Retrofitting PCM

Hi all Has anyone done this? Is it possible? I am talking about putting in a system in a car that has only the normal cd or tape system (cd23?) Cheers all in advance!

It is perfectly possible to retrofit PCM2 to a MOST equipped car (MY03-04). Porsche do a retrofit kit, Part Number 000.044.900.60 - yours for a mere £2837.28 inc VAT, plus fitting.

Bargain!!! LOL I am not sure this helps me though. I am looking at a 2002 year 996 Turbo, and it has the basic CD system in it (with Bose). Preusmably a retro fit for this is now obsolete then? JJ

For MY2002, Bose was an analog system, and PCM was PCM1. Don't even think about retrofitting that. There are far better aftermarket audio/nav/tel systems around. It changed to Bose digital andPCM2 in September 2002

Thanks Richard - good to know. So what is the diff between the Bose analog and Digital? Is it noticable? JJ

Bose Digital uses fibre optic cables to send signals from the head unit to the amplifier (MOST) wheras Bose Analog systems use wires. Of course, both sytems use good old fashioned copper wires to connect the speakers to the amp. As for sound quality I have no idea, but I would be surprised if you could tell the difference. Especially at 70mph with all the other noises in the car.

For anyone else who may be thinking of a Porsche system, remeber they only give it a 2 year warranty from new and do not cover it (or the CD player etc) under the extended warranty. This gives you a good guide as to how reliable Porsche think the equipment is likely to be. As an example my CD player did not last until its 3rd birthday. If anyone knows where I can by a 6 cd player that will plug into my MOST system (other than Porsche) I would be grateful. I agree with Richard sound quality is fairly irrelevant above 70 in these cars. My wifes Works CooperS system sounds clearer.

hmmmmm - maybe an alpine aftermarket system then! JJ

Pioneer AVIC D3 - thats what you want http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=300823&mpage=1&key=&#300823

I agree Gizmo, having just looked at prices for the Pioneer system, at about £840 including Ipod connectvity and Blue tooth it makes the PCM 2 with telephone module and a dension 500 look very very, very expensive[ ] Fortunately I am not all that bothered about music on the move and listen to the car.[ ] However if I had no PCM and phone module already, I know where my money would go.[8|]

I am liking that a lot!!! So how easy was it to fit etc, and how easy to relocate the heater controls downward? JJ

Very easy. There is plenty of cable in the loom to run it to the bottom position on the console. You just need a different trim surround for the aircon panel, but they are only £2-3.

Richard, thanks for the speedy reply - that is fantastic news!!! So this could be the easy solution then. So does it interface with the Bose amp okay then? JJ

James I'm not quite clear about what you have got. If you have a CDR23 with Bose (MY03-04), then it will be a MOST system, and you'll have trouble connecting an AVIC or Alpine system. If you have a MY02, then you should have no problem - it should be more or less plug-and-play, as the analog Bose has ISO DIN connectors which plug into the back of the existing radio. If you have MOST, then you could always bypass the amp completely and connect direct to the speakers, or go the whole hog and fit a new amp. Do a search for a post by member "pwafer" (Paul Wafer) who fitted a fantastic Alpine system to his 2003 car. edit: There are quite a few posts on Renntech.org by people who have fitted other systems, so it might be worth doing a search there.

Hi Richard Remember that at this stage I dont have one - I have lined up one car that is looking like the one that I will purchase. This car is a 2002 996 Turbo that was built IIRC June 02. This has the CD player in it, and the bose upgraded sound system which I believe to be the analogue one from previous posts (ie not the MOST system). I know that the Bose uses an amp that is located in the front luggage compartment. Good to know that it is easy to fit though - gives me some hope. I am really impressed with it.

Hi Richard Having now placed the deposit on the car that I have chosen, I can be a little more specific. The car I have bought is equipped with the CDR23 system with BOSE, and is a Model Year, 2002 (specifically Jul 02). I am hoping in vain that the head unit is plugged to the amp via RCA leads, which will allow direct connectivity to the Pioneer units? JJ

As far as I know, all the CDR23 units are fibre-optic (MOST) connections to the Bose amplifier. [:'(] [:'(]

Damn! I thought that was the CDR 32 ADDENDUM - The radio fitted is the CDR 22, not the 23 as previously stated. Hope this means non-optical JJ

YES! It makes sense now. CDR22 is the analog system, and you should have no problem replacing it with a Pioneer system.

Happy to forward you the details on who did my install if you like. The chap has done quite a few Porsche installs and knows what he is doing. Price was very competitive as well.

I see Road Radio ( www.audio66.co.uk ) have got the AVIC-D3BTI for £788 inc VAT and free fitting if you are anywhere near Crawley. No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

Hi Richard/ Gizmo To be honest, my problem is that I am out in the sticks! (down in Devon). I have a local company who can supply me the unit complete with the iPod adapter and the Bluetooth kit for £790 fitted! I believe that there is an adaptor plug that is also required which is about £30quid. A couple of queries though. 1. How many speakers are used in my car? It is the 996TT with the CDR22/Bose - this seems to matter for the adaptor. 2. I have located the heater control surround for the lower position which as previously stated seems only to cost a couple of quid. BUT - is there anything else that needs to be done/ prepared for the upper hole to take this double din unit? Thanks both of you for your help with this! JJ

I think you'll find you have two dash speakers, two in the doors, two in the rear side panels, and a sub-woofer behind the rear seats. I have the wiring diagrams, so send me an email or PM your email address to me and I'll let you have the details. I didn't fit my own, as it was free fitting. I suggest you search www.renntech.org for "AVIC", and you'll find some instructions from a guy called "mivey". You will have to cut the cross-bar that separates the radio and aircon slots to make a double-DIN opening. There is a metal frame behind, which can be modified to fit the AVIC. Once fitted, you will end up with a 12mm gap at the top (bearing in mind that mine is the HD1BT). I cut and glued the original aircon trim to fill the gap, and it looks fine.

Thanks Richard, I will PM you my email address - I am greatful for this! I suspected there would be a gap, and that sounds like a reasonable solution to me. I will hunt for the instructions and photographs on the bar that needs to be cut away. JJ

Hi Richard.... just out of interest, (and i'm sure this is wishful thinking) but does the AVIC allow display of the Porsche on-board computer info ?

@ scaramanga - Sadly I can confirm that it doesn't. Sorry (I'm assuming that you mean av. speed and consumption figures etc here) @ James J - I am in Dorset and I went to Road Radio for the day after finding out that Richard was happy with their services. Just make sure that they know what they are doing first if using a local company (none of mine gave me a good feeling that they did!)

Mate - we are practically neighbours! Out of curiousity, did they do the whole thing (including modifying the existing bracket etc and the cover strip? JJ

James, as mine is a slightly different model to Richard's I didn't use a cover strip but they did do everything else. I bought the double DIN surround and the aircon relocation plate from Porsche (£65 ish for the two) and then took that down to Crawley. They supplied the head unit, the ipod adapter, the bluetooth unit. They then did the full install for me whilst I went and had breakfast, shopped and generally wandered around. Came back, all working and set up and looking great. If you are in my neck of the woods in the near future (just north of Ringwood) then let me know and you can have a look / play by all means. Guy

Hi Guy Would you believe it! I was in Southampton just two days ago for the first time in ages! Typical eh! Thanks for the offer - I may take you up on it! I am going to review what I am going to do in the new year once I have got used to the car a little. JJ

Shame! i have pcm2 in my car and getting increasingly frustrated that Porsche will not allow Navtech to sell updated discs.. most recent version is 2005, and apparently a) porsche decided to stop supporting the system (which is bad, but not as bad as.....) b) porsche actually refuse to allow Navtech to sell discs for the system themselves... wouldn't mind swapping the pcm for another unit but don't want to lose the computer functionality....

would you not retain the computer functionality in the OBC display beneath the rev counter?

hi, I now own "the wafers" car .... anyone wants to look at how good the fit is, is welcome.. Im based in Hertfordshire, near m25 .... good fit and finish, set-up has bluetooth for the phone, dvd and sat nav..... sat nav is good but not as good / quick as TomTom. I believe it was all fitted by PrestigeAudio ..... Andy

I retro-fitted PCM2 having sourced some parts from ebay and the rest from the OPC - all fitted (privately) by an OPC technician for about £1,200 all in - OK so it's not the best system in the world but works perfectly and finishes off the centre console nicely