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Car Modding Plans |
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Mods in the plans, and dates of completed mods: |
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First some ideas that I think are aggressive mods. Temperature controlled moon-roof tilt -Part1 completed 03/12/04 -Schematic complete 04/21/04 My car will be parked 8 hours a day in the Texas heat. This means that the car gets VERY hot inside. Why not monitor the temperature in the car and tilt the moon roof open when the car heats up too much. Once the car reaches a temperature near the outside temp, the moon-roof will close again. There would be a rain detector to make sure it doesn't open when it is raining, and a battery monitor to make sure the system doesn't kill the battery. LED Door lock status indicator -Schematic complete 04/20/04 The car will have keyless entry. The remote locks the doors on the first press. If you want a confirmation that it is locked, you press the lock button again, and the car will honk it's horn. But this is very bad in an apartment complex. So I plan on installing a Red/Green, or Red/Blue LED facing out the front window that shows me that the doors are locked or not. White Cold Cathodes in the trunk No, not for show-off bling, but for function. The little tiny 1/2-watt light bulbs that come standard as a trunk light is worthless. I would rather light the whole trunk so I can see what I need. I want a slot that I can stick my cell phone into that will charge the phone, rather then have a chord to mess with. I would make it semi-modular in case I change cell phones Custom Carbon Fiber Trash Can and larger cup holders -Part 1 Canceled, found a good fitting trash can The cup holders right near the dash on this car are too small, and often spill large cups. Plus hanging a bag or something else for trash sucks. I want to make a carbon fiber piece that will be on the passenger side of the center console that will hold two cups of any size, and also a trash can. Both the cup holders and trash can will be removable for cleaning. Idea: I just though of while typing this....why not integrate a cooler into the cup holders? Rear ground Laser This is an idea I have been bouncing around for a while. I want a line drawn onto the pavement as I travel down the road. It will be a kind of "Do not cross" line. It would have to be bright enough to be visible, and have rain detection so it doesn't reflect into other drivers eyes. It could even be integrated into a ultrasonic distance meter mod, that would light up a "Back-Off" light at the rear of the car if the line is crossed. The hard part is keeping the line stable while the car is moving. A green laser would probably be bright enough for this. Overdrive Off Button on steering wheel I can drive a manual, but still prefer automatics. Actually I LOVE Sports Automatics, but can't get one yet. Well Protégé's have a "Overdrive off" button on the gear stick that disables the fourth gear, and shifts the car into third gear. This is pretty handy when I need some extra power. So I would like to duplicate this button onto the steering wheel for quicker access. Steering wheel cooler No matter what the temperature of the car, in Texas the sun can heat up the steering wheel to the point it is painful to touch. I would like to create a cooling solution for the steering wheel. Either tubes with air holes wrapped around the wheel, where air carries the heat away. Or water, kept cool in a insulated container, and pumped through when needed. I am still trying to figure the best solution to this. Second battery in trunk for multiple functions I plan on installing a car PC later for GPS, DVD, and MP3 capabilities. Since PC's take some time to boot, you can't get instant music out of your car when you get in. So often time car computers boot off the car battery before the user starts the car. But when the car starts the power fluctuates and can damage the car computer. So other's choose to have their car computer boot After the car is started, further delaying the start of music play or other functions. Well a 2nd battery could fix this. I would install a 12volt motorcycle battery. The battery would charge off the existing car circuits after the car is started, but would provide power for the PC to boot up while the car is starting. (PC starts booting when I get in the car) A bonus function would be that with a switch you could actually jump start your main battery off the trunk battery if needed. Backlit CD Slot Similar to my DVD mod in the guides area Remote start with heat venting -Canceled, Auto moon-roof replaces this function Great for here in Texas, starts engine, roles windows down an inch, opens sun roof, turns on A/C, switches air to pull in fresh air. Once car reaches outside temperature, windows roll up, moon-roof closes, air switches to Cycled, and A/C keeps running. Red Lit dash -Part 1 Complete 03/29/04 -Part 2 Complete 04/10/04 -Part 3 Complete 04/24/04 Using both LEDs and EL replacements Red painted brake Calipers The rear drum breaks will be painted black, as they are less desirable. Disable switch for door chime -Completed 03/10/04 Electric Windows Always On -Completed 03/10/04 LED turn signals and Brake Lights Flush Door Locks -Completed 03/12/04 Variable Speed Wipers Mirror Turn signals (home made) -Rethought, the car already has side repeater lights Involves some custom carbon fiber holders and LED lights. They would attach to the bottom of the existing side mirrors. Ground lights on mirrors, linked to courtesy lights
Rear car LED sign Steering linked projection headlights Stealthed external lighting: Passenger-Side Door Lock Switch DaveB Rings Installed |
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