DriverDaily

I'm putting an aftermarket head unit in my 981 GTS. In Japan, these cars come standard with an aftermarket Clarion head unit.





After finding the parts catalog for our cars, I saw that Porsche makes a special microphone for Japan.




I bet $100 that the Clarion uses a normal analog mic and ordered it. The bet paid off. It's a normal analog mono mic with a 3.5mm jack. It should plug right in to any aftermarket head unit.





Also, after reading some Japanese forums I believe that there's a Canbus adapter (#6 in the diagram) that provides standard head unit wires like remote, reverse, and illumination.

It's possible the Canbus wires running into the back of the PCM and CDR radios would be the signal the can adapter needs. If so, that would seriously simplify head unit installs.

burnergt4

Very cool! I can’t make out the part numbers on the catalog image you posted, so could you confirm them for me? From your second image it’s clear that the cable adapter is 99161206750, but it looks like the Quad Lock plug adapter might be a different part?

Thanks for further clarification!

Edit 1: Nevermind! I was viewing on my phone and on the mobile version of the forums images are extremely compressed; on desktop it's actually readable 👍🏼

For easier searchability down the road (e.g. for anyone plugging these into a search engine looking for more information), the part numbers are:

• Microphone adaptor
  99164631100 (on parts sites the supersession number is 99164631103)
• Connecting line
  99161206750

Edit 2: @DriverDaily one quick question for you: does this allow for one to use the stock hands-free mic in the steering column (i.e. if you already had a hand-free package installed and are now installing an aftermarket head unit), or is this a completely separate mic? I had assumed the former when I looked at the parts, but looking back at the diagram it seems like it's a completely different component that doesn't interact at all with the stock hands-free mic. Any clarification would be great (all the same, it's awesome there's an essentially plug-and-play OEM solution for this, even if it requires a little work)

DriverDaily

Everywhere except Japan, these cars come stock with 2 microphones. This let's Porsche do some kind of noise cancellation, but it also means these mics are not compatible with aftermarket radios.

Since these cars are sold with an aftermarket head unit in Japan Porsche also had to design a normal single channel mic that can be plugged in to them. This is a completely seperate mic made by Porsche specifically for aftermarket head units. It fits in the OEM location on the steering column and can plug into any 3.5mm jack.

The benefit is not having an ugly aftermarket microphone like this:

burnergt4

Gotcha, makes total sense. Still have to crack open the steering column cover and run some cable, but on balance—like you say—it’s much cleaner than the alternative!

Kattan, MIchael

fantastic! But where did you order this microphone from? All I can find are the ones with the Bose plugs. From Japan somehow?

ElCid86

I'm confused as to what the two (B&W) leads hook to? I have the PCM steering wheel mics but would like to add an additional mic to my JoyeAuto unit.

9808george

Your article is exactly was I was looking for! Thanks
can you please advise / update on the quality of the phone calls? What feedback do you get by the ones you talk to? Do the hear loud and clear or there is cabin sound interference?

DriverDaily

I need to update this. I never got this JDM microphone to work with my aftermarket head unit. The problem was the mic was too quiet for the people I called.

It may be that the Clarion headunit is different somehow, or the JDM canbus adapter does something. Regardless, I've since gone back to my OEM head unit and mic.