Ok guys and girls....

I have been working on this plan for a long time. I am going to install a pc in the car with a touch screen. The following is what i got so far.

- remove the center armrest and integrate a pod to hold a 7in. touch screen.
- get a VIA MB with embedded CPU.
- memory
- hard drive
- FM mod.
- all the cables etc...

I took the armrest off 2 weeks ago and ripped the leather off and molded a bezal with the help of friend. I used with his directions fiberglass and resin to make a new extention of the armrest. Then we put bondo to smooth it out. The armrest is at the upholsters getting new hide and stiches.

I installed a FM modulator last weekend and ran the cables under the pass. seat. The motherboard and CPU are integrated into one and the board is tiny.

The only thing i need now is a new hard drive (160GB).

For software I am going to use Win XP and roadrunner.

What do you all think????

 

i want to see pictures of thisss

 

Stay calm... let me get the thing done and then I will show.

 

Sound pretty slick. So, the touch screen will be where the armrest was? Will you have armrest functionality with the finished unit? Do you still have cup holders?

I'm looking forward to your pictures.

 

The screen is angled at 45 degrees at the tip of the armrest... I will be able to use the armrest as normal. I will loose 1 of the cup holders. The cool part I really liked was that I can slide the armrest all the way forward and lift it up for people in the back seat to view.

 

Some pics of the motherboard, screen, and power supply. Sorry for the big pics.

screen
motherboard
motherboard2
screen and motherboard
power supply

 

I can't wait to see this installed. Please post more pics when you're finished.


thanks

 

how are u gonna do all the shifting and such? won't that get in the way? i can't wait to see this....

 

this is gonna be awsome

 

it looks like a realli nice set up jus wondering how much did the touch screen and power supply coast u and what chip are u using?? nd arent u worried about it over heating or do u have fanz or somethign to keep the system cool

 

Shifting is not a problem.... Automatic car.....

The screen was $260
the power supply was $80
the board with CPU $180
hard dirve $90
FM mod $45
misc cables and connector $30

Spending 1 month planning, 4 weekends installing, and enjoying it for ever..... I don't have not gotten to the enjoyment part yet...

The only reason why I chose this Motherboard is because the CPU is embedded into the board with a ultra tiny fan that has very very low DB of sound... the CPU is a 1Ghz... that should be plenty for music videos and mp3's. I have the Acura Navi in the car so i don't need the GPS on my pc. I will have a wifi card for parking lot surfing and updating my mp3's via my desktop in the house. Plus the wifi will come into ripping CD from my desktop in the house because the car pc will not have a cd rom drive.

 

anyone on here know what companies to look for cause i want to put screens in the visors, but i dont know who fabricates them or even makes them to fit this car.

 

Check out www.mp3car.com. There is allot of good info on installing any sort of car computer system, and also good info on what products to use.



X - I have been planing a car PC install since well before I got my TL, but am still trying to figuar out where I want to put my screen (I also have navi). I never thought about puting it in the arm rest. Props to you for thinking of that - good idea. My origional idea was to put a motorized touch LCD below the stock stereo. I would have to cut the dash and some trim to make it fit. Then I realized with the shifter located where it was (6MT) there would not be enough room for th screen to extend out before it rotated up. And that is where I am at now. Arm rest could turn out to be an exelent idea. Keep us updated with the good work.
- Chad

P.S. - You must already be aware of it, but if not, www.mp3car.com is a GREAT resource for exactly what your doing. Check it out if you havent already.

 

It has been done on an Acura TL already.

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...light=acura+tl

 

yeah mp3car.com is an awsome site..... At first I wanted the screen in the cup holders to morterize out and then tilt towards the pass. seat so i can see it..... BUT I went to an installer and he said 1300 bones just to make that thing pop up and tilt..... so then I thought of this.... a cheaper alternative to using motors and other things... I also thought about the slide out BUT we don't have room at all in the dash to put one UNLESS you do some major operations to it and hope it comes out looking stock. I am hoping that this will look very stock... all depends on the leather.

 

Cosmos... that TL has no factory navi... that is why the screen is in the dash... I really liked how he did the control relocations.... BUT for us with navi, we can't relocate the screen.... Also i did not want to have a keyboard and a mouse in the car so that is why I wanted another screen for VGA and touch for mouse. I could have just bought the navi convertor and plugged it up to the pc.

BTW.... All screens are not the same. The VGOO screens for pc(s) have a better pixels than standard screens, so the picture looks better. My friend tried to hook up his pc to his aftermarket Clarion head unit with screen and the picture was very very bad. The resolution was set to optimum and still looks bad.

 

Go to www.cnet.com and look at the cars section to see some incredible modifications where folks have added PC's to their cars.

The new Apple Mini is a great choice for looks and easy install.

 

Just got the armrest back from the upholstry shop. Check out the pics. This was beyond what i expected. They did a super bangin hot job on the armrest.

Armrest1
Armrest2
Armrest3
Armrest4
Armrest5
Armrest6
Armrest7
Armrest8
Armrest9
Armrest10
Armrest11

 

Pics with the armrest in the car mounted with all original hardware.

arm12
arm13
arm14
arm15
arm16
arm17
arm18

 

They did a nice job, especially on the seams. It matches nicely.

 

Thanks, I was not expecting for it to be this good.

 

fixed the link

[I M G] http://www.sabusafamily.com/images/arm12.JPG [I M G]

 

<img src = "http://www.sabusafamily.com/images/arm.JPG">

 

Just curious why you went with seperate computer components instead of using a laptop. Power requirements in a laptop would be a lot lower and dampening for the HD would be a lot better. Also, you would have a laptop battery so that if you used the computer while the car was off it would not drain your car battery. I think the cost would be about the same or less to get into a laptop rig that is actually faster then your 1GHZ solution. removing and mounting the laptop screen would also be an option later on if you wanted to add a screen in the back for a duel monitor scenerio. Just a thought

 

Laptop is a laptop.... not a lot of thrills in making a carputer with a laptop..... i wanted to have a complete customized look. Also with my system i have the smart power supply. It triggers the system on when the car comes on and then shuts the system down and then cuts the power when the car turns off. The screen also turns on and off by itself. Yeah a laptop is a good solution BUT i wanted to have more fun with the setup adn installation of it.

 

looks awesome but the ergonomics of the car are shot (only if you use the arm rest). Also, its a good thing u have an auto ...

 

Nice job so far.

Do you retain the sliding feature of the armrest ?

Any thoughts on using the Wake On LAN feature so you can have a WiFi connection to your house and wake the system up when you want to update the contents of the HDD, for example copying new MP3s over ? I'd be concerned about flattening the battery but a gel cell might mitigate that.

 

Yes the armrest is placed back on the original hardware. It slides and goes up.

I did not want the wake on lan feature. I use a software called autosynce and it updates files as soon as my Access point picks up my car. The software is nice because I can cut the car off and shut the system down the next time it's up it will pick up from the last point.