996 radio advice

[ciaranmullaney]

Hi all,

Just put down a deposit on my first Porsche (2000 996 C4 Cab) and to say that I'm chuffed is an understatement. At the moment it has the old Porsche cassette radio (didn't think people still listened to cassettes even back in 2000) and I want to update it so wondered if any of you had any advice?

I've had a look at a few on halfords etc but can I go to a double din with iPhone connector or would that not work?

Any advice and photos if you have them would be great.

Cheers
Ciaran

[Mr Ping]

Hmmm I have a 98 / 99 cab but it has a CD player in it.... What I can say though is that since it started occasionally disliking certain pir....I mean backed up CD's is that I went and bought a couple of those gadgets that let you tune the radio into whichever selected frequency and allow you to transmit from iphone to radio.

It was then that I got really annoyed with these gadgets because out of the two I had;

1) One worked impeccably sound quality and frequency detectability wise but was powered by the cigarette lighter socket and the fit wasnt very good so it would keep popping out - in other cars I tried it in it fit perfectly. In fact it also didnt stay connected to my iphone that well either, it used to connect to the big square bit on the bottom but would fall out at the slightest knock or erm high speed turn.

2) The next one i bought which was manufactured Belkin, was battery powered as well as via the lighter socket and also connected to the phone via the headphone jack - perfect on paper however it had terrible sound quality and the radio would often lose the signal rendering it completely useless

Anyway after a lot of faffing and getting really pissed off with it I opted for a different angle.

Buy a sports exhaust, turn off the radio and open the rear quarter windows even when its cold cos you can always stick the heater on.

Only problem I have now is that the heater sometimes makes funky noises which I really should get sorted.

[KeyUK]

Possibly use...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150787583737?ssPageName=...

if you wanted to retain the original stereo?

[mez3]

KeyUK said:

Possibly use...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150787583737?ssPageName=...

if you wanted to retain the original stereo?

That look's interesting.

Do you know if they do one for the PCM 1?

Cheers

[thegoose]

How easy it is to change the stereo depends on whether you have "Sound Pack" fitted (= speakers in the doors).

My 1998 car has it and I wanted to fit a Parrot handsfree but couldn't (at least not in the usual plug n play way that powers it from the radio and integrates it to the car's speakers with mute function) because rather than the standard multi pin output (that the Parrot mute lead breaks into) it has leads that go to the sound pack amplifier in the boot.

So, the same would be true if replacing the radio, as the speakers are powered from the amp not the head unit. I suppose you could put leads through the bulkhead somewhere to connect the head unit to the speaker leads, but it's take a bit of messing about and care of the water-proofing of the bulkhead.

[Lamplighterson]

mez3 said:

That look's interesting.

Do you know if they do one for the PCM 1?

Cheers

Not sure. Mine is the CDR-22 in my 996. The cable works a treat though as I wanted to keep the original stereo in the car. I just routed it through to the little cubby hole at the bottom.

Edited by Lamplighterson on Wednesday 23 January 15:40

[ciaranmullaney]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've ended up moving the aircon controls and installing a Sony double din system. Wasn't a simple plug and play and as said here, it had to be connected to the amp (something the dealer sorted for me).

Pick the car up on Friday and can't wait. I don't think the radio will get used in the first week or so while I take in the sounds of the car!

Thanks again for all the replies.
Ciaran

[Automental]

KeyUK said:

Possibly use...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150787583737?ssPageName=...

if you wanted to retain the original stereo?

I'd like one of those bad boys!
Mine's a PCM1 with a Becker Silverstone 6CD Changer 2660.
Anyone know if it's compatible and how the Dickens would you fit it?

[Rappa]

As above,
How do you fit the lead thing. Is it just a simple case of pull out the head unit and plug it in the back?
Sean

[MrC986]

^ it looks fairly simple to install. ..you just need a decent set of radio keys & some patience! oh, & just make sure when you slide the radio back in all the wires are stopped from getting trapped under thr radio

[alexisn]

Have just parted with my 996 C4, I removed the Porsche junk and installed a Zenec unit, double din, with touch screen maps, ipod, aux, TV if you want it, Blue Tooth etc. A superb piece of kit and, in the absence of Optical feed very straight forward to fit. I have just fitted it into my 997. If you require further info let me know. Where have you sourced the C4?

[Lamplighterson]

Yep, basically pull the radio out. Disconnect the multi changer (blue plug) and put this in it's place.

Re-route supplied cable to preferred location.

[unclepezza]

Have a look for a used Becker cascade or Indianapolis Pro as you retain the factory look but gain nav and Bluetooth along with the option of the factory Becker iPod cable that means you can charge and control the iPod from the head unit.

For some reason Becker stopped making these available a while ago, think were oem on some Ferrari models.

[chiark]

Just some advice when removing the stereo with the keys: take your time... First time you do it you will swear it is held in by some magic force. The keys go in about an inch, that's all, and need pushing outwards (if I recall correctly) to pull the clips on the side in.

[sundayjumper]

Another tip - if your radio is a tight fit, remove the a/c controls above (it's only two screws) and you can get your hand round the back of the radio to help pull it out. You can't pull very hard on the keys without damaging stuff.

[sundayjumper]

Cascade in my car:

[Automental]

Looks very neat. Where's the Nav screen though?

[chiark]

The nav is on the screen in the middle, and the maps are stored on a CF card - thankfully. With every other becker nav unit up until this one you had to load a nav cd...