Nissan Skyline V36 - Apple CarPlay & Android Auto Integrated
Our 4th Skyline job of this year - We hope to see more of this car on the road as these Skylnes can be a great daily.
This V36 belongs to one of the importers - visited us last week to get the CarPlay & Android Auto fitted before getting delivered to the first owner in Aus.
The CarPlay & Android Auto of ours gets integrated into the native audio via hardware installation, meaning that there will be something plugged and mounted behind / inside the screen & headunit in the vehicle.
Without any change nor removal involved whatsoever, - somewhat like installing HDD / SSD in your PC rig.
Having said that, whatever came with the vehicle will remain untouched... including the unreadable Japanese console and interface.
The CarPlay / Android Auto will rely on the existing audio setup, so It uses the existing hardware, touch display control buttons. (not saying all of them are compatible - only few of them)
Just a reminder & heads up - the display in these Skylines are still a good quality one (back then at least) but the touch function isn't as good as current models. Of course the 07 - 12 era models can't have the HQ capactivie screen like the current Infiniti models.
So the touch swipe / response will not be prompt nor smooth, consider the audio was not designed with a
swipe L & R function, It's something that the user will need to accept.
SOUND INTEGRATION
Just like every other products of ours, our product uses AUX input of the audio, which the actual connection will be made between the headunit and our device, the smartphone does not need to be connected to aux cable at all.
Sync with those steering wheel controls
Those steering wheel controls are generally not compatible with an integration product like ours.
Due to that most of integration parts focuses on bypassing the video / touch input from the audio, not those other control buttons.
With the help of what we call ' SWC Adapter' - It allows our product to use certain buttons on the steering wheel, like track / voice command buttons etc.
In this case, It only allows the track buttons to be synced as the native voice command can't be surpressed, meaning It will trigger the native voice command not the siri nor google assistant.
The camera will continue to work & show up whenever the car is in reverse gear - generally most of these Skylines do have factor fitted cam. But If It doesn't, We can also retrofit one using an aftermarket cam, which most likely have a better quality - again, these cars are generally +10 ~ 15 years old vehicles, the overall quality of techs in these aren't as modern as the current new vehicles in the market.
Here's the video of short demonstration - after the installation is done - to give you some idea how it actually works and handles within the original infotainment setup.
And just before we go - some FAQs:
Q. Does this work with any Skylines ?
A. As long as It has the same audio then yes, but will not work with V35 series as they have a completely different audio setup.
Q. Can you make the screen more HD?
A. Not possible and not worth doing so - the infiniti headunit they've used are not really compatible with local 'Infiniti' nor current 370Z models.
Q. How's the quality of touchscreen?
A. As you may know the touchscreen in these cars are really average, somewhat below average if we go brutally honest about It. So you can't really expect flawless swipe / touch function like you use ipad or phone - that's nothing to do with our product but the nature of the display unit in these cars - again, these Skyline models are nowhere near to be considered as 'farily new' vehicles, techs were way behind compared to now at that time.
Q. Will It also work with local 370Z models?
A. 370Z models used a completely different headunit (although same exterior), so not with this particular kit - as we have a dedicated ones on our online store (check the link above)
Q. Will It work with the V36 Skyline sedans?
A. As long as It has the same audio, yes - which those should.
Q. Will It work with other JDM Nissans from similar era?
A. Not sure if there were any notable JDM cars apart from Skyline though, the only way to find out is to check the headunit and connectors / video input.
Q. Can you upgrade the camera?
A. It's usually not just the camera that has poor quality, it's also the display.
In other word, even if you remove the camera from Infiniti Q60 and somehow migrate it into these Skylines, the quality will not be as good as the new vehicles as the display / headunit will not have matching spec of graphic controller. But aftermarket camera does provide a 'sharper' and brighter image.
Q. Do you offer language conversion?
A. No.
Q. Is there any way we can get the voice command button to work?
A. Not really possible at this stage, as we can't suppress the native voicecom menu in the car - otherwise it will give you error codes like no tomorrow.
Q. Will It work with R35 GT-R?
A. For GT-R models, they use an individual headunit made by Denso just for those, not compatible with any oher Nissans. Hence we also have one that designed for that particular headunit only.
Q. Is there any other Nissan vehicle that isn't on your website, can use this same kit?
A. Not fully tested but we reckon E51 Elgrand and President may doable with this.
