997 Infotainment Option
Discussion
I think that the centre-stack of the 997 (especially Gen 1) lets the interior of the car down and I think most people agree that the sat nav unit is pretty useless.
I have thought about this a lot since getting the car, considered an after-market unit with a surround but I haven't seen any that I like the look of fitted and I have a strange aversion to another manufacturers name appearing in the dash area!
Considered trying to upgrade to a later PCM but 997.2 didn't seem a huge step forward and the 991 unit obviously wasn't going to fit out of the box. Added to that there was the whole restriction Porsche seem to put in place to stop PCM swaps between different models.
That left me looking at a Chinese Android unit designed to fit the space but with no brand or quality guarantee. Not ideal, but I have gone with that (Xtrons running Android 10). I am an Apple phone user so had to get up to speed on Android a bit but I liked the idea of being able to customise the interface to make it look more OEM.
The unit surround comes in black so I have the rest of the stack painted black and the same time to match.
After a few days of messing about I am starting to achieve the look I want.
Pros: Looks great in the dash, I don't think a casual observer would know it was after-market. The all black stack really updates the 997.1 too. Has all the up-to date functions of a new head unit, and connects and holds Bluetooth with my iPhone very well. Uses the Porsche microphone so all that is as standard, Siri works well for making calls and playing music from Spotify.
Cons: Although it is fairly easy to customise the home screen, once you get into the factory standard apps you can't do much with them. So the phone dialler, radio and bluetooth music apps look a bit "blingy". For some reason you can't adjust front and rear fade, so you have to set it how you want it before removing the PCM. When I changed the look and feel of the interface it stopped connecting to the built-in Google maps navigation and defaulted to Google maps online version. No real customer service and if the unit goes faulty then there isn't gong to be any support I would assume.
Next stage for me is to add a Car Play dongle which is supposed to make Car Play available on the unit. Assuming that works ok, then that will fix the look of the apps (apart from built-in Radio) and the sat nav issues.
Overall - pleased but there are some compromises that not everyone will be happy to make, but if you want an unbranded unit that provides a modern infotainment system then it is worth thinking about.
I have thought about this a lot since getting the car, considered an after-market unit with a surround but I haven't seen any that I like the look of fitted and I have a strange aversion to another manufacturers name appearing in the dash area!
Considered trying to upgrade to a later PCM but 997.2 didn't seem a huge step forward and the 991 unit obviously wasn't going to fit out of the box. Added to that there was the whole restriction Porsche seem to put in place to stop PCM swaps between different models.
That left me looking at a Chinese Android unit designed to fit the space but with no brand or quality guarantee. Not ideal, but I have gone with that (Xtrons running Android 10). I am an Apple phone user so had to get up to speed on Android a bit but I liked the idea of being able to customise the interface to make it look more OEM.
The unit surround comes in black so I have the rest of the stack painted black and the same time to match.
After a few days of messing about I am starting to achieve the look I want.
Pros: Looks great in the dash, I don't think a casual observer would know it was after-market. The all black stack really updates the 997.1 too. Has all the up-to date functions of a new head unit, and connects and holds Bluetooth with my iPhone very well. Uses the Porsche microphone so all that is as standard, Siri works well for making calls and playing music from Spotify.
Cons: Although it is fairly easy to customise the home screen, once you get into the factory standard apps you can't do much with them. So the phone dialler, radio and bluetooth music apps look a bit "blingy". For some reason you can't adjust front and rear fade, so you have to set it how you want it before removing the PCM. When I changed the look and feel of the interface it stopped connecting to the built-in Google maps navigation and defaulted to Google maps online version. No real customer service and if the unit goes faulty then there isn't gong to be any support I would assume.
Next stage for me is to add a Car Play dongle which is supposed to make Car Play available on the unit. Assuming that works ok, then that will fix the look of the apps (apart from built-in Radio) and the sat nav issues.
Overall - pleased but there are some compromises that not everyone will be happy to make, but if you want an unbranded unit that provides a modern infotainment system then it is worth thinking about.
That looks so much better than the original, the black surround and absence of the phone keyboard really make a huge difference.
I've been tempted by these Alibaba-listed units before but it's still a bit of money to order them "blind", well done for taking the plunge! Would be interesting to see what you make of it after using it for a year or so, though I have no doubt you'll still prefer it to the standard PCM.
I've been tempted by these Alibaba-listed units before but it's still a bit of money to order them "blind", well done for taking the plunge! Would be interesting to see what you make of it after using it for a year or so, though I have no doubt you'll still prefer it to the standard PCM.
icekay said:
That looks so much better than the original, the black surround and absence of the phone keyboard really make a huge difference.
I've been tempted by these Alibaba-listed units before but it's still a bit of money to order them "blind", well done for taking the plunge! Would be interesting to see what you make of it after using it for a year or so, though I have no doubt you'll still prefer it to the standard PCM.
Thanks, yes I was a bit worried the black would look a bodge but the garage did a good job. TBH if you look closely there is a slight difference in finish with the new unit but it is not far off and it doesn't offend when in the car.I've been tempted by these Alibaba-listed units before but it's still a bit of money to order them "blind", well done for taking the plunge! Would be interesting to see what you make of it after using it for a year or so, though I have no doubt you'll still prefer it to the standard PCM.
I went for the Xtrons one which was a little bit more than the Alibaba ones because they seemed to be slightly more legit, but I suspect a lot of them are all made in the same place.
I will update this thread if there are any problems.
olv said:
This looks good. I did a pioneer install in my old 987 that had billy basic audio and found CarPlay really useful.
The black painted panels makes a huge difference.
Is yours BOSE?
Also, any pics of your seats? Look like you’ve got fabric centres?
Thanks, good to know Car Play was useful.The black painted panels makes a huge difference.
Is yours BOSE?
Also, any pics of your seats? Look like you’ve got fabric centres?
Yes - my car has BOSE, it needed a special adapter to fit the head unit, which I think came in the box (not sure as it was a professional fitting). I would say the sound quality is slightly down on the standard unit, but I was prepared to swap that for a cleaner look and more functionality.
There is a longer thread on my car on here which has details of the seats. I started out trying to do a 997 backdate but has really morphed into a more subtle nod here and there:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Discombobulate said:
I did the same with Panasonic head. Did you look at these. Came with trim matched to 997.
Hi yes, I think I looked at every after-market unit over the last 6 months, even considered a floating screen one but thought that would be too modern. This is just personal taste but I thought the units that had a fitting facia didn't look as good once in the dash. This unit has an integrated surround so it just slots in the space left by the PCM, no facia trim. I have no doubt that the Panasonic unit would be better from a user and quality perspective though.
I had to make compromises on this though and would say it is not perfect.
rfn said:
SCO, would be interested in a link or similar to the unit you purchased? My 997 has an aftermarket unit which is "ok" but quite small screen and doesn't look integrated... this looks a significant improvement.
here is the link:https://xtrons.co.uk/porsche-various-android-10-he...
I have now added some wallpaper showing a 997 silhouette and changed the icons a bit.
Also, having played around with the amp pre-sets I am getting a better sound, so would now say it is pretty much the same as the OEM unit.
Cheib said:
I read somewhere that the Porsche Classic PCM unit that is now available for the 996 and earlier cars is going to be made available for 997.1 soon. As the owner of a .2 I am hoping they extend it to them too !
Interesting, when the 996 version came out I contacted Porsche and they said they had no plans to extend it to the 997. Maybe they have now had enough interest to do it. It will be a great option if they do do it.SCO said:
Thanks. I'm also impressed with the painting of the centre console - I'd never have considered that an option!
rfn said:
Thanks. I'm also impressed with the painting of the centre console - I'd never have considered that an option!
I had seen it done on a car on one of the Porsche forum sites, but I must admit I am surprised at how well it came out. It is a fiddly job as the facia needs to come off, but it wasn't expensive. I can DM the place it was done if anyone is interested.
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