Overall 8/10

For the price and simplicity of the upgrade, and the amount of features you get, I could not be happier.










Update 7/31 -

I didn't like any of the stock launchers on the Play Store, so in an attempt to emulate a similar look to modern day Porsche's, I am building my own. Here's my progress so far. The calendar screen changes to show music controls, weather, or calendar. The bottom icons you can swipe for different pages to display different widgets + icons. The map updates in real time to show location.





Torque pro widgets on the next page to monitor as i drive in real time.

For night driving, a simple black screen with a clock on next page

 

Looks good. This is a popular mod for the 2004-2006 Cayennes too. I've had one for about 2 years. Works well. Check out "Car Launcher AGAMA" in the Play store - - it makes for a very modern, factory looking interface.

 

Does it work with the Bose?

 

It does. I have the Bose system in my car.

 

Does this control the conversations on a cellphone also?

 

If you want handsfree Bluetooth do you have to use the aftermarket mic they ship with it or can you wire in the existing handsfree mic in the car?

Thanks - looks like an interesting option..

TJ

 

Thanks so much to the OP for posting this and good work on the install. I'm going to pull the trigger on this at this as the price is just too good to pass up. Hope you don't mind a few questions.

Any issues getting the MOST interface to work or was it straightforward? Also did you lose your fader function as other have reported in the past with these aftermarket interfaces? Aside from losing the Sport Chrono interface to the head unit, have you noticed any other funny stuff or missing functions? The Sport Chrono is still accessible via the stalk so I don't mind loosing that. Hows the unit's responsiveness, does 2 GB RAM seem sufficient? Last off, are you using the $20 ELM OBD interface Aliexpress lists to link the engine performance to the unit?

Apologies for bombarding with questions but I'm really shocked things went so well for such a cheap price, particularly the optical interface to the Bose system. I'be been holding off on doing something like this for two years but now I'm running out of excuses not to. Great find and thanks for posting the pictures.

 

Went ahead and ordered it since I've got some vacation coming up and needed a good project. In addition to the optical interface I added the back-up camera ($7) and the ELM OBD bluetooth interface ($20).

One thing that MrGatsby mentioned was linking the Aliexpress purchase to a Paypal account. Not sure how he did this as it was never given as a payment option and I could not find any way to configure it. Some googling found a few stories that Aliexpress sellers don't want to take Paypal due to their ridiculously high 7% service fee.

I didn't want to give my credit card number to Aliexpress nor play email tag with China so I went another route. My credit card (Citibank) allows you to generate a virtual credit card. This is a unique credit card number (different from your normal account number) that expires after a month with a limit you can set (I used $400). The charge shows up on your usual statement and you can still dispute it if needed. Most big bank cards offer this as a free service and it worked great for me.

I'll post a follow up and review after I get it installed. It might not work perfectly but I figure I can live with that for 1/3 the cost of a name brand unit.

 

Thanks for the review. Looks like great value for money at that price point. Do They have anything for the 997.2?

 

Anymore details on how you improvised to locking the new unit in place?

 

I'm getting ready to try this on my 06 C2S based on the OP's experience (not to mention that PCM 2.1 is ugly and pretty useless). Before doing so I wanted to understand what functions I'd lose from not having the PCM. None of these are deal breakers for me but I figured the list might be helpful. This applies to cars with the Bose system and Sport Chrono.


Fader function (Bose only) - This is probably the biggest impact. MOST adapters are two channel input devices so the new head unit's fader function will not work. Make sure you set the fader level where you want it with the PCM before removing it and the Bose amp will retain this level setting. Supposedly there is a 4 channel MOST unit available from a Russian company but they don't ship to the US and I couldn't find any other info. It also appears you can run the new head unit's subwoofer output directly to the Bose amp subwoofer (coax, not fiber) and retain control of it.

Edit (8/6): Optional - The Bose subwoofer contains its own amplifier. Bypassing the Bose amp and wiring the head unit's subwoofer output directly to the subwoofer input retains head unit subwoofer control. See the link for the Bose wiring diagram. Pins 10 (orange) and 22 (orange/brown) need to be depinned from the Bose connector and put into a new connector to mate with the HU subwoofer output. Leave the other wires alone as they are needed to power and wake-up the subwoofer amp. This is optional as the Bose amp will still sort out the low frequency info from the optical link and send it to the subwoofer.

Bose wiring diagram

Edit (8/6) Audiopilot (Bose only): Another interesting find as it looks like the Bose Audiopilot function can be retained (Audiopilot monitors the ambient cabin noise and makes volume and frequency response changes to compensate). The Bose wiring diagram shows the microphone is wired directly to the Bose amp (pins 26 and 27), not the PCM. If Audiopilot is turned on or off with the PCM prior to removal, the Bose amp should retain this like it does with the fader level. Note that if the subwoofer is wired to bypass the Bose amp as described above then Audiopilot won't change subwoofer level.

Edit (8/5) Volume function (Bose only): Definitely some unusual stuff with the volume and some of this is conjecture from what I've pieced together. The level of amplification appears to be controlled within the Bose amplifier via the PCM head unit's volume control. This level looks like it can't be changed once the PCM is removed. So prior to removing the PCM set the volume pretty high (maybe 75%) and the Bose will retain this after removal. This seems to set up some sort of scaling in the D/A conversion. This may be a bit of a balancing act as too low will limit the maximum sound level and too high may excessively amplify low-level noise such as alternator whine. Probably best to test it outside the dash with the engine running first in case the PCM needs to be temporarily reinstalled for adjustment.

Sport Chrono PCM control/display (sport chrono only) - Ability to control and read the sport chrono using the PCM will be lost. It can still be controlled through the stalk and lap times read on the tach display or the dash wart. The ability to read and store cumulative times will be lost as this was accessible through the PCM.

Individual memory functions (sport chrono only) - These are customizable functions that can be set on the PCM for the DRLs, door autolock, climate settings, the "home" light function, and the rear wiper. Ability to change these will be lost. These can be set with the PCM before removal and be retained, but it's not clear if they survive a battery disconnect. These are key unique so they should be set with each key prior to removing the PCM.

CD changer control (CD changer only) - ability to use/control the OEM CD changer will be lost

PCM radio info on the dash cluster - The second line tach display of the PCM radio/CD info will be lost (if this was configured). It can be set to display something else using the stalk. Edit (9/5): for the head unit discussed in this thread this function still works! The HU is apparently smart enough to output info on the Canbus and the tach display reads and displays it correctly.

PCM display "trip" info - The ability to read the cumulative engine time, average speed, mpg, etc. using the PCM display will be lost. The ability to set speed limits using the PCM will be lost. This info is still available using the stalk and the tach display and speed limits can be set with the stalk.

Phone or Navi control using the stalk (if equipped) - It's doubtful anyone actually used this but you could control/display the phone book and navi info on the tach display in addition to the PCM itself. This function will be lost.


That's all I've found. The fader and CD changer are the biggest concerns for me. I've never used the individual memory settings as the stock settings were fine. Pretty much every other useful feature is available through the stalk.

 

Perhaps the mods can whitelist me now as everything except my initial post has gone into moderation...

MrGatsby - Can you provide some info on how you are creating your own launcher in your 7/31 update? The photos look great and I'd like to do something similar.

Also, I put together a post listing every function (that I could find) that is lost when removing the PCM 2.1. It's in moderation, hopefully it shows up in this thread sooner or later.

 

please let us know how it goes. i am looking to pull the trigger on this, but not based off of one persons post. thanks

 

Awesome info.

 

What is the boot/startup time of this unit from the key power on until music is playing?