Attention E46 owners..

Jez · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:00

Waiting for this unit is clutching at straws, its clearly simply a chinese ebay product with a new facia and a massive price tag for that. Comparing it to products by reputable and dare i say it "proper" manufacturers such as Pioneer is quite frankly an insult to the market.

If i am proved wrong then great, i'll buy one too

I'd like it to be good as much as the next man but just look at it. Its complete ****.

[TW]Fox · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:01

Oh I'm not holding my breath, just keeping an eye on it. If its matured, great! If not, well thats a shame.

paradigm · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:04

The thing is, you could quite easily get say a double-din Pioneer Avic F910BT, and custom create a fascia AND buttons, nothing stops you relocating the buttons into the "expanse of plastic" you would be left over with.

Pretty sure even I could easily replace the buttons and knobs and relocate them to anywhere I like, even so much as retroffitting them somewhere else in the cabin ala iDrive. The issue is actually getting an e46 compatible fascia made up that suits the car and is of decent quality, as it would have to be a one-off.

Jez · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:06

Para, getting a facia made up is not the end of the world. Its pretty popular in the US W220 scene as they love their double din gadgets (that and retrofitting the 16:9 comand into a 4:3 comand car is a nightmare). There are a few examples over there of beautiful wooden facia's which match the standard trim of the car perfectly. The wood also goes a long way to disguising the fact that the expanses all round unit are pretty large (due to the size of the W220's console compared with a DD unit).

[TW]Fox · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:07

paradigm said:
The thing is, you could quite easily get say a double-din Pioneer Avic F910BT, and custom create a fascia AND buttons, nothing stops you relocating the buttons into the "expanse of plastic" you would be left over with.

If there is somebody out there who can do this I would happily pay for the service.

The issue is actually getting an e46 compatible fascia made up that suits the car and is of decent quality, as it would have to be a one-off.

Quite. It's a huge pain. I need to do something - and the BMW retrofit is the 'least crappy' option rather than the 'best'. It's far from ideal as an all in one entertainment centre.

NickXX · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:14

paradigm said:
Sounds like it has the build quality and testing that I expected it to have. Bargain, no. Get what you pay for, YES.

Doesn't look like you even get this. It is nearly halfway in cost to the proper system!

I wouldn't be prepared to spend much more than £100 on it.

Jez · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:16

NickXX said:
Doesn't look like you even get this. It is nearly halfway in cost to the proper system!

I wouldn't be prepared to spend much more than £100 on it.

Pretty much why i was saying that it is a €100 stereo with a €500 facia on it.

paradigm · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:28

[TW]Fox;15779457 said:
If there is somebody out there who can do this I would happily pay for the service.

In terms of the electrical engineering, I'd be more than capable of modifying the actual headunit to fill the space of the e46 boardmonitor. The actual construction of the fascia would be where I'd fall down, as I simply do not have the plastic molding skills or woodworking skills to make something to that degree of accuracy and refinement.

I made one for my e36 and tbh it was a very good fit, but it was fibreglass, and as such, the texture of the finished unit was not that of the car.

Jez · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:33

With wood it would be easy enough given patience. I think this is how most of the yanks do it and with excellent results. I'd be the other way, i wouldnt be at all comfortable modifying an expensive brand new in warranty DD satnav unit like that.

[TW]Fox · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:36

Thinking about it I'm not sure even Double Din would be any good. I like the idea of being able to install my choice of navigation software onto it, etc etc.

If it doesnt give me ultimate flexibility then I'd rather just stick with the inferior OEM retrofit.

paradigm · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:37

Nothing at all wrong with the pioneer avic navigation software, at least it has full 7-digit postcode search.

Just car-pc it, get it completely customized.

Jez · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:40

paradigm said:
Just car-pc it, get it completely customized.

I would genuinely rather have the OEM kit than a Car-PC. Car pc's totally suck in reality.

paradigm · 20 Jan 2010 at 13:41

Jez said:
I would genuinely rather have the OEM kit than a Car-PC. Car pc's totally suck in reality.

I agree, but given that Fox wants to be able to install custom software on it, it really is the only option other than the WinCE units.

Personally I can't be bothered with anything that I'd have to wait between 30s - 2mins for my audio to boot up.

big_ray_t · 31 Mar 2010 at 18:13

Jez said:
I would genuinely rather have the OEM kit than a Car-PC. Car pc's totally suck in reality.

Gotta disagree with that. I have driven 5 different bms in the last 12 years and have to say that a custom carpc install is a hundred times better than anything BMW have to offer on the OEM front.

As for waiting for boot up times etc, if done correctly these are negligible. My last install would boot in less than 6 seconds from ignition on. Granted, I would have to wait a further few seconds before the lcd was up and running, but all together, less than 10secs from ignition on to fully functional.

Why do you think carpc's suck so much?

paradigm · 31 Mar 2010 at 18:19

big_ray_t said:
Gotta disagree with that. I have driven 5 different bms in the last 12 years and have to say that a custom carpc install is a hundred times better than anything BMW have to offer on the OEM front.

As for waiting for boot up times etc, if done correctly these are negligible. My last install would boot in less than 6 seconds from ignition on. Granted, I would have to wait a further few seconds before the lcd was up and running, but all together, less than 10secs from ignition on to fully functional.

Why do you think carpc's suck so much?

Because they feel flimsy, they don't typically have interfaces that feel anything other than clunky (both WinCE and WinXP feel like garbage to use in a car audio sense). Then there is the mass of extra kit that you typically bolt down in the boot like a complete *****.

I'd take e49/e38/e39 MK4 nav + intraveeII over any car PC, and I'd certainly take iDrive over both.

Jez · 31 Mar 2010 at 18:23

big_ray_t said:
Gotta disagree with that. I have driven 5 different bms in the last 12 years and have to say that a custom carpc install is a hundred times better than anything BMW have to offer on the OEM front.

As for waiting for boot up times etc, if done correctly these are negligible. My last install would boot in less than 6 seconds from ignition on. Granted, I would have to wait a further few seconds before the lcd was up and running, but all together, less than 10secs from ignition on to fully functional.

Why do you think carpc's suck so much?

While i suppose technically it is probably possible using custom hardware and custom bespoke software to build a decent carpc, i am yet to see one. Then there is the obvious issue of getting it to integrate with the cars canbus system, and in general fit properly and integrate.

Every single car pc i have ever seen has been an unreliable non-oem looking misfit, with dodgy quirks whereby it doesnt work faultlessly all of the time (as you would expect of a pc with loads of peripherals attached). Dont even get me started on the interfaces which people try and use with them too. The potential functionality is obviously fantastic with a carpc, but the reality is rather off the mark.

big_ray_t · 31 Mar 2010 at 18:31

Horses for courses I suppose. I dont think there is anything cleaner than just a 7" screen in the dash. No buttons or horrible dials etc. The possiblities with a custom carpc are only really limited by your imagination.

I can only assume you've never used or seen a good install.

paradigm · 31 Mar 2010 at 18:36

big_ray_t said:
Horses for courses I suppose. I dont think there is anything cleaner than just a 7" screen in the dash. No buttons or horrible dials etc. The possiblities with a custom carpc are only really limited by your imagination.

I can only assume you've never used or seen a good install.

I've seen and used plenty of installs that the owners claimed were "good", and they all felt awful to use, and as Jez pointed out, never, ever worked quite how you'd expect them to.

Secondly, I'd rather have the few buttons I have around my OEM 6.5" screen, so I don't have to get grubby/oily/slimy fingerprints all over the display I'm trying to look at. Nothing worse than a sunglared screen with fingerprints on it. And that's before realising that all my features work and integrate with the car properly.

big_ray_t · 31 Mar 2010 at 18:36

Jez said:
While i suppose technically it is probably possible using custom hardware and custom bespoke software to build a decent carpc, i am yet to see one. Then there is the obvious issue of getting it to integrate with the cars canbus system, and in general fit properly and integrate.

Every single car pc i have ever seen has been an unreliable non-oem looking misfit, with dodgy quirks whereby it doesnt work faultlessly all of the time (as you would expect of a pc with loads of peripherals attached). Dont even get me started on the interfaces which people try and use with them too. The potential functionality is obviously fantastic with a carpc, but the reality is rather off the mark.

Full intergration had been pain for me for years, however, my last install worked flawlessly with the can bus. There are so many user written programs out there that anything (realistically) can be achieved. I could control my windows, seats, lights etc just by using my touchscreen. I could even start the engine from my iphone in the winter on cold mornings.

But as I replied to paradigm, I suppose like most things, its horses for courses.

[TW]Fox · 31 Mar 2010 at 18:36

big_ray_t said:
Horses for courses I suppose. I dont think there is anything cleaner than just a 7" screen in the dash. No buttons or horrible dials etc. The possiblities with a custom carpc are only really limited by your imagination.

I can only assume you've never used or seen a good install.

There is nothing clean about a 7" screen in a BMW dash.