Thread: Stealth OEM install in MR2 Spyder - Magazine coverage!

finding jdm interior trim parts isn't always easy. try calling several different honda dealers both in your area and on the net, describe to them the part you're looking for, and see what they can do. sometimes you can get lucky and find the actual part number on enthusuast websites/forums specific to your vehicle. i found some australian sway bars and bushings for my camry that i never knew existed till someone mentioned them on a camry forum. maybe you can find something similar. with as many civic enthusiasts as there are out there, i bet you can just search some honda forums (honda-tech comes to mind) and maybe find the part you're looking for, or at least the part number. then the trick is finding a local dealer that can actually order the part for you since it's probably not going to be in an american warehouse.

btw - silencery - what mag is this gonna be in? i noticed you said "draft".

also, i am the one who asked about the screen being up that high on the dash, and glare/washout in a convertible. i know you have a hardtop, but now that the weather has warmed up, have you taken the top off? if so, how does the screen look on a bright day with the top down?

Silencery,

Awesome job, any chance you could tell us the name of the magazine that covered your car? THere was an issue of Make magazine that covered the owner of hte VW GTI minimac install. I had 2 posts on hardocp.com front page back in the day, I'm just glad that carpc's are getting more coverage.

Too bad folks like Mad Mike on pimp my ride give them bad covereage and showing off that horrible "drive soft" app.

Anyway keep it up and I wish I was in Cali. so I could see all of your installs.

Looks great man, nice choice with a hardtop MKIII. I think it looks like crap with a ragtop.

Originally Posted by 786mine

Thanks for the reply. Gave me an insight on your car. There is a navigation package for my model, but the problem is that 1. for JDM cars, 2. its for the 99-00 model, I have the 98 model.

Any suggestions?

Hrm...if you do wanna try getting the JDM trim here's what I would add, on top of gibson's suggestions (which are quite good; those are excellent sources for jdm parts.) I hope the dash piece isn't right or left-hand drive dependent

1. Try contacting Graham Ware at www.japanparts.com. They specialize in exporting JDM parts. They're pretty hard to reach through e-mail, but if you don't mind calling Japan, the service is excellent.

2. This tip expands on gibson's idea; try searching around on eBay for a dealership that sells JDM parts (there should be quite a few for Honda). After you find em, give them a call and see if they're import the part for you.

Gibson99,

The magazine is called "PC Enthusiast." Their URL is www.pcemag.com if you wanna check it out. The issue with my car is slated for september, so it should be out by the end of the month or so...

I felt bad about not having answered your question since I haven't taken the hard top off yet... haha. I don't have anywhere to store it unfortunately. Anyways, I drove with it off for a while today around the time the sun was setting, and I'm glad to report that it's not too bad. I'm using a xenarc now, and it managed to hold up pretty well. If I had to give an empirical answer, I'd say I had about 80-90% of the visibility usually get with the hardtop on. I think the shroud helps a bit...


defsquad,

I'm pretty certain car PCs will take off quick as soon as the manufacturers start getting onboard. Heck, the aftermarket might get really crazy then...

You should take a trip out here... haha... I love Cali

92mister2,

Thx for the props. I gotta admit, I love all mr2s... regardless of year or trim The hardtop DID cost me a couple of kidneys though... ugh.

Silencery,

Before I even read this response to my question about the magazine, one of my coworkers had bought that PCE magazine because he remembered my Carputer from seeing your article. He brought it in yesterday. I recognized the magazine scans you posted. Very cool to see it in th emagazine and not even realizing this was hte magazine.

Mad props to you dude for a sweet install.

awsome install, very worthy of the magazine coverage... good luck with it..

Hi!

You've talked about using a Phidget Encoder to control volume... I can't seem to figure out how to make it work in girder... I have the example from promixis... I just want to control up/down volume and press mute, press again unmute... That's it... maybe wave volume and not master volume for my application...

Can you or anybody help me?

Btw cool install... And nice to see quality coverage about carpc...

Also, I'm currently searching for the jdm dash with gps option for my Civic 98 too... PM me if any progress 786mine or others...

L8r

Originally Posted by FreaQ

Hi!

You've talked about using a Phidget Encoder to control volume... I can't seem to figure out how to make it work in girder... I have the example from promixis... I just want to control up/down volume and press mute, press again unmute... That's it... maybe wave volume and not master volume for my application...

Can you or anybody help me?

Btw cool install... And nice to see quality coverage about carpc...

Also, I'm currently searching for the jdm dash with gps option for my Civic 98 too... PM me if any progress 786mine or others...

L8r

Hrm.. what kinda progress have you made so far? Can you get girder to read the inputs from the encoder?

I'll try to post my lua script for you as soon as I can.