Pugnacious P

My buttons on the stock radio crapped out and the dealer put those stickers over the buttons years ago; they are now coming loose and really look horrible.

I was thinking of buying a replacement faceplate for the radio, but I see on ebay that DPS is selling new traffic pro's for a really low price (399). I know that this was something that could be purchased directly from the dealer so its kind of an oem item. I am not all that interested in the GPS aspect of the unit as much as new buttons and once in awhile the cd acts a bit strange on the stock unit but works pretty well. I like that it keeps the stock look of the interior.

That said, anyone ever use this unit? See it actually in a car?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...QQcmdZViewItem

demosan

GH,

I installed a trafficpro in my 02 C4S coupe last year to maintain the OEM look of my interior. I did the install myself and it was not difficult. I bought my unit from Becker ( the OEM manufacturer for Porsche). I was looking for some GPS capability and didn't want to hack into my radio harness and was looking for my Bose radio/CD player to be compatible as well.
The 'downside' of the TP is the system is CD based and all the newer units now are DVD technology. Therefore, the latest set of CD's from Becker was the end of 2004, so they are clearly dated and won't be upgraded again. For what I needed in GPS capability here in SOCAL, it was fine. If you are really just buying the unit to provide radio and CD control of your exsiting audio, I would contact Becker and see if you can get a refubrished unit from them or look in the classified's on this site to see if anyone is selling their CDR220 head unit as many folks have upgragded to the double-din Pioneer and ALpine units and it would be less expensive than buying the TP.

If you buy the TP, send me a PM and I can aid you in the installation if you plan to do it yourself. Demosan

DFC

I don't have any experience with this unit, but if you read the bottom of the ad it requires an additional $95 GPS antenna if you want to use the GPS feature. The original price on these was in the $575 range on ebay about a month or so ago (this unit caught my attention back then while looking for something else), then in the last few weeks I noticed the price drop.

Pugnacious P

thnx guys, maybe I will take a few pics and see if Becker can make it right to some degree. DFC, yes I thought I had seen it before at a higher price too. Maybe if I wait another week or 2 they will drop another 100. They don't seem to be selling too rapidly. probably because of lack of upgradability and no map screen.

DFC

Now they're $299...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...spagenameZWDVW

Dharn55

I thought of one of these myself, wonder if the price for the Antenna if good from DPS, it doesn't show on their web site. The problem with these units is they are old technology, much like my friends PCM1 GPS in his 2000 C4. Fairly cumbersome to enter start and destination, etc. and At least the old GPS has a map/screen readout, the Traffic pro only has directions. My friend just bought a Garmin dashtop unit for $199 that has color screen, easy input, audio instructions, etc. Aslo things like entering "Shell" an it give you a list of Shell stations within 100 miles, etc.

Orient Express

I've had a Traffic Pro in my Cab since 2002. While it does not have maps, it does give clear spoken directions, and some display cues like arrows.

It is not the best Navigation unit I have used, but it has been very adequate. It's unfortunate that there are no new map discs, but if you live in an area that is well developed, they are more than adequate. The radio has an aux-in so you can run an iPod through it. The CD slot can be used for music CDs or the Navigation Data, but no MP3.

If you can find one at a reasonable price (I have seen then for as little as $135), then get it.

blinkwatt

Does the Traffic Pro sound any better than the stock CDR-220?

JR944

Nope, audio is the same as factory unit. TP pretty much just adds GPS function.

I bought one a few years ago when Crutchfield closed them out. (non-Porsche branded units). It's ok for navigation in areas that haven't changed much since '03. I much prefer my Garmin Zumo for navigation.

As a CD player/tuner, Becker isn't bad at all. IMO, the weak link in the OEM sound system is the Nokia speakers.

Joe

Pugnacious P

Thanks DFC, just as I hoped!!!!
I purchased one. Goodbye crappy peeling button stickers....

BruceP

I feel ya. I finally caved and got an Alpine 9887 so I could get real iPod connectivity. I'm picking the car up Monday morning. I'm stoked to hear how it sounds along with the new amp and speaks, but I have to confess that I'm kinda freaking out about how it might look in the dash.

Pugnacious P

Take a pic and post after you pick it up, I'm interested in seeing how it looks.

Marc Gelefsky

+1

Will it work with the Bose amp and all that crap on a NON-most car?

BruceP

Will post a pic when I can.

I'm not a car audio geek, so I won't be able to shed much light for you, here. My car is pre-MOST, but I just had the CDR-220, not the Bose. I replaced the power amp with a Boston Acoustics piece, and used Boston Acoustics speakers throughout, behind stock grilles. The crossovers were mounted where the power amp from the factory stereo had gone, and the new power amp is mounted to the front wall of the trunk. Inside the car, apart from the head unit, you'd never know anything had been done, which is what I wanted. My musical tastes make a sub-woofer likely not worth the trouble, so there is none. My objective was to get better detail and dynamic range, even with the higher ambient noise level in the car. So far, it seems to deliver. And the iPod connectivity is really slick. The interface responds in real time.

Taste wise, you can judge when you see the picture, but it's not quite as stock looking as I'd like. There's no confusing this with a Porsche piece. But the install was very tidy, and it does sit back into the dash rather than sticking out like a wart, as I've seen with some aftermarket units. The Tokyo-by-night index is relatively low, and the display can be turned off. I think I can live with it, and only wish that Nakamichi could have offered the same features. (My car probably wouldn't get a lot of respect around here... I like to keep things subtle and on the down-low, so it's a pretty garden-variety looking C2).

BruceP

For those who asked. Sorry about the lousy pic, but you get the idea.

Not sure how to do a night pic, but some more info: The display colours can be changed. The labels on buttons illuminate red regardless, but the large white buttons can be made orange (or blue or green or...). However, they don't dim that much. There are two settings and even the lower one is much brighter than the dash. Generally, so far, I'm running with the display turned off altogether, a nice option.

It's actually not as bad as I'd feared, and I love the iPod connectivity. Hope this helps.