Update 2019-06-30
CIC Navigation Hard drive to SSD
Coming from a background in the IT industry, I usually worried about failures in hardware and the navigation unit in our systems is a magical 4200RPM IDE 2.5” hard drive that keeps me up at night
Even though it is an automotive grade HDD, I think the 10 years its been in there is worrisome to me! I was not the only one worried about this and many on the forums have successfully cloned the drive and transferred it over to an SSD. So I decided to jump in on the same idea.
#Benefits
Faster read/writes
Faster all around for everything
Less moving parts
Have a backup on my computer as well as 2nd drive for backup.
# Parts list
Current drive:
Toshiba MK8050GAC | 80GB 4200RPM Automotive Grade IDE 2.5” Hard drive
Replacement drive:
RECADATA 128GB mSATA SSD
Ableconn IIDE-MSAT mSATA SSD to 2.5” IDE adapter
Cost was under $80 and was not very difficult to install. Few folks showed interest in the RECADATA mSATA as it is an enterprise SSD with a larger temperature range that was similar to the existing Toshiba HDD. The Ableconn mSata to IDE adapter has the Marvel chip that plays happy with the CIC unit. I ended up using a StarTech Adapter to connect it to my MacBook.
# Replacement Process
Remove CIC hard drive from car
Connect to my MacBook via an IDE to USB adapter.
Use the follow command to copy the disk to an image
Code:
dd if=/dev/disk2 of=~/Desktop/cic_backup.img bs=64k
Connect the new mSATA SSD to the computer
Code:
dd if=~/Desktop/cic_backup.img of=/dev/disk2 bs=64k
# Extend Partition
I didn’t bother with this part as I don’t really use the space. I will probably fiddle with this in the future.
# Impressions
Overall, nothing out of the ordinary. Bootup is still similar but the navigation seems a little snappier. Copying the image to my computer took 1hr 25min and writing the image took about 1hr since I used the same IDE adapter. I am happy with this "upgrade." I think I can sleep better knowing the CIC unit won't cave on me cause of a failed hard drive.
Comestic “Upgrades”
#Euro Tailights
Regional differences between cars always facisnated me as sometimes other countries get a better option that North America cars. The ECE tails have one major difference: turn signals light up amber instead of red. Visually, the tails are also similar but with a slightly more pink turn signal area when compared to the DOT version. It's pretty hard to tell them apart when they are off, but when you know, you know right?
You can sort of see the pink on the ECE tails when you compare it to the DOT tail light in the middle.
When they are mounted, it seems to be very difficult to detect the changes. Only the keen eyes looking for it will be able to tell.
Installation was simple, 3x 8mm per side.
That's it for this update. Till next time.