ruffellprefley

i posted this in the a/v section, but every single time i post there, i get absolutely no feedback whatsoever. those guys over there... they just aren't as cool as you guys in the tsx section. but sorry for the repost anyhow:



i've been thinking about a custom ipod mounting for my '06 tsx.

what do you all think about this?

dremmeling out an ipod sized "hole" in the top of the cup holder door, so that the ipod would be completely set inside the door. i believe that it is thick enough (for the newest generation of video ipods, 30gb) for the ipod face to be flush with the face of the cup holder door. my only concern would be messing it up, or it not working right, and then having to replace the entire cup holder housing ($130 USD).

does anyone know where i could get just the cup holder door for cheaper?

also, would it be possible to pry apart the black plastic part of the cup holder door and the carbon-fiber-looking piece of plastic, and just dremmel the top piece? my guess would be that there is empty space between the two pieces of plastic as opposed to them both being solid.

if done correctly, it would be possible that the cup holder still retain open/close functionality, and if the ipod was either taped in glued in, or a tight enough fit, it wouldn't fall out when the cup holder door opened.

Othello

This is what I did if it's any help. Had the Blitzsafe ipod adapter installed at a shop and run through the centre consol and up through the cup holder, then got a Belkin ipod holder which can be tilted pretty much at any angle for easy control with my arm rested comfortably on the armrest.

Xtremespeed2102

mines in the armrest, have the wire routed into the bottom box.

cord is long enough to put the ipod anywhere within reason, cup holder, pencil holder (top part of armrest) bottom box of armrest or even in the passengers hand

ruffellprefley

my main goal is to be able to not have to move the ipod around every time i get into/out of the car. with my idea, when the cup holder door is open, the ipod would be hard to see.

if i keep it in the arm rest, like i do now, i've got to open the arm rest every time i get into the car to start my music

ruffellprefley

bad photoshop of my idea. both the ipod and the dock connector for the belkin auto kit would be inset in the cup holder door

TSX 3Pedal

...but wouldn't this mod increase the risk of theft or vandalism to your car in an attempt to take the ipod.....and even if you removed the ipod out of view when parked, there would be this unsightly rectangular inset on the cupholder door where the ipod would go.

Just my thoughts.

On another note, it would look great if it were very flush on the door and no wires visible.

ruffellprefley

yeah, it would increase risk of theft if you just left the ipod visible, but i'm thinking that when the door is up and the parking brake is engaged, that it would be mostly obscured by a) being halfway in the cup holder and b) partly blocked by the parking brake.

MichaelkTSX

You're going to be losing the use of cup holders? Why not just keep it in the upper armrest?

1StGenCL

i think its a cool idea. Things always look better when they are built in if you will and not sliding around. Yea if you had cups in there you couldnt use the ipod very easily but who cares. As for the hole in the cup holder when the ipod is gone, yea that would be ugly but again who cares no one is in the car when the ipod is gone. It would be cool if you could get it so that it had a bottom of some sort so it wouldnt just be a big hole looking in the cupholder when the ipod was gone but a slight indent for the ipod instead. I dont know how to do it but i think it is a great idea and have always wanted to do it except the TL has the funny roll back cover good luck

Lone Starr

Seems like a cool idea, but i'd be worried that if something happened to my iPod, and i had to get a new one, the size might be different. I just got a new nano, and it's a different form factor from the old ones.

Newplay1

I saw one sitting on the air vents and that looked nice...

DuckyTSX

Once I get the adapter, I am going to do something like this..





but will probably just end up doing the cupholder thingy. I don't bring drinks in the car. I hate that.

bullyx2

I have the cupholder mount but decided to stop using it after a few days. Because of the location of the cup holders in the TSX, just found myself taking my eyes off the road for way too long to change songs. In my previos car, the cupholders were far forward on the center console and it wasn't bad, but not so in the TSX. I just have mine in a leather case using the Belkin power thing in the 12v port under the armrest. Have enough extra cable where I can bring it closer to eye level to change tracks, then just set it in the cupholder or on the passenger seat.

Lone Starr

is there any more info on that install? that looks like what i was thinking of doing

Masterpoolcat

Check this out:

http://www.jmlaudio.com/custom%20ipo...%20systems.htm

I think this is kind of what your thinking of doing.

TSX 3Pedal

I guess if it's done right, it doesn't look bad at all

Tsx536

You could also just get something like this and call it a day:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-iPAD-IGRIP-i...em220006623849

Runs like $6 and this is what I use in my car. Cutting into your cupholder sounds like a cool idea, but the problem is if you ever decide to switch MP3 players, then you're forced to get an Ipod again. The next generation ipod could also be a little different shape. Also, it's going to be kind of dangerous for you to stare at the cupholder while your driving to changed albums, etc. I tried a Belkin cupholder mount before and it just wasn't pratical looking down at it. I preferred raising the Ipod up to eye level while I drove.

And for security, just put a piece of paper over it when you you're making quick stops. That way you dont' have to disconnect anything.

ruffellprefley

thanks for all the ideas guys. unfortunately i don't think it would be easy enough for me to do on my own to cut into the cup holder and custom mount it in the cup holder door. doing
http://www.jmlaudio.com/custom%20ip...g%20systems.htm <- this would eliminate my cup holders completely, but it does look nice. so i guess i'm stuck just getting my ipod out of my arm rest every time, and putting it back in there every time. so i'm going to get some non-slip stuff. it's going to stay on the ipod though, as opposed to staying on the car. so when it's not out, the pad won't still be there.

if you all have more ideas, shoot them my way!

IrishT

ProClip has a TSX clip that mounts on the right side of the console - cheap, simple to install.

http://www.proclipusa.com/?sectionpa...d=&p_year=2006

Todd

ruffellprefley

that's a pretty nice little platform, and it doesn't require the blockage of the cup holders. now, how does the ipod attach to that? do you just put a little non-slip thing on top of that (that's what i'm thinking)?

i just bought some "gadget grips" from handstands.com that i think will work well for putting the ipod on top of the cup holder. they should work just as well for setting it on that stand too.

MikeMa

I have my iPod connected into my system via a Monster car charger with a Line out and it sits in the "coin tray" part of the centre console armrest... then I bought one of these: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/airclick/ to control it without having to flip up the armrest. The remote clips onto the sunvisor, and you can't really see it unless you get down and look up at it.

This will only work if you have a model of iPod previous to the Video one (ie. one with the extra jack beside the headphone jack)....this would include the Mini, I think.

I'm pretty happy with the setup I have, since I usually have the iPod set to shuffle anyway....and I rarely care to look at the information on screen (if I don't like the song, I just hit the next track button).

When I got the car, I had a few ideas of how I'd like the iPod thing to work... one would be to get the Acura Music link (or the Denison one) and put the iPod exactly where it is now, or to try and build some sort of "drawer" that comes out of the upper storage bin so I could pull out the iPod to see the screen. Since I'm not handy, and I heard problems with the iPod integration systems, I ended up going the way I went.

DuckyTSX

Not for a TSX.. but for a GTI.. I was looking at our "not an ashtray" and i don't know if it will fit.

Red_TSX

Not trying to hyjack this thread but I want to be able to bring my iPod in the car but I don't wanna have to install anything. I was think of getting the iTrip this one actually My only concern is I don't want the songs to sound like there from the radio. Like if you listen to a song on a cd and then when you hear it on the radio it is totaly softer and the bass is not as deep.

DuckyTSX

I had an iTrip for my mini and my girlfriend had it for the nano. In the car they are not that great. Especially when you travel between cities or even near cities.

You have to set the station to a blank channel. Many times when you are driving that channel is no longer blank and you have to change the setup to a different channel.

That one isn't soo bad becuase you can change it on the fly, but the sound compared to my icelink (on my GTI) was nothing. I would describe the icelink as better then CD quality. Depending on the type of files you are using.

cibs

nothing that's transmitted via FM sounds as good as something that's hardwired...

if you don't want to install anything i don't know what other options you have though, guess you just have to deal with it, or bite the bullet and install something such as the USA Spec...