Advice on double din install in cubby space

[teflon]

What about an android tab (7 inch)? From the legacy gt forums it looks like it would fit nice with minor modification needed. Could use my wireless hotspot on my phone if I needed google maps or anything like that... only issue is I would need a separate bluetooth handsfree (not a huge issue for me).

Hmmm... might research into this a bit more...

[Silent Thunder]

so what is the ultimate goal at the end of this little investigation? i've read through the thread and dont think i've been able to nail down what you're after, but feel free to correct me.

did you just want to move your audio to the cubby hole (which you've given up on i think)? what would be the benefits of a car pc or android tab over a more feature packed head unit? it just seems that you're not sure and maybe feature creep is finding itself into this project.

[teflon]

Project was abandoned Silent Thunder

Wanted the OEM/Stock look of the Mc back in place and the HU in the cubby space (like the OEM sat nav) so more at eye level. That was the main aim but cost of fitting a HU to the space provided was too much so decided to call it off and cut my losses. I also liked the appearance of the car pc type screens in the cubby space from the various builds on here and noticed that these screens needed no modification to fit - I already had a pc and all the parts so thought about pursuing this project because the only extra bit I would need was a screen... and it was possible to do with a bit of help from other members (thereby saving costs that way). The android idea came into it from conversations with guys on the legacy gt forums - some had abandoned the pc because it gave them too many headaches tweaking it and said the android system was easier to use and the 7 inch screens fit nicely.

But you're right some of it was feature creep and I decided I would hardly use those features so aborted. Plus, Clarence also made two good points - the distraction of the brightness of the screen in the cubby (I'm sure you could tweak a pc to adjust automatically but I didn't really want to stuff around with another pc project [have 2 pojects at home already!]) and the head unit is easier to use lower down. Plus I rarely use the gps so the few times I do I can put up with looking slightly down every now and then. ie potential features didn't outweigh the cons sufficiently. So sold the parts - made a loss but I think I would have thought about this for a while if I didn't give it a go. Live and learn. Funds going towards a short shifter instead .

Nevertheless - anyone who wants to put a double din HU in there; it will fit but will need some modification to the available centre consoles with either a frame or bog and paint to make it look good. I just couldn't find a cost (and time) effective method of doing it. If my DIY skills were better I might have pursued it for longer! Anyway, long post but hopefully others can gain from my experience with their projects.

[Gambit]

Nice try anyway Teflon, i was going to try a single din in my cubby space and relocate the info lower, or place the single DIn where the ashtray is located, but that was all before i got my car back, now that its back, what was i thinking??? wasting money on trying to fit it in where it wont work.. much rather spend the money on performance thus your case in point, go the short shifter

[teflon]

much rather spend the money on performance thus your case in point, go the short shifter

Thanks Gambit... I think my mate is right - "enough of prettying it up already"... loooong way to go to reach your levels though ... brakes/DP next and if I really want better ICE add or upgrade to what I already have instead.

And we did discuss this, but if you're purely using the head unit for mp3s, perhaps put it in the glove box and run it via the aux if you're not too fussy on sound. Yeah, saw pictures of your interior, it probably wouldn't fit under your gauges!

[tangcla]

Problem with low brightness is that it still lights up when it's a black screen, just part of LCD technology. Sadly nobody is making AMOLED screens for headunits - black pixels are not powered at all

[mihai]

And we did discuss this, but if you're purely using the head unit for mp3s, perhaps put it in the glove box and run it via the aux if you're not too fussy on sound. Yeah, saw pictures of your interior, it probably wouldn't fit under your gauges!

Mounting in the glove box is a good idea, however it would be an absolute pain in the arse to change tracks etc while driving. (Unless you had a passenger in the car)

[teflon]

Mounting in the glove box is a good idea, however it would be an absolute pain in the arse to change tracks etc while driving. (Unless you had a passenger in the car)

Agreed... but if you have very narrow music interests like myself, I just have one play list and put it on random and leave it like that 99% of the time