Clio 182 Sport Cup
Hi All
I got my Clio 182 Cup a little while ago, fantastic to drive! I can live with the interior being a little dated because it’s soooo much fun but it was missing a couple of conveniences like GPS and bluetooth, so I thought I'd have a go adding them. I didn't have much success finding any details about semi-permanent GPS installation so I thought I'd share what I did in case others are interested. Sorry for the dodgy pics, it’s not the easiest area to photograph.
First step was to find a GPS, with bluetooth, a suitable mounting system and that turned on and off with the ignition. I settled on the ‘TomTom Go-Live 2050’. It has a nice size 'glass' touch screen but isn't excessively large. It turns on and off with ignition, automatically switches day to night colours, uses a magnetic mount (so I can put it in the glove box if I leave the car somewhere, or take the GPS to my computer to do updates), provides good Bluetooth hands-free for my phone, traffic updates, speed camera warnings, speed limit alerts … and reads SMSs aloud.
I decided to take advantage of the otherwise useless storage recess on the top-centre of the dash. It's easy to see from the drivers position and doesn't block your view. It’s also the general location that newer Clios seem to position the units. Additionally, I didn't want to modify the actual car and I found if you lift out the rubber mat in the storage recess you find a couple of locating holes already exist. I used one hole to run the wire down for power and the other to secure the mount.
The mount is pretty simple ... just takes a bit of work to get it to fit and look ok. Mine could have done with a little more finishing but time got the better of me.
I laminated some scrap pieces of MDF together with epoxy to make a block, which I shaped using a router and orbital sander. I traced the GPS onto the front of the block and recessed the GPS half into the block to make it look fitted and professional ... then I recessed a cavity to install the magnetic mount flush (I had to sort of dissect the OEM mount to make it fit). I then sealed the whole lot in fibreglass epoxy resin and covered in a light coating of car bog (easier to get a nice finish).
Then, to make it fit in the car I laid tinfoil (from the kitchen) over the dash and in the recess, put a fresh layer of bog on the bottom surfaces of the mounting block and pressed it into position and waited for it to go off. Then remove the mounting block, sand and paint matt black, install wire (connect to 12vDC) and re-fit.
Let me know what you think.
I got my Clio 182 Cup a little while ago, fantastic to drive! I can live with the interior being a little dated because it’s soooo much fun but it was missing a couple of conveniences like GPS and bluetooth, so I thought I'd have a go adding them. I didn't have much success finding any details about semi-permanent GPS installation so I thought I'd share what I did in case others are interested. Sorry for the dodgy pics, it’s not the easiest area to photograph.
First step was to find a GPS, with bluetooth, a suitable mounting system and that turned on and off with the ignition. I settled on the ‘TomTom Go-Live 2050’. It has a nice size 'glass' touch screen but isn't excessively large. It turns on and off with ignition, automatically switches day to night colours, uses a magnetic mount (so I can put it in the glove box if I leave the car somewhere, or take the GPS to my computer to do updates), provides good Bluetooth hands-free for my phone, traffic updates, speed camera warnings, speed limit alerts … and reads SMSs aloud.
I decided to take advantage of the otherwise useless storage recess on the top-centre of the dash. It's easy to see from the drivers position and doesn't block your view. It’s also the general location that newer Clios seem to position the units. Additionally, I didn't want to modify the actual car and I found if you lift out the rubber mat in the storage recess you find a couple of locating holes already exist. I used one hole to run the wire down for power and the other to secure the mount.
The mount is pretty simple ... just takes a bit of work to get it to fit and look ok. Mine could have done with a little more finishing but time got the better of me.
I laminated some scrap pieces of MDF together with epoxy to make a block, which I shaped using a router and orbital sander. I traced the GPS onto the front of the block and recessed the GPS half into the block to make it look fitted and professional ... then I recessed a cavity to install the magnetic mount flush (I had to sort of dissect the OEM mount to make it fit). I then sealed the whole lot in fibreglass epoxy resin and covered in a light coating of car bog (easier to get a nice finish).
Then, to make it fit in the car I laid tinfoil (from the kitchen) over the dash and in the recess, put a fresh layer of bog on the bottom surfaces of the mounting block and pressed it into position and waited for it to go off. Then remove the mounting block, sand and paint matt black, install wire (connect to 12vDC) and re-fit.
Let me know what you think.
