Anybody here with a Mac'd ride??

[JA4]

I was wondering if anybody here has done the "Car Mac mod". If you've been hiding under a rock for the past couple of years or so, I am referring to the Mac Mini and the touchscreen panel.

Has anybody done one for their B6? or know of anyone who has done it, maybe provide some pics if possible. I have been itching to get this done on my car even before I got rid of my VR. The reason being is one I've been in-love with my Mac since the day I've ever touched one (no homo) and two this dude...http://tunertricks.com/blog/index.php?p=40...

[RAVI]

not a b6, but my friend did it to his acura tl:
he can control the mac from iphone remote and another touch screen app. pretty dope i shall say

Some Install pics:
The whole thing was pretty easy, it took all of a couple hours for the two of us. The regulator I got (Carnetix P2140) has the ability to power on pulse, which would be cool for starting the boot process before you get in your car or boot up from your room and transfer files down to you car. unfortunately I was tired and didnt feel like going through the pain of hooking up relays and what not.

[JA4]

nice... any idea how much this all cost?

[RAVI]

its all custom so the price would vary.. i would say about 5-600 for a custom job

[JA4]

that's not so bad... Although I'm no tech geek so I would have to get someone to do it for me. Damn!...this is just making me want it even more now...thanks for the pics.

Anyone else with one?

[italian a4 1032]

a guy in eurotuner had that but instead he had like a huge screen that he put on the passenger side floor
what exactly would u use this for?

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^instead of a regular radio u'd have a full computer with internet.

[italian a4 1032]

interesting i might have to do this if it doesnt cost too much


im 4 rings now :)

[fire27]

first of all they have a mac mini which starts at like 600 + the screen so thats about 100-200 so 800 right there + the iphone. you would need a cosine inverter (for dc to ac) minds fuzzy going for hooking up a pc to the car (it could be sine) + any custom interior.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

or u can buy a full carputer with amp and everything built into a double din unit with 0 modifications necessary for about $1300

[JA4]

^^ Not sure what I would need the Iphone for but uhhhm..sure??? lol... OH it's not a PC, It's a MAC my friend..A MAC!

So I've been doing some research and this is what came of it...I found this on mp3car.com, some dude selling his setup and this is what he spent or had in his original set up.

1. For all you Mac Mini Car Application lovers, this computer has already been painstakingly disassembled and the power button has been removed for placement on your dashboard as you install the unit. For those of you that do not know the significance of this offhand, look at the pictures on the TunerTricks blog here:

http://www.tunertricks.com/blog/index.php?p=40

I have done the same thing and it took me more than 4 hours to carefully disassemble the MM and move proper wiring around.


2. This bundle will also include the Carnetix CNX-P1900, with the MacPac cord application kit. I have not damaged the power cord for the Mac Mini like so many others had to do when hard-wiring the power supply for the MM in the car; I waited for Carnetix to put out this wiring kit and it paid off big time. Before, you had to destroy your power cord when hard-wiring the MM in the car, but this kit provides and extra cable so you do not have to.

Carnetix CNX-P1900:
http://www.carnetix.com/CNXP1900.htm

MacPac Wiring Kit:
http://www.carnetix.com/optional_cables.htm


3. Griffin PowerMate Control Knob is also included. The PowerMate is an ideal controller for the Mac Mini because of FrontRow. FrontRow is Mac's version of a Media Center Interface, making it simple to browse your entire music, video, and photo collection with only the need for a clickable wheel. I used this to control my Mac Mini in my A4 and it was as intuitive and simple as using the radio. Ideal for minimal distractions while driving!

Griffin PowerMate:
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/powermate/

Apple FrontRow Interface:
http://www.dragtimes.com/albums/2006...t_Row_1410.jpg


4. Bonus: S-Video out adapter for Mac Mini will be included. This is a $20 adapter to get the video signal to be easily read for your display in your car.


This kit is literally as plug-and-play as it gets. Only a screen is needed to complete the project, which is only not included because I used my Nav screen in my Audi A4, otherwise I would be including it as well.

All you need to do is connect to ignition, ground, battery and video screen. There is simply no easier way to put a Mac Mini into your car as you are buying everything together.


Here is what I paid for everything:

Mac Mini: $846.94
CNX-1900: $117.94
MacPac Wiring Kit: $30.82
S-Video Cable: $20.14
Griffin PowerMate: $47.69

So, the theoretical total for this would then be: $1063.53, not counting all the work that went into purchasing this individual units, prepping the Mac Mini for easy installation of the power button, etc, etc, etc..

I personally think it's worth it, since you're getting more than a car deck with enough space to store all your music and movies in without running too sluggish...i'ts just the perfect system for a car setup, IMO I think everyone should get it!

[fire27]

iphone would allow you to hook it up and the mac mini would be on the inet so u could stream your fav. music station or dl new music while you drove. many possibilities

[JA4]

^^ that really doesn't concern me as much but it would be nice don't get wrong. Although I think if I had all 30 gigs of my music in that Mini I think i would be golden, not to mention the airport capabilities would let me surf the net where there are hotspots.. But I will be getting an Iphone so there we go hahaha my cellphone just died on me...score!

[fire27]

you could get 70gigs of music on the mini no prob

[JA4]

yeah the 30 doesn't include all my CDs...I'm a pretty big music fiend so I've got a pretty big collection.. so with that setup, I can only imagine how much fun it would be playing that thing in my car....OH and the mini comes with a remote so I can control front row with..man!! that's it! next pay chq goes to this bad boy haha

[agart]

not a b6, but my friend did it to his acura tl:
he can control the mac from iphone remote and another touch screen app. pretty dope i shall say

Is that controlled through the touch screen? If so how does the computer recognize what's being touched. Reason I ask is because I have that same head unit and if I can just use that as my screen I would definately look into doing that as well...


Edit: Just realized you said it's your friend's car. But if you could knew/could figure that out that would be great

[B6Lovin]

i started a thread about this a long time ago and dummpty (another member here) had lots of good advice for it. just search my old posted threads

[JA4]

^^ did you end up getting it done? and what's the thread called if you don't mind me asking...

[B6Lovin]

^^ did you end up getting it done? and what's the thread called if you don't mind me asking...

nah, just scored a D3 on ebay for like 250+shipping instead. i don't really care about interior stuff that much, and i have my iphone... so as long as it's got an ipod cable i could care less what it is lol.

i think it was something like "new idea for A/V needs" or some crap like that

[JA4]

^^ hahah yeah I was reading up on it just now...

lol I just wanna see some pics of people's rides with the Mac mini setup!! But I definitely am thinking about getting one...in the near future..

[scorneil]

if there was a way to integrate nav into a mini, then you'd really have something. any idea if that is possible?

[JA4]

^^ I'm pretty sure there's a way to connect the two, all you would need is a DVI cable that would hook up to the Nav, I've seen D3s and alpine IVAs hooked up into one.

P.S actaually the picture up there^^ is an alpine IVA lol..

[italian a4 1032]

would it make a difference if you used a some sort of navigation or just an some kind of indash video screen?

[ThatGuyAlex]

if there was a way to integrate nav into a mini, then you'd really have something. any idea if that is possible?

yes it is. Or atleast i know you can do it with a car PC. you can just go to frys electronics and ask and they will have some plug in stuff. I think one was even USB plug in.

[B6Lovin]

^there are several fairly inexpensive USB GPS antennas which you could mount around your car like any other GPS. from there it's just downloading software that works with it... which - if you know anything about computers (assuming you do if you're doing something like this) you shouldn't have any problem finding.. probably for free.

[ngng]

or you could hook up your ipod and do the same thing ;)

[JMRQuattro]

this sounds like it would be a complete waste of money. Why not just say fuck the iPhone and fuck the iPod touch since they are the biggest waste of money you could possibly spend at the apple store. Go with an iPod classic with 120gb and just use a regular iPod car adapter that plugs into the bottom of the iPod and into the auxiliary port of your deck. Solves the issue of as much music as you could possibly think of since you can get 30,000 songs on there. And honestly who has 30,000 songs they actually listen to? Sure you might download the album of every artist you ever hear of and just have it to say "i have 30,000 songs" but that's just ridiculous. And when will you ever be on the internet in your car unless you happen to be sitting in it for a half hour for some reason? Otherwise the computer in your car is only useful for track guys using it to monitor their car's stats. So i'm gonna have to say bag the idea of the mac mini, save yourself almost $1000 and use an iPod. Then if you really want the computer... buy a laptop which is actually useful, and then buy a plug in for your deck for it. And if you already have a laptop which i'm sure a lot of you do, even better. Problem solved