the standard subaru stereo is din and the aftermarket stereo i am fitting is also din.

I didn't bother with mine as it wouldn't fit either. You could try making it fit but they are generally flimsy so will probably break

are u using a cage to mount it or bolting to the brackets behind the dash?

using the cage that the standard subaru stereo is bolted to.

Would a surround from another stereo fit? What about the OE stereo?

the stereo will fit without problem, its the silver plastic surround that incorporates the heater controls that will not fit over the stereo when i try to re-attatch it to the dash.
a stardard stereo fascia is too wide to so through the dash trim, the standard subaru stereo is narrow around the fascia to allow it to go through the dash trim.
i will just have to dremmel the dash trim.

Ah........got you.

Sounds as if your DIN stereo isn't.....DIN, that is.

Take care with the dremel-ing, the plastic the dash bits are made of is ultra-chewy and not easy to "sand" well.

it is din, the width and height of my aftermarket stereo are exactly the same as the standard subaru stereo.
the difference is that the fascia on the subaru standard stereo is smaller in height and width than the rest of the stereo so it can fit through the dash trim.
aftermarket stereo fascias dont have this feature.

well loads of people including myself have replaced the stock stereo with an aftermarket unit no problem so the issue must lie with your replacement unit. :)

Maybe cheap chinese stereos don't have this feature, but the big name brands certainly do.

You sure you don't have a surround around the front of the unit that just clips off?

Most aftermarket stereos have a little 'frame' that clips around the stereo, this is for installations where you have room for it. But in the case of fitting to your car this would need to be removed.

It could be that they have made the face of that particular stereo larger to take up the space where these frames usually go in order to give more area for display/buttons etc.

This is an example of the part I mean

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PIONEER-DEH-P6...item20b3e5d067

nope, there is nothing irregular about the size of the stereo.
my panasonic stereo dont fit either, nor my friends alpine.
the plastic clip on trim was removed on the units that had them before installation.
the only stereos that will fit are ones with quite heavily tapered fascias.

Post a pic up, as mentioned above Ive thrown a few after market units in impreza newages without a problem and you have listed 2 makes Ive fitted(no cheap chinese ones though)

price is not a factor its dimensions.
here is a link to the stereo http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-DVD-MP3-CA...item19c01e0946

forgot to say, i had this stereo fitted to my audi a4 without a problem. sound quality is also excellent, as good as a £500 alpine unit i once had.

I used a stanley knife to cut the surround down to size. if you mask it first and take your time it looks fine.

hope it helps.

do you also have a cheap chinese stereo ?
i thought thats what i was going to have to do, think i have a dremmel in the garage i will give that a go.

mine is a double din unit. but cheap and Chinese all the same, also from ebay.

unit works fine and is a great improvement on the OEm rubbish. But it did take some persuation with the stanley to make it fit..

ok thanks, will start cutting.

Sounds like these 'Chinese' ones maybe don't quite follow the same sizing standards as other brands?

Looking at the pic the left hand side looks ok, but the right with the USB access stuff looks like it could be a little bulky.

Only other suggestion would be does it need to sit further back on the mounts?

End of the day, if it doesn't fit it doesn't fit! Time to get cutting.