4.2in mylink vs 8in?

fuzzybritches · July 24, 2015

Hi Everyone!

I am new to this forum and a recent proud owner of my 2014 Silverado. I've been doing a ton of reading on this forum of people doing mods and upgrades, and 2 on the list is remote start and backup camera. I also have the I04 4.2in MyLink radio which aesthetically is kinda eh. Before I get started on the mods, I was curious if anyone knew if their were any big benefits to the larger 8in screen over the 4.2in? Minus the prospect of upgrading to navigation and the screen being larger of course. Since I have a baby on the way I'm trying to decide which mods are most cost effective for me. Thanks!

AZRenegade · July 24, 2015

Out of the three listed, I would go with the backup camera, remote start and the 8" screen a distant third. One and two are interchangeable depending on your personal habits.

fuzzybritches · July 27, 2015

Hi AZRenegade,

Yeah I def agree with you that going remote start and back up camera before looking into the 8in screen (which starts last I checked around 800), but do you know of any functional differences between the 8 and 4 inch screens? Besides being touch screen vs analog button oriented? Thanks!

irish4life8911 · July 27, 2015

I would look into the keenwood 8" deck with android/Apple play and have your back up camera play into that.

Remote start nice during winter time, if you live in cold climate, and relatively a cheap add on. Just a few hundred.

So if it were me, and was saving money, the remote start would be first, then I would get a quote to install the Kenwood deck and backup camera at same time.

I think if you got a gm 8" screen, you would also need a new hmi module, which would be over $300 on top of the screen

fuzzybritches · July 27, 2015

I would look into the keenwood 8" deck with android/Apple play and have your back up camera play into that.

Remote start nice during winter time, if you live in cold climate, and relatively a cheap add on. Just a few hundred.

So if it were me, and was saving money, the remote start would be first, then I would get a quote to install the Kenwood deck and backup camera at same time.

I think if you got a gm 8" screen, you would also need a new hmi module, which would be over $300 on top of the screen

Yeah I live in Texas, so remote start in the dead of summer and winter is def appreciated. When model Kenwood are you referring to? I imagine with the current configuration it might be difficult to install without cutting up the dash, which I'm not sure i want to take the plunge on since ive only had my 2014 for a few weeks

irish4life8911 · July 27, 2015

Yeah I live in Texas, so remote start in the dead of summer and winter is def appreciated. When model Kenwood are you referring to? I imagine with the current configuration it might be difficult to install without cutting up the dash, which I'm not sure i want to take the plunge on since ive only had my 2014 for a few weeks

I don't exactly what unit it is. My local audio shop has been installing them in a lot of vehicles. I think there was a thread somewhere on here about it too.

Def do the remote start. I don't use it that often in the summer here in Delaware. Hottest day so far has been 96. But I did use it a lot during the winter, heated seats automatically come on when below 37.

AZRenegade · July 27, 2015

Hi AZRenegade,

Yeah I def agree with you that going remote start and back up camera before looking into the 8in screen (which starts last I checked around 800), but do you know of any functional differences between the 8 and 4 inch screens? Besides being touch screen vs analog button oriented? Thanks!

I have a 2014 Sierra W/T with the 4" screen (i04) and a 2015 Slerra SLE (i06). I found that to convert the 4" to an 8" (if it can be done at all) would be very expensive and for what you get, not cost effective at all. To get full benefit of the upgrade, you would have to replace the radio module, another module (i04, i05, i06) located behind the glove box and the screen console. I know that the module behind the glove box with programming is roughly $1,000 all by itself. I upgraded the one in my "15 and that was the cost. I would guesstimate that the parts necessary for the conversion from i04 to i05 or 6 would be around 2 grand. And due to the fact that these trucks are all bcm, ecm controlled, there is no telling what will or won't function when you plug everything in. Then you need to get the dealer involved to deal with the programming and that usually ends up costly and badly. What I did with my '14 Sierra was to add a backup camera with the mirrior display and decided to live with the io4 radio. If you don't like the offerings from the radio stations just plug in your android and bring in Pandora. With the '15 Sierra I upgraded the i05 module to the i06 to get navigation. Pretty much plug and play because the truck was already prewired to handle my change, the W/T isn't. Not much difference between the i05 and i06 except the navigation. To be honest, I like the backup camera in the '14 much better than in the '15. It's a smaller display but you don't loose perspective when backing up looking in the mirror like you do looking down onto the 8" screen. Bottom line, I wouldn't bother trying to upgrade the i04 with a factory replacement. If you really can't live with your current setup you would probably be better off going aftermarket. You would get a lot of features that would rival the i05 or 6 units and it would be designed to work with your application. Much more cost effective. Keep in mind, I'm not an electronics expert. I'm just stating my opinion based on my experience.

fuzzybritches · July 28, 2015

Thanks guys for the info, I think I'm going to pass on the 8in screen upgrade(my biggest gripe was it just looks a bit silly in the big center dash area... but oh well). Not only because AZRenegade shared some valuable info on his experience, but also the dealers around me don't seem to want to play ball in the Dallas area(all have referenced going aftermarket for just about everything). I know you can make the the back-up camera nearly plug and play with a reprogrammed HMI via carspatech or similar vendors, and I've heard of some dealers I think mentioned in the north east that have actually reprogrammed HMI's but like most things its dealer to dealer. Any who, looks like I'll start saving for the remote start and backup camera components. I've never had a truck this nice before so I'm ready to hold onto it until the wheels fall off.

bsbard · April 23, 2016

I was thinking about going to the 8 inch screen, but for $1,400 it's not worth it. The navigation looks pretty bad also.

But through the forums I found out my truck was backup camera ready, just have to have the dealer flash. After I ordered my tailgate handle and backup camera I came across the remote start forum. Seems OnStar will update the phone app to start the truck. Found the GM kit on Amazon and ordered it. Now when I goto the dealer will just have to get it flashed once.

Saw everyone posting about getting OnStar to activate remote start on their app and it got me interested. I went to Amazon and got the remote start kit. I had already ordered the rear tailgate handle and the GM backup camera. Dealer is going to flash the system for that, so might as well kill two birds with one stone.