jonjon737

Hey Guys, I've decided to mount a Nexus 7 in my 2008 350Z dash cubby. I've been looking at different options for a long time and I think I've come up with a good BOM starting point. I've got some pretty specific requirements and they are as follows:
1. I want to keep the head unit stock. (It frustrates me to no end, don't ask my why I want to keep it.)
2. I want to pipe the audio from the android tablet directly to the stock head unit so I can keep bluetooth open...
3. Use an OBDII bluetooth transmitter with Torque to keep tabs on the engine.

All that being said, here in my tentative BOM. I would love to hear what you guys are doing. Thanks in advance.

1. Nexus 7 Tablet (Just purchased the 2012 version with POGO pins for power and line out)
2. Official Nexus 7 dock (I will probably destroy it for the pogo wiring)
3. New OEM replacement Dash Cubby from CPZ, NIS350-68250-CF45A (I'm not sure if I'm going to use this or just modify the existing cubby in the car)
4. OBDII Sensor (BAFX ELM 327 Scanner)
5. Torque Software for Android
6. 12 V car charger, I'll wire this "cigarette lighter" style charger directly into a 12 V line behind the dash to plug in a 12V USB adapter that I already own)
7. Pac Audio ISNI531, this is a dual input adapter that plugs into the unused satellite input on my factory head unit. I'll use one input line for the tablet and another for a bluetooth audio adapter for my cell phone, should I ever need it.
8. Bluetooth Audio Adapter (Patuoxun Portable Bluetooth Audio with 3.5 mm Stereo Output)
9. Anti-Glare Matte screen protectors for the Nexus 7.

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to mount the tablet to the cubby. I've been toying with the idea of building a custom mount to attach the tablet to the cubby. I've seen others build something simple, bondo the heck out of it, then cover it with fiberglass and paint it to match the dash. I'm not sure if I want to get that involved with it or not. I'm going to wait until the Nexus 7 arrives and play with different ideas once I have it in my hands. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jonathan

dubbingt

I'm thinking about doing this as well but not sure how to go about it. If I got a nexus, I would mount it behind the dash/cubby so it would give it that OEM look. The problem is....Do I keep the battery in the nexus or remove it? If I keep it, over time it could expand and be a serious hazard due to extreme temperature differences in winter/summer and I wouldn't even know because its behind the dash.

If I remove it, I either have to set it to boot ever time I start the car, so I need to relocate the power and volume buttons. It gets complicated quick.

I'm currently thinking of getting a mini usb android PC ex: MK808 and keeping it in the cubby between the seats and running power/hdmi/storage to it. It makes it easy to flash custom roms in case something goes wrong, and easy to take in/out. Another problem arises though, I need to find a capacitive touchscreen with the right touchscreen driver that is compatible with android. So far I'm having trouble with that.

pilottim

I'm planning to do this too. Just ordered the Nexus 7 (2012 version), should be here later this week. My plan is very similar to yours, except I have a 2005 350Z so it will be a little different.

1. I plan to modify the stock Bose stereo with an AUX in to connect the tablet to the speakers.
2. Tablet will be mounted in cubby, non-removable. I'm also not sure how exactly this will be done yet. Eventually, I would like to have it mounted behind a motorized cubby door that opens when the car is started.
3. My biggest reason to do this is for a Navigation system with traffic. I'm currently using Waze on my phone and plan to use it on the tablet.
4. I plan to setup the tablet to tether to my phone for Internet access, but I will also set it up to be functional without data access.
5. Currently I plan to setup the tablet to wake when the car is started, and sleep in airplane mode when shutdown. I think I can do this with the Tasker app. I may need to relocate the power button of the tablet in case the tablet battery dies and I need to start the tablet from a powered off state. (maybe I can get to the stock power button after it's installed in the dash, but I doubt it.)
6. I wonder if the GPS on the tablet will have good enough reception once it is installed in the cubby? I haven't looked into remote mounting a GPS receiver yet.

I'm not sure if I should attempt to install the tablet into the car first, or setup all of the software how I would like it first.

Good luck with your install.

sincere85

iTrader: (4)

I would say that your best bet would be make a custom surround or use the factory navi console that replaces the cubby in the 08 z. I installed a nexus 7 in my upper cubby about 5 month ago. I made a custom surround that gave me access to the buttons. I will start a build thread on this once my midterms end.

sincere85

iTrader: (4)

Here is a couple pics. Wanted it to look as stock as possible.

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Does it power up when you turn the car on? I have a magellan 1700 installed in the 06+ oem navi console, and it has a feature to turn on once it gets power. I chose his over Android tablet due to this power feature and AV in for a backup camera, which I haven't been able to find in a tablet.

sincere85

iTrader: (4)

The great thing about having a tablet is that you can program it to do anything you like. lt turns on and greets me by name on startup. Also, on startup, it connects to my phones internet and pushes all my calls and texts to the tablets screen. I've seen backup cameras installed using the tablets usb connection but there aren't many cameras that use usb.

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Yea I haven't been able to find much info n those cameras