£4 Mod

[Whitebeam]

Project cost : £3.99

Project time : 1/2 hour

Not suitable for Lexus Nav or Dash Tray.

Not rocket science but I thought I'd share anyway. There is a post (somewhere - couldn't find it) which uses the non-slip mat idea, so this is not original.

I was looking to improve the mounting method for my PDA. I was using a 'suction cup' windscreen mount which worked OK but I wasn't happy with the way it looked. A couple of minutes juggling with the mount showed the dash shelf as the obvious mounting point. I'd already been thinking of changing the 'lint collector' as it bugged me the way it collects and traps lint / dust etc and is hard to clean.

Method

1. Remove the top tray / ventilator assembly by levering gently at the bottom sides of the unit. Be careful not to damage the dash (I used the handle of a pair of tweezers wrapped in electrical tape). There are more details in the workshop section.

2. Undo the two screws holding the furry dash shelf to the assembly and remove the shelf.

3. Carefully remove the felt covering from the plastic. It is secured with contact adhesive all over so its a bit fiddly.

4. Remove all the adhesive from the surface of the shelf. I used paint thinner (after testing it on the back first) and paper towels. The glue comes off fairly easily.

5. Buy a sheet of dashboard non-slip mat (I got mine from the big H for £3.99). Advantage of this one is that if you cut it in half it makes two mats.

6 Using the shelf as a template. Cut sheet(s) to shape. The mats stick well to the flat shelf without any glue or mounting. This also make them easy to clean.

7. Reassemble.

8. I found the suction cup of the PDA mount would not hold on the cleaned shelf (surface still too rough) so I cut a PDA screen protector to shape and stuck to the shelf (see picture). This works very well, sticks well to the shelf & makes a good surface for the suction cup.

Job done. Sunny's & mints no longer slide about & dash shelf no longer looks like a small mammal.

Pics

Without mat. (Looks better without flash effect)

Normal.

With PDA mount.

The non-slip mat is dark grey - appears very bright in the photos.

[Jock]

Very nice mate

Only 2 probs... I have Sat Nav and I don't have a PDA :D

[Andy Freeman]

Very nice mate

Only 2 probs... I have Sat Nav and I don't have a PDA :D

i got similar prob, but mine is i got a dash cupboard thingy there no shelf

[Whitebeam]

I did say not for Lexus Nav or Dash Tray ;)

[Dunkie]

I noticed these nonslip mats in Wilkinsons for 99p today so if you are after some get your bum down to your local wilkinsons :D

interesting idea and mod as its a waste of space in the normal config imo.

[whitie]

I think it looks a lot better myself mate. I know where i'll be going on the way home from work today!

Did you take the mounting off just as it was easier to work with. Also you said the new mat didn't need glue, are they sticky backed??

[Bazza]

but what about all those bits of lint and dust particles

they got nowhere to congregate now

good idea though !

[mattstheone]

well i think its a great idea but dont let linda barker know or lawrence lewellen

as they might come and give your whole car a makeover

and you would not want that scrolls in your door trim not nice

are you using the pda as a sat nav tool

i know its a bit off record

but if you are what make of pda is it and what software you using

Cheers

Matt :)

[Whitebeam]

whitie - its just 'grippy' - can't explain any better

mattstheone - I've got an IPAQ 2210 (ebuyer are selling them at present at a good price - less than I paid duty free at xmas) and Fortuna clip on Bluetooth GPS.

Software is Tomtom citymaps (got it cheap) & Fugawi UK ordinance survey.

I'm getting Tomtom navigator 2 for driving as it has voice, speed camera integration etc (which citymaps does not). I use Fugawi mainly for walking & cycling but it works well in the car as well.

Best sulution for car use only is one of the dedicated car setups - PDA is a bit of a pain as you need a power cable which can be untidy. My GPS sits on top of the sunroof blind & does not need a cable (about 8 hours Battery life).

Another option is to use the GPS output from some of the newer speed detectors (b2 has one I think). There's lots of things to look at. I went PDA because I wanted to use it out of the car as well - and wanted a good PDA.