Starting to plan out a car pc install, looking for some tips specific to the 3 (I have an 08 speed 3).
1) Head unit or no head unit?
Being sort of a computer geek, I like the idea of having the car pc be the audio source, controlling everything, hooked up to the fm antenna, hooked up to the steering wheel controls, etc. I'd plan on losing the center portion of the lcd display, but hope to keep the climate control display and the clock wouldn't hurt either. I'd need to get a good sound card, of course. The pros of this are that I would be focusing on one thing, not worrying about the pc AND the "Regular" head unit, and could expand with software and adaptors. The downside is I am not sure if startup/shutdfown/etc of the pure carputer are practical, fast, and robust enough to really be happy without a simple "instant on" head unit designed for the car. Any thoughts?
2) Replacing the head unit, and dealing with the lcd display
I seem to have concluded after much searching that a non-oem head unit is fine on the 3, as the lcd doesn't need the head unit for the climate control and clock. Is that the final answer? Seems like there's still some differing opinions on how the clock is handled (like, if you can't set it without the factory head unit, that seems lame and I'd rather not have it at all).
Thanks for any thoughts!
1) Head unit or no head unit?
Being sort of a computer geek, I like the idea of having the car pc be the audio source, controlling everything, hooked up to the fm antenna, hooked up to the steering wheel controls, etc. I'd plan on losing the center portion of the lcd display, but hope to keep the climate control display and the clock wouldn't hurt either. I'd need to get a good sound card, of course. The pros of this are that I would be focusing on one thing, not worrying about the pc AND the "Regular" head unit, and could expand with software and adaptors. The downside is I am not sure if startup/shutdfown/etc of the pure carputer are practical, fast, and robust enough to really be happy without a simple "instant on" head unit designed for the car. Any thoughts?
2) Replacing the head unit, and dealing with the lcd display
I seem to have concluded after much searching that a non-oem head unit is fine on the 3, as the lcd doesn't need the head unit for the climate control and clock. Is that the final answer? Seems like there's still some differing opinions on how the clock is handled (like, if you can't set it without the factory head unit, that seems lame and I'd rather not have it at all).
Thanks for any thoughts!