2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan

GoHybrid · 03-01-2007, 07:46 PM

The Corolla was a great car, no doubt, and I gained a wealth of knowledge from installing my mac mini, but the time has come (came two saturdays ago actually) for the next step, a more refined car for a more refined install.

I give you, (in view only) my new Civic Si!

More pictures to come, and a plan to follow.

GoHybrid · 03-01-2007, 08:34 PM

So the Corolla left behind some goodies that may find a home in the new car. Here's a list:

Carnetix P1900
Eclipse AVN-5435 nav headunit
Eclipse XA5000 5ch amp
mac mini (intel, core duo)
2 sound splinter RL-i10s

Ideas:
Dual screens: the 5435 will always display GPS location/moving map, backup cam, FLIR (still a pipe dream... need to research), and a second screen below (10.4 if i can pack it in... more likely a 700TSV) below showing the less "heads-up" info.

Front end: Haven't decided yet. Considering RR on the mac using bootcamp, also considering sticking with front row. Anyone want to sound off?

Audio: the Si came with the "premium sound system" but the punch in the bottom end leaves a little bit to be desired. I'd like to hatch a way to utilize the 8" subwoofer as a sort of midbass and use a single or dual 10" setup in the boot to give me that low end extension i've come to know and love. I get the feeling that my best bet here may be to keep the XA5000 for the cabin speakers and 10" sub(s) and invest in an XA1000 to drive the 8" sub.

Controls: The little Powermate served me well, but it had a very noticable shortcoming when my MP3 list got long... there was no way to "hold" a key and scroll through at an accelerated rate. The result was distracting and time consuming. My thought is to use the SWIX interface to link the steering wheel controls to the mac mini remote. I have a pair of 2-way switches, and a single action switch on the wheel, which gives me U,D,L,R, and Enter (play/pause). The less frequently used "ESC" function of the remote I am considering mapping to a duplicate "VSA" button just to the left of the steering column. I have to decide if that's comfortable to use or not. So I anticipate some combination of SWIX and keyboard mutation.

Other features: I have come over the months to value a dockable PC highly. The mini is super convenient to carry... but 7 connections in and out is tedious. I will build a dock in the boot for the mini... I saw no reason to keep it in the glove box as before.

Displaying the mini on a separate screen leaves a free video input on the AVN, so I'm considering placing a camera, maybe in the nose of the car to assist in tighter parking situations, along with the standard backup camera (BEC105) to check the rear.

Stay tuned.

mwmcginn · 03-01-2007, 09:24 PM

Oh so nice. Si

Cant wait to see how it goes.

esachs · 03-02-2007, 05:10 PM

yea, very nice car
Cant wait!

GoHybrid · 03-02-2007, 10:26 PM

As cool as it would be to have either night vision or FLIR as an available video source, i think I am missing a very critical part of that system that would make it feasible... and that is image stabilization. to be effective at seeing something beyond the headlights there will have to be a minor zoom involved. I get the distinct impression that without some sophisticated hardware and software, i will get a very blurry image of what's ahead... not really impressive for something that will likely cost in excess of $1000 to implement.

So here's the other thought. Rear view cameras. I can get cheaper (and smaller) video cameras and mount them in pods facing rearward at either side of the front bumper. This is much less demanding from an optics standpoint, and serves a dual purpose: 1. It will give me an expanded view of the lane next to me, and 2. if positioned at just the right angle, can probably serve as a parking aid so i can see the curb or parking lines and make sure i'm not that prick crowding the space next to me.

So how to select the right camera? My thought is that the flasher relays/circuits for the turn signals need a constant 12V when they are activated. This is the wire I need to find for both right and left. I think i should leave both cameras powered so there is no delay when switching video sources and just switch the active signal wire.

I'm going to research some mini cameras now and see what I can come up with.

as always, input is welcomed.

here are some candidates:

http://www.supercircuits.com/index.a...OD&ProdID=4143
http://www.supercircuits.com/index.a...OD&ProdID=4237
http://www.palmvid.com/content/categ...=live_demo#tab

despite the cost of the last one... the imaging in the dark areas of the demo room is pretty freaking cool.

levelparracing · 03-05-2007, 03:33 PM

I just picked my SI up a couple of weeks ago...great car.

I've been trying to figure out how to play my mp3's while keeping the stock "premium" sound system.

I'll follow your thread to see what system you end up going with, but any simple solutions to putting a USB port in?

GoHybrid · 03-05-2007, 03:47 PM

well, i see two ways to play mp3s on the stock system... both too easy to really pass up. First, you could just burn MP3s to a CD-RW and stick that in the player. I find that navigation that way is just a tad clumsy but otherwise not bad.

I'm starting to lean back towards using my Eclipse head unit in lieu of the stock sound system, but if i were to stick with stock, i would undoubtedly tap into the 3.5mm input below the 12V outlet. It doesn't get too much easier than that. not to mention that way you could hide all your wires and still potentially have that jack available for a friend's ipod etc...

levelparracing · 03-05-2007, 03:49 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by GoHybrid

well, i see two ways to play mp3s on the stock system... both too easy to really pass up. First, you could just burn MP3s to a CD-RW and stick that in the player. I find that navigation that way is just a tad clumsy but otherwise not bad.

I'm starting to lean back towards using my Eclipse head unit in lieu of the stock sound system, but if i were to stick with stock, i would undoubtedly tap into the 3.5mm input below the 12V outlet. It doesn't get too much easier than that. not to mention that way you could hide all your wires and still potentially have that jack available for a friend's ipod etc...

I hate dealing with cd's...but I like your second option. Thanks.

Quote: Originally Posted by levelparracing

I hate dealing with cd's...but I like your second option. Thanks.

Excuse my ignorance, but where is the best place to buy a USB port that I can plug into my input below my 12v? Is there a diagram as to how to do this?
Thanks!

GoHybrid · 03-13-2007, 03:35 AM

sorry i didn't get to this earlier! So now I must ask, why are you trying to plug a usb device into the audio input? Or are you just trying to replace the input with a USB port?

on an unrelated note, i'm trying to figure out my steering wheel controls and how to control Front Row with them. Losing my steering wheel interface is not an option. If I understood correctly, each steering wheel button adds a resistance to an input voltage, and the resulting output is a unique voltage that can be used to trigger a certain event.

Here's my plan: Build a PIC/Basic Stamp interface board that reads the signal wire from the steering wheel interface. Why not use SWI-X? I don't know if it will read the mac mini's remote. It says that it can only understand commands from an IR remote on a 40KHz carrier frequency, and so far I've been unable to confirm that my mini remote uses that frequency at all. Also, I am certain it would not accept a delayed button release as a different command, so then I am required to use combinations of buttons which I believe might get a little clumsy.

I'll be honest and say I don't know the first thing about how to do this, but that's part of the fun of taking this approach. I know i need a way to read a voltage, I need to know the duration of that voltage, and I need a way to close a switch (i.e. simulate a key-press to a keyboard controller) thereby triggering the event.

i have CH +, CH - on the steering wheel, which will be mapped to Right Arrow and Left Arrow respectively which should give me track controls. VOL + and VOL - will be mapped to Up Arrow and Down arrow for volume and vertical scrolling. The MODE button will have a dual function as with my griffin powermate. a short press will trigger "Return" and if i hold the button for about 750msec to 1sec and release, it will trigger "Esc". I should also set a 4sec function that triggers "Command-Esc" in case I accidentally back out of Front Row (rarely happens if ever).

I've decided I'll not add a VGA screen just yet. I have too much wrapped up in my Eclipse HU to just toss it aside. so right now, It looks like I'm going to remove the factory headunit and amp, and my Eclipse 5 channel amp will be a straight drop in. I have the front speakers which are components, rear speakers which are coaxials, and the factory subwoofer which makes 5 channels. Later when I have the means to do a really good job of installing my sound splinter drivers I can remove the factory sub and let that feature act as a vent to the cabin so the seats don't muffle the sound as badly as they typically do.

I believe this route gives me the best use of components I already have, and a path to a really clean, non-destructive install. The nice thing though is that I can still add a high-res screen later when i feel like fabricating the dash, and it will be a simple matter of changing a cable or two to make it happen.

DrR10n · 03-16-2007, 02:05 AM

Hey GoHybrid you really seem to know your stuff! I was wondering if you could help me out. I want to install a Pioneer Avic-D3 in my car (same car as yours) but I want to keep the stock speakers, sub and amp. can i do this?

somebody on 8thcivic.com did it but they are having volume and noise issues (http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32103). do you know anything about how to fix this? thanks a lot.

GoHybrid · 03-16-2007, 09:36 AM

the answer is, YES you can!

the method? well you need to know something about that factory amp and it's pinouts and input requirements, which at present i don't.

Part of me thinks that the factory amp is taking speaker-level inputs so they could use the same HU in models without an amp... Also, go to crutchfield.com and chat with one of the sales associates there. they can usually direct you to a harness you can buy to simplify the installation.

i'll let you know if i find anything else.

as far as volume and noise issues.... that sounds like either not delivering the signal the amp is after, or not grounding properly.

kevinlekiller · 03-16-2007, 11:43 AM

Not hybrid

, just kidding

GoHybrid · 03-17-2007, 07:16 PM

Future Home of amps and computers and cables....

Made a rudimentary pantograph to trace out a cardboard pattern. Took an extra piece to get the fit just right...

Then cut a vertical board to mount the amplifier to. I marked off a .75" standoff line so I wouldn't mount anything over where the front cover will go. My goal is to have the amplifier appear flush to the surface instead of just sitting on top like it was in my corolla. I also want to completely hide the wires.

The amp will sit kind of like this... I want to keep as much usable trunk space as possible. This will be kind of a challenge.

...I will mount the capacitor and the computer to the rear of the amplifier. Again, using as much of that otherwise dead space as possible.

And that's all I did today. I need to go to the hardware store and pick up some tee nuts to mount the amp and cap with, and then i'll also need to start thinking about constructing a dock for the mac mini. If anyone has a good lead on cheap solenoids i can use to actuate the power button, don't hold back! let me know!

mgithens · 03-21-2007, 12:26 AM

power button on the mini?? ahh... butter knife it my man.... crack the case and build a small jumper relay with a one wire trigger (use system/common ground)...

if you don't want to do this, then you should somehow incorporate a Jacob's Ladder...

good times!!

GoHybrid · 03-21-2007, 09:02 AM

jacob's ladder = important safety feature.

i had it triggering electronically with the carnetix power supply, but constantly disconnecting that cable to remove the computer was becoming a nuisance... not to mention those 24AWG wires only last about one installation.
plus sometimes if i cycled the car on and off too fast, the P1900 would get out of sync and I'd have to start the pc manually, which gets less convenient when it moves to the trunk. So... yay solenoids!