Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Has anyone fitted a new modern radio in the plus 2 aperture.I need it to have bluetooth,USB,and SD card and not to be DAB as using the original electric aerial,although i understand there is a converter to get round that.The main problem as i understand is the depth due to the heater box,looked at the parrot asteroid but not a big fan.Does not really need to be retro looking but would help if it was

I cut a recess in the heater box and sealed it with a "tray" of light aluminium.

The Pioneer MVH-X370BT (or similar) will fit perfectly as it is a small form factor model with USB, bluetooth and microphone for hands free calls. Unfortunately it doesn't have an SD slot but perhaps a later model in the range may have this feature. Worth an investigative look perhaps.

Colin.

I guess it depends if you just want to fill the hole in the dash or listen to it ( it will have quite a bit of noise to compete with in an elan).
I fitted a Retrosound unit that fits fine and has Bluetooth and multiple inputs but they are quite expensive if you don’t require any of this functionality.
There are plenty of slim units with radio and sd card inputs that will fit if filling the hole is your priority
There are various looks you can get with the Retrosound items mine is pictured
Ed
Not sure why it’s attached upside down the actual picture is the right way?

I bought a low cost (c £20) Bluetooth device last year, with a classic 'look'; it was for my S3 but I haven't gotten around to fitting it yet. It's very shallow so almost certainly will fit in a Plus 2 Dash.

Alas that particular device seem to not be on sale anymore, but if you go to Amazon and search for "Car Stereo with Bluetooth" you will find similar devices.

spyzee wrote:The Pioneer MVH-X370BT (or similar) will fit perfectly as it is a small form factor model with USB, bluetooth and microphone for hands free calls. Unfortunately it doesn't have an SD slot but perhaps a later model in the range may have this feature. Worth an investigative look perhaps.

Colin.

These, and a bunch of other Pioneer are “short dash”, they are only about 4” long. I haven’t fit or installed them yet. They are also very light in weight.

There is this on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313786191696?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D86588814e12f4f4d84b61b6c3fb9514f%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D313786191696%26itm%3D313786191696%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A3ef5e7ef-00ef-11ed-a6bf-9643088c68c0%7Cparentrq%3Aec4449331810aaf00aeecb9bfff475da%7Ciid%3A1

Doesn't look as good as the retrosound unit, but at a 1/10 of the price it might be worth trying.

I keep meaning to buy one to try it out. This thread has prompted me to pull my finger out and buy one.

Andy8421 wrote:There is this on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313786191696?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D86588814e12f4f4d84b61b6c3fb9514f%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D313786191696%26itm%3D313786191696%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A3ef5e7ef-00ef-11ed-a6bf-9643088c68c0%7Cparentrq%3Aec4449331810aaf00aeecb9bfff475da%7Ciid%3A1

Doesn't look as good as the retrosound unit, but at a 1/10 of the price it might be worth trying.

I keep meaning to buy one to try it out. This thread has prompted me to pull my finger out and buy one.

Yes, that's one of the ones you will find on Amazon, slightly cheaper ?

Very similat to what I bought, I expect the innards are identical, just the mouldings of the Facia being different.

Forget the radio. Just use a Bluetooth speaker hidden anywhere in the car. All music, playlists, & radio stations available on your phone which can be mounted conveniently. Recharge the speaker every so often.

Although it escapes me why anyone would wasn’t to listen to anything other than the engine!

Bodmin wrote:Forget the radio. Just use a Bluetooth speaker hidden anywhere in the car. All music, playlists, & radio stations available on your phone which can be mounted conveniently. Recharge the speaker every so often.

Although it escapes me why anyone would wasn’t to listen to anything other than the engine!

That's just one of the capabilities of the devices I'm describing, but you use the speakers already existing in the car plus there are other useful features, all for around £20

have a look here:
https://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/head-u ... ss-players
Pretty much any mechless unit will fit now.
I did cut out my heater as Foxie did some years ago. I have a mechless unit in now, so I didnt need to do that, but mechless were not around then!
Jeff 72+2.

i put in a cheapie, vintage look radio from ebay. $29.00. looks ok and has usb, bluetooth, sd, mp3 etc. fits good and works ok. can’t hear the radio when driving anyway so just listen to the twincam.

Hi

Interesting to see al the modern day options. I wasn't going to bother with a radio in my +2, but actually will get one of those cheap ebay retro things. They actually look OK. By that I mean fairly cheap and nasty just like radios from that era. I have a decent amplifier I might run it through also.

Berni

I like the hidden Bluetooth amps, as you European folk have FM over your cell phones I believe.

Hi Ragtop,
Not exactly an answer to your question, but I have fitted one of these cigarette packet sized Bluetooth amplifiers to my Elan, and left the old AM radio in place for the authentic look.
I listen to internet radio, but something like Spotify or an offline playlist or podcast etc works. The reproduction is very good.
Also, refer to h20hamelam’s comment above.
https://www.electrovision.co.uk/public/ ... _id=B429BL
Cheers,
Colin.