I've been meaning to write up a complete account of my recent AVIC-D3 installation, but haven't been able to do so yet on account of other commitments.
I purchased all of the Pioneer equipment directly from a wholesaler, Barneys Electronics, 161 E. Union Avenue, East Rutherford, N.J. 07073, [phone removed] (Bill Delaney, e-mail:
[email removed]
) at the following prices: AVIC-D3 head unit ($700), BTB200 Bluetooth adapter ($135), I200 iPod adapter ($21), Boyo VTL-300 rear view camera ($139), shipping ($29.84). The products were shipped securely and quickly; all in all a very satisfactory transaction from my perspective. I also purchased two rear speakers from the dealer as my 2007 base model Cayman did not come from the factory equipped with rear speakers (Porsche DP-12) ($93.84).
After looking at the mountain of stuff to install, I developed a case of cold feet and called my contact at the dealer to see who they recommend for top-quality installation jobs. I was given the name of someone local, called him and was quoted $600-$800 for the job. I made an appointment but, as it was not for two weeks, decided to begin part of the job myself.
I started with installation of the rearview camera. There are some very helpful posts in the archives explaining how to remove the left rear bumperette from the bumper. This was perhaps the most difficult part of the job, but if you read the previous posts carefully and take your time, it's not really too difficult. I backed the car onto ramps, which enabled me adequate working room in the area of the rear bumper, where you have to loosen a heatshield in order to gain access to the inside rear of the bumperette. Once the bumperette is removed, it is a straightforward task to install the rearview camera. I purchased the Boyo VTL-300 unit instead of Pioneer’s rearview camera because the Boyo is a license plate frame unit and it was not clear to me where I would mount the Pioneer rearview camera. The Boyo unit was favorably reviewed on
AVIC411.com
, so I decided to give it a try. You would not know a rearview camera was installed on the car unless you look for it specifically. It looks (and works) great.
Routing the wiring from the rear of the Boyo unit to the grommet leading into the rear interior of the car was a little tricky but by no means difficult. The grommet is large and easy to find once the left rear bumperette has been removed. I ran the wiring into the rear interior of the car and left the rest of the wiring job to the installer.
I intended to install the new rear speakers myself, but after looking at Ken’s excellent article about removing the rear interior plastic pieces, decided to leave it to someone else as I was running out of time. Based on my conversations with the installer, the single most difficult aspect of this installation was removing all of the interior plastic pieces necessary to gain access to the rear speaker locations.
So my first "tip" is that the job would be far easier if one was not installing new rear speakers or a rearview camera, although it is nice to have a rearview camera and the rear speakers are really important for good sound.
As someone who is exceedingly particular, I thought I would remove as much trim as possible in the forward compartment, both to assist the installer and for my own understanding. Again, there are excellent commentaries in the articles section explaining how to remove the interior trim in the front trunk compartment. I encountered no particular difficulties, just take your time and read the articles carefully before you begin. The front cowl trim piece is a bit awkward to remove, just take your time, be careful and jiggle it a bit.
I then decided to remove the trim pieces on either side of the radio. Follow the directions in the articles carefully. Tip number two is that the trim pieces on either side of the front stack must be rotated towards the rear of the car in order to remove them. Do not force! They are quite easy to remove but removal can be difficult if you attempt to pull them "out," as described in the articles. I interpreted "out" to require that they be pulled in the direction of the car door, and almost broke them in the process. Instead, loosen the retaining screws and then "rotate" the trim panel towards the back of the car, and it will come off easily.
This exposes the factory head unit, which I left in place for the installer to remove. I think it would be fairly easy to remove the factory radio, and I would not anticipate any problems there at all. Likewise, I would not anticipate any problems wiring the AVIC-D3 into the fuse box. There is an extension lead for the speed signal going into the AVIC-D3 which I believe my installer connected to the car's speed sensor located in the front compartment near the brake master cylinder, but I am unclear as to exactly how this was wired.
Once the various trim pieces have been removed (certainly the most time-consuming aspect of the job), then it is simply a matter of running wires into the front compartment, through the factory-supplied grommet, and then routing wires towards the rear of the car to mate up with the input from the rearview camera. The GPS antenna supplied with the AVIC-D3 is magnetic and simply attaches to the metal shelf immediately below the plastic cowl between the back end of the hood/bonnet and the bottom of the windshield. Be sure to situate the GPS antenna in such a way that it is not blocked by any metal, or the satellite signal will be impaired. I used 3M doublestick foam tape to attach the antenna more securely and to eliminate any metal-to-metal contact.
My installer said that most iPods are installed in the center console. In looking at all the instructions and considering the wiring flow, I was concerned that bringing the wiring for the iPod connector to the center console might require removal of the center console, which seems like a bear of a job from what I have read. Instead, I removed the glove box (again, using the excellent resources in the articles section) and installed the iPod in the area immediately below the cup holder and above the glove box. Some cars have a CD storage unit in this area; others, like mine, simply have a blank that can be unscrewed from the rear, opening up an area on which the iPod can be placed. This avoids the need to run an iPod extension cable from the rear of the AVIC-D3 to the center console and, in my view, also makes for a better installation. The iPod is more easily accessible and occupies an area that would otherwise never be used. It is important to glue a piece of rubber or silicone where the iPod will be, so that it does not rattle against the top of the glove box, and to glue a restraint in the back of the area where the iPod will reside, so does not fall behind the glove box. The glove box is held in place by a number of torx screws, all with metal heads. Again, take your time and use your common sense. Do not force anything. If the glove box does not come out easily, then you have not removed all of the screws. Note that a couple of trim pieces adjacent to the passenger’s door must be removed in order to allow access to some of the screws that need to be removed.
Because I did a lot of the trim removal work myself, my installer cut the price by about 40%, so my final installation cost was $450. He did a very professional job, no marks, scratches or other issues of any kind. If anyone needs his contact information, please send a private message and I'll be glad to send it to you. He's in the Western suburbs of Minneapolis.
The unit has worked flawlessly from day one. I had to mess around a bit to get it to recognize my Treo 680 cell phone, but now it works perfectly. The iPod functionality is wonderful. The sound is substantially better than with the factory stereo, really excellent. The GPS is accurate. Everything works, and the sound quality is wonderful. Even my wife, who ordinarily doesn't give a hoot about such things, is blown away by the sound and the cool features. I am one of those people who have a very strong bias in favor of factory equipment, instead of aftermarket. That said, this is the unit the factory should have installed in this fine car in the first place!
One last point: I think it is imperative that the following bezel and wiring harness be used: eBay Motors: Porsche 911(997) BOXSTER(987) Cayman 2DIN DASH KIT (item 280151842651 end time Oct-10-07 02:13:43 PDT). The Japanese seller's eBay store is at
eBay Store - EuropeanCarkit CONTACT: Alfa Romeo, Volkswagen, Porsche
.
Thanks for the excellent write up!
