Nipped down to Cambridge Car Audio, to get my Alpine and Empeg sloted into what I thought was a double din dash only to find it's just short of double din. THANKS TOYOTA!!

So now we have the problem where to mount the empeg and the best suggestion is the glovebox. The alpine will be my primary head unit a) as it has a built in amp b) the vol knob on the empeg has the age old vol knob problem.

The glovebox seems good because
a) it's big enough
b) mosly i'm in the car on my own so it doesn't matter if it's open and ..
c) to secure the car and the empeg (for short periods of time), I can lock the glovebox, and noone will know anything is installed.

So, to the mounting angle.

It's going to be about 45% when open and about 70% when closed. Please don't FAQ me, as i know it says 16% but what i'm after is the experiences of people who had their empegs mounted at odd anges for a reasonable amount of time.

Any comments would be helpful.

Many Thanks

Greetings!

I have heard of people mounting the player at a 90 degree angle in jeeps without problems. You should be okay, but just remember that the shock mounts were not designed for that steep an angle. I would not think you would have any trouble, but I must make the standard disclaimer.

Didn't someone (couldn't find it in quick search) have the disk mount plate gnaw away at the rear cable bundle?
A bit of tape covering the sharp edges on the rear of the plate might be in order...

/Michael

Agreed. Also, the longer replacement cable from Eutronix might be a good idea as well. Less tension on the drive cable and header.

If you do go with an odd mounting angle, I recommend that you open the player regularly and check for problems: The rubber mounts coming out of their sockets, the disk tray cutting into cables, that sort of thing.

And keep your music backed up on your PC and well-organized so that if you have to get another disk drive it isn't the end of the world.

Otherwise, I'd say go for it.

(Of course, if it were me, the Alpine would be the first thing to go. My empeg doesn't deserve second-class status in the glove box. )

have you considered butchering the glove box to allow static empeg mounting irrespective of open/closed position?

Some cars mount the airbags just above the glove box. I'd be afraid to work around them or do any mods to them.

Thanks Guys,

I've decided to go for it, and i'll probably let CCA fabricate something for the glovebox as i'm not great with woodworking etc.

In answer to your points ..

A bit of tape covering the sharp edges on the rear of the plate might be in order...

i'm definately going to do this.

Agreed. Also, the longer replacement cable from Eutronix might be a good idea as well. Less tension on the drive cable and header.

Is this something I can fit myself (without soldering) .. ?

If you do go with an odd mounting angle, I recommend that you open the player regularly and check for problems: The rubber mounts coming out of their sockets, the disk tray cutting into cables, that sort of thing.

I will. Though admittedly I would only use the empeg in the car 2 or 3 times a week as I work from home quite a lot.

And keep your music backed up on your PC and well-organized so that if you have to get another disk drive it isn't the end of the world.

Of course ..it might take a bit of time to recover but some re-organisation is probably a good thing for me, and I ought to rip somet mp3's at a higher bit rate

Of course, if it were me, the Alpine would be the first thing to go. My empeg doesn't deserve second-class status in the glove box

Clearly this is compromise for me too. Incidently I had the setup the other way around in my VW Golf, and it became a pain that 'a non-empeg journey' ..( i.e. a short one, or if there is nowhere to secure it at the other end) .. were silent. At least with the Alpine i can have my fav MP3's on a disc to give me about 70 tunes, plus radio. Also the volume control on the empeg is knackered.

have you considered butchering the glove box to allow static empeg mounting irrespective of open/closed position?

We did consider butchering the lower part of the dash, but I've got to admit i like the 'close it and it's gone' aspect of the glove box install

Some cars mount the airbags just above the glove box. I'd be afraid to work around them or do any mods to them

It looks like they don't need to go near the airbag, but i'll ask CCA the question.

Thanks everyone ...

Agreed. Also, the longer replacement cable from Eutronix might be a good idea as well. Less tension on the drive cable and header.

Is this something I can fit myself (without soldering) .. ?

Yes. There are 40/44 (I forget) pin plugs at each end. The cable is secured on the harddrive with hot melt glue, so be sure to pry/peel that off before trying to pull off the connector.

While you have the connector off from the IDE header at the motherboard, check the soldering of the pins. If iffy, have someone good at soldering go over them.

/Michael

A longer IDE cable will not help in any way with a player being mounted at an angle where the front face is higher than the rear -- the extra long cables help mostly with level situations and with rough handling in general.

That said, anyone with a 2-drive player should replace the cable with a longer one to relieve stress on the IDE header. And anyone with a 1-drive player should move the single drive to the second bay, such that it plugs into the end of the factory (or replacement) cable rather than the middle.

Cheers

As you can see from the following picture, Mine is mounted at about 45 degrees. I've had it like this for 3 about years now with no problems (two different players also.) You can see more pics here.

I've had mine in the glove box for over a year with no problems. If anything when I'm alone in the car and the glovebox is open it helps with vibration as the glovebox will bounce a little when I hit a big bump or something.

LTJ: What kind of Toyota? (I ask because I'm considering a New Prius, and I intend taking it to Cambridge Car Audio)

My Peugeot install (for the last 2½ years) is at about 30° downwards (i.e. too much the right way, the same as you describe but less extreme). I have had one Fujitsu drive fail, but I don't think the install angle was a contributory factor. And the other (IBM) drives that are or have been in it have been faultless.

It's a RAV4 2004 model.

The dash looks completely different from the Prius, in fact the Prius doesn't look very 'empeg friendly' at all !!!

For the Rav4 there is an Autoleads adapter which turns the dash into a single din at least which would be ok for mounting an Empeg only.

Get a RAV4, you know you want too !!

I can wholeheartedly recommend CCA. I've been there 3 times now for installs of amps, speakers and head units and they have been excellent. They are not cheap, but the quality of work and service reflects the price.