Tesla style infotainment in E39?

**Coalcitykustoms** · 11-15-2017, 10:55 AM

I have been doing some research on the type of infotainment system I want to put in my car. I really love the look of the Tesla's gigantic center console screen. I would like to replace the stereo and climate control units in my e39. The stereo side is easy, I'm not too sure if it can be done with the climate control. Does anyone know if there is a company out there that makes harness adapters/software/etc to run all of the e39's accessories from the infotainment center? I have also looked into the raspberry pi carputer setups and I'm sure I could figure it out but I don't know if my programming skills are currently at a high enough level to make it a worthwhile venture with regards to time. My thought with the Raspberry Pi is that each button only does one thing and if I figured out what the signal was from each of the buttons I could program something that would mimic those signals but that just may be way more work than it's worth.

As it stands right now, I could run a tablet or convertible laptop as a head unit or buy an aftermarket head unit setup. I'm just not sure what the best route would be. I thought about trying to use some type of iDrive setup but I think that would be more aggravation and hoops than a raspberry pi. The other side of the coin is that I don't want to spend $2000 to get all of these things. I know it may sound crazy to want to do all of this in an E39 but I've always been a fan of the earlier BMW 3 and 5 series and now that I'm a little bit older and have owned quite a few cars that I was never completely happy with, the 5 series no longer has that "dad car" vibe to me. I own a hot rod and kustom shop so for me to own something that isn't radically redesigned (even if it's a new car) is somewhat sacrilegious to me.

**DennisCooper** · 11-15-2017, 04:14 PM

Hi,

Just on the road at the moment, i'll respond back to this in the next few days!

Cheers, Dennis!

**Coalcitykustoms** · 11-15-2017, 11:10 PM

Thanks Dennis. I am eager to hear what you know.

**M3 Pete** · 11-16-2017, 02:09 PM

You probably already know about these, but ... (I know they don't do everything you want, I just wish somebody would make one for the E36)

http://www.dynavin.com/products/n7_e39.php

http://www.*****.com/Android-Car-GPS...l-Control.html

**Coalcitykustoms** · 11-16-2017, 05:45 PM

Thanks for the response Pete. Have you checked out Erisin? They might have a setup for the E36's. They don't look factory but they fit in the factory locations and run new versions of Android with fairly powerful processors and ample memory.

I know about the dynavin stuff but I don't really want to go that route. If I'm going to go through the process of changing it all, I want it to really look like changed it when I'm done. I want one screen in the middle of my dash that gets rid of all of the factory stuff.

**DennisCooper** · 11-24-2017, 03:34 PM

Hi Coalcitycustoms,

I apologise in the delay in coming back to you, it's been a lot busier on some aspects over the last week or so and I've been flat out !

In short, you can do what you require and want... provided you throw enough money at it! - What you are thinking about will need a lot more thought, evaluation, designing, testing to get done well and correctly as well as safely, reliably. All of that will cost a significant amount of money to do. Technically, you'll need to create a program that understands the signals internally on the A/C panel where that panel is the electronic type (most E39's are indeed like that, but people like me, have manual A/C controls!). From there, you'd need to code, test and verify everything so that it 'interfaces/connects/works with' it properly. You'd then need to physically re-locate the OEM A/C control panel to make space for the larger 12/13 inch display, which of course you'd ensure is an 'automotive grade' panel which is more expensive due to being certified for use in an automotive interior environment. Once you re-locate the OEM AC panel, you'll need to re-test your coding again to ensure the signals still pass correctly with an extended wire length as it's possible they might not work. If you get to this stage, you can then fit the panel to the dash area and then fabricate a holding/fitting bezel/kit to hold the panel at the right angle etc.

I think if you need to correctly reverse engineer the A/C panel from a specialist electronic systems engineer/company, they'll charge significantly more than the $2000 you've currently envisaged for the entire setup. I'd estimate a correct, automotive grade 12/13 inch display panel would be north of $1000 ( I might be way out, but given that a 7 inch one I know of is $500+ then i'd say a much larger display will be a lot more). Once you factor in the fabrication costs, any programming help/design costs, development of an app to interface between the OEM electronics and the display controller, testing and certification testing etc, I think you'd be looking at many thousands more dollars. If you skip any compliance and certification testing costs, you'll save many thousands of dollars but the end cost to you will be a lot more than your current $2000 level thought!

If you do go ahead, and can save costs by DIY'ing, keep this thread updated with your progress, you never know, other owners might want to do the same! at that point, I'd say you would need to pay the 10's of thousands of dollars to have a good App and all the compliance, regulatory and certification costs covered so you could sell it commercially and cover yourself from any lawsuits in case the setup goes wrong and causes problems with the car it's installed in whilst driving.

And yes, that was the 'short' version! Previously, I've costed a very similar concept and there's a lot more detail ! the costs, when done properly would have been north of $50,000.

Cheers, Dennis!