carputer

[VR4Kaos]

ive been doing a bit of maths and found a cheaper better option for in car dvd sat nav bootooth ect a carputer obviosly the self build way but just think of the options then suddenly become endless

[wintertidenz]

Quite a few of us here and on OzVR4 have gone for CarPCs.

I have one myself and I ditched a $1200 headunit (Pioneer P80RS) in favour of it - it takes some time and money to find the bits that you need, especially the case and the DC-DC PSU best suited for the job, but it does pay off.

My suggestion if you are looking to go down this route:
Lilliput in-dash foldout LCD screen (with a DVD drive too if you can get it)
Intel Atom board, or a new VIA one
At least 1GB RAM, and either a very rugged laptop HDD or a solid state HDD.
PicoPSU, or even the GP83 PSU that can be found online for cheap.

If you need some ideas look at www.mp3car.com for starters.

[VR4Kaos]

this is what im talking bout i been looking at this screen http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=12031
readable in sunlight touchscreen ect ect
its just the motherbord ect i need to decide upon
but defenatly think this is the future bin all them car radios even them in car dvd's
bin them gauges that are sticking out like a sore thumb and connect a obdII lead and get more accreate readings direct from the ecu
can't wait to get mine bought and all connected up

[apeman69]

It is a good thing to do but you really do need to think it through and plan it all pretty well: what do you want to use the PC for then get the kit that will do all the things you require. It's easy to get a PC, screen, etc and then a couple of months down the road you might need to open up the case to add this or that or wire up other stuff in the car. Much easier to make the whole thing as future proof as you can from the outset.
I did it a while ago and here's my project thread if you haven't already seen it.
http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33812&page=3&highlight=evoscan+carputer
It's all related to my build obviously but there could be some useful information or pointers.
Post number 85 contains a zipped PDF file of the whole project if you end up getting that far through the thread. It might be worthwhile starting with that and then reading the thread now I think about it.
I hope you do it because I would recommend it to anyone.

Others have gone for the screens similar to the one you linked and removed the casing, just mounting the screen on permanent view in the radio 'hole' for example. There are different ways you can do every aspect of the in-car PC thing so, again, careful planning will save time effort and expense.

[VR4Kaos]

apeman nice one mate your a star was loooking for summit like this to help me along could you just explain one thing to me (flashy dash) know what it reads but what is the cause ect
also how much about has this project cost ya about ?
thanks in advance
karl

[Turbo_Steve]

Karl...before you choose to drop the idea of using seperate units, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

a) Which gauges will you be replacing? ECU doesn't read oil temp, oil pressure, or accurately read AFRs. It also doesn't read "boost" per-se.

b) Have you actually tried to doing Bluetooth Hands-Free phone pairing on a PC? I gave it a go a year ago, and it was absoloutely rubbish. It put me off the whole idea.

c) Are you pretty IT competant? (Not being patronising...I just don't know) as there are a lot of hurdles you can run into with InCarPuters that may require you to know stuff about how Windows works "under the hood" or end up trawling a lot of internet forums for hours. Example : RS232, bluetooth pairing, the differences between driving an SSD over an HD in performance terms etc etc etc

I'm not trying to put you off, but I'd encourage you to do a LOT of evaluation in the comfort of your own home before you start fitting stuff in your car - ESPECIALLY of the critical stuff like Bluetooth Hands-Free.

It can look cheap to get one of these up and running, but the costs escalate pretty quicky as you start adding in functionality.

[VR4Kaos]

cheers steve i personly aint got a clue bout computers, windows ect but have a good friend who is and he also fits ice for a living so hoping to use his skills and experteeeeeesss he also is puttin' a carputer in his bmw hence where my idea of carputer came from.
Never did realise that oil temp and pressure could not be read from obdII port neither did i realise it dos'ent accuratey read afr thought that this would be more reliable/accurate way to get readings

[wintertidenz]

The OBD won't be able to pull much information from the ECU unfortunately, only through EvoScan.

You can get your friend to set it all up but if it breaks he might need to assist with getting it running again.

[Confused]

I've been putting PCs into my cars since ~2001 (when I started driving)

However - the VR-4 is my only vehicle since then that I haven't had a working computer in!

Reasons being - firstly, my 7" touchscreen broke (I'd had it in and out of 3-4 cars, and the man-handling required to do so eventually killed it), and I can't really be bothered to replace it yet.

Secondly - lack of a decent radio solution. Having ~8000 tracks in the car is all well and good, but, sometimes you just want to listen to that "guilty pleasure" current pop-song that you shouldn't really admit to liking, and that actually, some of the DJs on the radio do make you laugh, despite protesting otherwise for the last few years.

Thirdly - reliability. My CarPC hasn't been particularly unreliable, but those occasional long journeys when it decides to freeze just as you hit the M5 heading northbound and nothing you do, no matter how many times you pull over, will keep it going!


HOWEVER - when it all goes well (typically, in my experience, when it's done by a "non-enthusiast" it works wonderfully! But, when it's someone who's "into" CarPCs that it goes wrong - maybe because we "fiddle" too much with it!?) it is a very nice thing to have - and there's the sub-feature that many people haven't seen one, and are very "woo'd" by it!


As for bluetooth phone stuff - I've been trying for years, and never succeeded, So much so, that I just eventually did what I should have done in the first place - go out and buy a Parrot kit!

Digital Car forums (http://www.digital-car.co.uk) are another great resource, and UK-based, too :)


Garry

[apeman69]

Karl, the costs are at the end of the PDF.
I took, IIRC, around three months to plan the PC installation!
If your mate is fitting one then I'd say wait until he's done it, spend as much time as you can with him during the process and evaluate it's worth compared to what you want a PC to do. He might have different needs and ideas to you.
You really cannot underestimate the importance of researching and planning this. As Steve says, it could get quite expensive pretty quickly.
The flashy dash is a symptom of the fact that the EvoScan setup is not 100% designed for VR-4s: it just works with the car albeit you need to change a few settings. It is called EVOscan after all. Designed for Evos then adapted for other vehicles. Have a look at the site for info on this software www.limitless.co.nz