Howdy!

Now this weekend I had something cross my mind and while I know it's kinda stupid, and there's a slim possibility that I'd ever do it, I need to know if it's possible, and how realistic it is.

Basically what I was wondering is if it'd be possible to rip out the glove compartment, install a mini PC, install a slide out keyboard tray and install an LCD monitor that, with the push of a button would power on the PC, slide the LCD out and flip it up, then you just pull the keyboard tray out and you're in business... then with the push of that same button it shuts the PC down, flips the LCD down, retracts it and the keyboard tray.


So... that's the odd idea that went through my head. I keep thinking about it and don't think I can get it out until I have someone either tell me it's completely stupid or that it's possible.

As for the passenger side airbag possibly deploying when the LCD is up (which would of course push the LCD into the passengers face), I was thinking about tapping into that feature where if the passenger isn't sitting properly a light appears on the dash about the passenger airbag being disabled or whatever that is... if it'd be possible to link this all into that feature, then when you push the button to get turn everythig on, it just disables the passenger side airbag, and when you turn it all off, it re-enables it.


So... let me have it! Good? Bad? Epic levels of stupidity?

 

its possible if your good with electronics, the glove box isnt that big so your going to have some fitment problems

 

or you can buy a laptop and make the glove compartment door slide outward and tie hinges to the top and bottom of the lappy. then when you open the glovebox the lappy opens and comes out of standby...

 

Well there's no possible way I'd be the one doing the work. I have friends who have people who do this sort of stuff so it wouldn't be hard to get one of them to implement the plan. I'm just wondering what options there are in doing all this.

I'm not actually too sure how much room is back there once you take out the glove box. If there's not enough room for the PC, keyboard and LCD there, the PC could of course be relocated to somewhere else.


Also it might be worth mentioning that I'd want to put a double dinn in the car as well... so I'm wondering if this might just be pointless as I'll already be trying to fit the largest possible screen into that. If it could be possible to fit something in the area of at LEAST a 15" LCD into this idea of mine, then I think it might be worth it. It'd give passengers something to do and when parked out on the road, it'd be nice to kick back with a movie.


I dunno... this is all just a jumble in my head right now. I wanted to just toss it out there and see what y'all could make of it

 

Yep, laptops were the natural alternative to what I was thinking about. It's just that as a single unit, I somehow view the laptop route as being cheaper than what I described. I mean, it'd just look like a car with a fancy laptop holder... whereas what I'm talking about is a car with a fully integrated PC. I know that this route I'm talking about would of course cost a LOT more, but I'd still like to see if it could be done.

I was just looking at some pictures of the glove area...




How about this? As the glove box already goes down pretty deep at an angle, how about having the LCD already angled the same way, but behind a panel to protect the screen when not in use, and give it a cleaner look, then with the push of a button it'll come out at that angle then tilt up when it's fully out?

I dunno how the keyboard idea would then work with all that, but you wouldn't even need a mouse as you can get keyboards with built in touchpads like this one:

 

key board is to long, maybe a mini key board but it would suck to have it in the glove box bc ur in the drivers seat, and i u have to map something out it would be hard to impossible.

 

if your okay with Macs they have the Mac Mini which is like a 4x4x2 box with a cd-rom on it. so if you could fit that or even a HP Mini tower which is about 12(maybe smaller)x6x2 plus a keyboard and small lcd monitor. It's do-able but good luck with an idea like that.

 

That keyboard is raw. I have it hooked up to my laptop (Bluetooth Sync), and connected to the TV through HDMI..

 

my question is ... why? lol

 

Well for navigation I'd use the double dinn I want to install, but yeah I know what you mean as far as trying to use the keyboard properly when it's all the way over there and the mouse is on the opposite side.

Meh, I'm really thinking about this as something for passengers to play around with... I wouldn't touch it at all while actually driving. The only time I'd really use it is when parked and I (and possibly others) want to kick back and watch a movie... or play games...

 

i am failing to understand the point of having a computer in the car unless it is used for running diagnostics constantly. It sounds like some cool ideas but it seems to be one of those mods that just doesnt make sense but that could be my ignorance on this subject talking

 

I like toys

I know other people have done things like put Xboxes and PS2s in their car, and others have broadcast TV going into their car. I'm a computer nerd, and I'd like to know how possible it'd be to put a computer in the car

The setup I described is about as cool as my imagination can think of, within what I think are reasonable boundaries. Now it's time for y'all on the forum to either steer me in the right direction, or whack me upside my head for having a moronic idea

 

Hmm, if it's possible to hook up the comuter to also do diagnostics on the cars systems, then all the better!

I don't know anything about that, so I'd have to leave it up to someone else to say how possible that is.

 

i know it would be really cool if you pull it off but theres really only 2 smart ways of doing this

simplest way: get a really nice double din system like the z2 and it will do all the fun stuff you could want plus have a very clean basic interface

fun way: do an all out carpc. get a lilliput 7in ts lcd screen then either build or buy a small computer and mount it in the trunk or glovebox. youll have a system that can run your entire car and do anything else you could want it to. check out mp3car.com and surf around. i think youll like what you see.

 

Touch screen.

 

Get a hideaway unit and mount a touch screen where the factory CD player is

 

i would just get a laptop or i think you can get a vehicle computer tower its made for cars and use it with any lcd screen even a dvd deck with aux ports

 

carputer, mini itx, laptop power supply conversion, conenct it to your remote on your aftermarket stereo and it will turn on when the car turns on. You can buy an lcd screen that has usb ability to control your computer by touchscreen. Ive had it before and took it out. Its only good on long trips, if you dont drive much, its a waste of time. But blasting porn with the windows down and the old folks next to you staring, SO FUN!

 

what about just getting your big 15'' monitor and hooking that up to everything? like scrap the keyboard, hookup monitor to mini tower or whatever, and have touchscreen keyboard available on the screen. with a minitower you can get some nice programs to work with a touch screen setup im sure.

 

Hmm, touchscreen LCD would also work and be much cleaner, the only question is how much one would cost, and what's the largest one you can fit into the glove compartment area.

For those suggesting a double dinn, I actually do want to have a nice double dinn system in the car as well, but of course there's a limit on how large a screen you can put in there (I think most people put 7", right?). With this idea, I'm hoping to put at least a 15" screen.


Also, as someone suggested earlier, is it possible to have the computer run diagnostics on the car as well? If so, what would it be able to monitor and how easy should that all be?

 

just get an iphone....

 

lol thats awesome

 

Nah, too small a screen and not nearly as cool an idea as this

 

kinda off topic but is the iphone really that good?

 

^ Hell no! The shit is garbage. It's ok for users who are "just" looking for a phone. It's like Windows Vista, looks good but performs bad. It doesn't have a fast processor to keep up user demands, and the battery life drains quick ( regardless if you using Ipod/Internet browsing and whatnot ). Texting gets annoying with the auto correct and touch screen. Can't use a stylus with it and it gets hot alot. The 1st Gen was better, because you can jail break ( open the phone up for customization ), and then do what you want. However, the 3G, disappointment. PM me for more details if you want..

Oh yea, I had both 1st and 2nd Gen..

Back to the topic:

Why don't you put the unit itself in the glove department, and put a decent size screen with the stock HU is. Get rid of the "CD Tray" on top, and even the coin tray/cig lighter. Some Aziner has it done, can't find his thread right now.. He even had the CD tray below the screen, for easier access. Get a wireless Keyboard with a built in mouse ( the bluetooth one on top works like a charm ).. I mean, the list goes on but I think its the best location for it.

 

I agree that putting in a new headunit is the best location, and I do want a double dinn in there... the only thing is the size of the screen.

I know, it might be a bit over the top to want to put a 15"+ screen in the car... but it seemed like such a cool idea I had to at least look into it further


So what's the largest double dinn that anyone has ever put into a TL?

 

depends what your expectation/needs are. when i got mine i just wanted phone + ipod, email/text/internet/countless applications are just bonus features to me.

so to me HELL YEAH.


anyways mount your monitor where the stock navi is... i did that with my avic.

 

Hmm, so if the car doesn't have a stock navi, then I have to rework the climate control as well, right?

How large a screen can you put there?

 

If the car doesn't gave stock navi, you're just putting the screen where the OEM CD player was

 

Yeah... that's where we get back to the issue of having to put in a relatively small screen compared to what I was thinking about in the OP of this thread.

I know it's excessive and to be honest I could live with just using a double dinn as the screen for a PC instead of putting in another monitor. I would LIKE to have a much bigger screen, but if it's not easily possible or cost way too much, then I can live with that.

 

i was planing of putting a 15" or some screen mover out and flip out of a slot that would be made between the glove box and the trim around the council and have all the computer stuff hidden in the glove box. but then again, im not too good with electronics.

 

If I could confirm that would work and find the appropriate hardware, that would be perfect. Have you done much research on what specific hardware you'd want to install and whether it'd all fit?

I lack the ability to do the work myself as well, but I have access to people who do know what they're doing, so I'd just utilize them to get the job done.


It's too bad OLEDs are so expensive, otherwise it'd be perfect to use one of those displays instead of an LCD. Personally I'm not planning to actually do anything until I get my new car next summer or so, so maybe they'll come down in price a fair bit between now and then

 

i know it would fit, sliding in/out and folding, but just the wiring and parts needed, im lost on, also time and money

 

Hrmm, would it be possible to provide a list of the equipment you had selected for the job?

Do you think it'd be that expensive to get a bodyshop to do the work for you?

 

You can jailbreak a 3g, unlock is a different story but jailbreak a 3g is not a problem.

 

what do u guys mean by "jailbreaking" a phone

 

Where you can go in and hack it so you can do different things with the browsers, background, rings.. stuff like that. I hacked my old Motorola Q when I had it to do all kinds of things. I don't know if you can't do it at all on the new iPhones or just if no one has figured out to hack into them yet. It's only a matter of time before you'll be able to.

 

to the OP, is that interior shot you posted from your car?? an a-spec?? if so, for the love of mike do not hack it up and put some outrageous computer system into it. remove the deck and useless little tray above it and go wild from there.

 

Correct, but with little success. There are different ways of doing it, but have internal software problems then. What I meant, there isn't a solid jail break without any issues rising. Unless there are updates, because I havn't checked on the Iphone forums lately..

 

Heh, I don't have an A-spec... yet. I'm currently only driving an 02 NGM TL-P... but I plan to get rid of it and get an A-Spec in ABP around next summer.

I know the A-Spec is a rare car in itself and hacking it up is practically blasphemy, which is why any and all mods I plan to do to the car would be reversable if I needed to.


To put it bluntly, I'm a newb at all this. I don't know much abou cars and know less about modding 'em. This is my first car I got just a few months ago and I'm now trying to learn. As I won't be able to afford the upgrade to the A-Spec until next year anyways, I'm utilizing this time to plan so that when I do get it, I'll know exactly what I want to do and get it all done right away.


Like I said in the thread title tho, this is possibly a very stupid thing I'm suggesting... I just wanted to learn more about how it'd look and how practical it'd be