So I was throwing an idea around with my GF over dinner last night and she liked it so I wanted your opinions before I start making things more complicated for myself.

OK here it is, I tossed out the idea of making the monitor be able to come out of the dash a little and rotate so you can use the widescreen portrait style for movies games etc. Anyway what do you all think?

http://www.the370z.com/members/asorg...sla-screen.jpg

Eh, not sure how I feel about that. Even watching it on a vertical screen will be pretty decent...a standard 15.6" screen has decent dimensions when watching it vertically right?

Also, you never mentioned where this screen is coming from, is a touch-screen from a laptop or a standalone touch panel?

The other idea I had to throw at you was the "mouse" that most cars with nav have these days. My wife's lexus has this "mouse" which is VERY useful - I prefer it over the touch!
http://cdn-static.cnet.co.uk/i/produ...x330-mouse.jpg

I had posted a link to the monitor I have been looking at so far, its a standalone industrial touchscreen here's the link:
VSL150-HW 15in widescreen LED metal enclosure touchscreen open frame monitor, VGA monitor screen touch, touch screen display planar elo microtouch
Like I mentioned earlier still looking around for a better or cheaper solution and working with the vendor on pricing as we speak.

The "mouse" I should definitely look into especially at least as an accessory. It may be a good idea instead of to reduce cost if necessary. And yeah in vertical mode the clarity will still be great at the size. Esentially you will still have at minimum a double DIN sized screen for viewing (7"+ widescreen styled) and still have the lower half for controls etc.

I totally didn't answer your question Array. As far as power is concerned the PC doesn't pull nearly as much as a full home PC or gaming PC would. Most mini-ITX boards don't come with or even require fans to cool them down. Essentially the power drain ins't substantial. There are many DC-DC power supplies out there to power and not damage your car or system (Home PC's covert AC-DC for the components).

I worked on the dash design last night for a few hours. I manage to rough out the most of the back paneling. I only have the driver vent and push button start left to model and refine. Then I get to add the mounting tabs. Almost ready for the redesign and screen fit! Now the fun really begins!

Thats what I had thought, I am a techy guy myself however have never dealt with an ITX. The idea of throwing a good machine into the Zs console gives me chills, with the power of a computer it can give a lot more value and even more ideas can bloom from this, but this is really turning out to look good and thought through.

Do you have an expectation on completion or a rough goal?

Also! good luck on the home searching!

Been watching this, and on the topic of PC, why not look at things like Raspberry Pi & its competitors?
You do not need a ton of processing power for most things, and it is small & lightweight enough for the area it needs to fit.

Hey thanks man, I appreciate that. I spent nearly the first 6 months researching and looking for existing products. So I tried to give it as much forethought as possible. I hope when I finish this that others can push this farther than I've dreamed up!

Right now if everything stays on my schedule I expect to have the Alpha design installed in my car and testing in about 3 months from now. I nailed down the place with shop space yesterday so I'm very excited to have that soon as well.

I had thought about the Pi in the beginning and it's a great product. But for everything I want to do (i.e. multiple future screens, integrated climate controls, gaming, etc.) it is too limiting. After pulling out the cubby, radio, and climate controls you could nearly crawl around (not really... but seriously). The whole Mini-ITX case enclosure will be the size of the stock head unit so there will be plenty of space available to accommodate the build IMO.

I made a test today of importing my progress from 3ds MAX into Inventor to more accurately check measurements and assemble later with my other 3d models. I took a screenshot with a clear mesh from the front so you can see what is left in the lighter area. And another from the rear to show the progress I've made. What do you think?

http://www.the370z.com/members/asorg...-7-10-2015.jpg
http://www.the370z.com/members/asorg...-7-10-2015.jpg

on the topic of the screen pulling out and rotating, i tend to agree with darkphantom.
Looking at the screen dimensions, and running some basic numbers, it seems you'd have two 10" displays in the car in the current portrait mode. given the fact it's a two-seater and you are going to be close to the screen seems like this is more than enough.

You are pretty close based on the dimensions given to me by the vendor it would actually be about like two 7" x 7" screens since its a 16:8 aspect ratio (found a different monitor today lol). I'm beginning to agree with you two though. I think when it spins it will end up hitting the steering wheel. Plus you would have to go to windows settings just to switch from portrait to landscape view. A lot of effort just for that...:shakes head:

Ok, now I am interested. Looks cool. Keep working it.

Hey just a quick thought... Though it sounds like it won't happen or won't be able to be done... How about those curved screens? Since it's gonna be sitting in the center having a curved screen would allow the driver/copilot to be able to see everything better/easier?


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LOL! Thanks jpkirk for giving it a look through!