I am thinking about getting a traffic pro, now that they are $499. I have read here that neither the amber or red display match the factory stock color.

For people who have already have one, which color do you prefer any why?

I use polarized sunglasses and would like to see the display in sunlight. Blondie said he couldn't see his red display with polarized sunglasses, wonder if the amber display is any better?

Is there any problem with the Crutchfield harness other than the solder it yourself issue? Bavarian lowered their price to match Crutchfields, but charges $100 more for the plug and play cable. It must be made of *fine* bavarian wire and plastic for that price.

-- Scott

If I were installing a TP, I would order amber from Crutchfield but then do:

Call Burl (HK parts guy) at 888-423-3537 ext. 1209
BMW amber controller (part that comes off) 1418.564 $371.60 retail
BMW amber fixed front (on button etc.) 1418.556 $71.60 retail

This is from Page 4 of this thread in an RS post.

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Jon Maddux

phew, that makes it spendy! but i'm sure it would look the best

i was thinking the red would at least go with the red lighted shifter, does it?

maybe ron stygar can do an exchange program with the crutchfield plug and his completed one for the mechanically challenged

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My shifter lights amber.

Crutchfield is currently out of amber ones. Red it is, then. You can always upgrade to the BMW plate and color later if you don't want to spend all your money at once.

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Jon Maddux

Amber is the only way to go. It doesn't work either with sunglasses unless you tilt your head. I went with anti glare glasses that work fine.
I sell my harness for $101.00.

Hey guys. I just picked one of these up in amber at my local Circuit City for $299!! The guys there said they just dropped the prices a few days ago. I'm not sure if this is the case at all Circuit City's or just the one I went to (Laguna Hills, CA). They're selling for more than that on Ebay. They also installed it for me for $6.99. They put the GPS ant. on the driver side and now that I think about it, I want to move it to the passenger's side. I have to go back tomorrow because the store closed before they could finish up the install.

The GPS never synced to the satts. The guy said it was because of the speed sensor and reverse that they didn't hook up. Sounds like the reverse doesn't matter but would the GPS not work if the speed isn't wired??

The amber isn't a perfect factory match, but the head unit looks great and 100% stock. You can't complain for $299. I would jump on this. Call around at Circuit City. The whole listings for your area will be listed on HK's web site: http://www.hktrafficpro.com/dealerlocator_frameset.html

This unit was selling for $1499 like 8 months ago!!

Peace,
pkt

Thanks packetpuppy, my birthday is coming up and I think my wife is gonna jump on that deal. I'm confused by all this wiring harness talk. Besides ordering the HK TrafficPro unit from Circuit City, is there any other parts like a special BMW harness I need to order?

No there is no special BMW harness that you can get in the states (at least that's the last I heard). You will have to get an adaptor that mates with the car's plug though. You then have to splice the adaptor's wires with the TrafficPro's harness and you're set. (Though, you'll have to run the extra wire to the reverse light if you want to.) You can get this adaptor from Crutchfield. If you buy the TP from Crutchfield, sometimes they'll throw in the adaptor for free. The downside to this solution is that it's somewhat bulky.

I believe the harness that Ron Stygar is selling is a nice compact harness that uses BMW parts. There is little to no splicing as he uses crimp-on electrical contacts like the factory (he may even solder them on for extra security). From his pictures, it looks like an elegant solution.

Bottom Line: DIY harness to save money or go with an established solution.
Good luck.

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Joe
00 323i
95 325iC

Or, you could just order Bavarian Autosport's completely functional, completely assembled plug and play harness. My TP install took about 15 minutes with it.

Q

What is the price of the BA vs. Stygar's harness? BA probably makes a good quality, no splicing harness, while it sounds like Stygar's is home made, but almost equal in quality. What about the price though? Since both of these options sound good to me, I'll probably just go with the cheapest.

I just came from my local Circuit City (Columbus, GA).

"Don't carry it; never heard of it. How 'bout one of these cool Sonys with the graphic display?"

As a side question, since you guys are far more knowledgeable about the Traffic Pro than any other online community I've encountered, does anyone know if it will work with the steering wheel controls on an '04 MINI Cooper S? I know the TP is a Europe option for the MINI, but haven't been able to determine if the MFSW controls work on it.

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'04 MINI Cooper S ; Indi Blue w/Black roof/Lapis Blue leather
'03 VW New Beetle 1.8T; Blue Lagoon/Black leather
'87 VW Cabriolet Bestseller; Helios Blue/Blue

I don't know what they would charge you for it to buy it alone. Give them a call. They included it free with my TP when I bought it from them (same price as Crutchfield, without their crappy "harness").

Q

I got $50 bucks for anyone who can pick me one up for $299!

They dont carry them in florida.

I want the red one. HK-TrafficPro-R

THanks.

Mpire

Just order from that Circuit City in Laguna Hills. I was going to do that until I just found out how much that BMW connector costs. However, even with the cost of the connector, their HK TP is cheaper than anywhere else I've seen.

Michael

I called them. They tell me to order it online.

I tell them I cant. They dont know what to do..

I am going to see if I can order it here in the store and have it shipped. But its not looking promising.

Mpire

Called Laguna Hills, they are sold out.

Mpire

Ask when they'll have more in stock. Actually, now that I remember my conversation with them, I think they said to call them back this Thursday to check and see if they have them back in yet. Whether they have them in stock or not, it definitely sounds like they'll have them soon.

Checked the 19 Circuit City stores listed at mytrafficpro.com in the CT, NY and NJ area.
Found one in NJ for Jim E (last one). Jim E. just picked me up one in LI, NY (display unit). All the other stores were out of them and won't be getting anymore, or didn't know what I was talking about. One store in CT had one but they wanted $499.

Guess these things are getting scarce....

I just got a buddy at the local circuit city to track me one down.

299.99 plus 18 bucks tax.

Not a bad deal.

If anyone else wants one, I can see if he can find you one.

(There were only 4 in his system)

Pay pal me $50 bucks and I will go pick you one up. $50 is only a deposit, I dont want to make any profit on it. You can send me the balance later.

Deposit is not refundable if you do not take the unit.
Will refund all money less Pay pal transaction fees if I cant get you one.

Total will be 317.95 plus any shipping charges to get it out to you.

Just trying to help.

Mpire

PS - all they have is amber.

Oh, I forgot...

b@bmwmpire.com is my pay pal address.

Also, you can call me if you want 407 947 1227.

Brent

Hhaha.. That's great that you guys have been calling the CC in Laguna Hills. I had to go back the next day to get them to finish the install and I asked them if anyone called because I posted their store info on the forums. On Sunday, they said "no."

You will need a wiring harness and euro antenna adapter. There are many places to get this. You will have to wire the TP's wiring to this harness unless you buy a plug and play adapter from RStygar or maybe bavauto.

See below for online:

Wiring Harness

Antenna Adapter

Or, you can walk into Best Buy or Circuit City and tell them what kind of car you have, and they should be able to provide you both the wiring harness and antenna adapter for 25 or 30 bucks.

Good luck,
/pkt

Yup, they are discontinued...

PacketPuppy,

Wow, thanks for the info! I had no clue they were being discontinued. Too bad because that Bosch harness isn't badly priced. Oh well, its just a glorified radio. I'll get one used one day. Maybe its a sign from up above to use that money for suspension, wheels, and tires first.

I think I called the guy in the automotive install dept on Sunday.

Michael

Thanks for all the info everyone - I'm crossing my fingers that I may have one this week. I have absolutely no sense of direction so this is an important mod for me

If anyone can help me with what I need and how to hook an ipod up to this I would be grateful. I saw the earlier post with a reference to the 'TP Aux Input harness' but am unclear if that is all I need (or do I need this "soundgate" thing?) or how to install it. I'd love to be able to wire it so I can keep the iPod in the armrest or if necessary the glove box. (I think i saw someone wire it through a LeatherZ armrest which looked great but adds $$).

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