8 Series Car Computer - Where To Fit - Gathering Ideas

Having said hello here, a couple of members and I were talking about a carpc. I thought I would move the discussion here to a more descriptive thread, to gather some ideas.

I must say at this point, i don't yet have an E31, but I'm actively looking for a CSi and will get one eventually!

If you're new to carpc's, have a look here. I have previously done an install in my E39 which you can see here and here.

A carpc will basically modernise the E31's dash to give GPS, music, videos, and loads more, including realtime engine tuning (not for the faint hearted!)

This, I'm sure you will agree, looks very dated:

It's not the first time an 8 series has been done. There is a Russian guy called Lion that's done an 850ci install on mp3car.com. He's been very innovative and used a CDROM drive mechanism as a keyboard extender! He's also moved the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) and the OBC to lay flat, and placed a touch screen in all the space he made. Here's his install:

James, the Admin from digital-car.co.uk, has successfully placed two screens in his Peugeot 406. This should be doable in the E31 in a similar diagonals fashion. I've seen from Lion's install log that there's plenty of space to do that behind the existing controls.

Another alternative is to change the dash all together with one that has a flip pocket at the top, and place the screen in the top part. Then with some mouldings, make it look like the latest cars, like the 6 series for example.

Of course, there's no reason why you can't have a screen at the top and one at the bottom (one for music etc, the other for navigation).

Zitat von TallTony

It might take me a while to gather all the info & parts required but this is something I'm going to do to my car.

Zitat von TallTony

That said, I am going to have to make it look different to Lion's car. I applaud his efforts but, for me, the system does look strange and not in keeping with the e31 interior. Take a look at the e46 install photo I found last night. This IS an aesthetically perfect job IMHO and is something that would need to be at least equaled in my car if I'm going to take the plunge on this.

I totally agree. The factory look is the pinnacle target to have. That e46 bezel is done by srctrc from mp3car, his website is http://www.mybimmer.net. He is a reasonable man with reasonable prices for a custom jobs. There's also another guy called Janus that does the same ones, but I'm not sure if he'll do custom 8 series jobs. I will do it myself and would advise it too. It took me 8 months to finally get what I wanted (about 5 attempts) but now I have acquired the skill and I think anyone can.

Zitat von TallTony

It seems to me that the shopping list for the project is fairly straightforward. However the success of the install hangs on how the the Screen sits in the cabin.

recipe is:

- screen
- motherboard
- memory
- hard disk
- automotive power supply
- amplifier
- lots of cables, fuses, and probably some relays too
- some case or mounting platform (easy to make an mdf/aluminium sheet and put those elevated motherboard screw thingies in)
- hours of research, planning, configuring and various tinkering!

Zitat von TallTony

Ideally the HVAC and OBC would be controlled by the carPC. I'll hold my hand up and say I havent got the foggiest how to do this, but am good at following detailed instructions......... so if you know how, please share the info

Second best would be just for the HVAC to be controlled by the carPC. Then the OBC could be postioned in the bottom DIN slot, with the screen occupying the middle and top DIN slots. Then you wouldn't have to move the HVAC to the armrest area, preserving some of the integrity of the car's interior - and be simpler with just the HVAC ibus/kbus to worry about

I'm pretty sure the first option done. The hackiest way would be to solder wires onto the buttons so they can be pressed, and then to hook on to the lights that would normally light. This gives an input and output to the HVAC which can be controlled with some USB board. Correct me if I'm wrong, but looking at the HVAC on the 8er, it doesn't have an LCD which is good as they are not as easy to hook onto.

The OBC would be a bit more cumbersome to do that way as it has an LCD. But I'm sure it runs on some sort of bus, since it has to get readings from all over the place. So the means to do this, I'm sure, like in hooking up to whatever bus it runs on. And as you said, worse case scenario, is to ditch the HVAC and headunit, and just put a screen in.

Zitat von TallTony

I noticed this input device http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5451.html see pic below.

That coupled with the iDrive Skin would be ubercool

Funnily enough, Cherrybomb and I on mp3car developed a driver for that very device, and I reverse engineered it's protocol as you can see in this thread. I have a space navigator and the only thing I dislike about it, is the horrible blue LEDs. But I've taken it apart and you can get on the hat part of it installed, for an even more factory look!

It doesn't spin all the way, it's a spring loaded resistance. A better option maybe to go for the immersion touchsense , which can spin all the way, but can also be made to apply force. So some screens it can spin freely, other screens it "clicks" into positions, and others you can limit the range. I've not seen any implementations of it yet, but the new mercs have that similar system.

Zitat von argonaut

Excellent ideas! I was looking at this idea yesterday and I'm definitely going to go for it. Tony, I like the idea of getting the carpc to control the heater etc freeing up a couple of din slots to mount a nice touchscreen. That and the iDrive - I agree, that would über-cool. Has to be done, rude not to really.

That's the attitude

Zitat von argonaut

I looked at some carpc software yesterday and found something called Centrafuse - I downloaded the trial program and have it running on my PC here at home, I think it's pretty good but I'm sure there are plenty of alternatives.

Anyone have an opinion on Centrafuse? There are a number of plug-ins for this system, one of which allows interface with OBD II meaning you can read the error codes using the carpc

Centrafuse is great. I have personally used RoadRunner (RR), which is a free community based project. It can do everything that Centrafuse can and more. But Centrafuse is a commercial product and was built on the lessons learnt from Roadrunner, so you can expect to see better speed and better integration of the various plugins.

I'm actually developing my own front-end called Velocity. It's still in its infant stages so the version released is not at all ready, but I do aim to complete it soon, as my time permits, and it will also be a community supported effort.

Zitat von argonaut

I haven't had my 8 all that long and I'm already dreaming up various modifications

I haven't even got an 8 series and I'm dreaming about a) having one, and b) modding it

Zitat von argonaut

I'm loving this thread!
BMPuter - you are going to be one really useful chap to know - I think we'll be swapping a lot of posts on this topic.
Did you see my other post re Centrafuse? any opinions on this software?

that's what it's all about

Zitat von TallTony

Just an idea. But this is how my centre console would have to look. On this image the screen is a tad too large, but you get the idea.

UKzero.... see how your car could look

nice photoshop work there

the bigger the screen that will fit, the better in my opinon. An 8" widescreen should fit nicely, but there's also the possiblity of ridding the OBC from there and mounting a 10" screen in portrait.

here's a board that will do the HVAC business + more. Parking sensor anyone?

Zitat von Paul_M

If the HVAC can be controlled by the CarPC then I'm very interested. I think the OBC would be a lot of work, and I'm not too bothered anyway as only one slot needs to be freed up in addition to the head unit to allow fitment of a good sized widescreen display.

As I wrote in the thread in General, I think a steering wheel volume control will also be necessary for safety reasons. Not sure about everyone else but I change the volume often enough that I want to be able to do it without having to look at a touch screen and pressing the correct point.

I'm certain HVAC can be done. Steering controls can also be done. A wheel from another BMW, like an E39 can also be used. If the wires can't be fed through, then it can be done via radio (someone on mp3car has done it!)

Zitat von ukzero

Stop putting ideas in my head Tony

I'm still on the fence when it comes to this type of modification.
This is a mix of personal taste and keeping at least one eye on possible resale values - still not sure if I'm going to keep the car (mind you, thought that last year too!).

MMmmm - I do have a couple of spare laptops kicking around I could use, and working diagnostic software. What's more, they both have steam driven serial ports for bullet-proof connection to I/O boards.......

I'll have to think about it.

Sadly, the most important component, time to do it, is "out of stock" at the momemt!

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I did the install in the E39 completely reversible, for that very reason. There's no reason why you can't do that. Also, you could just get a motorised single din screen, that can replace the headunit only, and use a pc with that. stick the laptop in a docking station in the boot/under the seat/dash/anwyhere it'll fit, and you're off. oh you'll need an amp too!

Zitat von cel0202

The photoshop work made the modification look very intriguing, but i am still on the fence like ukzero.

I am on the straight and narrow path and thought that the 8s will be worth a ton of money in the future ( I plan on keeping mine for a very long time) and mods like this worry me, but perhaps it adds value to it? Who knows. I keep hearing stock is always better than mods? Is that right?

If it's built correctly, it's easy to go back. keep the HVAC and don't cut the wires, but rather piggy back onto them. As for the dash, you can either create a new central-part for it, or get a new one to hack. I'll be reversing the E39, I'll post pics before/after.

I'm certainly not going to be selling the car (that, btw, I don't have yet :)) and plan to mod it to frigging bits anyway! It'll be my project car.

Zitat von cel0202

A few questions on the computer...

Is the BMW software stable that gets installed stable?

What happens if the computer crashes... does that mean all controls for the HVAC are unavailable?

fairly stable. it depends what you put on it. car computers are not without their woes. I had mine running for a long time in a very stable state, running GPS and listening to music (most common tasks), but there are times when you'll need to do some maintenance, and there are times when it will crash - at which point you either press the reset button, or curse yourself that you didn't stick a rest button at the front, and you have to stop the car, go to the back, press reset and wait!

You're right, the HVAC will not work if the carpc is off/dead, but there's no reason why you can't run both. I have the MID (multiple instrument display) in my glove compartment, in case the carpc goes down, I can still listen to radio and access the OBC functions. You can easily relocate the HVAC controls and keep them as backup. You'll have to bend down to wherever you relocated it, but it does give you a backup solution for when the carpc is dead and the windscreen is too fogged up to drive.

If you want a carpc but not fabricated in, then one of these may be ideal:

I just had a thought. It should also be possible to integrate one of the later BMW board computers in there, for those that want to really keep an OEM look. It's much harder than a PC and not as configurable, but you do get true BMW originality if you do it.

cel0202 I forgot to mention that the s/w I'm running is not a specific BMW version, it's a skin that is running on RoadRunner.

Zitat von TallTony

this company seems like they know what they are talking about, despite them selling on EbayUSA. It would appear to be a high spec machine too, and the list price is good, even after import taxes have been paid.

What do you think ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayI…em=200124575319&rd=1&rd=1

good value, but personally I wouldn't get a VIA. Most people's argument for having a VIA based chip is that it's power efficient, low heat and more than enough for most carpc tasks. But for me, I always like to go higher spec, like a core duo! I hate to think that when a new app comes out, I can't use it, or if a skin is too flashy, it will be slow on my system. Higher power does mean more to think about (heat and power), and of course higher cost.

so about the above, I think it will do the job perfectly well, but wouldn't be my choice. Which type are you? buy a dell or make a pc?

Zitat von TallTony

I've seen the motorised screens several times. One option that I previously considered was the Pioneer AVIC X1r unit, but at the end of the day I would be unhappy with an obvious 'bolt on' change to the interior. I have to make this look factory and a modified centre console is the only way. I have a quote for a new moulding, but I'm still looking for a better deal. Anyone got a spare for me that I can buy from them ?

agreed. Perhaps you can get an aftermarket facia adaptor from somewhere, and use that as your starting point to fabricate. I've looked around and cant' see any, but maybe you can have better luck.

Zitat von TallTony

Multi Function Steering wheel..... this project is already spiralling out of control

Now I need to find one of those that will fit. It has been done before, but needed modifications which may be beyond my scope. We will see on that one.

yes, NEED! I have a feeling that all BMW wheels will be have same fittings, but that's just a hunch.

Zitat von TallTony

I want a 7" screen for my set up as this is width of the DIN unit and would look more in keeping with the lines of the centre console. Which one would you recommend, as there are so many to choose from ?

An 8" widescreen is the most perfect DIN fitting. It would be nice if there was a transreflective version (not affected by sunlight). This is the one I have. It also auto switches input, which is useful for having a reverse camera with a relay on the reverse light. Stick it in reverse, and the camera comes on

Zitat von TallTony

Long post that

Just 'cos I don't have the car yet, doesn't mean you can beat me to it! :p