Fairly Z

Has anyone done an installation of a double DIN touch screen head unit in the upper pocket in the 350Z? I'm talking about the pocket that flips open. I'm planning on installing a D3 there, but I'd like to see some other examples before going through with it. The depth should be there, right? Obviously, we'll need to do some cutting of the dash behind the pocket so that it will fit, but I'm confident it will work. Anyways, I'd still like some examples. Pics?

StreetOC192

iTrader: (7)

I believe this was discussed not too long ago and the conclusion was that there is NOT enough depth behind the pocket.

Fairly Z

Really? I haven't yet taken a closer look at the amount of depth I have. I wanted to keep it stealth, but if necessary I'll build a custom enclosure forming out of the pocket and remove the pocket door. Any more input?

MUZZY

iTrader: (28)

not enough debt.... i can confirm this

djclongisland

iTrader: (8)

i think with a little glass work this would be a sick place to mount it,

LAKERSFAN

iTrader: (12)

fixed.

i assume were all in enough debt.

Fairly Z

Oh, you can never have enough debt! What I'm going to do is make a fiberglass housing that will extrude from the pocket itself, and wrap it in suede or vinyl. Thanks for your help on this, guys. Stay tuned for the post-installation statistics!

Spike100

I looked at this project 5 years ago. The problem is fitment, even with a lot of custom fabrication. Of course you can do it by making a custom piece replacing the forward center dash section, but the DD device will protrude way too much, ruining the lines and looks of the dash. I tried a couple of mockups, but it always looked like an “add-on” instead of a “built-in.”

Looking forward to following your project.

Subscribing…

--Spike

clarkemtp

Fixed.

Debt or depth, I assume we all knew what he meant.

gothchick

iTrader: (12)

lol @ this thread~ :-)

Spike100

Agreed.

If Fairly Z can do what he says he can (mounting a DD device in the Z’s upper/forward cubby space), it would be of great interest.

I doubt we will ever see any pictures or a success story here from Fairly Z. At best his efforts (if he does this) will be an ugly square box protruding from the Z’s dash.

But then again… it’s an interesting project. Gee... What if he was actually able to do it? And, it didn't look "pig-boat?

--Spike

Fairly Z

I'm not going to go through with it if the result will be ugly. If that ends up being the case, I'll throw it where the factory radio is and call it a day. But, I think it's worth a shot. In the eighteen years we've been in business and manufacturing custom kits and enclosures, we've done things that present themselves as being much, much more difficult. I'm confident that we'll be able to get it done the right way. So, I'm sorry if I disappoint you if you were looking for something "pig-boat." Of course, to be sure, we'll need to do some investigation behind that space.

I'm glad that I've sparked some interest, and I'll make sure to keep you guys posted with the progress of the project. Either way, it'll be about a month or so before we can get started on it, because we're still involved with after-holidays installations. They tend to use up all of our man power and shop space for a good amount of time after the holiday rush, because of the amount of remote-start systems we sell.

As soon as the shop is more freed up, we'll jump into the Z and get started. Incase anyone's interested, what we'll be doing is a full sound-quality oriented audio system. Everything is ready to go.

A Rockford Fosgate T500-1bd will be used with three JL Audio 8" W3 subwoofers, providing for 500 watts RMS when configured at one ohm. The interior speakers will be replaced with JL Audio C5 series 6.5" components in the doors, and 6.5" coaxials behind the seats, all powered by a Rockford Fosgate T600-4 amplifier.

The amps and subs will be flush mounted in a false floor in the hatch. We've done these false floors before, and they come out nice, clean, stealthy and subtle. An example would be the one we installed in Adam from Z1's 350Z (Click here for details.) I'll have the Rockford amps painted pikes peak white pearl, to match the exterior of my Z.

For greater clarity, the amplifiers will be used in conjunction with a Rockford 3SIXTY.2 signal processor, which can be manually adjusted via a Bluetooth enabled interface. And, last but not least, as you all know I will be using the Pioneer AVIC-D3 as the source for it all. I used the D3 because I'm very picky about everything with my car, and everything has to be perfect. The D3 has adjustable color schemes, which will match to the factory orange gauge displays and look like original equipment.

So... Stay tuned!

Spike100

Looks like a great SQ project. And, I do hope you can fit the Pioneer AVIC-D3 in the upper/forward cubby space. That’s a much better position for a navigation screen than the Z’s stock DD slot which it is too low for safe viewing/navigating while driving.

Posts asking if it’s possible to locate a DD device in the upper/forward cubby space show up regularly on my350z.com, so it’s obvious there is a great deal of interest. Everyone discourages attempting this installation. I suppose it is because of the fairly extensive custom fabrication this installation requires.

The problem I saw with using the upper/forward cubby is the lack of space behind the cubby which requires suspending the DD device way outside and forward of the cubby. The solution is fabricating a new forward center console piece replacing the stock console. The “new” console would rise more vertically instead of sloping (similar to the console in the Infiniti G37). I’m sure that could be done, and it sounds as though you could do this if it‘s possible. On the positive side, the center dash console is a separate piece making it’s replacement with a custom console a realistic possibility.

The shop I approached with the project was unwilling to attempt this degree of fabrication, but it’s apparent that you have more experience and expertise in this area.

Please keep us posted on your project, and thanks for the message about your interesting project.

--Spike

Fairly Z

I'm not going to lie and say that the expertise is within me alone; in fact, I don't have a high level of expertise at all when it comes to installation. My job is in sales - I'm also too young to have accumulated such experience over the years. Luckily, though, I was fortunate enough to be born into a car audio business and I have a very reliable and professional installation team that I know I can count on. I'll keep you all informed.

Edit: Oh, and I do understand what you're talking about with the custom console. That would be another way of doing it, but then the question arises - what of the factory head unit? It would look very out of place in a custom console installation. Perhaps in a situation like that I'd use two screens, not one. We'll see what happens when I get involved.

Spike100

Of course, the necessary fabrication to hold a DD device in the upper/forward cubby probably requires a total replacement of the center dash console. That means it is probably necessary to replace the factory H/U for this project. Isn't that obvious?

Certainly two screens (as you suggest) is one way to do this, but you could also use a single din device (But, why would you need it?) with a shelf, or leave the existing DD slot for things like storage, additional gauges, or whatever. If you put the all-in-one DD device in the upper/forward cubby slot, the H/U installation is covered and you don’t need the stock DD for CES.

--Spike

Fairly Z

I like the idea of using the space for additional gauges - thanks for that. I could flatten the space out and then flush mount them. The reason I wanted to maintain the factory head was because of (and try not to laugh) the clock display, mostly. I like having the time in plain sight, instead of having to look at a very small reading on a double DIN or having to search through various menus to actually find the time. Also, the plan was to maintain a close-to-stock look. But, this idea you've turned me on to is very appealing. I could quite easily find an orange backlit digital clock and flush mount that.

We'll see.

Spike100

^^ I see your point… a dedicated position for an easily viewed time clock. In fact some very expensive automobiles (e.g., Bentley, Aston Martin, etc.) mount an analog style clock in the dash. It’s a retro-look that it is functional and esthetically appealing.

Back to the main discussion (mounting a DD device in the Z’s upper/forward cubby).
The big problem is that it will stick out (a lot). Of course this mount requires a great deal of custom fabrication. The best I came up with (doing some mockups) looked way too “top heavy.”

--Spike

Fairly Z

I see where you're coming from, so I've decided on refabricating the entire console, like you suggested. Here's what I'll do.

- Buy a used center console.
- Sand it to eliminate the bumpy texture.
- Fill in the holes for both the factory radio and the upper cubby with fiberglass resin, and make it completely flat.
- Create a double DIN hole located above where the factory one was, but not as high as where the upper cubby was. It will be placed in the middle of where the two were previously located.
- Cut holes for misc. gauges below the double DIN hole.
- Cut a hole for the digital clock.
- Wrap the custom console in black vinyl / suede.
- Mount the digital clock behind the console so that it appears to be one with it.
- Flush mount gauges.

What do you think?

Spike100

Sounds great. In fact it sounds like the beginnings of a show car. Please take pictures during the process.

--Spike

Fairly Z

After thorough analysis, we've found that it is NOT impossible to mount a double DIN in the upper pocket! However, it does require major modification - so much, in fact, that it's likely not even worth it. What would need to be done is remote-mounting the brain of the head unit and mounting the touch-screen face alone behind the pocket. I had it all planned out, and this is what I encountered.

- Loss of warranty on whichever radio you use!
- Overall a pain in the ***.
- There is a ribbon cable connecting the touch-screen face to the brain, and you must special order a cable with the same pin configuration in a longer length in order to make it work. You CANNOT splice into it with CAT-5, as we also thought of, because the pins are too small.

So, I've decided to use a KENWOOD EXCELON KOS-V1000 CARPORTAL INTERFACE. I'll keep you guys posted with info.