New Owner Questions.

I brought home a 2001 996 Lapis Blue Cab tip with AWD yesterday and I am trying to use the owners manual to learn about certain accessories. 1. One accessory is what looks to be a built in Radar unit. The dealer told me it is forward/backward facing Radar. It is controlled as far as I know from the center built in switch to left of dash. It appears to have a push button and a red led to left and right of the push button. Is this an aftermarket Radar unit or Factory? I did not see it listed in the build sheet or mentioned in the owners manual. For all I know Radar is not even its function. 2. Speedometer - it appears to be off about 3 mph compared to my GPS which is almost exactly the same as the speed indicated on my Jeep Commander. Yes the Commander could be off but the Porsche seemed slow to me and the better half in City driving with cars crowding close behind. I appears I have to do 43 to actually move at 40 MPH. If I can believe the Vehicle Options Detail it says it has 18 inch Panamera S wheels. The tires are Pzeros. Anyone else notice their speedometers being off? One of the reasons I can not completely believe the Vehicle Options details is that it says it has a 8 speed Tiptronic S transmission. I think that is a few too many gears.

There never has been a factory option radar detector; that would amount to encouraging the owner into breaking the law. All OEM speedo's are calibrated to read high by a small amount; the factory can never be sued for getting you into trouble that way, and it runs out the warranty faster........ No Tips have eight gears, unless they are counting park and neutral as gears, and even then they come up short.......

JFP, Thanks, I can quit looking thru the manual for info on the detector. Not really sure how useful it will be not knowing anything about it. It has gone off twice now and I have not seen any signs of a officer. Maybe it is some old model that pings when it is near automatic doors. I think I would rather free up that switch position for the IMS sensor. Here is a outside pic. I tried to attach it in a edit but could not see how to do it.

All decent radar detectors pick up door openers, most are X-band radar. Even the most current systems pick them up. There are some systems that “remember” door opener locations and then ignore them later, but that is not always a good thing as the cops know where the bogus signal locations are and can use them to mask the real thing. One of the recurring problems with radar detectors is the need to keep them current as new technology is always entering the fray. To stay current, the unit has to upgraded from time to time, and sometimes that requires new hardware bits as well as new software. While some like the "clean look" of built in units, they can be a pain to do the upgrades on, and usually have their receivers mounted too low to pick up the earliest threat signals. Windshield mounted units are easier to send out for upgrades, mount high to sense the signals as early as possible, and can be moved from car to car, but lack the clean look. When it comes to radar and laser detection systems, you will get about as many different opinions as you would on a question involving politics; you simply need to do your homework and decide what works best for you............. Nice car, by-the-by.

JFP, Thanks !

This Vehicle came with the CDR -220 in the dash. It also has a DSP. The owners manual discusses the functions of the DSP but in regards to the radio it suggests "see your radio manual which is included with your on-board literature". 1. Is the CDR-220 and the DSP always included together? Or did some cars just come with the CDR-220? 2. What is the red LED that flashes on the center top of the CDR-220 after I lock the car? It acts like it is the LED to show the car is in antitheft mode but the owners manual says that LED is up on the center of the dash. I never see the LED on the center Dash flash - only the LED on the CDR. 3. Is there any additional documentation for the CDR-220 and/or the Multi disk player? My "New to Me" car did not come with any other then the owners manual and the quick reference guide. BTW - the Quick Reference Guide has some info on the functions of the CDR-220 but none on the CD Changer - I don't want to try and put a CD in the changer the wrong way and break it. I was looking at a Double Din JVC unit at BB for around $300.00 that has a large display that can integrate my Iphone and MotionX GPS app into the display. - I guess folks connect to the JVC by a cord running to the ash tray delete. But... Not sure how one installs a double din yet in this dash without it looking kludgey - this is not something I will be doing anyway for awhile so will try and review some Threads first. Thanks in Advance for any help.