Nissan 370Z Forum - Cubby Tablet (iPad Mini)

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Cubby Tablet (iPad Mini)

So I got an iPad mini for "christmas" and thought I'd find the a way to mount it in the cubby hole. Soundwaves of Tampa are experts at making dash kits for it but it costs $800 so I decided to try and do it myself.

Keep in mind this was my first time attempting anything like this but in the end im pretty happy with the result.

So here's the breakdown:

I removed the center panel from the car, then I went ahead and removed the cubby door, AC panels and cubby hole from the center panel.

I wanted to be able to mount the iPad and take it off easily so i could still use it in the house and also mount the door and take it off completely when i didn't have the ipad in the car.

What i did was take the back piece of the cubby door and put 2 neodymium magnets on each corner and obviously i also put 2 magnets on each corner behind the cubby hole. The magnets are very strong and small and hold the cubby door and iPad even under extreme driving.

The next thing to do was do the same thing to the iPad.. I obviously wasn't going to put magnets on my iPad so i went and bought a case and put the magnets in that.. The magnets that i bought (home depot) were the same thickness as the case so i drilled a hole put them in flush and put fiberglass resin over it (home depot also). Now with the cubby door removed i could see the bottom part of the latch when the ipad was mounted and the sides so i went to walmart bought some leather vinyl that looked like the OEM center panel one and wrapped the cubby hole. The part where the latch was i didn't need anymore since it was magnetic now so i covered the hole with fiberglass resin and then wrapped in with the vinyl. NOTE: I did have to sand the cubby "hole" flat on the sides because it had a curve to it and the iPad wouldn't sit down flush. Anyway, here's the end result.. on a scale of 1-10 i'd give this a 4. Hardest part being wrapping the damn thing in vinyl.. since the cubby hole has the felt pad lining on it i couldn't get it to stick very well, but im sure i could have sanded it down and taken my time with it but i was in a hurry.. I might just redo it if it ever comes apart and take my time. I can easily take the ipad out and put the cubby door back and vice versa. I have the iSimple Media gateway so my iPad plays via bluetooth to the car, and i did get the 4G ATT ipad so it has a GPS antenna and i can tether my iphone to it for internet, or add it to my shared data plan for an extra 10$ a month.

Also i plan on buying another case that has a "frame" to it, one of those leather folio ones, in order to make the iPad a bit more seamless. Let me know what you guys think.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...h_IMG_0133.jpg
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That came out pretty good

Good Job

:tup:

That's exactly what I wanted to do when I heard they were making the Mini. Definitely doing this. Awesome work.

That's a tighter fit than I thought it would be. Is there even room to plug in a aux cable or lightning cable? Looks good btw.

i wish I had a ipad. Nice work man

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wiggins3377 (Post 2052437)

That's a tighter fit than I thought it would be. Is there even room to plug in a aux cable or lightning cable? Looks good btw.

I don't think so. even on the sides you would have to make a hole into the side of the cubby and have the connector go into the hole and even then i don't think it would work because it would be at an angle to the ipad.. The side of the iPad is resting on top of the cubby so the side is the panel where the cable can't come out from.

Very nicely done, sir.

I am very impressed! Looks great and is much better than a traditional nav screen. They also have some car interface systems that integrate with iOS, you should look into that. It would be neat to see different car info such as oil pressure or g forces displayed on that.

I am 1000000% doing this!!!... I dont think ill wrap it with vinly i can live with the felt. So bacially the ipad is a perfect fit for our cubby? All I need is the megnents to keep it in place?

It would be nice to permenantly connect it to a charger

i might have to do this in the spring, looks dope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ts-c63 (Post 2052948)

I am 1000000% doing this!!!... I dont think ill wrap it with vinly i can live with the felt. So bacially the ipad is a perfect fit for our cubby? All I need is the megnents to keep it in place?

Yep. Perfect fit and if you add a back case like i did it'll fill the holes just enough to make it perfect and you can add the magnets to that.

They are neodymium magnets from home depot.. $4 for 6

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoshDawg (Post 2052951)

It would be nice to permenantly connect it to a charger

I'm planning it for sometime in the future. i gotta see when more accessories come out if maybe there is some sort of 90 degree dock cable or something. as of right now i dont think there is space to put a charger without modifying the bezel.

That fits great and actually looks good as well! Nice work.

So, the iPad fit great and looked great and all but I decided to try and improve my skills with fiberglass and the overall look also.

So I'm buying another center panel in case i mess up too much..

I stripped everything out today, I cut the cubby hole out and only left the edge of the cubby hole and i will attempt to make a fiberglass mold on it and see if i can have a cleaner factory looking panel. I'll post some pics and updates as i can.. taking my time with this so it might be a while.

:tiphat: Z owners think alike I guess. Im sitting overseas waiting to do this as soon as I get back. Ill let you know if I think of anything that might make this a little smoother. Great work though, especially if you never did anything like that. At least I know it will fit with no huge issues. :tup:

Can I pay you to make me one? Lol..but seriously I want to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr&Mrs (Post 2156525)

Can I pay you to make me one? Lol..but seriously I want to.

You could :p but i'm not experienced enough to feel comfortable working on someone else's car. Even though mine came out great and i get compliments on it all the time.

If you really want to do it soundwaves will take care of you. although it'll be like 700$

Soundwaves of Tampa, Florida (813) 849-1104 - Service and Installation

I will send you a spare unit so you dont have to touch my car physically, man 700$ is absurd!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandit_Kaine (Post 2156927)

Looks good. If I wasn't using that spot for my boost controller I would try this mod.

Looks Great! Rep going your way. I'm doing my install this friday. I'm not gonna go as far as fabricating a piece like you did but I will be drilling holes into the bezel for the aux/power cable. Ipad > all in one aftermarket head unit. :driving:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandit_Kaine (Post 2052760)

You could set it on a swivel so that you attach it at an angle and then rotate it into place. There is iphone/ipod mounts that have this... basically the charging cable sits into a swivel and you plug and pop into place to hold it. It would take some doing but its possible.

That is awesome. I want to do mine now

Not bad. I'd personally use an Android tablet as it's more versatile IMO, but either way, the cubby is very easy to work with in regard to tablet installs. I wish this was a more common mod- it's not that expensive, not difficult at all (imo) and very rewarding.

Did the exact same thing! Running dash command on it to monitor the OBDII

Awesome just awesome

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Wow, that looks great :tiphat:.