Pioneer Apple Car Play

[Yidwann]

Alright Guys,

Has anyone had Pioneer Apple Car Play installed in their Cayman/Boxster? I am looking mainly at the SPH-DA120 Head Unit as it looks quite tidy, I am just really trying to avoid that tacky bolt on aftermarket look. Just wondered whether anyone had done it already, and had any pics of how it looks installed.

Cheers
Tom

[Yidwann]

Hoorah to answering my own question... took me a while to find a picture of the combination. But its looks really tidy...

[wurumal]

I've got a Sony double-DIN sized in mine and it's dead easy to install yourself if you fancy saving probably a few hundred quid - and having a satisfying saturday afternoon!

These http://www.amazon.co.uk/Connects2-CT23PO03-Porsche... make any standard double-DIN sized radio look very 'factory'. It's pretty much a perfect colour match to the rest of the dash in my car.


These instructions are excellent for how to get the old one out:

http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/electronics/p92-su...


And these are good for putting the new one in....
http://www.boxa.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=6000...

[thegoose]

That reversing camera looks awful! You can get them integrated into a replacement number plate light, much neater.

[Yidwann]

Yeah, I wasn't planning on the camera, just the head unit.

And thanks for those links, I will take a look at that, but I think this is one job that I might just give to someone else just out of sheer laziness, luckily the install charges I have been quoted haven't been too bad.

[kingston12]

Those pictures do look good. I have been tempted with the Alpine ILX-700. It looks as though the Connects2 fascia sorts one problem out, but I am not sure I can get it to work with Bose. Does anyone else know?

Edited by kingston12 on Friday 27th March 12:03

[gsewell]

If you have been quoted decent prices for the installation, it probably means that they don't know Porsche.

Assuming that you setup is not significantly different to mine (CDR-30) then you not only need the double-DIN adapter, but also a loom adapter and a CANBUS interface if you want anything like full functionality.

So the shopping list from Connects2 includes:
CT23PO02 or CT23PO03 or CT23PO04 facia kit depending on year/colour
CT20VW02 loom adapter if replacing CDR-30 (check aerial socket type)
CAN-02 canbus adapter (provides switched ign, reverse, illumination, etc)

Or, as the Americans do this stuff in bulk: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-PORSCHE-987-CAYMAN-C...

Plus several hours putting the jigsaw together.

From what I can see, Bose makes this sort of upgrade a non-starter unless you remove the Bose. But I could be very wrong on that point.

[Yidwann]

I don't have Bose, (well I don't have a Cayman yet, but hopefully that status will change Wednesday) so nothing to rip out there, and I am going to see what its like on the current speakers before deciding whether or not to upgrade or not. From what I have read even the Bose are pretty wky!

I have been quoted £500 all in to fit, with all the bits required, and they have done plenty of Porsche installs before, so i'd like to think they know what they are doing.

[edc]

I had a Pioneer Appradio in my previous Boxster. I was going to have it fitted to my current one but I have the fibre optic Bose and it became more complicated so I sold it instead! It worked well and I'm sure the later versions are improved too.

[kingston12]

gsewell said:

If you have been quoted decent prices for the installation, it probably means that they don't know Porsche.

Assuming that you setup is not significantly different to mine (CDR-30) then you not only need the double-DIN adapter, but also a loom adapter and a CANBUS interface if you want anything like full functionality.

So the shopping list from Connects2 includes:
CT23PO02 or CT23PO03 or CT23PO04 facia kit depending on year/colour
CT20VW02 loom adapter if replacing CDR-30 (check aerial socket type)
CAN-02 canbus adapter (provides switched ign, reverse, illumination, etc)

Or, as the Americans do this stuff in bulk: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-PORSCHE-987-CAYMAN-C...

Plus several hours putting the jigsaw together.

From what I can see, Bose makes this sort of upgrade a non-starter unless you remove the Bose. But I could be very wrong on that point.

I have looked into this a bit, and it appears that having Bose shouldn't make it a non-starter, just more expensive. The options appear to be:

1. Buy a Connects2 CTSPO003.2 adaptor that converts the pre-out from the new head unit into digital to feed into the MOST system. £170 seems expensive for an adaptor, but it is much cheaper than the NAVTV equivalent.

2. Buy a six channel amp with 2ohm outputs. This replaces the Bose amp and allows you to retain the speakers. This is probably even more expensive, but may give a decent increase in sound quality.

[edc]

Thee are a few threads on boxa.net showing new units into Bose equipped 987. It seems it is do-able without removing the amp.

[Beanoir]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

My brother had one in his Golf for a few months and then got rid of it, the ideas are great but it doesn't quite work as you'd hope and as Moose says, quite a few limitations. Worth watching the space though i think its nearly there.

[Yidwann]

Yeah, I guess thats always going to be the case, I have to be honest, for the main function of music the other day playing with it, seemed fine, and if anything as an upgrade on the standard non nav unit in a Gen1, a massive step forward. As for improving, from here, you'd hope it would just been software updates, but I know in reality that probably won't be the case.

[Beanoir]

I think my brothers main issue with it was the way it always defaulted back to playing iTunes tracks rather than Spotify which is his chosen way of playing music and then required you to pick up the phone open the app and start again - kind of makes the whole idea pointless. If you use iTunes then the music works very well, if you use Spotify it will likely pi55 you off.

[Yidwann]

Yeah, I am still firmly in my iTunes camp, aslong as I can get TuneIn Radio apps working too, I have to be honest, that was a bigger disappointment is that it doesn't have a DAB tuner too, infact, why most still don't, everything should be DAB as standard by now.

[kingston12]

I have definitely decided to go for this now, and will hopefully fit it over Easter.

Reading the reviews, it looks as though the Spotify app really doesn't work at all and you can only use Apple Maps for satnav which means you are using your data allowance all the time for maps.

I have been using my PCM2.1 with a Dension 500/BT and a 160Gb iPod for the last 3.5 years. It has been a good way of keeping the factory look, and works really well if you are happy listening to music on random and making calls. If you actually want to choose an album/song, it just takes too long.

I think that even in it's current beta-type state, the UI on CarPlay will be a massive improvement on the PCM2.1, and I would hope that it would be updated by firmware going forward.

We will see, I guess. I will be keeping the PCM2.1 anyway so I can return to standard when I sell. Hopefully, I won't want to put it back in after a couple of weeks!

[kingston12]

Yidwann said:

Yeah, I am still firmly in my iTunes camp, aslong as I can get TuneIn Radio apps working too, I have to be honest, that was a bigger disappointment is that it doesn't have a DAB tuner too, infact, why most still don't, everything should be DAB as standard by now.

These units so seem very poorly specified for the price. The Pioneer seems cheap, but it is really only an analogue tuner, an amp and a screen as everything else is done by the phone.

I normally prefer Alpine kit, but their equivalent (ILX-700) seems uncompetitive. It is £500 (compared to the £285 I paid for the Pioneer), has no Bluetooth and only 1 USB.

I think that I will make quite a lot of use of the second USB as I will leave my iPod Classic or an HDD attached to it, so I will still have music for when I forget to attach my iPhone or can't be bothered to for short journeys.

[Modificata]

Good timing this thread. I have a Pioneer Head unit being fitted into my 2004 Cayenne Turbo on Wednesday. I spent a lot of time looking into this and watch many many videos and it looks great! Not the perfect solution but I am sure with software upgrades it will get there.

My main boxes Im looking to tick are:
Phone connectivity (bluetooth and wired)
Better Navigation - PCM2 is rubbish
Phone charging
Voice activation (through SIRI)
Ipod connectivity

For me other bonuses are Messages, and being to duplicate the phone screen for browsing (not see this in action yet).

Its not a perfect solution and someone mentioned Spotify. I dont use that app so nothing lost for me.

Cost I've been quoted is:
Head Unit: £350
Cables + Fitting aprox: £250
Total £700

Also might plan on getting a reversing camera fitted for £50 + £175 fitting but that will be a step 2. Cant wait to get it done, but in time for a 2500 mile easter trip!

[Yidwann]

Yeah I couldn't see what the Alpine offered for the extra cash, and to be honest... I think the Pioneer is the slicker looking unit to be honest.

[edc]

If any of you guys are doing this then please make sure you check your prices. When I had the Pioneer appradio cables and fitting kit were somewhere in the order of £50-75. This included some extra trim bits for 986 which I don't think you need for 987. With some help from users of another forum fitting was free and is 1-3 hours depending on which leisurely pace you choose and how many tea breaks you want. One of the more fiddly bits but once you have the knack take no more than 2 mins is changing the GPS aerial.