I have a 2002 Nissan Xterra XE and very much interested in installing XM in my truck. I travel alot in the country and the best that I can do is the local farm reports. I would be interested in what type of stereo setups that you've decided to use? Alpine, Sony and Pioneer seem to have the XM ready radios, but also interested in the FM Modulated kits as well. If you have a pic of what your setup is, please post it, especially if you have a 2002 model.

Thanks,
Jim

I have a Pionneer setup that includes a Premier head unit, Premier in-dash CD changer and the XM tuner module. This is the first time I've owned Pioneer Car Audio (not first Pioneer though) and I have to say I've been thouroughly impressed and highly recommend their equipment. I've owned a lot of different brands and I would say from a quality/reliability standpoint the Pioneer comes out on top along with the Eclipse equipment I had in my previous car. I especially like the load and eject mechanisms on the Pioneer CD players. The accept the CD's very smoothly and eject them far enough so you can actually grab them. Very impressed.

I will not ever again buy another Sony car audio product. For that matter I try to avoid buying Sony anything...way too many problems in my experience. Only two Sony products I've ever owned that weren't troublesome and neither was anything recent. All their new stuff looks like crap anyway. I say pass!

AFAIK, Alpine still makes quality products. When I was buying they lost me on features and packaging. They didn't offer an in-dash changer except for the 3 CD one and it isn't XM ready. Too bad because that's the only piece of equipment they have that still looks like an Alpine product with clean lines and good looks. No in-dash changer AND XM = no sale!

The short of it is if you're going with XM get Pioneer or Alpine. If you decide to go with Sirius, the Kenwood equipment should be pretty good.

What is the model number of the Pioneer unit that you own?

I have the Premier DEH-P430 Head unit, the GEX-P900XM Sattelite tuner, and I don't know what the changer is. I'm guessing the XM tuner is probably the same now but the head unit I have is no longer available. That's Ok though because the new Premier units have better preamp outs and such. I bought this system last December so I've had it pretty much a year now with no problems.

Thanks for the info. I'm looking on eBay at the FH-P8800 from Pioneer. It's a double-din unit that is XM capable. It use to be approx. $1,100.00 for the unit, I think that I can get it for less than $400.00 new.

I use Sirius Satellite Radio with a Kenwood Excelon X659 headunit. This made room for a CB in the dash below it. When I was shopping for it, I preferred Sirius programming over XM. Some of these guys had XM installed before Sirius was a viable option. I've also heard rumours that the next generation of decoder chips due around Christmas will be small enough to get rid of the separate satellite receiver and put those functions in the head unit.



The satellite antenna is the big black lump. The wire is drilled through the roof inside the rear hatch area and routed along the ceiling to the B-pillar. The satellite receiver is under the passenger seat.

Hey Aero Steve-- where did you get the great rear deflector I see in your pictures? It looks like it's a better-looking option then the unit available through xterraparts, and I'm curious if it actually works to keep the hatch more clean, and if it attaches with adhesive or drilling. Any info you can provide would be great. Thanks.

Aerowing

It attaches with double sided tape. It's never been knocked off even though I have driven through heavy brush and low hanging limbs. I like the looks better than the Nissan deflector, but I dont't think it does anything for keeping the rear window clean. I do like that it hides the 2 antennas on the roof from casual observers.