New iPhone 4 inserts are available - our shipments should be in Monday, so let us know if you need one…individual inserts are $4/ea to make your spec.dock work perfectly with your new iPhone. They are also available at your local Apple store or online in a 3-pack:Apple Store Linkor2point5 LinkWe’re also getting two iPhone 4 units in our hands Thursday to test them with the spec.dock and all the interface options we offer to make sure there are no hiccups! Stay tuned for any issues we uncover, but we’re expecting this to be an easy upgrade…Update 06/24/10We got our hands on an iPhone 4 to run some tests with this morning, and can confirm that DICE, Dension and USASpec …

I finally got a chance to test out the information I received as far as the ability of the Dension Gateway 300 and 500 products to charge the iPhone 3G by using the already-existing dock connector cable that has a blue end, and I can happily confirm that this is indeed the case. Over time, Dension has supplied three connector colors - grey, green and blue. I tested all three, and only the blue cable will charge the iPhone 3G properly on the Gateway 300 and 500. I also was able to test this functionality through the Dension BT1000 Bluetooth unit, and can confirm that this works properly as well.You still get the “This accessory not made to work with …

We get this question more often than we would like:"Will my iPod or iPhone fall out of the dock while I’m driving?"Our answer is always a definitive no, followed by an explanation on our part that the 30-pin connector does most of the job of keeping the device in place, and that we’ve thoroughly tested this theory by not only driving our cars over the past three years with spec.docks installed, but also by intentionally trying to make this happen by doing doughnuts, j-turns, quick stops/starts…you get the picture. It is pretty much inconceivable that an iPod or iPhone in a spec.dock will go flying through the passenger compartment during any type of driving - erratic or otherwise. We’ve even …

We’re pleased to announce our holiday promotion for 2008, which begins today and runs through January 15, 2009! We tried to make it really simple - no rebates, just a simple $25 of anything in the online store using promotional code “XMAS” during checkout, or free installation for our Atlanta customers…Check it out, and please contact us with any questions! Happy holidays to everyone, and we hope to hear from you soon!

Just a quick note to amend the post below - we’ve confirmed that DICE has been supplying us with USB-charging enabled interface cables for a month or so now (they have a blue connector on the interface side), but we were awaiting the arrival of the updated interface boxes that must be paired with these cables to allow charging of the iPhone 3G, iPod Touch 2nd gen and iPod Nano 4th gen. We now have these interface boxes available, so all new orders that come packaged with a DICE interface will be USB-ready. For existing customers, we will be offering the same upgrade program mentioned below, and DICE is going to be accepting older interface boxes directly for an upgrade …

Today, we received a shipment of the new USB charging cable from USASpec which finally addresses the issue a lot of our customers were having where their iPhone 3G, 4th generation iPod Nano or 2nd generation iPod Touch would work perfectly with their installed USASpec/2point5 integration package except for one major feature - charging. Since July 11th when we discovered this problem, we’ve been in touch with USASpec as they went through the development and manufacturing process of these replacement cables, and I’m pleased to say that they are here and that they work as described! From here on out, any of our spec.dock packages that are bundled with a USASpec interface (most BMWs and most Audis along with all …

Just a quick note to announce the addition of yet another new spec.dock model to the lineup…We now have a model for the B5 chassis Volkswagen Passat (1998-2004) that fits in the ashtray and still allows the ashtray lid to close completely. Click here to enter your vehicle information and see which package is right for you! Thanks as always for everyone’s support of our growing company, and we hope to put something together for your car soon!

One of our customers was kind enough to do some research on his own and drop me a line today regarding the charging issues for the iPhone 3G which have been discussed in detail here over the past couple of months. I mentioned in an earlier post that Dension has two models that (with the right cable) will work just fine. Here’s a copy of the information that showed up in my inbox this morning:Dear Customer,

Do you already have a GW100 or you are planning to buy one.
If don’t have a Dension device I recommend you to buy a new GW100 (slightly redesigned hardware). The item number starts with GW16xxx and not GW15xxx.
The GW16xxx has been tested and works properly …

I’m not sure if this obscure bit of information flew right past anyone, but it looks like the iPod Touch 2G and iPod Nano 4G have continued Apple’s trend toward dropping FireWire charging altogether, according to their spec sheets:It doesn’t really come as a surprise at all, and as I’ve mentioned a lot recently, the industry is quickly catching up, so we’ll be ready soon with updated spec.docks that will enable everything from the iPhone 3G forward to play and charge flawlessly. More to come…

For those of you wondering and waiting for the new iPhone 3G charging cables to be released by the various interface manufacturers out there, the current word is:1) USASpec should have their cable “available in September,” according to their website.2) DICE should have their cable ready around the second week in September according to their support department.3) Supposedly, Dension Gateway 500 and 300 units using the blue (not the green) connecting cable can already charge the iPhone 3G. I should be getting my hands into a car to test this Thursday or Friday, so any information I gather will be posted here.4) Dension is updating the Gateway 100 firmware to support use of the blue connecting cable to enable iPhone …

Just a quick note to announce the addition of two new spec.dock models to the lineup…We now have a model for the B5 chassis Audi A4 (1994-2001) that fits in the ashtray drawer, and a model for the 2003-2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe and Sedan with automatic transmission, which also fits in the ashtray drawer of that vehicle. Click here to enter your vehicle information and see which package is right for you! Thanks as always for everyone’s support of our growing company, and we hope to put together some packages for you soon!

Just a brief note amending the post below: As we suspected, many of the major aftermarket iPod/iPhone interface manufacturers - DICE Electronics, USASpec, Peripheral and PIE - are already developing replacement docking cables for their interfaces that will hand charging duties over to USB at 5volts to support the iPhone 3G’s new requirements. According to the limited information we have so far, the new cables will not require replacing the actual interface modules or the wiring connections to the vehicle, but will simply replace the connection between the iPod/iPhone and the module, making this an easy upgrade. They expect to have these new cables available anywhere from 6 weeks to three months…more information to come as we receive it!As we …

I came to work this morning with my new iPhone 3G and began testing all the interfaces and cables we currently package with our spec.dock product, and quickly realized that Apple has removed the ability to charge the new device via FireWire. For a while now, Apple has been transitioning away from FireWire syncing for iPods and iPhones, but the physical ability to charge at 12volts via the FireWire charging pins was still there…until now.This is a problem, as nearly all the vehicle interfaces - OEM and aftermarket - use 12volt charging since the vehicle’s electrical system is already running between 11.5 and 14.5 volts, eliminating the need for extra electronics to step that voltage down to the 5volts that …

Click on over to Gizmodo for up to the minute coverage of Steve Jobs’ Keynote speech today, where details about the seemingly inevitable iPhone update and a few other products/changes will be announced. It’s likely to be really exciting news, so make sure you don’t miss it!

About a month ago, we put the final touches on a new spec.dock model for the current-bodystyle (2005-up) Audi A6, which mounts in the ashtray, as is typical for most of our models. I really like how this one turned out, and am looking forward to supplying some of these to A6 owners who are looking for an upgrade to their OEM iPod solution or for a way to connect to their Audi in general. I have to say that the integration as far as navigating through all your iPod’s content via the steering wheel and MMI controls as well as the instrument cluster display and Nav screen is absolutely perfect on this car, so that makes this offering even …

Looks like Gizmodo has spilled the beans, and that we should all start preparing our wallets for the apparently imminent release of the 3G iPhone in a few weeks! As usual, the rumors are swirling in anticipation of Steve Jobs’ keynote at the WWDC that we’ll quite possibly finally have (at the very least) 3G and GPS on this second iteration of the iPhone, which would be the answer to the only real issues I have with what is now my second iPhone (I needed more capacity - what can I say)…I can’t seem to keep myself from trying to stay on top of every little tidbit Gizmodo posts about this rumored update, so this news definitely gets me a …

It took a little while to hammer out the details on this one, but we’ve put together and launched a new homepage for the spec.dock online store that will make it much, much easier for customers to find exactly what they’re looking for. By answering a couple of simple questions and entering information on your vehicle’s make, model and year, you’ll be able to easily find the mobile iPod integration solution that is right for you. Check it out here: www.specdock.com!

We have a product over here at 2point5 that really doesn’t get near the attention that it should, as we haven’t really necessarily explained what it is and what it does…I thought now was as good a time as any to explain the versatility of the flush.dock in vehicles that we may not necessarily have a specific spec.dock model for.The flush.dock is essentially a drop-in iPod/iPhone dock for any vehicle application where there is sufficient space for its diminutive size to fit in. The length and width when viewed from above are roughly 3″ by 1.25″, and the required mounting depth is about one inch. The flush.dock can come equipped with simple audio/video output and charging leads, or can come …

We got the opportunity to do a little upgrade to one of our long-time customer’s cars last week and are definitely pleased with the results! The customer wanted to change up the system he previously had installed in his E39 M5, which consisted of two AudioBahn 10″ woofers in a sealed enclosure and an Elemental Designs monoblock for power. The main goal was to dress up the trunk and to greatly increase the emphasis and definition of the bass response while eliminating the rattles the previous setup was creating.To accomplish this, we began by removing the old enclosure and trim panel and designed a bandpass enclosure to replace the existing setup that houses one AlumaPro 12″ woofer and ports through …

So I’ve still been updating the old TunerTricks blog here and there over the past year, but at nowhere near the rate that I probably should have been. I’ve really only been throwing something up when the company (2point5) has had something significant to talk about such as new Apple products’ compatibility or when we’ve built a car or something along those lines. This is the beginning of a change around here to make the blog interesting again! I’ve made (very) subtle changes to the page itself and have linked the blog to our company’s website, so will be using this as a way to provide regular updates, opinions, news, rants, information, etc. to anyone who stumbles by. I’m really …

We’ve finally finished all of our testing with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPod Classic and iPod Shuffle, and can confirm resolutely that the spec.dock is compatible with Apple’s entire current iPod lineup as well as any iPod 3g or newer including iPod Mini. The only exception is that the 1st generation iPod shuffle is not compatible, and the current iPod Shuffle is only compatible via the use of Griffin’s Dock Adapter made specifically for the shuffle, which only works with our auxiliary packages (any package whose model number ends in “AVPKG.” Just wanted to let everyone know…If you’re interested in learning more, please

Just a quick update - we’re getting reports that some interface products (by interface products I mean Dension, DICE, Neo, USASpec, Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer, etc.) work with iPhone perfectly, some charge but don’t output audio, some output audio but don’t charge, some don’t work at all…Looks like it’s time for a little hands-on testing to answer these questions once and for all! We have access to just about every iPod vehicle interface product out there, so please keep checking in for definitive answers as to what vehicle interface products absolutely work with iPhone as intended and which do not. Rest assured we’ll be on it…Happy fourth to everybody! We’ll be back at it on Thursday.

Over here at 2point5, we are still gathering information about exactly what the iPhone’s compatibility is with our entire line of spec.dock products, but the initial reports are looking pretty good for all of you out there who have gotten your hands on one of our innovative automotive iPod [iPhone?] docking solutions or are thinking about jumping on the bandwagon. Here’s the tentative scoop thus far:You hop in your car with your iPhone and drop it in the dock (we have iPhone inserts available that snap into the spec.dock to cradle the phone very nicely)…and it begins to charge while linking up with the integrated audio/control interface connected to your car. You’ll be prompted with this message:Decline the invitation to …

We’ve been putting in a lot of work since our inception, but especially over the past month or so to give 2point5’s customers an easy place to view all of our available products and packages as well as an easier way to order from us when they are ready, and we are finally done and ready to show our new face to the world! Our new store’s home on the web is www.specdock.com, and will always be up to date with any new releases, promotions, product information, new install photos and the like. Of course, we still want to hear from customers directly with any questions or concerns they may have, and our contact info can be found on the …

Wanted to start off the New Year by throwing out an offer for free spec.dock goodness to a select few iPod owners and/or integration afficionados in the Atlanta area who are still looking for the best way to fully realize the potential of their iPod in their vehicle. If you’re still using a wireless FM transmitter, have a mess of cables wrapped around your console, have to switch between using the cigarette lighter to charge your iPod and your phone constantly, don’t even use your iPod in your car because it’s just too complicated, have 50 CDs strapped to your sunvisor and an iPod in your pocket, wear headphones to hear your music in your car, etc. - I’m talking …

It’s taken a few months to sort through all the details, but 2point5 has now officially teamed up with Never Without to bring our customers an easier way to get the information they’ve been having to work way too hard to find at the old 2point5.com. The new landing page for the spec.dock mobile iPod solution is a brief glimpse at the future look and feel of our online presence as we move into 2007 and into a completely new site with all the capabilities the old one didn’t have. It’s now much easier to see what models are available for which vehicles (we’ve released five new models since the last post, by the way, with two more coming right …

Ran into my friend Phil at J.E. Volkswagen today, and he seemed just a little hurt that the install I did a few months ago in his 2002 Volkswagen New Beetle Turbo hadn’t made it on the site yet. I think I may have even seen a little tear fall (haha). So…here she is, dude. Phil seems to have a bit of an affinity for a certain color, so when it came time to trim out the trunk and change out some equipment, I really had no choice but to go for it. I really ended up liking the contrast between the bright VW OE color and the brushed aluminum finsh on the JL 500/5 we were adding, so I …

So this vehicle has been done for about four months, and has already been featured in Car Audio & Electronics magazine (it is a CA&E, Eclipse, Davin Wheels and 2point5-sponsored project), but I checked the site stats the other day, and it would appear that tunertricks is still alive and well, so I thought I’d put some photos up for those of you who may not have picked up the magazine…The theme and purpose of this project was to update certain technology features of the Charger, improve the sound staging, imaging, quality and overall output as well as to make subtle changes to the interior and trunk that didn’t call too much attention to themselves unless you knew changes had …

I’m sure everybody is tired of seeing the 300m as the last post for months, but I can explain…One of the members of the team at HiFi Buys here in Atlanta (Randy Lively) and myself (Matt Turner) have set off on our own and formed a new company dedicated to providing integrated solutions for electronic enhancements that improve the total in-car experience. Our company is 2point5 (named for the width of the typical iPod dock opening), and our primary focus right now is on the development, production, marketing and sales of our premier product - spec.dock - which is essentially a drop-in vehicle-specific iPod dock for most of today’s popular vehicles. As of right now, we cover many BMW, Porsche, …

So we’re a little tired of typing out the phrase ‘vehicle-specific iPod dock’, and no proper product is known by a lengthy description of itself, so we decided it was high time to give this developing product a name as we go forth into the land of iPod accessories. The artist formerly known as vehicle-specific iPod dock will now be referred to as the spec.dock. We’ve formed a new company to develop and produce these products, and are constantly adding new models. Click the link for a description of the product and keep in mind that these are currently available for the BMW 3-series e36 and e46, BMW 5-series e39, BMW X5, Porsche 996, Ford F-150, Dodge Magnum/300c/Charger and MKIV …

I recently took a little iPod-related trip to the west coast and brought back some pretty cool images. The installation was in a 2006 Infiniti M45 and allowed the iPod photo to display slideshow images on the factory navigation screen through a little electronic trickery. Make sure to click the post title for more images and email info@tunertricks.com with any questions.

Here are two more custom iPod docks done at the shop within the past month or so. One is in a 98 Range Rover and the second is in a 2002 Lexus IS300 - along with a Pioneer AVIC-D2 in a custom dash kit. By the way, we’re gearing up for a really huge project (one where the installation will run about 6 times the cost of the vehicle), and I will try to post regularly on it once the project is underway. The first step is to outsource some major CNC, engineering and welding work (more on that in a later post), and then it will be back to the shop around September 1 for the audio madness to …

We seem to always stay busy here knocking out new projects and products, and have just finished off the molds for two more vehicle-specific iPod docking bases - the BMW X5 and the 2002-current BMW 7-series e65. As with the e46 BMW dock and the MKIV VW dock, these are designed to accept any size dockable iPod and nearly any iPod interface cable to easily provide a home for your iPod in your vehicle. They replace the ashtray insert in the same fashion and are finished in a textured black that matches these vehicles’ interior trim. Both of the new docks also allow the factory ashtray door to close over them when the iPod is not being used. The X5 …

When the e46 BMW iPod docking piece was announced early this month, I suggested that this was by no means the only vehicle that would receive an installer and customer-friendly iPod docking solution, and that many more were currently being worked on. Well, second out of the gate is the vehicle-specific iPod docking solution for the 1999.5-2005 Volkswagen MKIV Golf, GTi, R32, GTi 337, GTi 20th AE, Jetta and GLi. This unit is designed specifically for these vehicles and replaces the factory ashtray insert, providing a home for your favorite ‘dockable’ iPod model (3g and 4g 10gig, 15gig, 20gig, 30gig, 40gig and 60gig iPod and iPod Photo) that looks completely factory-installed and can be hidden underneath the factory sliding cover …

Just a quick note on the vehicle-specific iPod docks announced earlier this month: We are currently still only in production on the E46 BMW part, but will have the MKIV VW ashtray dock ready for sale by the first week in July and have decided to adjust the price of these parts to $149.99. The new price will deliver the docking piece only and not the SiK cable as well that was mentioned in the previous post. It seems that many of you already have your favorite iPod interface and are not in need of an extra cable! Thanks so much for the response we’ve gotten on these so far and rest assured that the range of vehicle applications continues …

We’ve been alluding to this in recent posts and direct emails to potential customers, and now I can finally take the wraps off something we’ve been working on for about a month now. Tunertricks.com is very pleased to announce the first in a line of vehicle-specific iPod docking solutions that are attractive, strong, easy to install and less expensive than the custom-built counterparts we have been fabricating and posting on since the site’s inception. Click more for detailed information, pricing and a list of iPod products currently under development.
Until now, the only way to dock your iPod in your car has been to build one (or have one built) yourself, have us build one for you by hand, or purhcase …

I think the newly redesigned Porsches have only been available for about a month, but we just got a chance over the weekend to add an iPod dock and ZR3 laser shifter to one. This has to be the tightest spot we’ve ever put an iPod dock into, and I think it really turned out nicely and exactly matched the customer’s specifications. Randy Lively - a designer/fabricator and additon to the team from last year - performed the fabrication work on the ashtray area, while Chris McEntyre - a long-term team member and fabricator - followed up with the power and audio wiring. The entire job took six hours to complete, and the customer was rolling again by the end …

This one turned out quite a bit like the Toyota Solara featured in the Gallery. The factory head unit was replaced with an Alpine CDA-9847, while the cable from the KCA-420i iPod control adapter was mounted into the dock shell so that the owner has control of the iPod from the head unit for simple navigation and text display when the iPod is docked. For more in-depth browsing, the iPod can be easily removed, a song chosen, and then re-docked to continue playing through the audio system while topping off the internal battery.
By the way, the first substantial modification to the GTi MacMini install since its original completion is in the works, and you should see a post within a …

A few months ago, I had a customer contact me who liked the idea of the iPod in the center console area of his mkIV Volkswagen, but didn’t want to give up is entire ashtray area and 12v power outlet to accomodate it, like I had previously done in my own car as well as in a few others both locally and across the country. There are quite a few images of this original full VW iPod console design in the Gallery, and this is still an option that I offer. In fact, the ashtray area in my own GTi (with the MacMini install) is based on this same design, albeit with the addition of a trackpad in the blank …

I got the opportunity to integrate a dock into a Z4 on Saturday. This one was particularly challenging, as I had to fabricate a new ashtray insert from scratch to trim out the raw iPod dock that lives underneath. I used Duratech short-strand fiberglass filler for the base of the mold and part, and then smoothed the insert out with Ultralite and Rage Gold body filler. A nice thick coat of FeatherFill primer and some Krylon satin black paint, and what you see here is the result. The piece simply drops into the ashtray location from above (the dock is attached to the part) and is connected to a Dension ICELink Plus for full control of the iPod through the …

Finally got to do an iPod in a Touareg using the spot I thought was best for this vehicle. I would’ve preferred the iPod straight instead of angled, but you gotta do what the customer wants, right? Anyway, I thought it turned out really nicely. I used a Blitzsafe aux input adapter to make the audio connection, and of course a charging cable to keep the battery topped off…
By the way, the next MacMini tech article will be posted tomorrow morning(ish), so check for it if you’re interested. Thanks everybody for the overwhelming response to the GTi MacMini install. I put a lot into it, so I really appreciate the feedback. Tomorrow…

I got to work on a three-day old 2005 Infiniti M45 Monday and came up with a nice, simple dock install for this vehicle. The switch located to the left of the dock interfaces with the car’s video system to create an additional A/V input to supplement the one Infiniti already supplied at the rear of the console…

Pretty straightforward, really, but I thought the iPod looked very nice with that lacquered wood around it. One more for the Gallery. One of my team members, Chris McEntyre, built the dash kit that houses the radio and put that bad boy in. More to come…

I got to put a dock for a 4g 40gig yesterday in a Toyota Solara. There was a perfect spot right behind the shifter where you can see the screen and access the controls really easily while driving. It also integrated pretty well with the OEM console, kindof like the X3 I docked some time ago (see the gallery)…

Got to do a dock in a 2005 GTO the other day. Once again, the customer wanted a way to cover the dock when he wasn’t using it, So I busted out the removable section of the cupholder trick again. Enjoy…

I got the chance to do a docked iPod in a current-body Ford Explorer a couple of days ago. The dock is coupled with an auxiliary input compatible Alpine CD player and a hardwired Belkin charger to provide power to the dock. The customer wanted a good view of the iPod’s screen, hence the angle toward the driver. Another interesting thing they asked for was the ability to hide the dock when it is not in use. Since the area where I installed the dock originally had a rubber mat covering it, I sectioned out part of the mat that can be removed or reinserted depending on whether or not the iPod is docked. Here are a few images of …

There were an insane amount of iPod control adapters shown at CES last week. In the year preceeding the show, I did a lot of auxiliary input and charging solutions for iPods because almost nothing existed to actually control the little buggers via a car radio. Then, along came the Dension ICELink. Next was the Alpine iPod adapter. Still, that was about it until CES. Now, the floodgates have opened. So, almost no matter what car you have or what head unit you may have in it (factory or aftermarket) you’re most likely going to be able to have charging, audio and control through a simple dock connector.
The primary and most reliable companies I saw at the show sporting iPod …

It’s amazing even to me, but there are iPod owners out there that do not own Volkswagens! Anyway, I’ve been on hiatus for a little while as far as updating images on the old site and visiting the iPod blogs, so I thought I’d come right out and inaugurate the new site/blog with some photos of iPod docks in some more eclectic rides. More images can be seen in the Gallery, but here are some quick shots of a C5 Corvette and a 1968 Camaro that I docked recently. Enjoy, and check in frequently to see what’s going on at Tunertricks.