Saturn Ion HU question

[hyunelan2]

My next-door neighbor (really nice guy, just got back from Iraq and bought the place with his fiance) got rid of his old exporer and bought a 2006 Saturn Ion 5-spd. (He almost bought a tib, can you beleive he choose Saturn :eek: ). ANYWAY, he has a 12" sub in a ported box and an amp to go with it. Does anyone know if the modern GM headunits have any kind of an output for adding an amp? The car has the CD player with aux input for MP3, if that helps. I'll search elsewhere, but figured I'd ask here as a lot of you audio guys know quite a bit. He doesn't want to do too much modding, just add his sub, so any options of doing that without replacing the HU would be good. Thanks.

[metalfetish]

i doubt it has RCA outputs for a sub/amp. your going to need a line level converter. you attach it from the rear speakers to the amp, it isolates low frequencies and sends those to the amp, so it works the same, without having to buy a new hu. they aren't very expensive either, hell he could probably pick one up at wal-mart.

[n0c]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-r9xEY9I4sj3/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=721&I=142SLC4

[kizzo]

yea a line level convertor will do the trick. im sure if you talk to him he might consider buying a whole new headunit. i got a pioneer deh3800mp off of ebay for like 90$ shipped and that comes with 2 sets of preamps, one for subs and one for speakers up front or anything else you want to use. Just a thought. Plus i mean, if you buy a new headunit, especially pioneer or some of the more expensive brands you get an EQ option so you can manually adjust everything.

word.

[ricerrx7]

Buying a new headunit might not be an option. On many GM's, the headunit is considered a module, and it could cause some funky things if you replace it with something different.

[kizzo]

I've installed 2 headunits in GM vehicles without any problems. Both were pontiac. Plus, if you buy a cd player from best buy they install it for free so let them worry about it.

[ricerrx7]

How new were the cars? I work at a Pontiac/GMC/Buick dealership. Trust me, it's not always easy to do, and can create some wierd problems. Take the G6 for example. There are several functions in the radio itself, oil change reminder being one of them. I haven't personally seen any problems yet, but I haven't had any come in with aftermarket headunits...

[mnstrmech]

so do i,i work for a caddy,gmc,buick, saab hyundia dealership, and most newer gm's stereo's use a class 2 serial data from the bcm to teh radio to turn it on, and your key-in buzzer runs thru the stereo to the speakers, plus if it has on-star, that just complicates things!
line level converters is the way to go.
ive never seen an oem stereo with rca's, it would be nice, though!

[hyunelan2]

Yes, it has the On-Star and Cell-phone through the car's speakers, which is a main reason not to mess with changing it. Line-level converter it is... kinda nice actually, the battery is in the trunk OEM, the rear speaker lines are in the trunk, so the only wire that really needs to be ran is a remote-turn-on wire.