Versa Car PC Project

The Nissan Versa Tech Discussion forum is the place to discuss Versa performance modifications and maintenance.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Parts list:

JVC KD-S100 HU - $109
Phoenix Gold RSD65cs Components - $79
Eclipse 2 Ch 180 Watt Digital Amplifier - $99
Kenwood KAC-8104D 500 Watt Mono Amplifier - $129
Alpine 12" Type R DVC subwoofer - $99
Custom made ported box - $140


This is the stock Nissan Versa Dash
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Installed HU:
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Wiring Accessories.
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Phoenix Gold RSD65cs components:
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I also purchased this speaker adaptor as it is made from ABS plastic and will not be prone to water damage, unlike ones made from MDF.
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Drilled a marker hole for the circle saw for the tweeter pods.
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Moving on to the component speakers. Here are the stock paper speakers.
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Installed PG component.
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Eclipse EA2000 for the components.
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Mounted on a carpeted peice of MDF to be installed behind the seat. Distribution block is beside it.
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Alpine Type R, bought on sale for $99 (insane deal) during the holidays
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Installed into a custom made ported box. Box is lined with micro suede.
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The Car PC will go in the glove box. The head unit will be moved to the cubby hole above the stock location and the double din opening will be home to a 7" touchscreen.

Computer Specs:

Intel D945GCLF2D Mini ITX Mobo
Kingston ValueRAM PC2-5300 2GB RAM
Seagate Momentus 7200.4 320GB 2.5IN Hard Drive
MINI-BOX M350 MINI-ITX Case & Pico PSU 90W DC-DC Power Supply
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Carputer Case.
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7" Touchscreen Monitor.
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Front End: Road Runner with eLite skin.
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Engine Management/OBD tool: OBDLink Multiprotocol OBD-II by ScanTool
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Dashcommand running custom Nissan GTR skin.
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GPS Receiver: G.Mouse Mini USB SiRF Star-III 20-Channel GPS Receiver for PC and Laptops

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GPS Software: iGuidance v2009 Laptop, UMPC/Car PC Edition.
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Reverse Camera.
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Last edited by williamk10 on Wed Jun 15, 2011 11:29 am, edited 3 times in total.

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CrankyVersa
Posts: 119
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:49 pm
Car: 2010 Versa 1.8 hatchback SL

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This, i wanna see when it's done!!!!!
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Quick video of Road Runner in action with the touch screen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdqW4E1INjg

Forgot to mention, audio will be connected to the line in jack on the HU....so easy fix for that.

I'll be dismantling the dash soon to make some measurements and see how everything is going to fit. You bet i'll have pictures for everyone to see
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Promise Land
Posts: 2168
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:52 am
Car: 2011 Nissan Versa
2001 Chevy Suburban
1992 Ford Mustang
Location: Sprague River, OR
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We'd love to have this in our upcoming tech section! Can you do a write-up on it with pictures?
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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I always do with everything I do Anything to help and inspire other Versa owners

However, things may change a bit. I have the dash out and after some measurements, i'll take a lot of work to fit the touchscreen and it'll all be things I've never done.

And if just in case you were wondering what the back of the dash looks like:

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With the cubby hole out:

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Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 10:48 am, edited 2 times in total.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Looks like my plan to have a 7" double din in the stock location and move the HU to the cubby hole is not going to work. After measuring depth at the cubby hole location, a HU will not fit. There is a plastic brace in the way and I would not like to cut into it in order to fit the HU there. Looks like i'll be going this route:

7" motorized flip out VGA screen:



The final effect will be something along the lines of this:



Also, GPS specs updated on the first post
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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A bit of an update. After thinking about how the in dash would look, I decided to go back to the double din and say to hell with the in dash. In order to fit a double din 7" screen, I will have to move my HU to the cubby hole.

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Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 10:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
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JayyV09
Posts: 146
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 6:11 am
Car: '09 Nissan Versa 1.8L SL (Super Black Hatchback)
Location: New York

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good work bro!
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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.
Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 10:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Back to the software side of things. Managed to embed the Dash Command digital gauge software with the Road Runner front end i'll be using to control everything (video, GPS, OBD)

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Is that pimp or what? GTR gauges FTW
Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 10:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Modern Man
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 1:17 pm
Car: 2009 Versa SL

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Interesting work so far. I'm guessing that you're trying to avoid having to go the bondo route to fill gaps? Maybe you can use textured ABS sheets behind the HU. They are available on ebay, not expensive, look for "ABS sheets".

Also wondering if you feed your screen via composite or vga, & if composite, how clean/readable is the screen?

Thanks
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gtrisfun
Posts: 65
Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:29 am
Car: 2008 Nissan Versa SL Hatch, CVT, Conv Pkg, Sport Pkg.

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i like your fab work and how you're going about adding the screen in an affordable manner. between the software package and adding the necessary sensors for the engine management system, have you considered adding a reverse cam? i understand that its a lot easier to have the seperate audio head unit, that an integrated system would be much more work, but if the video screen has more than one input, it would be pretty straightforward.

mounting of the cam itself could be in the bumper near the license plate, in the rear hatch release handle, or into the hatch spoiler (if you have one) angled down a little. that's the route i'm planning on eventually taking when installing a reverse cam myself.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Modern Man wrote:Interesting work so far. I'm guessing that you're trying to avoid having to go the bondo route to fill gaps? Maybe you can use textured ABS sheets behind the HU. They are available on ebay, not expensive, look for "ABS sheets".

Also wondering if you feed your screen via composite or vga, & if composite, how clean/readable is the screen?

Thanks
Yes, I don't want to do anything I can't reverse. The ABS plastic sheet is a great idea, i can easily cut a peice to fill in the gap in the top.

The screen will be VGA and it is very clear. I am running 800x600 resolution. Composite is blurry to me. Its basically like a small laptop monitor...HD rips look crystal clear on it.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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gtrisfun wrote:i like your fab work and how you're going about adding the screen in an affordable manner. between the software package and adding the necessary sensors for the engine management system, have you considered adding a reverse cam? i understand that its a lot easier to have the seperate audio head unit, that an integrated system would be much more work, but if the video screen has more than one input, it would be pretty straightforward.

mounting of the cam itself could be in the bumper near the license plate, in the rear hatch release handle, or into the hatch spoiler (if you have one) angled down a little. that's the route i'm planning on eventually taking when installing a reverse cam myself.
Yes I have and will be adding a reverse camera. It was either reverse proximity sensors or a camera and since I have a screen, I decided to make use of it and get a camera instead. I will be getting this as my camera

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I will be mounting this by drilling a hole into the middle of my license plate and will fit it flush against the license plate. If you've ever removed the rear license plate in a hatchback, there is a hole behind the license plate which exposes a styrofoam filler what I assume is between the bumper and the rebar. I don't like the look of a reverse camera on a license plate frame and the ease of someone unscrewing the frame and stealing it makes me feel uneasy.
Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Atx_Versa
Posts: 439
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:57 am
Car: 2008 Nissa Versa SL

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Very cool, Wk10. I'll be watching this thread very closely.

Keep up the great work!
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CrankyVersa
Posts: 119
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:49 pm
Car: 2010 Versa 1.8 hatchback SL

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Any further updates buddy?
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Nothing much, just got back from 10 days away from town.

Got the GPS receiver in tho

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Reverse camera ordered as well.
Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Double Din touchscreen VGA monitor ordered.

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Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Shad0wXCalibur
Posts: 622
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:02 am
Car: Nissan Versa SL Sedan

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This looks to be an awesome project.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Reverse camera arrived:

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A good feature of this camera is that the adaptive shaft fittings come in different sizes so you can mount the camera against a panel at different angles. One straight sided ring and 2 slanted rings for mounting the camera at a downward angle, depending on your application.

Like so

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Power plugs

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Only drawback on this camera is that it doesn't come with any harness at all. I'm going to have to go to Radio Shack and get a 12v plug and wire it to a switched power outlet to the car. Easy enough but just a bit of a pain. A hole will be drilled in the license plate (right in the middle) and the camera will be flush mounted for a clean look. I may use the slanted adaptor ring but it'll have to be installed and i'll see how the angle looks and make changes if needed.
Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 11:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Update:

OBD tool came in. Installed sofrware to interface with the Versa's ECU. Short video clip of initial testing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glHB9S3Ma-U

Laptop mic was on so you could hear the cars acceleration VS the data being logged in real time. 2 observations. The data is about 0.5 seconds behind from real time action to info display. Second is not all the guages work as you can see. I guess the Versa just doesn't have that information available. I'll have to tweak a few things to get it to display other information but at least it is working. All I have to do is get it to display the correct info. Also side note, I have to figure out what the gear position screen is supposed to say for CVT vehicles lol
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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off topic

I just found this pic of the navi option from a Tiida. The navi dash opening would have been perfect for a touchscreen with oem fitment....SIGH

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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Double din touchscreen arrived today. I'm glad I got it. Fit and finish are supurb.

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Auto switching reverse camera line..woot

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Touchscreen buttons were relocated to the top

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Sweeeeet

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Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 11:40 am, edited 2 times in total.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Screen in. It was 2cm too tall and I had to cut the dash. NOT happy

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Also, super slick camera install begins. No license plate frame camera for me.

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Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 11:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Screen in and fitted.

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Next step is to finish drilling the hole behind the rear license plate for the reverse camera. I'm drilling into the rebar...treading on nervous waters
Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 11:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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User avatar
GFresh
Posts: 85
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 5:18 pm
Car: 2008 Nissan Versa SL 1.8

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Screen looks great!
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wassimeh
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 10:54 am

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Sexy
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CrankyVersa
Posts: 119
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:49 pm
Car: 2010 Versa 1.8 hatchback SL

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Awesome work bro!!!!
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williamk10
Posts: 562
Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 7:49 pm
Car: '07 Versa SL
Location: Richmond, BC

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Dash wrapped in 3M carbon fiber vinyl to cover up those nasty cuts i made lol

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Last edited by williamk10 on Sat May 21, 2011 11:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Shad0wXCalibur
Posts: 622
Joined: Wed Apr 23, 2008 10:02 am
Car: Nissan Versa SL Sedan

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That is awesome. I love how cleanly you wrapped the dash in that vinyl.
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