Firstpost
Its great to be onboard...
What up all, I just came up on a fat job and I feel its time to buy some goodies for my custom wide body bmw project car. I have already done a lot of searching around the site to find answers to my questions but noting was really to straight forward.
Let me fill you in a little on my project. The car is a 1993 325i 4 door BMW. Two years ago I picked up the car in stock condition. I had designed a few concept body kits for the car using Photoshop and 3D Studio Max. A bodyshop in LA took a look at my artwork and decided to help me bring it to life. It took the shop 6 months to get the car how I wanted it to look and I have been documenting the project ever sense my first two designs. Click on this picture of my 2 designs for more info on the project(Note: The main website where I posted the step by step stuff, DTMPower.net is down)
Now that I feel happy with the body work its time to start all the interior designs and fabrication and this is where I am hoping you guys can help me get off on the right foot.
First off..my goal is to make everything look super clean. Euro Tuner magazine is doing a feature on the project once I finish the interior and ICE!! Damn I have been waiting for that for toooo long.
Ok so lets talk to the point
As far as I candy goes I will be fabricating a custom center console that will start up front and go all the way through to the rear between all 4 seats..see pic
The console will house the 2 LCD’s and any other goodies I want.
So now we are talking 2 7” LCD up front and eventually 2 7” in the rear as well. I will need a powerful yet compact PC in the trunk to be the brain of the car. Right now the Zapco amps I have all have computer management to adjust settings which I will definitely utilize when everything is up and running. My Clifford alarm also has computer software which you can do some pretty amazing things with. I for sure want one of the 2 LCD’s up front to be dedicated to GPS and I will use the other for everything else.
Just to give you an idea of my obsession with sound quality and other crap here is a list of the stereo components I will be using for this project..
-1 Zapco C2K-9.0 XD (Power to subs)(2,200 Watts)
-2 Zapco C2K-3.0 X (1 each to F/B Mids)(665 Watts/ea)
-1 Zapco SPL4-SL (3 amp EQ for fine tuning)
-1 Zapco computer management system(Connects to on board cpu to change internal amp settings on all 3 amps i.e. Cut-off, Gain, Slope, ect.)
-2 Optima Yellow Cap batteries (870 amps)
-2 JL W7 10" Subs(1000 Watt/ea)
-1 Pioneer Dex-P1R headunit
-Zapco Firewire connections for all amps
-MB Quart Q 3 way up front W/Kick
-MB Quart Q 2 way in rear
-MB Quart Q center channel
-Phenix Gold 15 fared capacitor
-On board computer(GPS’s, DVD's, MP3’s, OBD I software, Zapco Amp management software, PC XM Radio, Alarm management, the list goes on and on.)
-PS2 mounted behind glove box(CD trey flush mounted into trim piece above glove box(No Pass. Airbag), Controller hook ups+On/reset buttons mounted into plate under OBC)
Question Time Folks
Ok for the computer I obviously want the best sound quality output on the market.
-What is the best sound card to go with?
(I was kind of thinking of the External Sound Blaster Audigy 2 unit because I could flush mount the unit into the console and have mic, midi, digital in/out, and aux inputs right there. Nothing like a little flowin and singing on those road trips.
-What are the best video card/s to use for duel screens and eventually quad screens.?
-Which case is good for a car-pc? How about components esp the Motherboard. How can I avoid using an inverter to power the computer?
-What are the best LCD screens to use. From looking around I would think Xenarc or Liliput..Which of the 2? What is the best resolution to run to them for readability.
-Should I have touchscreen lcd’s or should I just flush a touchpad W/buttons into the console?
-What is the best PC XM radio software out there?
-Anyone happen to have a connection to a good fabric place. I will be needing a big roll of suede and a big roll of leather. I am having all the racing seats and custom door panels wrapped 2 tone style with the rest of the interior to match.
-When I have the whole interior ripped out I plan on sound dampening the whole inside of the car. Getting ~50 sq. yrds. Of Dynomat would cost a million!! Any good alternatives?
Well I got more questions but I will spare you even more ignorance. You probably see where I stand by now and I am sure many of you have been in the same place at one time. If you have any tips or advice please feel free to shoot away. I am pretty crafty with fiberglass but this will be by far z huge undertaking for me and my dad. Is there any good books or videos out there that cover fiberglassing custom dashboards, consoles, door panels, and enclosures?
Ok I got to run..I think my boss is getting on my bad side
Thanks a ton guys I am looking forward to getting started and sharing the progress of this summer project with you guys step by step. After all I am kind of known in the online bimmerhead community for bringing everyone into the projects. Here are a few pics of my car and a link for those that give a ****. I think you will be hearing a lot more from me around here because I know I got a ton to learn from you all.
Peace,
Sean Behm
A post that has a lot of info on the car