2004 WRX STI, use Xenarc? DWW kit? How to mount? Anyone with a STI?

quinxy · 02-17-2004, 04:04 AM

Want to put in a VGA touch screen in my Impreza WRX STI. Am more than a bit nervous about whether I can do a nice job of it...

The two main options I see are the Xenarc 7" and the Digital WW.com 7" kit. Both are too big to fit in the double DIN space without some cutting; the Xenarc is way too big in both directions because of the case, the screen of the kit is too tall (as presumably the Xenarc screen would be).

With the Xenarc I can either remove it from the case or attempt to keep it in the case, cut a bigger hole, and expose part of the Xenarc case as though it was part of the dash (with painting or bondo or something to try to make things look good).

Whatever the case, I really, really don't see how I'll make it look nice, unless I'm missing something. Has anyone tried this with the WRX STI? Have any advice? Which should I go with?

Quincy

wi77iam · 02-17-2004, 07:21 AM

Check out this thread http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/lcd-display/20948-lilliput-install-impreza-lilliput-issues.html on my Xenarc install in my STi.

It wasn't too bad really. You need to do a little cutting of the case to make it fit. I would rather cut the case than the dash.

quinxy · 02-26-2004, 08:17 PM

absolutely inspired idea, putting in that door thing. wow. very, very nice. i was concerned with hiding/securing the PC and that's like the perfect solution.

how did you measure the door to get it to fit so well? i would think it would be a hard thing to measure, given the confines of the trunk/etc.

was it "ok" to drill into the inside trunk for the lower hinges? i'm not sure where the fuel tank is, i heard some horror story from someone about some auto sound places drilling into the gas tank by mistake trying to put in an amp.

does your setup survive crank? or can you only turn on the PC after starting the engine?

oh, and the xenarc display, did you leave the display in the xenarc case? you mentioned just cutting it a bit, it looked like you'd need to cut it a lot on the bottom to fit it. don't suppose you have any photos of it after cutting. and was wiring out those buttons for the xenarc at all perilous (i'm ok at soldering, not great, don't want to overheat some chip or something)?

thanks!

quincy

wi77iam · 02-26-2004, 10:54 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by quinxy

absolutely inspired idea, putting in that door thing. wow. very, very nice. i was concerned with hiding/securing the PC and that's like the perfect solution.

how did you measure the door to get it to fit so well? i would think it would be a hard thing to measure, given the confines of the trunk/etc.

was it "ok" to drill into the inside trunk for the lower hinges? i'm not sure where the fuel tank is, i heard some horror story from someone about some auto sound places drilling into the gas tank by mistake trying to put in an amp.

does your setup survive crank? or can you only turn on the PC after starting the engine?

oh, and the xenarc display, did you leave the display in the xenarc case? you mentioned just cutting it a bit, it looked like you'd need to cut it a lot on the bottom to fit it. don't suppose you have any photos of it after cutting. and was wiring out those buttons for the xenarc at all perilous (i'm ok at soldering, not great, don't want to overheat some chip or something)?

thanks!

quincy

I used some foam poster board and cut a template to fit the opening but slightly smaller all around. Transferred the shape to half inch plywood and covered it all with carpet. You want some gaps to pass wires etc. through so it doesn't have to be air tight.

I have the shop manual showing the location of the gas tank. Plus the trunk floor has some pre-drilled holes scattered about that I could probe into around the area that I wanted the hinges. I made damn sure before I got out the drill.

The inverter does not survive a crank. The next upgrade will be an Opus I guess. I have a switch for a relay to power the amp and inverter, and some buttons to turn on the PC.

I don't have any pictures of cutting the case or before the install in the dash. I cut the bottom half inch off the front of the case (where the buttons are) and I don't use the back of the case at all. Relocating the buttons was pretty easy if you can solder.

quinxy · 02-27-2004, 01:19 AM

awesome, thanks.

did you get an STI specific shop manual? from the dealer? i need to get one!

what sort of glue did you use for the display? did you use a hot glue gun? i was worried about the heat damaging the touch screen or something by getting too hot. did you just continue to use the front part of the case to keep the touch panel and display together? i saw someone else keep the front part of the display and assumed this was why.

for the buttons, are they all two contact buttons? i mean, you just bought momentary two wire buttons? i didn't know if any of the buttons connected multiple things.

Quincy

quinxy · 02-27-2004, 01:30 AM

sorry, one other question. is there a secret to disconnecting that hose like thing in the center dash piece? i cant seem to get the thing to disconnect. i see somewhere you might be able to poke something to release the hose connector, but i press and it doesn't disconnect.

wi77iam · 02-27-2004, 07:16 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by quinxy

awesome, thanks.

did you get an STI specific shop manual? from the dealer? i need to get one!

what sort of glue did you use for the display? did you use a hot glue gun? i was worried about the heat damaging the touch screen or something by getting too hot. did you just continue to use the front part of the case to keep the touch panel and display together? i saw someone else keep the front part of the display and assumed this was why.

for the buttons, are they all two contact buttons? i mean, you just bought momentary two wire buttons? i didn't know if any of the buttons connected multiple things.

Quincy

Read about downloading the entire service manual from the Subaru site for $20 here.

Yes hot glue for attaching modified display case to dash. Do it before re-installing the lcd and touchscreen, using the same screw tabs.

The buttons are all 2 wire momentary switches. In fact, I just de-soldered the original switches and used those, but any momentary switch will do.

wi77iam · 02-27-2004, 07:17 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by quinxy

sorry, one other question. is there a secret to disconnecting that hose like thing in the center dash piece? i cant seem to get the thing to disconnect. i see somewhere you might be able to poke something to release the hose connector, but i press and it doesn't disconnect.

I never disconnected the hose, just the controls it's attached to. They can be unscrewed from the dash piece.

wi77iam · 02-27-2004, 07:20 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by quinxy

absolutely inspired idea, putting in that door thing. wow. very, very nice. i was concerned with hiding/securing the PC and that's like the perfect solution.

One other thing about the hinged mount - I used door hinges so the entire board with everything on it is removable after disconnecting all the wires. I will eventually hook up a quick disconnect harness for this.

quinxy · 02-27-2004, 02:52 PM

great! i am now getting the manual, you know all the useful information!

weird about that hose. i wanted to leave all the controls attached, figuring it would be easier to mount the LCD knowing where the controls are, exactly. there must be a way to take that stupid hose off. i'll give it one more try, then do it your way.

quinxy · 03-02-2004, 11:00 PM

wi77iam, thanks for all your help. I finished mounting the screen on Sunday, and it looks totally professional and factory installed (even if I do say so myself)! without your photos and description of what was involved I'm not sure I would have had the courage to do it. it just seemed too scary to hack apart a perfectly working $450 display!

I'll post photos, perhaps, later. Not much differs from what you did. The display part is the same, but I "hid" the buttons. I ran the buttons into the ash tray, below the ash tray pull handle. So, you can't see the buttons at all. The ashtray I now use for a USB extension cable (which goes to a USB hub that's inside the dash). So you can pull out that USB cable and plug any USB device into it, for example a 256 MB portable USB storage thing on my keychain. That way it's easy to transfer large files to the car if I'm in a hurry and don't want to transfer it via the car's 802.11.

I did as you did and used one of those Griffin tech Powermate volume knobs, very nice, I love the way it feels.

Quincy

LESLIEx317537 · 03-03-2004, 12:30 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by wi77iam

Read about downloading the entire service manual from the Subaru site for $20 here.

Yes hot glue for attaching modified display case to dash. Do it before re-installing the lcd and touchscreen, using the same screw tabs.

The buttons are all 2 wire momentary switches. In fact, I just de-soldered the original switches and used those, but any momentary switch will do.

Bad choice for glue.

Have you had it in the heat yet? When I had my DennisK 8.4 touchscreen in my Honda Prelude, I also Hot glued it in at first. I went to class, and came back, started my car, pressed a winamp button and the screen pushed in and the glue was melted.

I then went to Home Depot and bought Roof Silicion. GE Black Silicoin II. Works really well. And can stand the heat and cold, and can just peel off if you need to remove it.

BTW, this time I went with a in dash DWW-7VGA in my STi, but I still won't have a headunit soon.

quinxy · 03-03-2004, 01:09 AM

i sort of anticipate a problem in the future with the glue. i've never had much luck with hotglue, maybe it's just that the materials i'm using aren't porous enough. when i just did mine i did use hotglue, but even after the initial layer/pass i saw that it had already pulled away as the glue shrunk. so i just put a bunch more layers to grab some more rough surfaces. i did also add some layers of tape outside of that to grab the display if the hotglue fails completely it wont' fall into the dash. then i think i'll take your advice and use that glue.

LESLIEx317537 · 03-03-2004, 01:27 AM

It's cheap and works well. They sell it at most places.

wi77iam · 03-03-2004, 12:52 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by quinxy

wi77iam, thanks for all your help. I finished mounting the screen on Sunday, and it looks totally professional and factory installed (even if I do say so myself)! without your photos and description of what was involved I'm not sure I would have had the courage to do it. it just seemed too scary to hack apart a perfectly working $450 display!

Quincy

My pleasure. I'm glad it turned out good. Post those pics!