Over the years that I’ve owned my 993, I tried just about every imaginable location for mounting a GPS, but none of them was really satisfactory. I don’t like mounting it on top of the dash, and there just isn’t much room elsewhere that doesn’t obscure something. I finally decided to try mounting it an unused space, the ashtray. I wanted it to be very secure, but removable from its cradle, and I didn’t want to make any holes or mar the dash.

After some trial and error, I settled on installing a piece of wood in the open mouth of the ashtray, and mounting the ball for the Garmin GPS cradle on it. For this, I used a 3 ¼ inch long section of ¼ inch X 2 ½ inch poplar, available at Lowe’s. Poplar is a tight-grain hardwood, easy to work with.

I test fitted this piece of wood with the upper edge slotted into the metal ashtray frame and the lower edge resting on the lip of the extended ashtray. The 2 ¼ inch width and ¼ inch thickness is an excellent fit. Next, I determined where on the wood I wanted to mount the ball, which I found on eBay, listed as “Flat Surface Mount with 17mm Ball & 3M Adhesive for Garmin Nuvi GPS”. The ball was then fastened to the wood with bolts provided, and the wood was blackened with a Magic Marker. After determining that the position was exactly as desired, I put a strip of 3M auto trim tape along the lower edge of the wood piece and fitted it securely into place. The Garmin cradle was snapped onto the ball, and the GPS power connected.

For power, I installed a cigarette lighter socket hidden inside the center console, tapping into the sunroof switch for positive. This socket and the plug from the GPS are accessed by the small carpeted door in the right side of the console under the dash.

In this location, the GPS is easy to use but not obstructive, and the head unit can be removed easily. It can be rotated to landscape or portrait orientation to suit the driver’s preference.

 

Somebody else did this and posted here recently, seems like a decent spot, if you need a permanent spot. But, I just use the suction cup and mount on the lower part of the windshield when needed, where I can see it and enter data, but I only use mine on long trips.

 

This one maybe?

http://pcarmounts.com/

 

This one?
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...-your-gps.html

 

This one is amazing! 2 weeks ago I got to meet Bill at a PCA gathering, Bill is the guy that put this set up together , he let me take some pictures of the mount piece in his car and showed me how it works, I think this thing is amazing and it comes with all the hardware , even a plastic tool to removed the clock

 

That is pretty nice.

 

Not for the car (yet), but I have made my own mounts for the motorcycle using RAM Mounting System components. The end result was a far better looking set-up than anything the factory could come up with.

On my daily driver, I've just used the windshield suction mount that came with my Nuvi. I can't comment on how it'll work on the 993. I like having my GPS at eye level...in my field of view.

 

There is a mount you can by from www.mountguys.com that clips onto the center right air vent. Use a small black zip tie to make it extra secure. Then shorten the cord and plug right in to your dash cigarette lighter.

 

Nice find, Rudy.

 

I rarely use the GPS any more, instead relying on my iPhones voice directions playing through the radio via Bluetooth. When I do use the GPS, it's attached to the windshield via the suction cup.

 

Another option is the cigarette lighter outlet installation with built-in power cable from Arkon, model GN097-USB for the Nuvi.



Another option is the goose neck mount that also mounts to the cigarette lighter outlet.

 

It's very nice and clean, no wires all over the place , it's compatible with lots of different phones, I got one for my wife's 964 , I will put up pictures when I installed it

 

Hello to all.

I joined Rennlist in 2006 and spend a lot of time here although I have to confess that I have been mostly one of those lurkers and quiet learners on the site.

Thank you to Ilko … and especially Rudy for mentioning and describing PCAR MOUNTS. Here’s a little more background to the development story.

I got my sweet midnight blue 1995 993 C2 after a nine month search and after reviewing a ton of information on Rennlist (this site has been my 1st stop for all things 993). My baby has now fully graduated to daily driver status due, in large part, to getting it equipped with touchscreen GPS, hands free phone, music playlists, and internet radio … all integrated into my stereo head unit. I honestly think my touchscreen communications setup is even better than that in my wife’s new Mercedes.

Like Bobby T and others, I think I explored every 3rd party solution for mounting a GPS or smartphone in my car including suction cups, vent mounts, cigarette lighter inserts, even a dash-top bean bag, and other approaches described periodically on Rennlist. These are small cars and my big issue was how to position/mount the device such that it was stable, didn’t interfere with windshield vision, A/C ventilation (Houston gets hot), or switch controls. I wanted the smartphone in a perfect, convenient line-of-sight location for easy interaction but without causing driving distraction. It was also absolutely essential that the installation be non-invasive (no dash desecration) and have a very clean factory look.

The PCAR MOUNT is texture-powder-coated plate aluminum and has two anchoring points for rock-solid stability. An annular ring slips around the ribbed rubber boot on the clock (for LHD cars) and the fuel/oil level gauge (for RHD cars). An L-shaped brace connects behind the mounting bracket and runs invisibly and flush to the sheet metal surface that sits below the dashboard overhang. For 993s and 964s, there’s a pre-existing M5 lid cover bolt that’s located just underneath the cigarette lighter. That’s the second anchoring point. For earlier classics, 3M dual lock tape does the brace fastening. This two-end anchoring damps out any device vibration and prevents any wind-milling of the bracket or dislodging/levering of the clock … even if you should accidently bump the mount. A milled aluminum 17mm ball provides for locking ball/socket swivel connection to many phone docks and GPS appliances.





The PCAR MOUNT was designed by a combo of trial and error fabrication and 3D software modeling. I used this really cool 3D software package, Google Sketch-up (and btw it’s free), to get the bracket dimensions and angles all figured out for fabrication.

Whenever I get into my car now, to go anywhere, my very first action is to insert my phone in its mounted (and stereo-integrated) docking cradle and then start the car and fasten the seatbelt. I love the phone app’s digital speedometer that runs off the satellites. If you just want GPS, a Garmin will snap right onto the milled aluminum 17mm ball or if you have other GPS/devices, there are adapters all over the internet that will connect them to the PCAR MOUNT. It’s designed for universal fit (with an industry standard, AMPS hole pattern behind the ball plate) such that it’s fully compatible with today’s devices and all those that will come along later.

The design has worked beautifully for me. It has really modernized my 17 year old 993. The setup got lots of enthusiastic response from the few Porsche folks who have seen it …. enough to encourage me to consider starting a little company and begin to offer the bracket system to others.

So …. That’s the PCAR MOUNTS background story in a nutshell and if you are looking to equip your car with a mobile touchscreen device, you might want to take a little time to wander and explore www.pcarmounts.com.

Rennlist is such a great resource. I think that every issue/concern that I have encountered with my car or "slippery slope" modification that I have considered has been discussed on this site.

Bill

 

Both of the above solutions are good. I like the first one as it does not get in the way of the radio, not that I use the radio very often. My kids use it though, when I let them. I keep saying, just listen to the engine sound :-) Maybe someday they will understand...

 

Suction cup to the clock with about half of my phone above the dashboard is very comfortable for me and keeps my eyes on the road most of the time. I must admit that my phone spends most of its time sitting below the ebrake. That spot holds my handset perfectly and extremely easy to access in/out.

I don't like clutter and really appreciate my interior except for having to make a lunge to change radio stations.