[Rusty Shackelford]

Originally Posted by bufasion

Here you go.

It's a little low in the ashtray, but with voice guidance you won't need to look at it much. The screen is less of a distraction at night. And you can pull the whole thing out, close the ashtray lid, and nobody would know you have a GPS inside the car.

And it cost very little.

Thanks for the nice project idea and write up. I followed your instructions and it turned out pretty good. I have a manual transmission and I'm finding that my knuckles make contact with the GPS unit when shifting into 1st, 3rd, and 5th. Not a lot of contact - but enough that it is kind of annoying. The convenience of your solution outweighs that minor issue though.

I also found that the suction cup would loose its seal after a few days - very possibly because of my hand bumping the GPS unit when shifting. I might try an additional layer of velcro on top of the suction cup to the give it some extra support.

[akhter]

Originally Posted by e90dsanks

Akhter: go ahead and post some pics and part #s. Would like to see this.

there you go...

[who's ur daddy?]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

That is aftermarket, a company called gpstar.

www.gpstar.de


This thread on www.babybmw.net shows a pictorial of the install I did......

http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7285

Ouch! This is not an option for us leasing guys! Love the clean end result though.

[bufasion]

Originally Posted by Rusty Shackelford

I also found that the suction cup would loose its seal after a few days - very possibly because of my hand bumping the GPS unit when shifting. I might try an additional layer of velcro on top of the suction cup to the give it some extra support.

After leaving rubber fragments on the windshields of 10 rental cars, my original Nuvi suction cup was too worn to stick to anything without the "saliva treatment", which wears it out even faster. I had to buy a new mount just for rental cars. Since the original mount won't stick to anything anyway, I removed the suction cup and applied velcro directly to the base, which seem to stick to the base plate quite well.

[bufasion]

That fake hump is SO COOL. I wish there's a left-hand drive version. It would be even better if someone can make just the pod where you can put your own electronics there, e.g., GPS, media player, even just a storage cubby hole, imagine the possibilities...

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by bufasion

Here's an exploded view of my homemade Nuvi mount (clockwise from bottom left):

1) Original ashtray insert that came with my E90. Lined with the fuzz ("loop") side of self-sticking velcro.

2) A few pieces of velcro stuck back-to-back, so one side of this is the "hook", the other side is the "loop".

3) A base plate made from a scrap piece of plastic (e.g., expired credit card) with velcro sticking to both sides, similar to 2).

4) Original suction mount that came with my Nuvi. Since the suction cup in my mount is too worn to stick to anything, I removed the cup (gently punch out the metal pin that hinges the lock down lever) and lined the exposed bottom with velcro. If your suction cup is in good shape, replace 3) with a smooth piece of scrap plastic (e.g., CD jewel case cut to size) and apply velcro to one side only. Leave the other side for the suction cup to hold on to.

Here are the steps to make the mount:

1. Line the inside of 1) with self-sticking velcro. I recommend using the loop side, so in case you want to use the ashtray to hold coins it will have a velvet-like lining.

2. Layer up 2) to "fill" the curvature of the ashtray insert. The idea is to make the curve flatter so 3) will stick better.

3. Mount 4) onto 3). The base plate provides a flat surface for the suction mount, and spread the load to a larger area of layered velcro. You may need to trial-and-error for the best fit.

4. Install the assembly to the car. Adjust to fit Nuvi between the console, the shift lever, and your knee.

Here's some observation, pros and cons, after a few months with this mount:

Pros:

1. It cost very little ($0 for me).

2. It makes no permanent modification to the car. Easily and completely reversible (a hair dryer will help remove the velcro lining from the ashtray insert, if you must).

3. The base plate and layered velcro provide good support and stability for Nuvi.

4. The mounting location is right next to the lighter socket. No dangling wires. Nuvi is very easy to power since it uses standard USB charger. I use a generic one (shown in a previous picture) because it has a short and coiled cord.

5. The location is close at hand if you need to use the touchscreen.

6. The location is low enough so the summer sun in a parked car is less likely to harm Nuvi. Lithium batteries in GPS don't bake well under the sun. I've killed a few windshield-mounted GPS this way. It is one primary reason I wanted a lower mounting location.

7. The screen is less of a distraction at night.

8. The location doesn't block anything of the car (it may slightly block the driver's seat heater button if you have ZCW).

9. The location allows a short and tidy cable to the AUX input if you want Nuvi to play MP3.

10. The silver color of Nuvi's face kind of matches the shifter. My unsuspecting friends thought the Nuvi came with the car (the BMW logo in the splash screen helped, too ).

11. And best of all, you can pull the whole shebang out with the ashtray insert still attached, throw it in the glove compartment, close the ashtray lid, and no trace of a GPS ever been there.

Cons:

1. The location is a little low if you need to look at it a lot.

2. The space between the console, the shifter, and the knee is limited. Nuvi (both the receiver and the mount) is compact and fits just fine, but other GPS may not fit as well.

3. I like to fold Nuvi's antenna out of sight, so the low location does affect reception slightly. It may take a little longer to lock onto satellites. It worked well in downtown San Francisco but I have not tried it in other urban canyons. You may need to tilt the antenna horizontally or upward to get better reception, if your terrain is difficult.

You can buy an external antenna for the Garmin if you are having reception problems.

[cycler]

Great sets ups guys. Im going to do one of them once I get my car in

[bruindude]

tomtom FTW

[gIzzE]

Has anyone considered fitting the 1 series flip up monitor into a 3er??

A lot easier to cut a hole out than buying and fitting the double binnacle dash I would think.

I have a screen here and the business navi controller coming, I may have to look into it.

[veightkiller]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

That is aftermarket, a company called gpstar.

www.gpstar.de


This thread on www.babybmw.net shows a pictorial of the install I did......

http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7285

damn i don't think i have the ball to cut my dashboard like that..

[gIzzE]

Another option is go double din, have you guys seen this fascia adapter?

[hhkim]

For the Kuda mount, is it hard wired or is it plugged into the cig lighter?

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Another option is go double din, have you guys seen this fascia adapter?

Is this photoshop? What happened to the radio?

[RRGOO7]

Originally Posted by E92Vancouver

Is this photoshop? What happened to the radio?

the radio is in the GPS.....that is way too low though

[E92Vancouver]

Originally Posted by RRGOO7

the radio is in the GPS.....that is way too low though

Yes, too low. It would be dangerous to look down there at highway speeds. Is this for real or is this photoshop? Where is the product URL?

[gIzzE]

I must admit, it makes more sense to have the climate controls under the double din slot, maybe there isn't enough room that way round though?

http://www.a-tack.net/index2.htm

[Heat00]

here are a few shots, the others were too large, will reduce and post them for you...

[Heat00]

you don't see the screws as they are behind the unit so its not a big deal, to me anyways...

[Chunga]

This is wery low. Why do this when you can have the Kuda mount an make a total (almost) clean installation?

Just orderd it by kudausa - its cheap and nice. And you get the GPS in the right position.

[Heat00]

what is the right position? it's not really to low and once I hard wire it, it will be clean. you cannot see the screws when it is in.
Just personal preference I guess. I don't have to move my head to look at and it talks to you turn by turn.

most importantly, I don't know where the Kudausa mount goes, but I do not want to:
a) lose a drink holder
b) have the unit in sight (theft). down here if they see a gps on the dash or window its gone
c) certainly don't want wires dangling around

[Chunga]

Ok - its just i had it laying there for a long time and i dont like it. Thats all.
And i get pissed of all the wires arround in the car.

I will picture something when i got it installed.

[Heat00]

cool. I'm going to hard wire it to the back of the power outlet so you will see no wires in my install. it is low voltage and probably on a fuse line so it should be easy to tap into.