Sounds like a reasonable assumption.

 

Thanks for the input.

I have already bought TASKER its a great app. Although it is quite difficult to master it, it really helps automating many of the processes of the Note 2 and make it feel more "stock".

The back / menu / home buttons have been remapped as soft keys so they are not a concern anymore.

With regards to the power I bought an aftermarket battery holding 2.5 times the charge of the factory Samsung battery. With tasker shutting down all GPS / Wi Fi / 3G and various apps as well as the screen of course I think the aftermarket battery can last over a week in sleep mode, which is never gonna happen unless i go on vacation.

If the Note 2 does run out of battery or freezes or anything that requires a reset I have asked my installer to make it in a way that I can slide it up (probably just by pushing on the screen) 1-2mm just enough to trigger the power button on the side of the device (against a plastic obstacle i assume). Failing that I'll just have to take off the centre dash which is not that huge a deal if it happens once a year or so.

Anyways today I got my DIY toolkit and could not resist myself to try and mount the Note 2 behind the dash. My skills are seriously lacking and its held in place by duct tape, and the quality of the video is rubbish but its pretty easy to see that after the centre panel has been modified and CF wrapped this will look very stock.

In the video I switch on the Note by turning the ignition key and make use of the MP3 player, Tune In streaming radio player, Copilot Navigation, and even got to watch Sam teach me how to remove my centre console in 5 minutes or less!!!!


The car is going to the professionals on Friday to finish the install so I should have proper pics and video in a couple of weeks.

So far in terms of cost this has been

- Note 2 free with 24 month unlimited data contract £32/month
- Wire to tap into CD player audio (plug and play no wire cutting) - £65
- Note 2 aftermarket battery - £75
- Walnut centre dash panel (to be modified) - £50
- Installation / Centre Panel Modifcation / CF wrapping - £650
- Various apps etc needed for Note 2 (SAT NAV app / tasker / MP3 players etc - £50-£60)

So in total it will be about £900-£1000 plus the 24 month contract plus a lot of my time for research!!!! I hope the final result will be worth it.

Thanks for all your help.

Pavlos

 

It's a pretty good fit for the space and is gonna be a slick setup once it's all permenantly installed.

Do you have plans for the two side openings where the nav buttons would be?

Very cool. Be sure to post the finished product.

 

The two openings will be filled before the panel is carbon fibred. So basically it will be just a screen without the openings. Also the centre opening will be modified to fit exactly the screen of the Note 2 (it is currently somewhat smaller than required)

Also the curvature of the centre panel makes using the edges of the touch screen somewhat awkward. I will need to address this, probably my making a beveled edge instead of the rounded one that it currently is.

That's why I bought the walnut trim so I can butcher it anyway its required, My original CF dash and OEM SAT / NAV will be kept in storage in case they are needed in future.

Pavlos

 

So I got my custom panel back from the shop. It's still needs to be CF.

The cutouts are oversized to allow for the thickness of the CF.

In the armrest I got a new lighter with a usb charger all neatly done. The USB cable charges the Note 2 when the ignition is on and also serves as a way to transfer data over.

On Monday the panel goes of the be wrapped so by next week I hope I'll have the finished product.

Pavlos

 

Good progress! Almost finished!

 

That is looking pretty darned awesome.

 

Awesome stuff! Exactly what I've been looking for. I think this will be the route I will go as well.

I'm wondering could this be taken a step further so you could use it as a hands free phone as well. Guess you'd just have to wire an external mic to it...


P.S. Good to see a fellow Londoner posting here too

 

Thanks for the comment.

If you decide to do this install and need any help let me know.

Having done this already I think it is definitely in the realm of DIY, the whole install should not take more than 3-4 hours.

My car has the bluetooth factory fitted so never really looked into using the Note 2 as a phone.

Pavlos

 

Nice. I took my center console and dash panel open today just to get a feel how everything would fit together etc. Where did you source your extra center panel and the wire to tap into CD player audio form?

Thanks,
Kari

 

The extra panel i got from Black Country Jaguar

The wire to tap into the CD player from Home

However the project is delaying as I am really struggling to match the carbon fibre weave to the original OEM look

Never thought it would be so hard.

All i got is a hole in the dash at the moment

Pavlos

 

I've been messing with the new SmartGPS system from Magellan and it hit me that this might be a better choice. The reason is that it automatically powers up and down and just does navigation and phone pairing. It also uses the phone for Data so you get traffic updates and the like real time without another WAN charge (it uses Bluetooth so you don't have to pay a tethering charge). IT has Wi-Fi as well and can get large updates in your garage over your home network if you connect it. I took my old navigation panel and put it behind it for size and it fits nicely. See picture below.

 

So after what seemed like ages my custom panel is almost finished. Still needs a couple of coats of resin and some good sanding to get rid of the "orange peel" as well as a final coat of lacquer but from the pictures I was sent looks like it will be a pretty good match.

This project has dragged on forever and has cost a bunch of money, primarily spent in making the custom panel / sourcing the carbon fibre weave which was a royal PITA.

I should have everything in place end of this week for some final pics.

Pavlos

 

HI, I'm really interested in doing this, I'm sure that many XK owners would also be because I get really annoyed at the old Sat Nav interface and not being able to put post codes in etc...

For me my XKR is a second fun car and I don;t have any plans on selling her so it would be well worth it.

Do you have a summary of everything needed and sources etc.... or maybe you could do a complete single post sticky

rgds Shaun

 

The first most important thing is to decide on which device will replace the original Sat Nav. I opted for the Samsung Note 2 as the screen size was the same, so I maintain OEM looks as much as possible, and it also gives me freedom to chose from many navigation apps, music apps, internet radio, e-mail, torque app and many more.

To connect my Note 2 all i needed was a cable to hook it up in place of the CD player. I got mine from Home and it works great.

I also needed a power source so I tapped into the cigarette lighter and installed a second lighter with a USB charger all neatly tucked into the centre console. So now every time the ignition is ON the device charges.

When the ignition is off the device goes to sleep and can stay sleeping for up to 1 month with the aftermarket battery I bought a Mugen battery which holds twice as much charge as the original Note 2 battery.

Finally, the last most important decision is how much of a factory look you want to give to your install. I did not want to just have a "good fit" or a "nice look" I wanted something that looked completely factory so I have my centre panel completely remade. This was a costly decision and I understand not many want to go down that route but if you have the CF dash I can help you, if not you need to find someone who can re-veneer and modify the openings as required to have a perfect fit.

Pavlos

 

I have gotten my custom centre panel back and at last my car is complete again.

The general effect is pretty good, the carbon fibre weave even though not identical is extremely similar to the OEM one and one would have not either pay too much attention or know that it is not the same to tell the difference.

That said, the panel looks better in the pics than it actually is. Some parts of it are a bit "cloudy" not as clear as they should be and the detail work around the openings is not to the standard I was hoping.

I am probably going to test the whole install for a few months and if it is trouble free I'll redo this panel to a better standard.

All in all I am very happy with the upgrade and look forward to many miles of happy motoring with MP3 music, proper navigation and other features my note 2 can offer!!

Pavlos

 

Looks pretty good to me. Nice job.

If you decide to rework that center panel, just note that you have room for both an oil and temp gauge. Just sayin'. Pair that with a RealGuage kit or hook up a quality AM set and you are good to go!

 

Looks pretty good to me! Well done!

 

Today I am really happy with myself

Not being fully satisfied with the custom CF panel made I was trying to think of ways to make the custom install look better.

The opening on the OEM carbon fibre panel is perfect for the Note 2 but the holes for the buttons where screwing me up (:.

But it had never occurred to me that the OEM Sat Nav can be taken apart and my Note 2 can be hidden behind the plastic fascia thus retaining a fully 100% OEM look with the original buttons!!!

Of course it would have been much better if all that had occurred 4 months ago and saved me £800 in the bin plus 3 months of driving with a hole in my dash but..oh well.

Taking out the cost of the custom panel this all could cost as little as £65 plus a note 2 contract which cost me £25/month (or about £350 or so on e-bay if you don't want internet in the car which I do).

Time wise its a 2-3 hour install at most even for the most DIY challenged people (me included)

If there are enough interested I can make a short write up.

I have added one more video using the Note 2


First i use the internet radio (love listening to my home Greek stations), Google Play (excellent as I can have all my music library on cloud not stored in the device) and my navigation app.

Obviously the buttons are now just dummies and don't light up in the dark anymore (I am sure that would not be so hard to achieve) - plus I have to glue the joystick which was held in place by the main Sat Nav part.

if only I could somehow wire the on/off button to the Note 2 on/off that would be the best but that's way beyond my skills.

 

Wow, you should be happy. It looks 100 times better with the buttons. Much more OEM, but more importantly it looks balanced now. Good job, sir.