Nokia N97: As a carputer

And just when i thought that I'd seen everything the Nokia N97 could do, comes an N97 as a carputer. And it does look the part too.

I've placed the n97 carputer on the instrument cluster. Usually we place them either side of the cluster but I find it more comfortable this way. Seating the Nokia N97 is done with a leather cloth that is used to keep cell phones from skidding of dashboards. eBay has lots of them for a couple of bucks.

For carputing sessions I've installed an app called GTXi. It's like the one app all gear-heads have to carry. It's grreat! Sitting right there within the cluster it provides you with lots of data about your run. For example, after i tune my car or do any additional performance modifications I could use this app on a test run and it would provide me with details like acceleration time graphs, top speed per run, and a whole array of charts. Saves me the time and money of using a dyno. And the best part is that the app is fully automatic. It detects movement or deceleration of the vehicle and data logging is controlled - so i can keep my eye on the road. The N97s touchscreen makes it all a lot easier to handle. The output the software was able to provide usign the N97s GPS module wasn't accurate. I've provided the program output below and a video of the same car during a 0-100 kph session.

Using map software with the phone in this position also turned out great. Because the map is open right there beside the speedo it doesn't steal much road attention. And again the touchscreen is a great help.

The N97s FM transmission picked up by my cars entertainment system makes sure that i don't have to write and rewrite CDs and flash drives. Saves a lot of the irritation that comes with using music CDs in the car. If you'd care to connect the 3.5mm jack then you'll be able to pick up and answer calls as well without having to spend on a hands-free kit.

GTXi program output:

01/09/2009 4:09 pm
Vehicle: Type2 OHC
Engine:stock B15B9 (asia)

0-100 km/h: 10.7 s

0-10 km/h: 0.5 s
0-20 km/h: 1.4 s
0-30 km/h: 2.4 s
0-40 km/h: 2.9 s
0-50 km/h: 3.8 s
0-60 km/h: 5.0 s
0-70 km/h: 5.9 s
0-80 km/h: 7.3 s
0-90 km/h: 8.8 s
0-100 km/h: 10.7 s

0-100 m: 7.2 s
0-200 m: 10.1 s

0-10 km/h: 2 m
0-20 km/h: 7 m
0-30 km/h: 16 m
0-40 km/h: 22 m
0-50 km/h: 34 m
0-60 km/h: 54 m
0-70 km/h: 72 m
0-80 km/h: 103 m
0-90 km/h: 138 m
0-100 km/h: 218 m

0-100 m: 79.0 km/h
0-200 m: 97.6 km/h

0-60 mph: 10.5 s

Note for gear-heads: i just shaved of 2.3secs of my 0-100 with a custom FFE including headers, a VTEC muffler and no cat.