bronto

This is an idea I came up with early this fall, and have finally had a chance to fabricate it and try it. It's basically 1/2 of a cupholder from a 2003 996 installed into the cassette holder/armrest. These are pictures of the prototype. I'll document the process when I make a nicer final version.

Here it is with the holder extended, holding a standard "Grande" size Starbucks cup:


Some photos for context with me in driving position:







Closeup of the unit:



With the holder retracted:



Yes, this is a prototype; I cut away more than I needed to for the holder arm and butchered the vinyl a little. The final one will be nicer:



With the lid open; the Altoids are in there to show the remaining room left in the cassette holder:



I used this several times this week while driving home & back for Christmas. I like it. I'm going to refer to it as a "GT" cupholder, because that's the circumstances in which it is best used. It's in the perfect position for long drives. If you're turning a lot the beverage might get in the way depending on it's height. I started out with a tall commuter mug, but it was too tall even for long drives. With my hands at "10 and 2" my forearm hits the top of the mug. The "grande" Starbucks cup was totally out of the way for normal, relaxed driving. I think a standard 12oz can would even to totally out of the way for around town driving, FWIW. It's also a good thing that I'm tall enough to drive with the seat all the way back; the holder would hit the seat bolster when swinging out if the seat was more than an inch forward from the back. Depending on tilt, of course. It's also really tight clearance getting over the seatbelt buckle, but that's flexible anyway so it's no problem.

I have a cupholder!

RyanPerrella

interesting

that cupholder being that it comes from porsche has to cost at least $100.

Wouldn't it be better to come out from the passenger side though?

ColinB

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHH!

Courtshark

It's just coffee. And that's the sound you'd make when the hot coffee spills all over your lap!

Nice work! However, I agree with the above posted suggestion... passenger side makes more sense. Flip it 180 degrees. And if you have a passenger, they can be your cupholder.

Saab sells a similar cartridge-style cupholder that would work in this application and would not cost $100. I'll check on the cost, but I'm guessing it's closer to $50 or perhaps less.

bronto

I got the cupholder from someone parting out a 996. It didn't cost near that much, I think around $20. I did my Porsche cupholder research at a concourse, and it appears that they have standardized all their cupholders on this model since around 2003. Every newer model I looked at had this design. The "whole" cupholder is about 14" wide, is mounted in the dash, has two holders, with each one swinging "out" in the direction of either the driver or the passenger. I did see a different model in a 2002(?) Boxter; it was a simpler unit in which a single "arm" swung out that had two holders in it, and it had a curve in the arm that extended in the direction of the passenger (right side). Because of the curve and the "underneath" part of the holder, this one would have to extend to the right side when mounted in the cassette holder.

The problem with it coming out the right side is that this is where the lid hinge is, and the mechanism is way too thick to avoid the hinge. But, if you didn't care about ever opening the lid you could just seal it shut somehow so that it doesn't move around. I actually thought long and hard on how to mount the other half of the cupholder in there as well so that the passenger would have one, but they are just too thick. The mechanism is about 1.5 inches tall, and there's not 3 inches of space in the cassette holder even if you gutted it. In any case, I decided that putting it on the left side was the best position for me, since I'm not fat and I don't plan to use it on short drives anyway. So it fits, both physically and for use.

bronto

Do you say that about ash trays too? I don't understand why it's acceptable to have an ashtray for smoking but not a cupholder for drinking.

PorKen

Clever!

Stack a pair of left/right types in their own box, which mounts under the cassette tape box, and you've got a winner!

Cupholders, and a usuable armrest.

Note - I've seen new Mercedes with a popout from under the passenger seat. That might work too.

Champagne

I would see this being integrated into an extended center armrest. That would leave the upper compartment like stock and give the space needed for the cupholder.
I'm not convinced about the location of the drink once the thing is extended, but you look comfortable with it.




Paul

bronto

Wouldn't work with this particular mechanism. It's just too thick. Even if you gutted the cassette holder (i.e., take it completely out) there's not enough space between the top of the tunnel and the lid. I guess you could extend the whole armrest and make it higher, but that's getting to be more changes than I wanted to make. I wanted to keep it a "stock" look as much as possible; this only shows a slot in the side of the armrest as different.

Re under the seat... There's been a few suggestions to that effect in other threads, but I never liked that solution because it's not as usable. Two things that bug me about cup holders is 1) not being able to "find" the holder when you're trying to watch the road, and 2) having to perform acrobatics to reach it. This position is easy to reach and find. You hardly have to move your arm to reach it, and it's location is clearly visible. Under the seat holders are hard to "find" when you're trying to put the cup back in.

bronto

Yes, there's plenty of room in this one for both cup holders.

I also considered simply mounting a "fixed" holder inside the armrest, but of course you'd have to have the lid up to access them. Which means you couldn't use the armrest and the cupholder at the same time. But if that wasn't a concern, the extended armrest would make a great cupholder-holder.

Paul, care to donate an extended one for a dual cupholder prototype?

Champagne

I'm afraid I can't do that. I suspect there would be a fair amount of tweaking to do and I am very **** about how my stuff looks in the end. Just the fact that the cup holder leaves an open slot when closed would drive me crazy
I unfortunately don't have the time right now to play with it. But you are on the right track.

Paul

bronto

Ahh, I reread this and I get what you're saying! Put the cupholders into a completely separate box, screw the box onto the tunnel where the armrest was, then screw the armrest into the top of the cupholder box. Modular, and no original parts were modified. I'll have to think about that one...

928SS

http://www.hooterscalendar.com/ cupholders... I like cupholders.

Intrinsicate

The cupholder I use was designed for the BMW 6 series. It comes in polished aluminum, but I painted mine a hammered black finish, because there is no bright metal in the cockpit. I placed it where it would be within easy reach, but never in the way of any controls. I liked the way it echoes the shape of the shifter ****.