Now that my exams have finished (yay!), I thought I'd get around to taking pictures of my iPod setup in the car…
Firstly, I should describe the setup. The car is a 2003 model (I think) Renault Clio Expression. It has an inbuilt CD player, but no CD changer connections, which prevents me from using an ICE-Link or anything like that. I ordered a JVC KS-IF200 wired FM modulator from Crutchfield.com in the US, had it shipped to a friend and then shipped here. One big mess, really.
Here's a shot of the car:
Now here's a shot of the iPod in the dock, with the head unit visible as well:
You'll notice that I've got the remote control plugged into the top of the iPod and attached onto the dashboard. Bit ugly, I know, but it works. 
Here's a pic of the iPod up close. It's mounted in the dock that came with it.
and… Here's one without the iPod. I've got a Griffin PowerPod that I picked up for about AU$30 (I think), which has a dock connector on one end, which turns into a normal 6-pin Firewire cable, which plugs into a cigarette adapter. Dad did all of the screwing around with the wires, but I think the male end of the cigarette adapter is plugged into a female attachment, which has been hacked into the underside of the cigarette lighter. 
This is the JVC unit, which is conveniently tucked under the shielding in the passenger seat area. I can set the sensitivity (loudness, I guess), frequency, mono/stereo and power method through the switches, which is pretty cool.
Shot from afar.
All in all, a pretty worthwhile investment, I think. It cost me over AU$100 to get it all in, but I get to listen to my iPod in the car, which is really, really cool. It also sounds great, most of the time. If I press pause on the iPod there's some interference or fuzzing, but that's not audible when music is playing (maybe I just can't hear it over the music 
). I have the power method set to automatically turn on the unit when audio is played by the iPod, so it conserves power (and won't run my battery dry). When the iPod isn't playing, the unit automatically switches off after 20 secs, so I can listen to the normal radio after that. I simply have the aerial plugged into one end of the unit, and then another cable plugged into the back of the head unit (tuner). I have a third cable, made up of two RCA plugs, which connect to the PowerPod's line-out from the Dock.
One of the reasons I went this route was because it was cheap, firstly. It would have been a lot more expensive (around AU$500) to get a third-party head unit with RCA inputs. Secondly, using a third-party head unit, I'd lose the HUD on the dashboard with the tuner settings, etc. I would also not be able to use the controls on the right side of the steering wheel, which are very, very handy! If I were to get a new car sometime down the track, I'd probably try and get one of the Alpine head units with the soon-to-be-released iPod adapters.
UPDATE (28/01/05): You might notice that some of the images are missing. I recently moved my photos across to Flickr, but haven't moved the car ones over yet. I will do so in a couple of days. Done.
Just came across this while looking for a place that will ship an ICE-Link kit over to aus. I own a 2001 Clio Sport which i’m planning on iPoding
I’m sure the standard clios came out with the CD changer interface on the back of the headunit.. Am i wrong? Anyway, drop me a link if you want to talk about it more.
Umm, there are lots of products out there to do this for WAY cheaper. Most notably are the Griffin iTrip ($35 USD), and the Monster iPlay Car Charger and FM transmitter ($70 USD)
I have 2 iTrips, one for my 4G, and one for my brand new mini, and I’m VERY satisfied with both of them. I only wish that they came with a charger, like the Monster cable.
Way cheaper, yes… but from what I’ve read (and heard), not better quality. I had a Belkin TuneCast which constantly had problems in my car (apparently the windscreen has metal in it, which interferes with the E-Tag, unless placed in a certain position - I’m guessing this also affected the TuneCast).
With the JVC unit, it hooks into the back of the radio, so I don’t have to deal with bad reception or other radio stations interfering with the signal (as it blocks them out). The quality isn’t superb, but it’s much better than what I experienced with the TuneCast.
As an alternative, I found out that the ICE Link (from Dension USA) works with my head unit. Only problem is that it would cost in excess of A$300 to get. Ergh. I want to play my iPod in the car, but not that much.
Hi Jeremy,
I’m also own a ‘03 Clio(172) from Taiwan. I’m interested in ICE>Link plus, but got no further info in Taiwan.
I’ve done many search on internet and saw many successful story about Lexus, Mini…, but no Clio.
I know there’s a distributor of Dension in UK. But UK Clio owners seem prefer FM transmitter and accept that kind of sound quality.
http://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=5&TopicID=95607&SearchPagePosition=3&search=ipod&searchMode=allwords&searchIn=Topic&forum=0&searchSort=dateDESC&ReturnPage=Search
Music listening never been so convenient before use an iPod, i’d like to go the better way (although it cost much more). But if I didn’t get enough information of it, i’m afraid to be a pionner which will face many trouble.
So, have you ever seen some one who done an iPod integration with clio by ICE>Link plus?
I put an ice link plus in my clio 2002 (DCi), which connects to the factory fitted ‘tuner list’ stereo. Its an expensive route and a bit of a shock when you are delivered a cigar sized bit of kit and a third party ‘connects 2′ box to keep the system compatible with the stereo + stalk (steering control)
The units sit (hidden) behind the stereo and the dock connector (to the ipod) I had fitted to the glove box, hoping that the ice link would scroll the ipod info to the display…nope. It was a bit of a disappointment as the main reason for spending [to much] money was to get quality + integration with the factory fitted unit. The sound is great and the stalk controls the ipod with volume + scroll + skip to next track only.
I’m hoping an update is available soon to get full integration + keep the minimal appearance car interiors should be without adding more units to the car.
oh..and I now mount my ipod in the small space available at the back of the steering column to directly control my ipod for artist selection (when parked;). All a hassle, hopefully other folk have had more success (if so keep us posted).
dc