Hi there

I'm finally narrowing my search for a car down. I find the Fiat Punto is a really nice, compact car.

However, it has got a built-in navigation system, which is integrated with the factory headset. So, I'm not sure how an installation would be possible.
Would I have to tear out the navi system together with the headset to be able to install the empeg?
This isnt necessarily a problem, cause I actually might want to upgrade the whole system anyway. But it would be cool to keep the navi...

I've been looking the web for a couple of weeks now, but could not find anything related to the Fiat Punto. I would be really glad, if someone could post his/her experiences.

Marc

If the factory system has an "aux in", you just plug the player straight in.

If the factory system has a CD changer input, you might be able to find an aftermarket adapter that will let you plug a line-level device in (although this is iffy).

At worst, you can use an FM modulator and use the factory's radio receiver to receive the empeg as if it were a radio station.

All of the above assumes you have enough room in the dash for the empeg along with your factory system. If you don't have room to mount both units, then you need to get rid of the factory system or find another alternative.

More details here.

Thanks for your reply.

I dont know if the the system has an aux in or not. Actually it does not matter much, because as far as I know there is not enough room for another unit in the dash, plus I'd rather go the opposite way of running the existing headunit through the empeg.

As I understood it, it is somewhat complicated. The navi-system uses a CD stored in a 5 CD changer. The changer itself is not located in the trunk, but in the dash, too, taking up a DIN-slot. So with a little magic of an experienced installer it might be possible to relocate the CD change to another place.
I could then install the empeg in this spot, but then there might be not enough room to pull the empeg out.

I hope the above makes some sense!? I sometime have problems expressing my thoughts in english, so it ends up more as a stream of consciousness.

Yeah, moving the CD changer somewhere else does sound like it might work and allow you to keep the navigation system. Does the navigation display pop out of another din unit or is it somwhere else conmpleetly? From the looks of the pictures i'm finding, it's a pretty tiny car, so I'm not sure where everything would fit... The only other problem I can see is that you don't know what interface the CD changer uses... If it's something computer derived like an IDE interface, you can't extend that cable to far...

Matthew

The changer itself is not located in the trunk, but in the dash, too, taking up a DIN-slot. So with a little magic of an experienced installer it might be possible to relocate the CD change to another place.

Cool! That could work well if done carefully. Perhaps move the changer from the DIN slot to the glove box.

If you wanted, you might even be able to get the empeg's outputs to be switched in with the CD changer's outputs, so that you could skip installation of an amplifer and just use the existing stereo. Some kind of an A/B switch to select between the changer's audio and the empeg's audio. Of course, you'll end up leaving the switch in "empeg" mode most of the time...

My girlfriend has a 2002 Punto and only has one DIN slot. She got the standard stereo and then I gave her my MiniDisc headunit when I got my first Empeg. The sound staging in the front is fairly good with the standard components, it should be fairly easy to upgrade as the car has proper DIN-ISO connectors so no hacking into the loom to get the Empeg in. The only downside is that her car only has speakers in the front.

Could it be that she got a Non-HGT model? As far as I know only the HGT has the navi system.

The DIN slot you are talking about, is it at the very top of the dash? That's where the headunit plus navi is located in the HGT with the cd changer right down the bottom of the dash.
This would be the place for the empeg, if the gear lever doesn't block access to this slot...

Thanks for the tip about the connectors! At least this doesnt seem to be a problem, after all.

Marc

You have been taking in the first rule of car choosing Will an empeg fit?

Yup, it's a base model. Nice car though...

Thank you all for your replies. I will have a look a the real car very soon and report back how it looks like.

I won't buy the car if the empeg can't be fitted in a reasonable way.

Marc

I won't buy the car if the empeg can't be fitted in a reasonable way .

Well that brings everything to the next point, there are many small hatches in Europe with proper Din-sized openings where the Empeg will fit in a more harmonious way than in the Punto... the new VW Polo comes immediately to my mind, also the Peugeot 206... but my first choice would be the Polo , indeed. Of course, dinamically they are beached whales compared to a 206 GTi or your Punto, but build quality and sound isolation are far better. But then again it's your decision, good luck.

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I won't buy the car if the empeg can't be fitted in a reasonable way.

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That's my boy!