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This was a great post. It was.definitely part of my research before I decided to take on this.project. Thanks for posting this for us. I have a few things I would like to add based on my recent experience.
I purchased my Camaro in the summer of 2020, and it came equipped with the MyLink system. After using it for about a month I was pretty much convinced I was replacing it with something more capable. The map could only be updated to 2018, which does me no good, and I couldn't use Android Auto. This pretty much sealed the deal.
I installed the following:
Kenwood DNX697S
SiriusXM SXV300 tuner
iDatalink Maestro RR
iDatalink KIT CAM 1
Kenwood DRV n520 dash cam
I purchased all of it through Crutchfield except the cam. I'll second the notion that paying the money for the Ready Harness service was so worth it. It saved so much time and headache with all the components I was installing.
One thing I was able to do was install the gps antenna right above the radio. Evidently, there's a cavity above the radio bay that works really well for shoving cables into. I ultimately put my Maestro module in there. But there's plenty of space and a nice flat area to put your gps antenna.
I also found that removing the glove box really helped with access to areas to route wires. I was able to stuff my chime module in the area to the right of the radio bay next to the glove box. No issues with the ability to hear it.
Removing the glove box also helped with satellite tuner installation. There's a few threads out there with some minimal discussion on how to install the tuner, but I wanted to add it here since I think it's relevant to this thread. One of the big questions out there is whether you can still use the stock antenna with an aftermarket system. I can tell you that you can absolutely use the stock antenna. You will need the Maestro SAT1 adapter to do this. Crutchfield says this will fit, but the Maestro website doesn't indicate compatibility. When you remove the radio, there will be a thick black cable for the radio which has a small wire with another adapter. You plug in the radio adapter to the main connector from the thick cable. The SAT1 adapter is plugged into the smaller wire. No need to stick a magnet on your paint job unless you have reception issues with the stock antenna.
Removal of the glove box helps tremendously with placing the SXM tuner. If you look inside the dash after removing it, you'll see what looks a cable splitter with three coax cables. That's the antenna cables coming into the radio. All I did was zip tie the SXM tuner to one of the coax cables in that area, and I had enough length for the rest of the adapters and cables.
When it came to USB cables, I found that I had to use the extenders that cam with it even though they could technically reach the dash kit. Here was the issue. If I routed the usb cable directly under the radio, it wouldn't sit right in the radio bay and the dash kit wouldn't fit properly. I had to run the extenders out the back of the radio bay behind the dash and up through the opening below the radio bay where the cable for the gauges ran. This drove me nuts trying to get the dash kit to look right until I realized there was no way around using the extenders.
Finally, on to the dash cam. There's not much out there on installing the Kenwood cameras. Common sense tells you to center it on the windshield and run the wires above the head liner and down the A pillar into the dash. But wiring the camera was a huge question mark. I did come across a video that basically had you splice it into the wiring harness going into the radio. Just match the wire colors up and use some quick splices to connect the harness. Easy AF. I'll gladly link the video if anyone is interested.
Only downside was losing my stock usb port in the console. But that compartment is too small for most phones, so no biggie. I gained two ports under the radio.
That's all I have. The author of the post laid a lot of stuff out there that was so helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. I wish I had snapped some photos, but I was too into the process to think about it.
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