I'm sure this has been done but I've searched through the forums as well as I could without the search button (haven't gotten around to donating just yet making final decisions on if i want the maxima currently) but has anybody installed a monitor into the dash or something similiar on the 6th gen? For a car pc, dvd reasons, gps or annthing really. Has anybody done this yet?

 

I'm in the middle of it now, using a 7" lilliput in place of the info screen, and moving the info screen down to the bottom pocket like some people have done.

There really is nowhere else to mount a screen in that car IMO... at least not without it being in the way. I thought about a single-din pull-out unit, but it would be in the way of the climate controls... and I think the bottom of the screen would stick out 3", so it would hit the shift lever while in park. Too much hassle, so I decided that the only way was to gank the info screen and move it down, and put a screen on top.

Some people have gone with some of the 7" screens from other vendors and hook them up to custom head units though... but that'd require getting rid of the changer and probably losing the steering wheel control, so I decided against going that route.

Altimat is helping me out with some fabrication, but I shouldn't consider the project anywhere near finished. Took me about 2 months of research to find the right hardware and software, and even today I still don't think I got all my plans ready, so I haven't really done much (just a lot of talk, reading and planning).

My goal in the end is to use a PAC adapter to the SAT input, connect a computer to that for audio, use the screen to the VGA output of the PC and use that for everything... mp3, video, GPS, XM radio, phone via bluetooth and (eventually) OBD-II access. If it never gets finished, it's not because of ambition, I'll tell you that much...

 

Hmm I look forward to seeing your results. I still have some time before I have to max my decision fortunatly as I don't plan on getting a maxima until april or may this year. Onyx SL with elite package is my ideal choice. I'd like the navigation system but I have a hard time paying 2k for something like that when a car computer can be so much beeter.

On the other hand maybe I'lll have a some good sales before then and I can just put a bigger down payment and get the navi but I kind of would like to stay under 30k.

I'll keep a close eye on what you do then and some of the current things going on with car pc's as I've not been paying attention. All I know is if the bose speakers sound anything like they did in my 95 GLE I plan on keeping that stock unit in plus you have to love the steering wheel controls. Hopefully you find a way to keep the info screen.

 

Vig, if you don't mind telling, which model # Lilliput did you go with? I'm headed down that same road, but am currently trying to find a 7" screen with the right dimensions.

Thanks

 

I have a single DIN hu installed, although it does cover the climate controls (which you can still get to when it's open) it does clear the shift lever.

 

Well there are pros and cons... obviously you have to mod the interior of a brand new, $30k (or more) car. That takes *****. The other problem is that you have to think about the long term... are you gonna have a hard time selling the car if you don't revert back to stock, etc. You have some people that would kill for the setup, and some others that would consider it a hassle.

Having a PC in the car (I hope nobody links to that damn new Mac Mini ) is also a problem... you have to figure out where to mount it, run wiring for signal and power... probably drill through the firewall to get to the battery and add a distribution block... run USB and audio cables to the front from the trunk, etc. It's a real pain in the ***... it costs a ton of money and you have to put a lot of effort into it to make it look professional.

As far as the advantages of it, from my POV, it's much more versatile than the stock navigation unit. You pay $2k for navi and that's all you get. If you want to add DVD (which you probably shouldn't be playing in the car anyway, but that's another point ) then you have to fork over a few C-notes for an adapter. Plus you need a DVD player... or swap out your head unit for something that plays DVDs. With a Car PC you get MP3/ACC/whatever type of music your PC can play, DVD/MPEG/AVI/xvid/whatever type of media your PC supports, wireless internet with the right gear, etc.

Most of the software in use now in navigation units are PC-based anyway, so it's not a big deal to make something comparable to the best that you can find. Honda is using embedded ViaVoice running on QNX for their voice recognition, and with similar software and some time, you can make the car drive itself if you wanted to...

This was one of the things that delayed me the most... I wanted audio through the car's sound system (for GPS annoucements, phone integration, music, etc) but I didn't want to lose the steering wheel controls. I decided on the PAC AAI-NIS going into the SAT input of the Bose HU, then use the XM Direct for XM radio. Solves all my problems (I think ).

People have moved the info screen down to the bottom drawer already... I did it myself during a test-fit a few weeks back. Support down there is iffy at best, and I think it fits better on the Metra dash kit than on the stock. Either way, I might have to figure out a way to mount it securely down there, because the lilliput is definitely going up top.

 

I'm all for details... if you have any questions about it, just fire away...

I got a 7" Lilliput, the VGA 16:9 one with the USB connection for the touchscreen, plus 2 additional video inputs and sound. My plan right now is VGA for the PC, and probably a rear-view camera or something... haven't decided yet, but it's good to have the extra input in case I decide to do anything with it later.

This is the old lilliput, btw... the new "2005" ones you see on ebay have more of a flat all-around bezel instead of a curved one. I don't have access to the screen right now to get a model number, but it's one of these: http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_...products_id=33

From what I've heard though, everybody points at the Xenarc screens as been better. Brighter, faster, stronger, you know the deal. I purchased this used from someone so I could play around with it, as well as a spare dash kit(the center part where the info screen is). It's expensive, but the last thing I need is to mess with the stock stuff in case something doesn't go right...

The screen is barely big enough to fit back there, which is why I needed to have some fabrication done. The opening for the info screen is just about right, but you can't just drop the lilliput back there and hope that it fits. That work is in progress so I'll hopefully have some pictures within the next few days.

 

here is acouple of examples. NOT MY PICS

 

Trust me, I've looked at your setup 100 times already when I was trying to make a decision...

The problem with some of the other screens though is that they "pop out" differently. DigitalWW.com sells conversion kits that mount a Lilliput into a single din enclosure. Unfortunately they don't open the same way and they might bump into the shifter. Notice the "might", since I didn't feel like spending the $100 on the unit just to see if it would clear it...

The Xenarc in-dash units pull out the way yours does, but I was still not too happy about the climate controls, especially since I have to keep fiddling with it now in the winter (defroster, defogger, etc).

In addition to that, it would mean losing the HU -- not a big deal if you're going to replace the CDs and what-not with a computer, but it would throw a huge monkey wrench into my plan to keep the steering wheel controls, since I'd have to get an amp (the output from the PC sound card won't drive the speakers all that well) and probably one of those SWI-X units from PAC. I thought it would be too much trouble.

 

As soon as I find a place that won't rape me on the price, I'm going with one of the 7" Accele raw modules with dual input. With one of these, I won't have to worry about dealing with a bulky casing.

 

Well viguera you gave me some ideas to thikn about. It's just for about the same price as the navi I can have like you said a car pc, plus mp3, and dvds. In the future maybe even adding headreast monitors for the backseat area. Just so much more that you get. New car though so it takes time to figure out best setups