New Entertainment Setup....in car!

[Minimoke]

Hey everyone,
This is the best place I thought of putting this thread, since it is vehicle related; I'm going to be making my car into a moving computer very soon, and would like some peoples ideas and opinions on what I plan to do.

The car, is a 2003 Ford Fiesta Finesse, with the Zetec spec engine. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do [for those Elton John fans out there ] It's my first car, and I'll be moving the setup into my future cars of course. Here's what I plan to do:

I will either put the computer in the dashboard, or in a small case under one of the chairs. I will get a double din fascia, and custom fit an optical drive into it. I would then get one of those slide out touch screen monitors and fit that into the fascia. I would have a large hard drive for just media, and use a player such as VLC for the movies, and WMP for the music.


The Sound System

The sound system will consist of 4 component speakers; one for each door, and two for the back shelf, and a subwoofer. The amps will be stored in the boot, along with the subwoofer. The computer audio out will go directly into the amplifier, which will run into a crossover; low frequencies going to the sub, and the rest to the component speakers. I would most likely end up subscribing to Vodafone or T-Mobile for one of thier mobile broadband plans, and I would get a USB GPS reciever for satalite navigation.

The Computer

The computer doesn't have to be powerful, and to keep it as quiet and as cool as possible, I will use a Sempron. I will install a gig of RAM, and a small hard drive for the o/s and programs, and use an external terabyte for the media, so I could take it out and add media to it. I would put it in a small media case, and use a decent motherboard with onboard graphics, and I would use a decent sound card to compliment the audio setup. This is just a rough scetch, but the finished plan will be as precise as it needs to be. Cheers, Chris.

 

[Minimoke]

Hey guys,
I haven't looked into car audio for quite a while, so I'll look into that. there's a website called cartft.com, who sell very nice pre-built systems, so I could just get one of their systems. The computer will be the last bit I buy, as I will need a new audio setup regardless. I'm very critical when it comes to audio. I work in recording studios, and anything less than crystal in my own home or car just isn't good enough, and because of this I'm willing to spend a lot of money on getting the sound right. I'll most probably use the same speakers in the rear as I do in the front, just so the sound quality/level of frequencies is the same throughout the vehicle. The sub will be powerful, as my preferred genres are so much better with a good low end system. I'll experiment. Cheers, Chris.

 

[Minimoke]

Hey everyone,
I've decided to go for a dash-mounted system, with a fold out screen. This one in fact. It makes it all a lot easier, and it's all in one package. I will try and fit a USB optical drive in the din slot underneath the computer, and use that for playing music and adding tracks to the library. I will have an external hard drive under the passenger seat, running a power convertor off of the cigarette lighter, and a USB cable running into the back of the computer. All of this makes it a lot tidier, and it should be a lovely setup. I'll look into car audio soon, I've been a bit booked up. Cheers, Chris.

 

[Minimoke]

Hey guys,
A car worth a thruppence? It's worth a good £3000 my friend, it's in perfect condition. And it's not a headunit, it's a fully functional computer, so it's a bit more than just a stereo. The way things are; my Dad had the wonderful idea of buying a decent starter car for me to use, which I will then pass down to my little Brother. This means I will only have to pay for the insurance, meaning I will have a lot more money to spend on whatever I want, such as this entertainment system. But, I am a serious fan of the original Mini, so I'll be looking at one for my second car. [if they haven't all rusted to a pile of dust by then]

Chris.

 

[Minimoke]

As for the comments about speakers, I probably will just go for components in the front and nothing in the back, because I don't want to rip the back speakers out if the cars going to my Brother afterwards. I could run the back standard speakers off of the amplifier from the headset, I'll see how it sounds. But I will of course put a sub in the boot, much to the displeasure of my Father

 

[Minimoke]

Hey guys,
Thanks for all of the replies, the thing I've got to keep telling myself is that this car is going to be driven to college everyday, and I would like to keep as much of the boot as possible. I'm not aiming for a showcase car, I'm looking for a powerful install that's as clean as possible. I probably wont mod the exterior at all, and even if I do it will only be tints and alloys. I'm going for the clean look. I've been browsing caraudiodirect.com for the audio bits, and I've found a few items that I like. Has anyone got any preference to a certain brand of audio equipment? I know the good from bad, but I'm just interested in what you guys would suggest. Cheers, Chris.

 

[Minimoke]

Hey Ant,
I think a 12" sub would suffice, and I'm very tempted to go for an active enclosure, just to save space and money. It would sit at in the back-right corner of the boot, right up to the back of the rear seats. For the matter of grounding, I'll have a look later, but I think I could probably connect the ground to the right suspension strut, as I think it's just under a bit of plastic. Running the cable from the battery, has anyone got any suggestions to the easiest route? Brand-wise I'd rather stick to the higher end makes such as Pioneer and such, as audio quality is a big thing for me. Cheers, Chris.

 

[Minimoke]

Hey Ant,
I'm a music student, and I listen to everything; from heavy rock to ballads, to pop, to reggae, to dance, techno etc. I'm a radio and mobile DJ, so I have to be into everything

I'll go for what you've suggested, and I'll probably go for rear speakers in the end, just to make the experience better for back seat passengers. I could always upgrade them and run them off of the head unit amp, saving me a bit of money. As for the mounting of the amps, I could fit them to the back of the back seat, or on the side of the subwoofer. I'll look into Hertz and the rest of the makes you suggested, and try and get a pricing list up. I'll have a good look in the boot in the morning and maybe post a few photos. Thanks for all of your help and advice, it's much appreciated. Cheers, Chris.