997 Gen 1 Navigation & Stereo

[Paulcadd]

As I want to be able to connect my I-phone to my car stereo system for calls and to be able to listen to the music stored on it I have been considering the various options available. I don't want to lose the cd changer, and other after market options to update the existing installation seem to have a mixed success rate.
The other option of course is to fit a completely new interface/head unit in the dash where the existing navigation module is sited. As the navigation on my system seems a bit old hat (doesn't even allow you to input a post code !!). My car is a 2005 997 3.8s, not badly equipped, but I have been disappointed in this aspect of the car.
Has anyone any advice or first hand experience of doing this, or can offer any advice?
All advice gratefully received.
Thanks,
Paul.

[Fl0pp3r]

Have a butchers here:
http://www.dynavinstore.com/store/shop/porsche-ser...

[ril7979]

I've been toying with the same idea, my local audio chaps are not impressed with the quality of the Dynavin unit, its ok but....a unit they fitted to a BMW came with a SD Card full of porn instead of maps.
They recommend Pioneer either with or without SatNav, I shall be going for the without option and use Maps on the iPhone Carplay connection.

[The_Doc]

Thread bookmarked

Would you mind reporting back on this, OP. Particularly 3+months after install, when you really know it's turned out..

Ta

[Paulcadd]

Of course I will report back, once I have chosen what course to take. Dynavision looks like a good fit and not to out of character, but would like to see one working or hear from someone that had one before spending that kind of money.
Thanks again.
Please keep the post coming.
Paul.

[YoungMD]

I have a Dennison 500s something after market kit which plays the iphone etc through the existing radio/ sat nav system and i can tell you its pretty rubbish for a £500+ piece of kit.

And the 997.1 sat nav is akin to an iphone 3s and thats being complementary.

I would go with a completely new unit and keep the old one in case you need it for selling.

[gsewell]

I have a Kenwood unit and would probably have preferred to wait until they supported Apple Carplay. But the install was reasonably painless and I like the final result.

[The_Doc]

gsewell said:

I have a Kenwood unit and would probably have preferred to wait until they supported Apple Carplay. But the install was reasonably painless and I like the final result.

could you do us a piccy please? I'm interested in what the unit looks like in it's surroundings.

[gsewell]

Here's a quick pic from my phone

[MingtheMerciless]

Sorry was searching for other stuff and came across this.

I have fitted a Pioneer head unit to my 997.1 C2S.

The unit is great and it does everything I want without CarPlay - it's just CarPlay is like an iPhone 3G - lots of development still to be done. Carplay is Ok for making calls and reading out texts but not great for other things. You can switch between CarPlay for the few things you need and the native apps which are OK. The Spotify CarPlay app for example isn't nearly as good as Spotify on your phone - a small thing but is has no album art, whereas if you just Bluetooth stream, it does.

You do need a unit with additional nav function or else you have to disconnect the phone and use it, which kind of defeats the purpose. If you try to rely on it, you will die from a brain haemorrhage caused by fury, in a fireball having been directed into a railway tunnel or be lost to your family forever and live out your days in Antarctica. It is not capable of recognising many terms and (for example) I tried to get it to navigate to a place called Blackrock College and it insisted on navigating to Blackrock College Bridge Club. Go figure. One issue is that there is no method of text entry - it is all about speaking to Siri - you can't even spell out the destination.

Edited by MingtheMerciless on Thursday 12th May 17:22

Edited by MingtheMerciless on Thursday 12th May 17:23

[Roundm]

I put a Parrot Asteroid Smart in my 9x7.1 (no Bose), I know it's old Android but I don't care so long as it runs the apps I need. (And you don't need a hi res screen for maps, and a faster processor doesn't make the little triangle move over the map any faster!) I run the supplied satnav sw (which covers all Europe and does 7 digit postcodes) when my phone is not paired - and Waze when it is and I want traffic updates.

BTW I have an iPhone 6s and it pairs both sound and data over Bluetooth extremely reliably (it can also do it over wifi if you want), sound quality is way better than an unamplified Porsche head unit (and my car is actually a Boxster so it's a fairly noisy environment anyway) and much louder too. The hands free function is also really well implemented and radio is also fine and it'll play mp3's off most types of storage. Being an Android unit there are a bunch of apps if you want them and Parrot have done a good job with the basics including reversing camera support, Torque and many others. I think it compares well to most dedicated Headunits and has decent pre-amps and lots of connectivity.

And best of all it was only £349 (plus £30 ish for the fitting kit)

I don't like CarPlay, it restricts the apps that can be displayed so the only satnav is Apple Maps and the UI is more than a bit Fisher Price. Tried it out before buying what I did.

[MingtheMerciless]

Did you not need a Dension Gateway 500S or similar to get it to play sound through the Porsche system? Perhaps a Boxster is different, but one of the problems with the 997.1 is that there is no simple line in type solution.