Replacing the Porsche PCM unit…any recommendations?

[Eric walsh]

My second OE PCM unit has gone on the blink and I am looking to replace it with a Pioneer style new unit with Apple car play.

does anyone have any recommendations? I was getting sick of the OE unit as the maps were cr*p anyway.The current unit is non Bose but links to a cd changer in the front.

Edited April 30 by Eric walsh

[greenman986s]

Can make any specific recommendations...but check the screen is suitable for a convertible... I 've seen many units which are unusable when the sun is on them...

[huytonman]

i went with a Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB - mine has Bose so needed the optical adapter, bought this and the rest of the fitting kit from Incartec - Porsche 987 and 997 Single/ Double DIN stereo upgrade fitting kit (WITH BOSE) BLACK - (FK-959-SWCB)  £298.33 (each). I bought the DAB aerial elsewhere (Amazon I think).  I bought the pioneer used for about £230 so in all it was just over £500 for everything - my car is a 2010 Gen2.

Not a difficult swap, just takes a bit of time and patience - the result looks fine but the comment about the screen is valid and in very bright sunlight the screen washes out but I dont see a way to avoid that. Sound is OK but generally I use it with Amazon music streaming and the main focus is to use Apple or Google maps (make sure to download the offline maps for your trips to avoid the pain of losing connection in poor signal area's) - the maps work well.

If Porsche produced an updated unit like they have for other models I would probably switch to that even at the exhorbitant price that would no doubt be charged.

Keith

[huytonman]

By the way I should add that the change is 100% reversible, I kept the old unit in case a future owner wants to revert to standard.

Keith

[iborguk]

Yes yes it's expensive...

https://content.eu.porsche.com/prod/pag/classic/ClassicExplorer.nsf/ClassicPartsExplorerProductDetail?ReadForm&country=international&se=911&mo=&my=&ca=&sw=&ge=997&pr=B4F26D5377650EF5C125882F0026335E

 

[Hainesy]

I swapped out the Pioneer unit the car came with and replaced it with one of the Aliexpress Android units with full Carplay.  I've been very impressed with it - the screen is miles better than the Pioneer unit and it looks more OEM, the physical buttons and control knobs are much more usable as well.

Edited April 30 by Hainesy

[Eric walsh]

Hi Hainsey, could you post a link to where you bought the Aliexpress device please…looks great!

[Hainesy]

8 minutes ago, Eric walsh said:

Hi Hainsey, could you post a link to where you bought the Aliexpress device please…looks great!

https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005005086544248.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.235.10c2180247AMzT&gatewayAdapt=glo2vnm

There's lots of different flavours and kits, essentially you want one that includes the harness for the system you have Bose / Non-Bose and then whether you want reversing camera, 4G SIM adapter etc.  There's also different specs of the headunit itself - mainly the CPU, amount of RAM and storage it has (you can basically think of it as an Android tablet in a headunit form factor).  I paid about £280 for mine which was a higher spec version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.  It's fast and snappy and means I can run native Google Maps, Waze, Spotify etc (as well as Youtube, Netflix etc if you wanted) as well as using CarPlay.  If you just want it to be gateway to CarPlay then you can probably get away with a lower spec unit.  Mine has an FM radio but not DAB but I don't care about this as never use either. Once it's installed you can leave the default loaders 'as is' (which looks better than the Pioneer OS anyway) or skin it or use different launchers to make it look slicker and more OEM.

I have a cheapo Lycamobile SIM in there for 4G coverage which I pay less than five quid a month for but this is entirely optional.

Edited April 30 by Hainesy

[BBB]

I did the same as above, to replace a CDR24 and it’s brilliant. I even got mine to work with BOSE and I’m a newb when it comes to headunits. I use Waze, Spotify and the radio plus the cable connection to my phone charges it at the same time. 

[Menoporsche]

Consider something with hard volume buttons at the very least. Changing using on screen sliders is very difficult while keeping eyes on the road. 

[iborguk]

14 hours ago, Hainesy said:

I swapped out the Pioneer unit the car came with and replaced it with one of the Aliexpress Android units with full Carplay.  I've been very impressed with it - the screen is miles better than the Pioneer unit and it looks more OEM, the physical buttons and control knobs are much more usable as well.

That actually looks like it belongs there. Nice.

[chris80chris]

14 hours ago, Hainesy said:

https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005005086544248.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.235.10c2180247AMzT&gatewayAdapt=glo2vnm

There's lots of different flavours and kits, essentially you want one that includes the harness for the system you have Bose / Non-Bose and then whether you want reversing camera, 4G SIM adapter etc.  There's also different specs of the headunit itself - mainly the CPU, amount of RAM and storage it has (you can basically think of it as an Android tablet in a headunit form factor).  I paid about £280 for mine which was a higher spec version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.  It's fast and snappy and means I can run native Google Maps, Waze, Spotify etc (as well as Youtube, Netflix etc if you wanted) as well as using CarPlay.  If you just want it to be gateway to CarPlay then you can probably get away with a lower spec unit.  Mine has an FM radio but not DAB but I don't care about this as never use either. Once it's installed you can leave the default loaders 'as is' (which looks better than the Pioneer OS anyway) or skin it or use different launchers to make it look slicker and more OEM.

I have a cheapo Lycamobile SIM in there for 4G coverage which I pay less than five quid a month for but this is entirely optional.

That looks superb, do they do them for gen 2’s?? When you say “use different launchers”, forgive me, what does that mean and is it easy to do?

if you don’t want to get a 4G card, I assume it works via Bluetooth/USB to connect your phone?

 

 

[iborguk]

18 minutes ago, chris80chris said:

That looks superb, do they do them for gen 2’s?? When you say “use different launchers”, forgive me, what does that mean and is it easy to do?

if you don’t want to get a 4G card, I assume it works via Bluetooth/USB to connect your phone?

 

 

Signs point to yes  re Gen2, one example below. Search Aliexpress.

https://vi.aliexpress.com/i/1005005877164550.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2vnm

The launcher refers to the Android OS look and feel - the user interface.

Check the specs on any particular unit you want to buy re how it connects I see different specs on the units depending which one we're talking about e.g. wired/"wireless" (probably means Bluetooth)

 

[nelmo]

1 hour ago, Menoporsche said:

Consider something with hard volume buttons at the very least. Changing using on screen sliders is very difficult while keeping eyes on the road. 

This is a very good point - I have a Pioneer unit which does not have buttons and it is annoying. However, there are concerns (for me) about the AliExpress stuff:

1. More difficult to install - you have to find power feeds and earths, I believe? My Pioneer and kit was literally plug into existing loom and job done.

2. Hopefully they are better now but 3 or 4 years ago, I bought a similar thing (different car) and it broke twice before I asked for a refund (they were very good at replacing and refunding, though).

3. They are basically an Android device, like a tablet. As such, it will age, it will eventually not be able to accept the latest Android OS and you will get apps that start failing. With Android Auto, the head unit is really just an extension of your phone - as long as your  phone works, Android Auto and the head unit will continue to work.

Just food for thought...

[Menoporsche]

1 hour ago, nelmo said:

As such, it will age, it will eventually not be able to accept the latest Android OS and you will get apps that start failing

This is what puts me off, I’d be really irritated to spend that money then have to buy a new one in 4-5 years and start again. 

[Paul P]

Depends on how many applications you are actually going to run on the head unit vs the phone - if (for example) the radio app is good enough, and carplay and/or android auto works with your phone - then it will still do the same job in 5 years assuming it hasn;t physically died in that time.

If you want to load it up with apps natively - then yes - it will "age" - but if it does what you need today it will do it tomorrow - you don't have to run many apps as such on the head unit if you don't want to.

[iborguk]

^What he said^. Android Auto/Carplay. Done.

[Paul P]

With the caveat of b uy the best cpu and most memory ( not so much storage) as you can - an overpowered deivce now is more likely to be able to handle "carplay ++ or android pdk" in the future

 

[BBB]

1 hour ago, Menoporsche said:

This is what puts me off, I’d be really irritated to spend that money then have to buy a new one in 4-5 years and start again. 

At under £200 they are almost disposable if they last 5 years, especially compared to the OEM upgrade cost. Mine can link to the internet via my phone and upgrade its own operating system, but obviously that will only last until the hardware becomes outdated.

[Hainesy]

As others have said, whilst the headunit itself won't get full Android OS updates forever, it supports both Carplay and Android Auto as well as android screen mirroring (I have an iPhone so haven't tested this) so if the headunit runs that 'app' today there's no reason it shouldn't in x years time.  Apple / Google have to keep the protocol the same as otherwise they'd break regular headunits like the Pioneer.

I've bought quite a few widgets, smart home bits and tech from Aliexpress and am yet to be burnt, this was probably the most expensive thing I've bought from there though.  I take a fairly relaxed view on it, similar to @BBB - if I get 3 or 4 years out of it for £280 then I'm more than happy, you're getting a massive amount of features / functions for that money.  The official Porsche retrofit headunit is over £1k from memory and (I read) runs an older version of Android...! 

@nelmo regarding fitting; no - as long as you buy the version with the correct harness it should be plug and play, the only thing that is a bit more fiddly is if you want to add a reversing camera.

@chris80chris yes, if you don't want to use an onboard 4G connection you can either just use Carplay, or tether it to your mobile, they do 987.2 versions - its the same unit just with a black fascia instead of grey.

Edited May 2 by Hainesy

[Eric walsh]

many thanks everyone...lots of great alternatives.

[nelmo]

18 hours ago, Paul P said:

carplay and/or android auto works with your phone

I don't think it works like that, does it? Android Auto is an app on the phone that connects to a non-android device that supports it - that device then can run some apps (Waze, Google Maps, TomTom etc).

You can't run Android Auto on an android device as a standalone app and those AliExpress units are an android device. I do not have an icon on my phone that I click to start AA - it runs in the background and kicks in when you connect via USB to a device that then can use some apps that have been written to work under AA - make sense? Or have I got it wrong?

But you do get much more functionality with the AliExpress units, although you'd need to shell out for a SIM card to make it simpler (can you connect an android device to another android device and share apps?), unless you want the hassle of switching on a hotspot on your phone every time you get in the car?

Tech, hey? Supposed to make life easier....

[iborguk]

CarPlay/Android are built into the head unit and iPhone/Android.

Both platforms mirror/transmit the phone's CarPlay/Android capable app output Waze, Spotify etc to the head unit.

It's the phone which does the heavy lifting (running the apps) and the head unit shows the output.

Some of these head units also run their own apps in addition to CarPlay /Android Auto.  They will run on the head unit itself.

Edited May 2 by iborguk

[Menoporsche]

37 minutes ago, iborguk said:

It's the phone which does the heavy lifting (running the apps) and the head unit shows the output.

Here I'm happy to update my phone every 3 years as I use it every day, I'd just like the car screen to live a bit longer as I don't use that much. 

TBH I'm quite happy with my phone mount for the moment so this is taking a lower priority.

[Paul P]

2 hours ago, nelmo said:

I don't think it works like that, does it? Android Auto is an app on the phone that connects to a non-android device that supports it - that device then can run some apps (Waze, Google Maps, TomTom etc).

You can't run Android Auto on an android device as a standalone app and those AliExpress units are an android device. I do not have an icon on my phone that I click to start AA - it runs in the background and kicks in when you connect via USB to a device that then can use some apps that have been written to work under AA - make sense? Or have I got it wrong?

But you do get much more functionality with the AliExpress units, although you'd need to shell out for a SIM card to make it simpler (can you connect an android device to another android device and share apps?), unless you want the hassle of switching on a hotspot on your phone every time you get in the car?

Tech, hey? Supposed to make life easier....

You have it both right and wrong. 

Android auto and CarPlay are the “same thing” for the two platform. CarPlay for iOS android auto for android handaets.  It’s a protocol not an app as such - just a way of working together.  
 

both are “external display/input device” for your phone.  The applications on the phone that are capable of using and being interacted with on the head unit appear when connected   

all the apps run on the phone.  you don’t install apps on the head unit if using them in this way  that’s why I  can use (for example) the Porsche roads app on my daily driver ford - it’s installed on my phone and is CarPlay aware   The ford has CarPlay and I can interact with the app  running on my phone through the cars interface   

some android head units can run the common apps directly.  Assuming they have data connectivity and a gps that’s where having a sim in the head unit comes in (or using your phone as a hotspot). If you had data and gps for the head unit than you don’t need a phone to make anything work.