MagicRat

I debated whether to include this in the Spyder modifications thread but opted to start a new one because a) it doesn't feel like a modification in the sense I'm used to and b) I wouldn't mind sparking a wider discussion about Carplay and Porsches.

So here goes. The person who specced my Spyder had impeccable taste - Voodoo Blue, heated buckets, wavy headlights, full leather, but did not go as far as giving it Bose or satnav. Yup, an £80+k car (I know, I know), and I'm plugging in a £5 headphone jack cable and looking at a screen that says AUX like I'm 17 again. Plus I can't make calls and don't know where I am unless I have a 4G phone signal and am looking at my iphone attached to a suction cup on the windscreen.

My first move was to speak to Porsche. My 911 is my modded, noisy, weird-coloured car. My Spyder, being rare and "possibly in the distant future if I don't drive it which is never going to happen so why bother but one has to consider these things" valuable, I had the noble notion of leaving stock. Some hope. I tried to buy an upgraded factory head unit with satnav and Bluetooth. No, sir, we absolutely can't do that, for some complex BS reason I to be honest was unable to listen to. I sometimes feel that they are racist against rats.

But I was not daunted, and spoke to the fine folks at Auto Audio Installations in Acton, NW London, who said there was no problem at all fitting a different Porsche head unit into a Porsche - one just had to add things like a DAB aerial, microphone etc, which could be done discreetly and aftermarket. But they also showed me the titular Pioneer unit, which they said would offer better sound than the Porsche BOSE system, have a built in satnav that actually works (I don't, like *use* the Porsche satnav as a satnav in the 911, because it's terrible, but I do like seeing where I am on a map at all times), as well as Apple Carplay. This would also get around the difficulty of getting a system from Porsche, who like to have a VIN number etc for their own strange reasons.

So the Pioneer F88 it was. It looks like this when it's switched off:



and this when it's switched on:



AutoAudio also installed a Pioneer TS-WX120A subwoofer in the passenger footwell and replaced the tweeters with Morel MT220s. The woofers they left alone, but that may change in time! They did a beautiful job with the installation, even matching my deviated stitching around the sub (sorry forgot to photograph that, but it's nice).

So here are the good things about the Pioneer system:

1) Sound. This is the main thing. It sounds far better than the base stereo that was there before - louder, with much more spatial resolution (as in there is some spatial resolution), and the base stereo actually didn't sound terrible. The only problem is the highs and lows are so much improved that the middle sounds a bit hollowed out, so I'll probably get the woofers changed to Morels also. The sound is currently I would say between the levels of BOSE and Burmester (I have the Burm in the 911 and this isn't as good as that. Will update when I change the woofers).

2) Map. I now have a working map on a big screen in the car, which is nice. Have had that since my 2004 Mini Cooper and it's just not something I can do without anymore.

3) Phone. I can now use my phone in the car.

Here are the less good things

1) Adjustability. This is personal taste, but there are sooo many options for sound - EQ patterns etc that I don't know what to do with them, and I don't want to know. AutoAudio set it up for me, which was good, but my home hi-fi which is pretty decent, doesn't give me any of that stuff. It just plays music and it sounds right, and that is all I want. Maybe treble and bass adjustability if you must but graphic EQ? Spare me. I just don't like fiddling with stuff - one of the reasons I have no 18-way seats!

2) Satnav. I feel a bit let down by this, as it seems scarcely better than the Porsche-own one. It gives ridiculously optimistic journey times and doesn't know where traffic is, in spite of bombarding one with many announcements about it. To be fair, I think all this can be improved by an app somehow and haven't made much of an effort. I'm still using the old Google maps/phone/suction cup/windscreen technique!

3) Carplay. This is going to be the controversial one, but I'm sorry to say I don't really get it. OK I can make calls by asking Siri and scroll through my music on the screen and it reads my text messages aloud. These things are, like, slightly nice. But it forces one to use Apple maps which 1) just aren't very good when one has sampled the manna from heaven that is Google maps and 2) puts the arrow that represents the car on the right-hand side of the screen when navigating which means that, with my hands at quarter to three in an RHD car, I can't see it! Also, when using the still-necessary navigation solutino in point 2 above, it wipes Google maps off the phone screen whenever I do anything else in Carplay.

I guess what I'm asking in a roundabout way, and this is for the 718 or other people who have Carplay is...does it pull this s**t on you? Is it better integrated in a Porsche-made system than it is in the Pioneer? It torments me in other subtle ways like reordering my playlists without being told to, and having a Spotify interface that makes me feel like I'm learning-disabled, but the map quirk is the worst thing. Is there any way to get that darn arrow onto the other side of the screen?

So anyway, in summary, while I could live without or would change about half of the things it does, the Pioneer system is a worthy upgrade for a Spyder that was sadly deprived of its basic (I nearly said human) automotive rights at birth. It sounds banging, looks cool, and does what I needed it to do. Do I understand why Carplay is such a big deal and would I swap my 911 system out for one that had it if I could? Nope. But I'd be really, really happy for someone more tech/Apple-savvy than me to explain the error of my ways!

Thanks for reading

spyderphile

I don't have answers to your questions, MagicRat. However, have some comments and questions of my own.

I did look into replacing the head-unit. The installer recommended Pioneer's AVH-4200NEX (in UK, it may be called differently). It's a non-nav model for the precise reason you have experienced: Google Maps is better! So, all I want is to plug the phone in; use Google Maps for nav and stream music (either from on-board storage or services such as Spotify). I don't care much about sound quality per se; music from engine and exhaust takes higher priority!

- Was the installation plug-n-play? That is, simply remove the factory head-unit and plug in the Pioneer?
- If not, did you have to replace stock amplifier? I was told all European manufacturers switched to fiber optics for plumbing. So, when plugging in an after market head-unit, they will need to either plug in an amplifier or some kind of adapter which sits between the head-unit and rest of the system.
- Guessing you have two USB ports? Have you tried charging the phone using Port 1 and playing music off of a mass storage device such a thumb drive from Port 2? Apparently, only one USB port is active at any given time.
- How and where is the phone mounted?

In the end, I decided to wait for Consumer Electronics Show (in Las Vegas) in January, when next year's models are announced. The car is gonna be winterized in little over a month anyway.

Thanks.

SMLaker

Agree on all counts....installed the pioneer AVIC 7200 NEX...great sound, too many EQ options and android auto appears futzy. Still way better than CDR.

MagicRat

Also, while we're here, I spoke to Apple support about the location of the arrow in their carplay navigation. Apparently it can be changed in carplay settings. Haven't tried it yet but the guy said one could change it to be left-or right-hand drive, which moves the cursor.

spyderphile

Thanks MagicRat. I will talk to another installer to validate the story about the fiber optics plumbing and alleged incompatibility issues with after-market head-units. When you get a chance see if you can run both the USB ports at the same time. For example: plug the phone in port 1 to run an app (nav); and plug a thumb drive in port 2 to play music. And, port 1 should be charging the phone as well, at the same time.