pfbz

I just got out to the garage to do a final test fit. Everything seems to fit perfectly, though I still need to purchase the lower HVAC trim bezel (996.552.339.00-01C).

Sorry for the crappy garage-at-night photos. I'll get some better pictures once everything is finished and cleaned up, but this will give you the general idea...

Slopeslider

Looking great Pfbz! You had mentioned in another post the drink holder tolerance was off by a rch. Do you think there is any way to keep it functional?

philooo

humm, so you had to remove the cupholder function all together ? or just trim it a bit ?

I assume you have a pre-most (fiber optic car), right ?

I already have the dension 5000, installed on my most (fiber optic) car so for me it would be quite easy to isntall the ipad mini, If the thing fits. I'll probably try that mod once I am done with the other hundred mods I have planned

philooo

oh one more thing, please detail your install of the radio in the upper storage bin as I don't think anybody has ever done so.

MiamiC70

Phil, How do you like the Denison? How well does it work? Does it give you full iPhone / iPad connectivity? How about the bluetooth with iPhone work well?

philooo

the Dension is great if you want to keep the whole factory look.
It is difficult to pilot the ipod from the oem radio, but as I only play my song on 'shuffle all' mode.
I simply use the radio to skip back and forth and leave my iPod always inside the glove box.

it works great for me and has been easy to install, just a bit pricey but with our fiber optic (MOST) system, I have no other choice than Dension or brand new ..everything.

I did not get the bluetooth addon for dension as I am very rarely on the phone, and did not know if the streaming via bluetooth was possible or not.

pfbz

First, let me just say this isn't anywhere near plug-and-play. It is going to take a bit of fabrication and test fitting to get things to work. If you aren't comfortable with that, let a top quality stereo shop take a look. My approach is always to look at what it will take and cost to 'undo' anything I'm about to modify and cut. You never really know how things are going to work out until the point of no-return, without parts replacement at least. For example, I also looked at modifying the bottom console to more cleanly accept a Nexus7 as a possible alternative to the iPad. I began to trim up the vinyl covered side pieces, but decided I didn't really like how it was going to work out, so I replaced the side pieces completely. It cost me $30 for the pair for like-new replacements from a used Porsche parts specialist on eBay, but I checked out the cost before I started cutting.

Also note that this is a later 996. The early 996's didn't use the single-piece horseshoe trim and din't have the thin, slide out cup holder. I suspect that installing the iPad on the earlier cars without the thin cup holder is actually easier, but have never actually taken apart an early dash,

No, it is a 2004 with a MOST bus Becker radio. I do not have Bose upgrade though, which actually makes things cleaner (and lighter). I replaced the speakers and the head unit, the only part of the factory system that remain are the factory speaker grills in the dash and behind the rear seats and the speaker wire.

MOST bus makes it very difficult to add something like an iPad to the stock radio without the expensive Denison adapter, and if you have MOST bus and Bose, it makes it difficult to reuse the Bose Amp/speakers with a different head unit, but if you are replacing the head unit and speakers anyway, it doesn't get in the way.

I did not reinstall the cup holder, only the small trim piece from the front of the cup holder as a filler. The cup holder was surprisingly heavy and really silly in it's over-engineering, and as my 911 isn't a daily commuter, I was happy to forgo the cup holder. I could have trimmed the bottom of the radio support panel and retained the cup holder, but then would have need to fabricate more support for the iPad. I choose not to go that route.

Most aftermarket 1DIN radio's mount into a metal sleeve/cage. It's what the radio locks into so it doesn't just slide ride back out. The DIN cage went into the upper compartment no problem. It was a very easy part of the install. The stock Becker radio doesn't use a cage, it locks into the dash directly. I'm sure the Becker will fit into the new location, but I didn't check to see if it would lock into place. Honestly, the Becker radio was such garbage that I can't imagine going through all this work and retaining it when great radio's are available for $140-$180.

DIN cage


Moving the HVAC to the lower slot in the lower console is also easy, direct screw in with a new trim bezel, but re-routing the wiring can be a PITA. Once you bite the bullet and remove the radio support frame, loosen the under-dash vent pieces, and unplug the ABS computer, it isn't that bad, but to try and just reach your hands through and snake the wire to the new location without doing the above was pretty difficult.

pfbz

Visual notes on the cup holder could be retained...

BruceP

True for any company, I guess.

What's truer is that Apple like it when you stay inside their eco-system. If you surrender to it, then their backwards compatibility and support is absolutely outstanding. In our house, we're running four generations of desktop/laptop, three generations of iPhone, two generations of iPad, two generations of AppleTV, and two generations of AirPort. Everything is seamless, and I have no update issues, including with the old click-wheel iPod I use in one of the cars. Their stuff lasts so long that you could reasonably defend it as a 'green' choice, compared to the disposability of hardware on some other platforms.

But ever since iOS, they've become a little hostile to people who don't commit.

MiamiC70

Did you instal the Denision yourself or have a local shop do it?

philooo

I did the install myself, it was really super easy... if you have the spare time ;0

Simply dismount the cdchanger and you will have access to the most fiber optics cables coming from the amp.

I made a DIY on renntech

http://www.renntech.org/forums/tutor...orsche-996-c2/

Slopeslider

Great to see I can keep the cup holder! Thanks for all the great info!!

Slopeslider

Pfbz how are you liking the iPad mini install. Any issues after using for awhile?

Slopeslider

Recently finished up my install. Thanks to pfbz for taking the leap first! I have mine connected through the Bose system using a Sosche IPFMRDS. I was also able to keep my cup holder function by trimming the lower support bracket about an eighth of an inch. I moved the Bose system to the lower center console just above the AC controls. The Sosche unit charges the IPad Mini with no problems and displays the name of the song on the radio and dash displays. It cuts on and off with the turn of the key. I went with a 32GB LTE IPad Mini and connected it to a 32 GB WI Drive that will give me 64 GB of storage for music, etc... I'm also using a GoPoint BT1 Bluetooth dongle connected to the OBDII port. Works great with Harry's Laptimer and also has a pretty cool diagnostics dash board. For nav I'm using TomTom and built in Apple Maps. For music I have Pandora, IHeart Radio and XM Sirus Apps plus my ITunes library. I really like the setup works flawlessly.


[/IMG]

Misplacedyankee

Really slick!