spk56

Can someone give me pointers on removing the plastic trim pieces behind the seat around and below the seatbelt before I break the tabs off somewhere? There is an upper part and a lower part.

jg (atl)

I had to remove those two trim pieces on the passenger side when I installed by aftermarket backup camera. You are correct that there are separate upper and lower pieces, but there is at least one tab that connects the two of them that was a bit of a pain during the reinstallation. I used plastic trim removal tools to pry them loose. They are inexpensive and widely available. I think I started on the upper piece, inserting the trim tool on the forward edge and worked up and back, and it may not have come completely free of the lower piece due to the tab(s). On the lower piece I started on the upper forward edge and worked down and back. Good luck!

spk56

Thanks JG. That is what I am doing as well, installing a Maxspeed backup camera. I was pulling from the back edge, I will try from the front!

jvsimmons

Hello, I have a 2015 Cayman with PCM 3.1 with Navigation and update 4.73 and would like to install a back-up camera. The car has the infotainment and sound package + options. Are you happy with the Max Speed camera? Did the installation go smoothly and did you have any issues with the radio unit after the installation? I am thinking of mounting the camera on the bumper instead of the back up light, but I am not sure how much difference that will make in the back up view. Thanks in advance for any advice! Jeff

spk56

I am very happy with the Maxspeed camera and have had no issues with the radio. I installed the camera in the center by drilling a hole. It was easy to fish the wire with a coat hanger and I did not need to remove the bumper. Some of the trim pieces are tricky to remove not knowing how they are attached and the Maxspeed video is not much help there. I found some other youtube videos that were helpful. I did not use Maxspeed's coding tool and asked my repair shop to do it. The most current PIWIS system cannot set the system up to recognize the camera, they needed to use the older PIWIS II. Fitting the additional harness in behind the radio is also a bit tricky, The image is very clear through the camera, it shows the moving guidelines, and turns on and off automatically like the factory part would do. I wish you could buy the factory components, but I do not believe that is possible or at least would be ridiculously expensive.

jvsimmons

Thank you! I think I will go that way too. My local Porsche Dealer, whom I had a disgusting experience with when buying a new 2nd year Boxster about 100 years ago, told me it was not possible to install a rear view camera on my car and that an aftermarket camera kit might ruin the head unit. I did find an original Porsche camera for sale, but you were correct: the camera alone cost more than the entire Max Speed kit. I could not find the OEM interface unit but did not bother looking up the part number as it was pretty obvious that my final cost would be around $1000. I enjoy working on cars and used to restore vintage motorcycles...I had to give that up as age caught up with me after I dropped a Norton Dominator off of my work stand and it fell on my chest....where I squirmed around like a bug for a couple of minutes! Thanks again, Jeff

zuch

spk56, any tricks you can share about removing those trim pieces?

jg (atl)

It is the best hack I have done on my 2016 GTS. Actually the quality of the video feed is better than the factory camera. Only advice I have on removing the trim panels is to be patient working with the trim removal tools. I used the Maxspeed videos along with some pictures from a guy in my PCA region. I used the camera mounted on the license plate light and notice that the color of the light is different than the other factory light. Not a big deal, but noticeable.

lennon034

jg (atl) - where did you get that camera (license bulb style)? I like that solution better than having to drill holes in my bumper.

jg (atl)

Maxspeed Motorsports. They offer the camera either mounted to a replacement license plate light or as a separate piece that you drill a hole in the bumper to mount. The license plate light version is slightly off center, but it is not hard to adapt to it.