Hey guys, looking at buying a G35 M6, but quick question before I do. I've been reading a tonne on this, but still questions, so sorry if this has been asked.

Basically, I want to install a car PC, and maintain the factory NAV if possible, while upgrading to a higher res touch screen. I want to keep the factory NAV because I like the fit and style of the stock NAV better than the DigitalWheelz. But I want a higher res LCD with touchscreen.

So, is it possible to replace the factory nav screen with a 700TSV, and use a VGA switch to switch between NAV and PC?

Thanks!
Mike

 

No one has done this to a factory nav; while I suppose its technically possible you would be on your own with this type of upgrade, and I don't suggest it, there's simply too much you can screw up when you start mod's on the factory nav without going into detail. Your best bet would be to go with the DigitalWheelz and modify it to your liking.

 

Thanks for the feedback, but what are the complications other than sending the RGB signal from the factory GPS to a new LCD?

 

Retrofitting in a new lcd into the old slot is one thing, and of course trying to wire the rgb signal. Find a few pics of people who did a double-din conversion with a double-din navi, and see if you like that look.

 

One complication will be hacking the video signal coming from the stock NAV unit so that you can convert it into a VGA signal. Good luck with that one, this sort of thing is not easy. Do a google search on how hard it is to take an LCD off of a dead laptop and retrofit the screen to another application, it's virtually impossible (with the exception of some Sharp based LCDs, a select few aftermarket LCD controller boards, etc) and laptop screens and hardware have been around for over a decade.

Secondly, you will have to hack the interface controller/touchscreen module of the stock NAV unit so that you can convert it to USB. The Xenarc screen uses a fairly standard USB-based touchscreen controller board, the stock NAV system uses a proprietary system.

Think of this like trying to open up your cell phone and replace the buttons and tiny LCD screen with a 17" touchpanel LCD.

Like Beowulf said, you're on your own, no one has done this and that means no one knows all of the possible problems you'll have. The only hybrid people have managed to do is get a auxillary video input (whether that is a PC, TV, xbox, whatever) into the stock Nav screen... but you do not have touchscreen functions in the aux mode.

Good luck.

 

Don't pay $2,000+ for a crappy oem gps with a shilty screen. If you want it to look more factory, use a xenarc screen and have it custom molded to look how you want it to. In my opinion , even the oem nav doesn't look too "in it's place ". Having it molded for the space will look even more oem than stock.

 

Ok guys, thanks for the info, that's a lot clearer. I didn't realize the stock GPS utilized touchscreen. It wouldn't have been hard to figure out the RGB signal...obviously if you can show an Aux signal on the built-in screen, you can show the NAV signal on a different screen. But the touchscreen would pose a problem.

I'll go the DigitalWheelz route, that way I can fit the PC into the glove box where the GPS unit would have been anyways. Now, just have to go order the car and the components!

Thanks again,
Mike

 

Just as a word of warning, very few (if any?) PCs will fit in that upper glovebox. You'll have to go with a nano-itx form factor board and once you step outside of the mainstream "carPC tried and true" hardware, it gets much much harder to get a system up and running that you are happy with. Take it from me from personal experience. Then again if you don't mind tinkering and deal with lots of problems/issues, then it's no prob!

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the CarPC size. I'm looking at the smallest ITX cases I can find...will have to measure when I buy the car and gut the glovebox.

Hey, what fun would it be without tinkering The 2006 Nav looks a lot nicer...wish I could find out the manufacturer and part number on the LCD.