I am possibly looking to get an aftermarket GPS. I am thinking about an Alpine internal GPS system or a Garmin external GPS unit. Also, I heard that it is possible to get the PCMII unit aftermarket, is this true, and how much would it cost? Does anyone have an aftermarket GPS unit, do you like it, is it easy to use, do you actually use it?
Thanks,
Mehrabani

 

i've got the becker traffic pro and it's probably my favorite NAV system yet. it's pretty quick and very accurate.

 

Ben,
I looked up the Becker but could find only find support on the European continent. No CDs were listed for the US. Do you have a US CD?

 

I have the Garmin StreetPilot III. Overall, I like it better than the nav system that was on my '02 Cab. It isn't as easy to load-in streets, but - the screen, although smaller is MUCH easier to read especially with Polaroid sunglasses, which I had to take off in order to read Porsche's system (again speaking of the 2002 - the readability of the 2004 system might have been improved but I have my doubts). As for driving directions, the Garmin will recalculate on the fly (as does the Porsche system) but with the difference that the Porsche system always seems to want you to "make a legal U-turn." The Garmin system can be programmed to "Avoid U-turns." For the kind of driving I do - a lot of touring - I like to put in a final destination, not bother with "Waypoints" and take a detour if the mood strikes me without having to hear a constant "Make a legal U-turn." The Porsche system was easier/faster to program, and the map easier to follow in the sense that I could better follow where side streets might lead (as long as I removed my sunglasses). Bottom line, I don't have the Nav system in the TT and don't really miss it. The Garmin can be used in any car. It does tend to roll off the dash because I refuse to hard-mount it; I don't want to mar the leather. The deluxe version, which I bought, comes with a weighted beanbag mount that does reasonably well. BTW, Garmin's technical support is free and very good. Software updates are free; updated maps are available for sale as changes warrant production of new CDs. I think they all use pretty much the same maps. Garmin and Porsche both use Navigation Technologies, Inc, maps, which is what MapQuest uses; it's the software that differs.

 

Oh - one other point. The Garmin "City Navigator" maps of North America come on 2 CDs, which you load onto your PC, then select and download a mapset (consisting of a subset of smaller maps) onto a memory card through a supplied card-reader. The card then goes into the navigational unit. You can probably hold enough maps for your normal driving range, but for a long-distance journey (say Washington, DC to St.louis) you would want to select and load only the maps you would anticipate needing. Or, buy additional memory cards. You can also download to the Garmin a route with "Waypoints" that you created on your PC using the maps from the CDs.

 

In my opinion, Alpine makes the best in the industry for aftermarket permanent car mounting. THe old version is the NVE-N851A and the new version is the NVE-N852A. Both are DVD units and they have yearly DVD updates and DVD's for other countries. Look no further.

 

I have the Alpine NVE-851A. There is not much difference if any with the newer NVE-852A (maybe bug fixes?) I think it is a fantastic unit but I really do not have anything to compare it to.

The OS is on the DVD, so just buy the latest which is Version 3.0.

-Skaria

 

mehrabani1,
ur car is 03 right? so u can actually get PCMII for ur car. it's pricy, but i think if u really want the nav, that's the way to go!

 

dave, yep i have the us CD in mine.

 

Fred has the Kenwwod and his system (and car) are SWEEEEEET!!

 

I have an Alpine (not in the C4S) and it is a very nice system.
I have the TrafficPro in the C4S, and I find it severely lacking in information compared to the Alpine, although it is much better than nothing.
I also have the new Garmin iQ3600 and it is pretty neat, although I have yet to use it in an actual driving situation. One cool feature is that since it is also a PDA, you can pull up an address from your address book and tell it to take you there.

 

Alpine all the way, best system out there plus you can upgrade your crappy factory stereo. Check out my website for some pictures!!

 

Forgot to add yes I use it alot. I am in sales and you just punch in the address or phone number for a business and boom there you go. Nice thing even when you are just traveling on the freeway is you know how many miles you have left to go on your trip, you can find gas stations and restuarants, etc...

Alpine baby!

 

Fred's setup - http://homepage.mac.com/fredcourtot/PhotoAlbum6.html

 

I went through the same research for an external GPS system last month, and have a Garmin 2610 on order. It's got many improvements over the StreetPiolot III, and can be had for around $750.

Stephen
'01 Turbo Ti