I finally worked out all the bugs in my carputer.

I went with something real basic with the sole purpose of it to display and log engine parameters.

The computer connects to my AEM O2 through a serial connection and then it connects to my UTEC engine management through USB. I have software that takes these two readings and merges them. I then output the signal though a video out and convert it to RGB+S which then displays it on my OEM Navi screen. I can toggle back and forth from Navi to Carputer through a custom switch I made that works off of the OEM Enter button.

To control the computer I got a wireless keyboard with built in touch pad:



I also have a network cable installed and can RealVNC in to the carputer from my laptop for log retrievel and tuning. I had initially went with wireless but I had some issues and went with the 'easier' solution.

The carputer itself is a 1ghz machine (Via EPIA) in the Mini-ITX footprint. It has a 40gb laptop harddrive and a M1 automotive power supply (works from 6-24vdc). I went 'cheap' and made my own case, which consists of a piece of plexi-glass cut to fit in my spare tire. It press fits on to the 'start nut' that holds the tire in place, and then I used a few eye bolts to provide stability towards the outside of the 'glass. Its pretty secure, yet comes out easily to access the tire:







Here is what it looks like on the dash:



After I finally got it working right (had some major issues with WinXP the first and second installs) I love it. It boots up in under 30 seconds and has been very stable for the past 2 weeks. I am somewhat concerned of the heat generated, but so far the two cooling fans have done a good job.

Cost -

Bought the motherboard, processor, and 512mb of RAM for $160
Bought the wireless keyboard/mouse for ~$80
Harddive - Free (used one laying around collecting dust)
M1 power supply - $~70
RGB converter - $50
Misc. cables - $15
UTEC engine control - $1100
AEM wideband - $300

I obviously already had the UTEC and AEM, so they don't really count, and I had the RGB converter from a DVD project that never got completed, so all and all I spent <$350 to have continous monitoring of boost, a/f, RPM, timing, IPW, and a few other things with no added guages and now I don't have to carry my laptop with my 24/7.

 

Awesome setup. This is exactly what I was thinking about doing a while back... Very clean and very functional.

 

Much nicer than the desktop mounted in the back that I was picturing
Get ready for the flood of "how much to make another for me"

 

lol.




seriously how much

 

+1 how much?

 

+2, how much

You could make a killing.

 

Very Nice!

What software are you using?

 

The software is the MPS logger made for the UTEC.

I wouldn't make these for people, as I'm pretty sure that the heat will eventually kill the sytem prematurely. The floor cover sits flat on top of the tire and doesn't let much air flow through there. I haven't had any heat related issues yet, but it has got to get hot in there!

Also, I'm only running a 1ghz processor. I chose the smallest processor I could find to help reduce the heat generated.

 

Good job!
If you dont mind cutting the carpet; you can use some oversized metal pc fans that can dissipate the heating. Mount 2 fans ontop the plastic piece & have 2 fans underneath the spare creating a push/pull vaccum. I think that will solve ur heating...& as a bonus u could drop the back seats to get a/c air to the back to reduce overall air temps.

 

I was thinking the samething plus those harddrive you used are not meant to take shock like a laptop hardrive.

 

very nice

 

sweet, so which software that you used to display real time numbers?

 

That actually is a laptop hard drive, taken from an old laptop. It has adapter brackets on it, so it looks bigger then it really is. Also, all components were mounted on spaces with rubber mounts, so they have a bit of shock absorbance built in to them. I don't forsee any vibration issues at all.

I haven't had any problems with heat yet, and its been super hot here lately. I don't think I'll have any major heat worries, so I'm not going to cut the carpet or anything drastic like that. I wanted something out of sight that wouldn't take up any trunk space, so I went this route. As with most choices, there are pros and cons to consider. I drove the car to Zdayz with the carputer installed and running - that was a 6+ hour drive each way. If its not going to overheat in 6 hours I have confidence that it will last a considerable amount of time. Of course, like I said, I'm only doing very basic stuff with it. If I tried to load some MP3s or videos on it I'm sure the heat would become an issue much sooner.

The software is called MPS Logger. It's a 3rd party UTEC interface program.

 

nice and simple, i like... and this is very accessable to most people.

I may look into something like this... pitty we dont get NAV's in australia...

 

I can probably build these for people - maybe with a custom bracket for installing it in the "glove box" behind the passenger seat (it would be in a car PC-specific case not some custom thing) and I could assemble them, you'd be responsible for your own copy of windows unless you want to pay for a new license. The only thing is you guys would have to do is figure out your own way to install them however you'd like because everyone's setup is going to be different.

 

how much? I'm interested in one for my Titan..

 

Give me a few days to work the numbers and figure something out - I think it might end up being too expensive for most but I'll work a figure out w/ specs.

and I'd have to chat with Kyle before I announced a price I think.

 

I'm interested... Please update when you get something rough together.

 

There is a place you can buy a $50 bracket to mount everything - http://store.mp3car.com/category_s/53.htm

I didn't go that route because A. I have lots of spare 'glass and B. I didn't like how that bracket stacked the compoents. I wanted everything to be laid out with no overlapping so that the most amount of heat could dissapait in the small area with little air movement.

If space isn't an issue they make all kinds of 'traditional' small frame cases. Again, I didn't want the thing to take up any space at all or be seen, so my options were limited.

As far as building the computer, there isn't much to it, and its pretty much idiot proof. You get the right parts, connect them togehter (everything plugs in) and you screw them down. Then comes the fun part of installing the software, which isn't difficult, but it is time consuming.

 

I just typed a long elaborate post only to have my work PC crap out on me. I'll post up when I get home from work - I have some ideas and I'd like to see what other people think about what should be included.