# Ipad mini in GTR I did it first lol



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Let me know what you think. It's strong and won't fall off but I'm not a craftsman lol. The charging wire still fits easily. 

First removable ipad mini in Nissan GTR - YouTube

It's a 3G ipad mini with GPS built in. Also connects via Bluetooth as audio device and phone calls still come through iphone 5 via Bluetooth as handsfree. The steering wheel controls are working perfect and it magnetises on and off easily to access AC. Hope u like lol.

Mark


----------



## TABZ (Apr 30, 2003)

Hi mark 

I like that, very smart.

That would suit any model without sat Nav.

Is this a easy DIY fit? 
What sort of cost involved.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

TABZ said:


> Hi mark
> 
> I like that, very smart.
> 
> ...


Um I'm no expert so it took me ages lol about a week and messed up the spraying a few times because I was excited and got a finger print on it that cost me extra time. Considering I've never done anything like this before it came out ok.  £10 for the fiberglass kit at halfords, about the same for the filler, £20 for the magnets at cpc. And a can of primer and black satin paint and lacquer. About £60 but that doesn't account for the time so it's not worth a commercial idea lol as it would cost the same as an ipad haha. Also took a bit of experimentation with ideas and magnet mounts inside the head unit. Oh and to save effort of making something for it to clip Into I just bought a cheap £3 plastic ipad hard case off eBay and finerglassed from there. I've already got ideas for a MK 2 so may move on with that lol.

Overall difficulty. About a 5 if your patient and more if your useless like me haha


----------



## TABZ (Apr 30, 2003)

I was more interested in how you have it connected.
Is it simply via Bluetooth as stated?
What about charging?


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

TABZ said:


> I was more interested in how you have it connected.
> Is it simply via Bluetooth as stated?
> What about charging?


Yes pairs bluetooth it's a perfect solution. All sounds go to the car wirelessly and it sounds great. Phone pairs at same time also. 

I have a small charging socket in the cig lighter and sprayed the wire black lol. It plugs in I the bottom left as normal


----------



## misters3 (Jun 23, 2008)

Nice work. Great for non nav cars. 

And I guess you don't actually have to mount it if you want access to the heating and demist controls. Well done.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

misters3 said:


> Nice work. Great for non nav cars.
> 
> And I guess you don't actually have to mount it if you want access to the heating and demist controls. Well done.


Mines a nav car it's good because its for proper traffic and you can still have the displays on at the same time. When navigating music plays and fades for instructions it also has full lane guide assist and always on Internet via 3G. I've ordered a wifi obd2 for the car and it will wirelessly send the displays via dadhcommand for extra info in real time using the cars sensors. Again all wireless


----------



## misters3 (Jun 23, 2008)

perrin21 said:


> Mines a nav car it's good because its for proper traffic and you can still have the displays on at the same time. When navigating music plays and fades for instructions it also has full lane guide assist and always on Internet via 3G. I've ordered a wifi obd2 for the car and it will wirelessly send the displays via dadhcommand for extra info in real time using the cars sensors. Again all wireless


That's true and now that google maps is back on Apple products you've got the most up to date maps for free.


----------



## TABZ (Apr 30, 2003)

The wireless aspect is what is so appealing.

I would mount it elsewhere and remove when not being used. 

Time to buy an iPad. 

Ideal for what I'm looking for.

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

misters3 said:


> That's true and now that google maps is back on Apple products you've got the most up to date maps for free.


Tomtom maps are updated free every 3 months anyway along with new app features.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

TABZ said:


> The wireless aspect is what is so appealing.
> 
> I would mount it elsewhere and remove when not being used.
> 
> ...


Hmm you have given me an idea for inductive charging now lol


----------



## p.bro64 (Oct 4, 2012)

Well done I remember you asking if this could be done a while back, and you've persevered and succeeded. Nice one.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

p.bro64 said:


> Well done I remember you asking if this could be done a while back, and you've persevered and succeeded. Nice one.


Cheers buddy  nice to finally get a compliment here lol guess there's some benefits to being adhd and thinking outside the box haha


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Here's my proof of concept a week ago if you want to see how it all started lol Beta 1 of the ipad GTR mount - YouTube


----------



## Johnny G (Aug 10, 2012)

Very, very nice mate. Simple and very effective.


----------



## kiders (Aug 6, 2004)

i pad looks awesome music sounds dodge lol

but grate work


----------



## sw20GTS (Jul 29, 2010)

Very nice indeed! I guess the other advantage of this setup is that you can sync music at home as long as your car is in range lol. I've tried streaming from an Android phone but the music quality was not as good as the direct iPod connection.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

And you can use iTunes match


----------



## Johnny G (Aug 10, 2012)

perrin21 said:


> And you can use iTunes match


I prefer standard iTunes music + Spotify. That way, if you've no 3G coverage, you're still in music


----------



## Vigilante102 (Nov 8, 2010)

This is a great idea, I wanna buy one lol


----------



## SPEED MERCHANT (Jun 5, 2006)

Very nice idea dude, I bet that will spawn other people doing it for their Skylines or Stageas!

My only criticism is your taste in voodo ritual music :chuckle:

Spotify rocks as well & is well worth £10 a month ... would be even better with Led Zepplin on their books though


----------



## Anders_R35 (Jul 20, 2011)

Nice invention :thumbsup:


----------



## xxfr (Apr 28, 2009)

Very nice. Simple and effective. 

Thumbs up.


----------



## erol_h (Jun 13, 2008)

great work i bet it felt good when you finally got there


----------



## alex_123_fra (Mar 26, 2008)

Well done Perrin. Somehow I had understood what you were doing slightly differently. I thought you were removing the panel with the all the radio controls, A/C, modes etc and replacing it completely with the ipad. I somehow thought you were wiring all the panel switches to the lower unit where the CD sits.

Still, nice work.


----------



## dominic1 (Feb 16, 2012)

cool !!


----------



## psst (Mar 16, 2007)

Do you know what I think you have hit upon the next big craze. I can forsee manufacturers (if they are savvy) integrating this sort of thing in the near future. Andriod/iOS devices that you take with you everywhere. Seriously, the first one to the market will usually make a killing. On your marks.....


----------



## Mookistar (Feb 5, 2004)

Would one fit in the footprint of a single din head unit?


----------



## Adamantium (Jun 24, 2002)

Does an ipad mini fit in the space where the DVD slot is? Am not keen on a temporary looking solution.


----------



## Cris (Sep 17, 2007)

Well done for actually doing it! Not what I envisaged when you first described it.


----------



## andrew186 (May 3, 2010)

will the iPad mini work with non nav cars?

and is it launch tested? 

neat install btw but personally would prefer if it didnt block the a/c controls! although i cant think of anywhere else to mount it..


----------



## Johnny G (Aug 10, 2012)

So did you mount magnets behind the dash controls? If so, how did you secure them?

Then it was magnets in the iPad mini holder to secure it? I've an idea in my head for my own version now. Something to do over Christmas!


----------



## Sinth (Sep 26, 2010)

Good idea but would've been better if it was integrated into the dash as that is what i thought you're doing.


----------



## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

andrew186 said:


> *will the iPad mini work with non nav cars?*
> 
> and is it launch tested?
> 
> neat install btw but personally would prefer if it didnt block the a/c controls! although i cant think of anywhere else to mount it..


Not sure us 2009 owners can do Bluetooth music streaming. In fact I'm pretty sure it is phone connection only. Shame as it would make a good sat nav solution.


----------



## Chris1049 (Jan 20, 2012)

Looks a bit odd to me if I'm honest. Covering the controls like that just doesn't sit quite right.

Mind you, I'm really anti-mods so it would never be my thing I guess.

If you want music why not use your phone? 
If Nav is important why not buy a Nav car?

Just my thoughts.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Mookistar said:


> Would one fit in the footprint of a single din head unit?


No it's double din size


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Chris1049 said:


> Looks a bit odd to me if I'm honest. Covering the controls like that just doesn't sit quite right.
> 
> Mind you, I'm really anti-mods so it would never be my thing I guess.
> 
> ...


It's not really a mod. I designed it to be removable in a second so controls can be used and it can be removed from the car. I'd say its more like fitting a phone holder bug without the permanent holder. It's magnetic. Totally undetectable when removed.

As for music from phone, I used my iphone and selecting tracks on the ipad version is night and say better. Not to mention replying to an iMessage from the bigger screen. Not that I ever would haha


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

David.Yu said:


> Not sure us 2009 owners can do Bluetooth music streaming. In fact I'm pretty sure it is phone connection only. Shame as it would make a good sat nav solution.


Yes it's launch tested didnt move at all. I made it so it cups the buttons so uses them to recent side to side up down movement. I've even done speedbumps to test it lol. 

My car is a 2009 dec sat nav model so has dual streaming for phone and media player separately. I think all say nav models have this standard.

I tried on the dash but its too big and restricts visibility. Wouldn't be much use where the DVD is and taking anything out of the dash would ruin resale valu and could disrupt the existing systems. My idea was to make an invisible system. I will start work on something slightly thinner soon


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Johnny G said:


> So did you mount magnets behind the dash controls? If so, how did you secure them?
> 
> Then it was magnets in the iPad mini holder to secure it? I've an idea in my head for my own version now. Something to do over Christmas!


I removed the facia of the head unit and looked for some locations to seat them with super glue.

Yes magnets within the holder itself. If you look at my beta video you will see the crude basis of cardboard, magnets, tape and asda red bull bottle tops that are actually a perfect fit over the buttons. Now the magnets are in locations on the head unit it's easier to create another albeit not by much lol


----------



## Anders_R35 (Jul 20, 2011)

Chris1049 said:


> If Nav is important why not buy a Nav car?
> 
> Just my thoughts.


Make ipad holder for £60 or buy a Nav car for £££££ which sounds the best value?


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Anders_R35 said:


> Make ipad holder for £60 or buy a Nav car for £££££ which sounds the best value?


I have a nav car lol. Just wish Nissan would update the stupid maps. Besides I don't think non nav models bluetooth stream and that feature alone was worth it more than the awful inbuilt over complicated nav system. Personally I prefer tomtom lol

I know it's not perfect but I'm working on it 

An ipad in the wrong location is like a girl with no boobs lol.


----------



## TABZ (Apr 30, 2003)

Apart from the iPad is there anything else you have had to buy to make this compatible with the car?


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

TABZ said:


> Apart from the iPad is there anything else you have had to buy to make this compatible with the car?


No nothing. Ipad connects just like an iPhone. Everything syncs just like one and it connects along side for use with it at the same time. I've ordered a wifi OBD 2 connector so that I can have real time GTR sensor info displayed in Dash Command like on he existing displays


----------



## Anders_R35 (Jul 20, 2011)

perrin21 said:


> I have a nav car lol. Just wish Nissan would update the stupid maps. Besides I don't think non nav models bluetooth stream and that feature alone was worth it more than the awful inbuilt over complicated nav system. Personally I prefer tomtom lol
> 
> I know it's not perfect but I'm working on it
> 
> An ipad in the wrong location is like a girl with no boobs lol.


I think you've done a top job, your passenger could watch a movie too


----------



## misters3 (Jun 23, 2008)

Anders_R35 said:


> I think you've done a top job, your passenger could watch a movie too


Hopefully his wife ;-) 

Great job mate.


----------



## sw20GTS (Jul 29, 2010)

Probably a silly question but won't strong magnets affect the iPad in any way?

As for the sound quality, how does it sound? I tried streaming from Android phone (old Desire) but the quality is not as good as iPod connection. Well there's not much bass from it compared to iPod (both same song tested).


----------



## saucyboy (Nov 1, 2009)

Great work mate :thumbsup: looks like a great solution.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

sw20GTS said:


> Probably a silly question but won't strong magnets affect the iPad in any way?
> 
> As for the sound quality, how does it sound? I tried streaming from Android phone (old Desire) but the quality is not as good as iPod connection. Well there's not much bass from it compared to iPod (both same song tested).


Sounds great. Much better than most android phones for some reason. Same as iPhone and ipad stream 

No there's no issue with magnets on any of it. Remember how the Smart Cover fits


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Here's another video but this time it's sat nav and music demo when driving. Wireless audio connection via Bluetooth 

Nissan GTR ipad mini - YouTube


----------



## saucyboy (Nov 1, 2009)

Mate appears to work really well. Good work pal!! I'm really impressed with your idea ; )


----------



## Johnny G (Aug 10, 2012)

Works very well indeed.

I've just got my fibreglassing kit and covers here. Can't wait to get cracking on my version. Have 2 Xmas Do's to get out of the way first


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Johnny G said:


> Works very well indeed.
> 
> I've just got my fibreglassing kit and covers here. Can't wait to get cracking on my version. Have 2 Xmas Do's to get out of the way first


First step is to get the magnets into the head unit. This dictates a lot if the shape. Best of luck. Take your time. Mine took longer because I rushed and messed it up lol


----------



## Johnny G (Aug 10, 2012)

Yea, I'll be stealing your idea initially, but I'm going for something a little different. Not sure if it'll work, but £15 for fibreglass and a naff plastic iPad cover will satisfy the curiosity!


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Johnny G said:


> Yea, I'll be stealing your idea initially, but I'm going for something a little different. Not sure if it'll work, but £15 for fibreglass and a naff plastic iPad cover will satisfy the curiosity!


Lol that's exactly what I did haha. Spend another couple of quid on the thin tissue type sheets of fiberglass at halfords it's much easier to work with I found  . If you have fiberglassed before you have an edge on me lol.

Let me know your idea and I can probably tell u already if its likely to work.


----------



## Johnny G (Aug 10, 2012)

The only thing I've fibreglassed is my fingers together


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Johnny G said:


> The only thing I've fibreglassed is my fingers together


It's worth the effort and you can body filler over any mistakes lol.


----------



## saucyboy (Nov 1, 2009)

After seeing this thread mate I decided to pair my iPad to the car. Never thought of doing it before lol. Very impressed with the sound and love being able to see all my tunes/podcasts in such a big format. At least now the other half won't moan about my music choice on long trips as she can flick through he pad. Oh, hang on that's not a plus lol.

Just got to find a decent enough holder, or get a mini iPad and do your mod :chuckle:


----------



## saucyboy (Nov 1, 2009)

Mate forgot to mention, liking your choice of tunes in the second vid


----------



## sw20GTS (Jul 29, 2010)

Well the kids have my ipad on ransom so I might get an ipad mini as I think the size is just right for GTR. I think I've got another place to mount it but will have to wait until next week to test it out...


----------



## saucyboy (Nov 1, 2009)

Mate keep us posted as really keen to do something myself. Good luck mate.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

sw20GTS said:


> Well the kids have my ipad on ransom so I might get an ipad mini as I think the size is just right for GTR. I think I've got another place to mount it but will have to wait until next week to test it out...


Wont work on the dash its too tall and everywhere else would be too far away to be of use.


----------



## sw20GTS (Jul 29, 2010)

perrin21 said:


> Wont work on the dash its too tall and everywhere else would be too far away to be of use.


Need to get hands on iPad mini first...apparently its sold out everywhere


----------



## thistle (Oct 27, 2007)

We have a laser cutter with a square metre bed which cuts sheet acrylic nicely and could help with prototyping/panels/engraving of aluminium/stainless etc. 3mm acrylic is reasonably rigid and about £26/sqm in single or small quantity, thicker gets more expensive, but if you need custom cutouts to go around knobs etc it would be a very good method. You could layer a few sheets and make spaces for magnets etc. Let me know if I can help.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

sw20GTS said:


> Need to get hands on iPad mini first...apparently its sold out everywhere


Make sure you get 3G version or you wont have GPS.


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

I have uploaded a short video of The ipad displaying real time info from the OBD2 port sensor info via wifi to the ipad. You can run diagnostics too. Fully wireless works on WIFI.

Wireless odb2 GTR Dashcommand - YouTube


----------



## enshiu (Aug 20, 2010)

Nice upgrade.


UNIVERSAL CAR KIT MOUNT FOR MOST 7" - 13" INCH LAPTOP | eBay

I am using this one as my laptop/ipad holder. Launch and pull safe.


----------



## BKaradakov (Sep 22, 2012)

Really cool!!! Looks very nice!!! I am currently waiting for a stand to be made (from TwelveSouth) for the iPad mini to swap it with my current iPad 2 in my car... I like it because I still have instant control of the AC and stereo and with the mini it will be perfect as it wouldn't take so much space.

Not that anybody asked me but decided to put it in here so you can check it out:


----------



## dominic1 (Feb 16, 2012)

steering wheel is FIT


----------



## BKaradakov (Sep 22, 2012)

dominic1 said:


> steering wheel is FIT


Thanks!!! The feel of alcantara is really nice while holding the steering wheel


----------



## Satan (Mar 8, 2012)

BKaradakov said:


> Really cool!!! Looks very nice!!! I am currently waiting for a stand to be made (from TwelveSouth) for the iPad mini to swap it with my current iPad 2 in my car... I like it because I still have instant control of the AC and stereo and with the mini it will be perfect as it wouldn't take so much space.
> 
> Not that anybody asked me but decided to put it in here so you can check it out:


Mate I love the interior, especially the wheel !

Looks really nice. How much was the wheel or was it part of the interior package?


----------



## Stevie76 (Dec 17, 2009)

This is all very smart....thinking I might need to buy a holder and wireless obd2 connector now. Only issue I suppose is would have to swap over leads to use the AccessPort unless you can buy one with male and female ends? What Odb2 connectors is everyone using also as there seems to be big price variances for them? Dash command looks good too.

Thanks for posting this....more money to spend now :runaway:


----------



## BKaradakov (Sep 22, 2012)

Satan said:


> Mate I love the interior, especially the wheel !
> 
> Looks really nice. How much was the wheel or was it part of the interior package?


Thanks!! It was part of the whole package... I can't really remember how much was the redoing of the wheel itself.. sorry :/


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

My obd dongle was £17 off eBay lol elm327 wifi


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

Why spend so much on a gorgeous interior and ruin it with the ugliest ipad mount on the planet?


----------



## enshiu (Aug 20, 2010)

This is mine  :


----------



## BKaradakov (Sep 22, 2012)

perrin21 said:


> Why spend so much on a gorgeous interior and ruin it with the ugliest ipad mount on the planet?


Could you please tell me why do you think so? And possibly tell me which one is the most beautiful iPad mount on the planet so that I can have the best from both worlds? 

Thanks in advance!


----------



## perrin21 (Aug 10, 2012)

BKaradakov said:


> Could you please tell me why do you think so? And possibly tell me which one is the most beautiful iPad mount on the planet so that I can have the best from both worlds?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


Mine of course lol.


----------



## sw20GTS (Jul 29, 2010)

enshiu said:


> This is mine  :


----------

