crw

This post is a documentation of my installation of a Passport/Escort 9500ci into a 2009 Porsche Carerra 997.

A couple of caveats before I get started:

- This is my experience; I am not recommending this to anyone or claiming any expertise with regard to doing this.

- Bone up on your cuss words prior to starting, you will need them

- If you are a larger person, you may want to pass, there’s not a lot of room to work in these cars



Which radar to get and why.

My opinions:

I suggest a remote unit:

- an exposed unit is a target for the smash and grab crowd (unless you are willing to mount and dismount the unit every time you leave the car – I was not)

- lots of choices (Bell, Passport, K40) – do your homework and make your choice, there are plenty of reviews and information on the internet

Do I advocate speeding – no?

The reality of driving on today’s roads is that a large number of municipalities are hurting financially. They are now turning ventures to generate revenue – tickets, fines, speed camera etc. Will writing a speeding tick for 8mph over the limit make the word a safer place –no. But, it will put extra $ into the city coffers at your expense.

Most of your police officers would be happy to write a ticket for you in your Porsche – the mentality out there is if you can afford the Porsche, you can afford the ticket.


My choice: Passport



Getting started – where to get the Passport.

Options:

1. Dealer with installation - $2,500 to $3,000

2. Local stereo shop - $1,500 (installed). Realize that the quality of the installation will be based on your installer, his concern for a speedy installation, and their expertise with a Porsche car. Other pitfalls include – the risk of scratches, poor workmanship. Unless you know the installer and shop - you are at their mercy!



The temptation of “test drives.”




3. The internet – you can find a new unit on the internet/EBAY. I bought mine new for $650 with the intent of a DIY installation.




Step 1 – plan your installation


Front of the car:

The 2 laser units and the radar are mounted in the front – not a lot of good places on the 997.

The laser heads need to be exposed. The radar should be exposed. Many people mount tit mistakenly place the radar behind the bumper which reduces it sensitivity quite a bit.

Here is an example of proper mounting:



The wires will need to be run from the front of the car to the interior to the control unit.


Red = location of main radar unit.

Yellow = location of laser units.

Purple = route of wires to get to interior of the car.

Here is the rear of the car.

Here is the rear laser and wiring path.




Interior.

Control unit and display to be placed in center console.




LED to be near the cluster.



Here is where the GPS is to be in the rear of the car.



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Let’s get started.


For the front part of the car:

All of the front bonnet plastic needs to be removed to get a path for 3 wires (2 front laser shifters + front radar) to get to the passenger compartment.

Very important – make sure you have a good set of Torx screw drivers or drivers. Many of the screws are very small and tightly torque which can lead to stripping and lots of headaches if you try to remove them improperly.

The top front surround removes very easily – all pieces will just snap out or slid out – no screws – just some Velcro and plastic recesses.



The plastic covering over in the front cargo area is help in by several Torx screws (6 tucked under the weather stripping and 2 on the inner sides. There is one simple electrical connection to the light on the driver’s side. It will slide out.



The bottom fiber bin is held in by a few plastic screws and 1 electrical connection to the inner hood release (between handle and inner metal on the passenger side – undo all of these and you will now have a bare metal shell.







I have shown you the target locations for your 2 front lasers and front radar.

I used these locations, but altered the cosmetics a bit.

The 2 laser shifters need to be mounted in location as shown. I secured mine by attaching the brackets to a small sturdy piece of sheet metal that I was able to place between the plastic bumper and the black abs plastic used by Porsche (the bumper insert). There are many ways to attach these units (search Google) – some involve pulling the bumper and others don’t. The bottom line is that you want a mount to be sturdy and secure.



You then need to drill holes (use a drill) in the black plastic and cut a square rectangle (use a dremmel) to allow the wires to run into the space behind the bumper and also, to allow the head of the radar unit to be exposed to the road).




I did not want to pull my bumper because I had recently had a clear bra installed and I did not want to mess it up.



I jacked the car in the air and put it on jack stands (jacking pucks, floor jacks, and good quality jack stands are needed). Underneath the car the front bumper has @ 8 Torx screws securing it. Remove these and the underside of the bumper is flexible enough to bend back to get you hands in to work. This reveals an empty space between the bumper and the metal body of the car.







I was able to place the front radar in this space and secure it in the location I wanted with a combination of metal brackets, sheet metal plated, fasteners , and 2 way 3M mounting tape – it aint going nowhere.

I addressed the front cosmetics by making my own front screen for better Cosmetics. I used a stock radio bezel (after market). I molded it to the contour of the bumper with heat, made a black screen out of fiberglass screen material, and secured it with a weather-strip backing and adhesive).



Run the wires from the space behind the bumper to the interior of the front bonnet via a rubber grommet located on the front driver side of the metal bonnet.



I used plastic line from a trimmer to attach to the wires and pull them through the holes and space behind the bumper and through the grommet.





Then run the wires along the font interior to the passenger side and then up along the passenger side of the front bonnet (I covered the wires with a loom).





There is a rubber grommet located near the passenger side of the battery. Remove the plastic V shaped covering shown to expose the grommet (2 screws and some prying). Make a hole in the grommet, put the wires through ad then seal things up with some silicone. You are now in the battery compartment.












You need to locate the rubber grommet on the driver side of the battery. Disconnect the battery, Undo the battery hold down and slide the battery toward the passenger side. The grommet is now exposed. Cut a slit in the grommet (not too big or the grommet will pop put and loose a lot of its rigidity) – ask me how I know.


http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/4...t950023003.jpg


On the inner dash side the hole is high way up under the dash – you can see it by looking up. It is covered by a piece of insulation. Peel off that piece, run the wires through the grommet to the driver’s side wheel well. Silicone to seal and you’re done.



Re-install all the plastics, battery etc and the front part of the car is done.


(PICTURE)


Caveats:

Bag and tag – don’t loose screws or connectors

Use the proper tools.

Patience.

This part is a PIA – do it once, you don’t want to have to doing it again.

This is the finished front install.




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Here is what the rear install will look like when done. The wire can go through already- existing holes in the plastic bumper (behind the license plate) and the heat shield in the engine bay (to the right of the locking mechanism for the latch). Run a plastic line through this path to drag the cord into the engine bay. You will need to notch the top of the license plate for clearance (won’t see when the plate is done).










The wire will then run along the passenger side of the engine bay (cover with a high temperature plastic loom) to a grommet on the passenger side. This is the grommet you will use to access the wire to the interior of the car.



This is what it will look like when done. To do this, you will use a plastic line (threaded through the grommet) which is tape to the laser shifter wire to drag it into the passenger compartment.




Getting to the rear grommet from the interior requires some work.

Take out the bottoms of the rear seats (easy – held in by Velcro).

Fold down the rear seats.

Remove the brackets that guide the rear seat belts (1 bolt).

Remove the center carpet in the rear. Start in the middle and bow it up like an inverted “V.” Use some force it will bend and come out.

Remove the passenger side rear quarter panel interior. This is done by pulling hard, I repeat hard. There is one connect to the speaker wire – you will see this when you have the panel off by about 3 inches. It is held in by the series of plastic and metal clips – the tightest one being right below the seat belt. Be sure to use your finger to get the panel out from under the weather stripping which holds it in place too. You will be surprised at how much force you need to use. The plastic connected on the side opposite the seat belt is a real PIA.



Remove the insulation.

Unbolt the ECU panels (to move them a bit.

Here is a link that will guide you:

http://sharkwerks.com/porsche/techni...2-and-gt3.html

This is your goal:





You will now have access to the rear grommet which id hidden in a tunnel –like recess.



The target grommet is in small and well defined are in the grommet that carries the harness for the engine to the ECU. This small area is a “safe zone.” Behind it is nothing important, as long as you don’t go off on an angel.

Cut this hole out with a scalpel or some other sharp device. The heads on the pass port are like telephone line connectors and you will need some room to pull it through this small hole.




Feed a plastic line (I used light trimmer from a weed whacker) through the hole in to the engine bay. Then rout the line to the head shield access hole and out through the plastic bumper. I then attached the laser detector wire to the plastic line via duct tape (1st protecting the delicate head with painters tape. The line was then fed and threaded in the interior cabin. One done, the loom as applied and it was secured to the wires in the engine bay via plastic ties. I sealed the grommet hole on both sides with silicone.

__________________________

Now, on to the rear interior section.


A good location for the GPS is on the rear shelf under the rear window. There are some precut slots I the carpet that are unused. Feed the wire through the slot and into the cave the where the grommet is located. Slip small piece of sheet metal (1 x 2 inches) in the carpet slot and rest the GPS on this. The GPS has a built in magnet on its base and this works great.




Route the wires along the quarter side panel down to the rear foot well. Get an idea of how much length you will need to get the connectors to the front console and then bundle the excess wire and hide in behind the plastic interior quarter panel you will put back.

The plastic quarter panel will snap back in place – bang it a few times with your fist, don’t forget to reconnect the speaker.

Routing of the 2 rear wires t the center console was a pleasant surprise. The wires will tuck nicely into crevice between the front and rear carpets as shown. Then tuck them under the side of the plastic console and take them to the front of the car – easy.









Now time to prepare the console area for the detector.


It all depends where you want to place the control module, the brain for the unit, and the display. There are endless possibilities. My method is what I preferred and provided what I consider a good cosmetic and functional result.

First, I had to remove the center trim.

Here is a link to guide you:


Here is a link o how to remove the some of the center plastic (look under Porsche 997/center console/removal instructions):



http://www.macarbon.com/store/997-ce...sole-area-155/

Please note:

1. Be careful, it is easy to scratch or break the plastic (been there, done that, but now fixed to perfection).
2. Don’t loose the Torx screws!


Here is a photo of everything out. I used the empty bin to mount the display and control units.



I custom made a panel out of ABS plastic and wrapped it with vinyl. Here is it completed and installed.




Wires from all of the various components are brought to the brain which it mounted via Velcro to a bracket within the console area (which will be out of site). The good part about the Passport 9500ci is that the connectors are well made, color, coded and simple to get right. The bad part is that there is a lot of extra wire length – so it really pays to bundle up any extra wire upstream of the brain unit and tuck it away so you don’t end up with a lot of extra bundles wire all at the same place – like I did. Unfortunately, there is no way to cut or shorten the wires on the Passport.

The speaker can be mounted any wear out if site under the dash – the acoustics are excellent, so it doesn’t matter wear you put it.





The USB was put inside the glove box.




The LED display was put near the cluster in my line of site. I think this display y is pretty neat.



Here is everything completed – I think it looks like a near-factory look and I was very happy with the result.











The unit works great and is well made. Programming it is simple and it works well.

Here are some final Pros and Cons.

Pros:

Stealth unit – not detectable by radar
- minimal appearance on the car and in the interior

Simple design – color coded connectors for ease of installation
- simple to program and use

Track record – Escort/passport has been in the business for a long time (Cincinnati
Microwave)

Customer support – available 24/7 ad they are not located in India

No need to mount and dismount a portable radar unit which is a PIA.

No visible radar unit for people to see and want to break into your car.

Cons:

Expensive – DIY @ $700
- Dealer/Vendor installed ($2,500)

Mounting of Laser and radar units require ingenuity and talent on your part.

There is lots of excess wire length with no ability to shorten them.

It takes talent and time to install. DIY means you know how everything is and cam trouble shoot it if you have a problem. Dealer/ shop installed = $$$$$$$$$$

If you ever have the bumper removed for some reason you will need to disconnect the units and wires to allow them to be removed. They should have made in-line connectors for these units to avoid this possible problem, but they did not.


One last issue - you can hardwire it directly to you fuse panel. In a non 4S car use slot C1 - the unit comes with a male spade (already fused):

jrotsaert

WOW! Well done.
You wouldn't happen to have all this in pdf format would you?
JM

crw

Sorry no.

I was a tough install due to:

- limited god information out there
- lack of good technical manuals
- Porsche is a "small car"

In restropect, I am glad I tackled it.

I am paying it forward by making things alot easier for the next guy who wants to tackle this project.

KeninBlaine

Great writeup. I have a passport SR7 that I may install, but was somewhat reluctant due to the complexity I envisioned, and well documented by you. I had thought it would be mandatory to remove the front bumper to be able to properly mount the units. You apparently succeeded without that step. I may need to investigate further. Do you have any details on how the front laser units were secured under there?
Thanks for the excellent writeup and photos.

boolala

The install of my K40 took about 4 hours of work by the tech at my house. The total cost (with laser "jammer" was about $1500 as I recall). I would never dream of trying something like this myself.

crw

The way I mounted the laser was:

1. Determine correct postion and angle

2. There is a very hard strip of black plastic between the painted bumper right where I have put the red line in the picture. I put a plastic wedge in the space between the bumper and pastic (you can only see it from below the bumper looking upward). I then slid some sheet metal that I cut (1 x 1.5 inches) into that space. So now, you have metal between this hard plastic and the bumper proper. Drill you holes, use tap scrws or bolts and your set. I then used some dabs of "plastic nails" which is a very hard silicone when it hardens to add further stabilty and provent loosening. One done, you seen nothing.



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For the radar, I crawled under the car and slipped the unit into the space I was able to open up. The rear edge of the bumper of the car is flexible and you can bend it about 6 inches. You Once you determinthe position of the radar unit such then it will stick throught the black ABS plastic in the bumper - you can secure it with any of a number of brackets.

I use a small flat piece of sheet metal (secured to the bottom plate show in the picture by 3M automobile moulding adhestion rubber and some screws). I then devised some brackets to postion the radar to where I wanted it. It was a bit of trail and error.



The unit has threaded holes with screws for brackets.

Once done it has 3 areas for stability.

Bottom - secured to the bottom of the spash shield on the bumper

Sides - from brackets

Front - it sits in the hole cut in the front ABS (now covered by my screen, which is off set a few mm by weathersrtipping rubber). It is very, very, solid.

You can seee the radar unit behind the fiberglass screen (which essentailly is a house screen which will not block the radar signal.

cfjan

Nice write up, thanks for the info!!

I thought the 9500ci is around $1,500?! For $650, did you get it used? Or?

Looks great!! Very nice job!

DLJ

Thanks for the great writeup. Congrats on job well done!

TooSixy

Nice mod and write-up. Thanks!
Definitely not for the faint of heart.

medtech

Awesome write up! You're hired!

crw

I bought it new.

Thaey can be bought all day long on EBAY for @ $750

THPorsche

Wow, great writeup! Thanks.

drcollie

Tons O' Fun, isn't it? I installed one in my Boxster S a few months ago. If you'd like a high-quality piece of leather free of charge to match your interior, let me know. I own a leather furniture store and have hundreds of samples. Here's mine that I made with a piece of Hancock and Moore Quintessence Ebony leather mounted over laminated plywood.

mdrobc1213

Very nice. Impressive!

mossjn

Phenomenal job.

This is exactly what I have been contemplating doing for awhile. I have an '08 Cab. Any recommendations on what to do with the GPS unit that you put in the rear of the car? Will conflict with top when down.

Any other cab related issues you would foresee?

For a guy with average mechanical skills, how long do you think it would take to do the whole install start to finish using, of course, your expert instructions?