HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

I have had my z for several months now and I think I have finally dialed in my car computer (carputer). Here is the info:

I started off with this old Dell I had from back in 2000. 700mhz Pentium 3 old, that doesn't work. I tinker and tinker and get it to work. So I put together a plexiglass frame, throw in some fans and pick up a Lilliput 7" wide touch screen.



Power: I'm really low budget at this point so I just use power inverter and the regular power source. This is kind of a ghetto way to do this, but as I said, low budget. What I should (and later do) use is a direct DC-DC converter made just for computers in a 12v environment.



My first choice for the location was, naturally, in my empty nav pocket. Now I worked in car audio for some time recently and I feel I am a pretty crafty guy. But I could not get the monitor to fit in the pocket above the radio to my liking. Wanting to keep the door, and keep it operational and also didn't care for the reach, I sit all the way back, I decided to just go all the way and get rid of the radio. So I used a double din radio frame and some backstrap and just my luck, it fit like a damn glove. Check it out....





So you are probably wondering how I get sound. Funny enough, a sound card hooked directly into a 4 channel amp sounds pretty good. Especially considering how old the card is, it works ok. New computer and surround card are coming, thus the 2 loose RCA cables not being used for now. The Z is great, tons of room under the seats. This one is under the passenger side. The sub amp will go under my big ol' butt.

Con't

HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

So here are the shots of the stuff in the car.

First is my view with some bad light. I am using Road Runner.



And a close up of the Road Runner, sorry for the quality. No flash sucks!




Here is a good one from the center showing the Nav: MS Streets and trips



And an extreme close up of the desktop.....




Those with a strong attention to detail will notice the lower center console doesn't sit quite flush with the upper portion covering the screen. This was due to the presence of the screen. I trimmed the feelers under the lower portion and it fits great now.

HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

I think this part is the coolest. It looks like crap on the bench with the plastic covering on the plexi. In the car, the template I made really paid off, cause it fits like a glove. The fans are blowing in opposite directions so it creates pretty good circulation. And because I cut out the back of the glove box area, cool air from inside the chassis is alowed to circulate. Haven't overheated yet.

This is with the lights on and the fans spinning. You can see on the right the button switch I used to power on the inverter, which incidentally turns on the computer also.




Here are some with the lights off, and the blue fans kickin'!! Again, sorry for the poor quality. I held it really still but it still came out blurry.





It was a real pain to have to turn the thing on and off everytime I got in the car. That is why I have the dc-dc with shut-down controller now. And even though it is only 700 mhz, it only really needs to run winamp and MS streets and trips.

My Carputer round two is next.

zz350zz

wow.....the fans in the plexiglass are awesome. Wish I had the ability/know-how, to do something like this with stuff I had sittin' around my house


Subscribing for round two

Skrilla

iTrader: (15)

Wow...I have like 4 old computers that work just sitting around...

where did you pick up the lillyput? cost?

any problems so far with HDD skipping while driving?

zz350zz

^^^care to send me an extra one haha

HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

My new stuff looks just like the old unless you know what you are looking at so the pics are omitted.

The new one is made from a computer my mom was too lazy to get fixed, so jackpot for me. It's a 2.4 ghz pentuim 4, 512k ram, and 80 gig hd. I also added a wireless network adapter, a new and improved gps reciever, bluetooth adapter for my phone, a compact keyboard with a build-in trackball, and an auxillery usb input. The biggest improvement however was the power controller. Now it will turn on and off with the car's ignition, just like it should. Pics on request.

Considering what this cost me, less than $500 total, not including the amps, this is the best way I have found to get everything I want in a car. I worked in car audio for several years, and this carputer thing is in infant stages now. But I think it is taking off.

The z is perfect for a carputer, no matter what year. Older models can fit a 7" screen in the nav pocket very easily and it will look factory. If you like my setup, it was super easy once I figured it out to put it into the radio location. Also with so many options in computer figurations, available (free) software, upgradability, price, and really kick*ss digital audio processing, it makes perfect sense if you are serious about mobile media. To upgrade to the factory nav in a 350Z, it would cost thousands and would still only do nav. Plus, I understand that you cannot do anything with it when you are in motion. In all, greatest bang for your buck in car audio. This stuff will be taking off in a big way real soon.

Now for those who question the safety of operating a computer while driving, let me explain what I do.

The touch screen means I don't have to use a mouse or keyboard, although I have them in the car. The computer does most of the work automatically as I am driving away so no fiddling. The software creates a very easy to use GUI with very large, easy-to-read buttons. I will say, most of the really cool features are reserved for the passenger (internet, video, games, etc), but the stuff I use everyday while driving is way better than anything you can buy prepackaged from circuit city.

Downsides.

There are downsides to this setup. It is pretty complicated as far as car audio goes. Not only do you have to be pretty familiar with how to connect car audio equipment, you really have to know how to build, troubleshoot, and modify computers. For example, those of you with dell's may know that they use a proprietary on/off switch, usually tied into a usb plug/audio input junction on the front of the box. Universal, DIY computers have a universal setup. This means that a traditional on/off switch would not work for my carputer. I actually had to modify the motherboard to get the switch to work. This was not that big a deal, but most people are not comfortable soldering a motherboard and expecting it to still work afterwords.

Also, it does take a second or two to boot up. It is usually ready to use by the time I leave the parking lot, but that may be too long for some. I don't mind. And it took a while to get it right. Some with tons of money, may just opt to get a prepackaged deal and have someone else to it.

I like it, it works for me and it was waaaay cheaper than buying what is out there in the mainstream. I hope you like it.

Z1truth

iTrader: (2)

Well, that is what I'm debating now. Build a carputer new from the ground up or buy a used laptop and use that for the platform. I wonder waht the power draw is of your unit?????

HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

I got the lilliput from mp3car.com. Best resource for carputers. Kinda like my350z.com is for z's. $260.

I was really surprised about the hard drive. No problems at all, not even one. I think the consensus is to mount it vertically and not flat. I did it with both of mine and both worked awesome.

HIGHTECHZ

iTrader: (7)

The first system I had utilized the standard computer powersource with an automotive dc-ac converter. The power converter I used was rated at 800 watts, but the computer powersource was only 350. So the most it could have drawn was 350 watts. It is comparable to a 350 watt audio amp (you probably knew that).

My new setup uses a 250 watt dc-dc converter. It converts the 12v car source to the multi-voltage requirements of the atx board. You can find them at mp3car.com. Im not running any cd/dvd drives so my power draw is minimal.

usmanasif

iTrader: (4)

Very nice! This deserves a

Skrilla

iTrader: (15)

Man its so simple...I'm going for the same route as we speak...right now I'm waiting for a good deal on ebay

desiZ

iTrader: (2)

good job.... i like the alternative location set up instead of the cubby

240Zplus110

iTrader: (1)

You mentioned lots of Freeware software.
Do you know of any exist that can input OBD codes... or display live data on car performance?

Thanks... and great install!! Have an old Toshiba Satellite lying around... the screen burned out. Now you got me thinking (dang)

THE TECH

iTrader: (154)

Nice!!

Mr. Black

Ok fisrt off I am not an car audio guy.(more computer guy) I been planning to do this for a while I am pretty sure am going the laptop route. could you explaine how the sound portion works. Do I need an amp if I have an base HU. Break it down Barney style. (for example, the wire from the speakers plug into ....)

Mazinger Z

iTrader: (49)

Same here, I have an old laptop that I might be able to use.

Dave 90TT

iTrader: (4)

There is an adapter you can buy from www.pac-audio.com (I think it is PAC-A11-NIS) that allows you to have an auxillary input into the stock head unit. You would take the 3.5 mini plug from the soundcard, use an splitter cord to split it into RCA's, and then run RCA's up to this adapter, which then plugs into the stock wiring harness behind the stock head unit. The sound quality is not perfect, but it's pretty good.

There are many other ways to do this, but thats the simplest. Check out www.mp3car.com for much, much more information on carputers and putting a PC in your car.

Dave

philude

iTrader: (19)

i see you're from VA also, where from? if you're local, i'd love to check out this set up, it looks perfect.

Ahsmo

iTrader: (13)

jeeze, It looks like I may be moving in this direction more and more.

Very nice and clean install. What are you using for audio? Did you run into any issue with ground loops and the like?