iPad Mini in-dash install [996 MkII]
i saw all that and its really past my puter talents. i know just enough to be dangerous! not sure what im going to do i really want this in my car
As part of a total upgrade to my 996 interior, I just completed this upgrade though I'm a little disappointed that Apple released a software update to my iPad and I cannot Jailbreak the unit. Not a huge deal as it doesn't seem to make a lot of difference other than power up/down. I decided to go with a Kenwood Head Unit, Model KDC-BT955HD as my research indicated a better sounding pre-amp and easier navigation. It had the ample USB power as well, so no issue there. Also, the rear usb cable on the unit so I was able to thread that wire closer to the trim for easier access to the lightning cable. My system has the upgraded Bose Amplifier and speakers and I was able to source the harnesses I needed from Jay at discountcarstereo.com. He is outstanding and knows his stuff. I intially purchased PN: HRC-POR which was the interface cable for the Amp, but somehow it wasn't feeding the sound to the speakers (though I could hear the amp click on) and had to add the BHA1784B speaker harness. It all came together extremely well and easy thanks to finding this post and everyone's hints - thank you! 

I am getting use to the Pioneer and will give a few more weeks to adjust to it. I have the iPad Mini in USB1 and an iPod in the glove box in USB2. I also have my phone connected via bluetooth. I even ran the mic to the factory location just to the left of the dash gauges.
1. Put it in stock. (set the sleep to something short like 1 minute)
2. Downgrade to 6.2 or older
3. Wait till 7.0 come out this fall and then 1 to 3 months for the latest jailbrake.
Did you just buy the iPad and it came with 6.3 from the store? Or have you had it awhile? If it is new I would do option 2. The hardest part will be finding a source you trust for the OS backup. The rest is just like when you first got it new.
Last edited by Diesel117; Jun 27, 2013 at 04:11 PM. Reason: grammer
You have three options.
1. Put it in stock. (set the sleep to something short like 1 minute)
2. Downgrade to 6.2 or older
3. Wait till 7.0 come out this fall and then 1 to 3 months for the latest jailbrake.
Did you just buy the iPad and it came with 6.3 from the store? Or have you had it awhile? If it is new I would do option 2. The hardest part will be finding a source you trust for the OS backup. The rest is just like when you first got it new.
1. Put it in stock. (set the sleep to something short like 1 minute)
2. Downgrade to 6.2 or older
3. Wait till 7.0 come out this fall and then 1 to 3 months for the latest jailbrake.
Did you just buy the iPad and it came with 6.3 from the store? Or have you had it awhile? If it is new I would do option 2. The hardest part will be finding a source you trust for the OS backup. The rest is just like when you first got it new.
not a tech guy but love this setup and want it just dont want to buy all the stuff to find out i can only play iheart radio
Cool set up, why not just buy an in dash screen though? It plays CDs, DVDs and has built in GPS and Bluetooth. Mine even has a reverse camera. I love what you did with it though, I love the big screen taking up the whole entertainment panel. If you could manage to get all the above on the iPad and not have to pay extra I'd be all over this mod. I would some how install a cd drive on that iPad also, the CD player looks out of place.
Over all awesome fit and finish, great thinking on fitting that in. Looks amazing!!
Over all awesome fit and finish, great thinking on fitting that in. Looks amazing!!
I too have the Bose amp, CD changer, etc. (with CDR-220). I ended up getting both the Metra 70-1784 and the Metra 70-1787 Wire Harness. My problem was two things. 1. I came across lot of posts where people said you have to use RCA's to wire to the amp. 2. Everything in the yellow C1 is for the CD changer so I assumed the +12V switched (C1 slot 6) was too. Nope. I finally came across a very detailed wiring diagram (on renntech I think) that properly identified that C1 slot 6 as the +12V switched for the "AMP".
In the end, the Metra 70-1787 Wire Harness was the right one for me.
In the end, the Metra 70-1787 Wire Harness was the right one for me.
Cool set up, why not just buy an in dash screen though? It plays CDs, DVDs and has built in GPS and Bluetooth. Mine even has a reverse camera. I love what you did with it though, I love the big screen taking up the whole entertainment panel. If you could manage to get all the above on the iPad and not have to pay extra I'd be all over this mod. I would some how install a cd drive on that iPad also, the CD player looks out of place.
Over all awesome fit and finish, great thinking on fitting that in. Looks amazing!!
Over all awesome fit and finish, great thinking on fitting that in. Looks amazing!!
Rob, I see your awesome install. Are you able to use your cup holders still? Not that I want to but just for keeping it as stock as possible. I removed the trim and just used a strip of double sided tape to keep in place for now, but from what you install looks like you kept it functional. Did you have to trim the bottom of the mount?
Thanks, digging it though haven't played with it too much yet. Will upload photos of the entire interior overhaul as soon as I have the remaining 6 parts I had redone installed. So nice to get rid of that crummy wood veneer!
I'm not too worried about the jailbreak and ios 7 is coming soon, which I believe will provide most of the additional functionality that jailbreaking does now. It works great with all apps so far, the only functions that would be nice would be to have the lightning plug turn off the unit when the car powers off and not having to "swipe" to unlock the screen.
Well whoever had the idea I must say it is creative. I don't blame you for making use of the iPad. That's awesome you allow your sons input. Did he help you with the install? My father has a 944 and when I was a kid he would take me for rides in it and let me wash the car and everything.
That's what's made me grow such a passion for Porsche. Twelve years later my father and I got on a ferry to Long Island, NY to go get my first Porsche 911. It was the best day of my life; being able to for fill a dream I had while sitting in the passenger seat of my fathers Porsche when I was young to him coming and enjoying the day with me while I bought my car.
I hope you and your son experience the same kind of experience. Back to the iPod lol, I think it's a clever idea and looks flawless. I would just want to have my iTunes on the iPad and I guess use and external hard drive as my CD player so to speak.
That's what's made me grow such a passion for Porsche. Twelve years later my father and I got on a ferry to Long Island, NY to go get my first Porsche 911. It was the best day of my life; being able to for fill a dream I had while sitting in the passenger seat of my fathers Porsche when I was young to him coming and enjoying the day with me while I bought my car.
I hope you and your son experience the same kind of experience. Back to the iPod lol, I think it's a clever idea and looks flawless. I would just want to have my iTunes on the iPad and I guess use and external hard drive as my CD player so to speak.
Four month check in from my original install...
Haven't done to many more interior mods, though a few new exterior upgrades!

Still super happy with the setup. Extremely cool/useful at the track as well when set up with Harry's Lap Timer. I get great GPS signal reception, even buried in the dash, which was a bit of a problem.
The Pioneer unit functions quite well, and the ergonomics are good but not perfect. One issue I have is that while I can set the display color to a very close match to the Porsche lighting, it becomes pretty difficult to read at that particular color/intensity with my sunglasses on, so I've changed it to a blue/white anyway for legibility, offsetting one of the advantages of the Pioneer unit (color match).
Pandora and Waze are pretty much running all the time, and I honestly can't imagine driving in a busy urban area these days without Waze.
Congrat's to all the folks who did their own installs, they all look great!
PS: On the jailbreaking... Never upgrade your ipad if it is jailbroken unless you know what you are doing, especially using an OTA (over the air) upgrade. Downgrading an ipad isn't always simple or possible, as once the 'baseband' gets upgraded you often can't go back. If you want to research more (but are also prepared for some serious head spinning), look at the dev team blog.
Haven't done to many more interior mods, though a few new exterior upgrades!
Still super happy with the setup. Extremely cool/useful at the track as well when set up with Harry's Lap Timer. I get great GPS signal reception, even buried in the dash, which was a bit of a problem.
The Pioneer unit functions quite well, and the ergonomics are good but not perfect. One issue I have is that while I can set the display color to a very close match to the Porsche lighting, it becomes pretty difficult to read at that particular color/intensity with my sunglasses on, so I've changed it to a blue/white anyway for legibility, offsetting one of the advantages of the Pioneer unit (color match).
Pandora and Waze are pretty much running all the time, and I honestly can't imagine driving in a busy urban area these days without Waze.
Congrat's to all the folks who did their own installs, they all look great!
PS: On the jailbreaking... Never upgrade your ipad if it is jailbroken unless you know what you are doing, especially using an OTA (over the air) upgrade. Downgrading an ipad isn't always simple or possible, as once the 'baseband' gets upgraded you often can't go back. If you want to research more (but are also prepared for some serious head spinning), look at the dev team blog.
Well whoever had the idea I must say it is creative. I don't blame you for making use of the iPad. That's awesome you allow your sons input. Did he help you with the install? My father has a 944 and when I was a kid he would take me for rides in it and let me wash the car and everything.
That's what's made me grow such a passion for Porsche. Twelve years later my father and I got on a ferry to Long Island, NY to go get my first Porsche 911. It was the best day of my life; being able to for fill a dream I had while sitting in the passenger seat of my fathers Porsche when I was young to him coming and enjoying the day with me while I bought my car.
I hope you and your son experience the same kind of experience. Back to the iPod lol, I think it's a clever idea and looks flawless. I would just want to have my iTunes on the iPad and I guess use and external hard drive as my CD player so to speak.
That's what's made me grow such a passion for Porsche. Twelve years later my father and I got on a ferry to Long Island, NY to go get my first Porsche 911. It was the best day of my life; being able to for fill a dream I had while sitting in the passenger seat of my fathers Porsche when I was young to him coming and enjoying the day with me while I bought my car.
I hope you and your son experience the same kind of experience. Back to the iPod lol, I think it's a clever idea and looks flawless. I would just want to have my iTunes on the iPad and I guess use and external hard drive as my CD player so to speak.
Four month check in from my original install...
Haven't done to many more interior mods, though a few new exterior upgrades!

Still super happy with the setup. Extremely cool/useful at the track as well when set up with Harry's Lap Timer. I get great GPS signal reception, even buried in the dash, which was a bit of a problem.
The Pioneer unit functions quite well, and the ergonomics are good but not perfect. One issue I have is that while I can set the display color to a very close match to the Porsche lighting, it becomes pretty difficult to read at that particular color/intensity with my sunglasses on, so I've changed it to a blue/white anyway for legibility, offsetting one of the advantages of the Pioneer unit (color match).
Pandora and Waze are pretty much running all the time, and I honestly can't imagine driving in a busy urban area these days without Waze.
Congrat's to all the folks who did their own installs, they all look great!
PS: On the jailbreaking... Never upgrade your ipad if it is jailbroken unless you know what you are doing, especially using an OTA (over the air) upgrade. Downgrading an ipad isn't always simple or possible, as once the 'baseband' gets upgraded you often can't go back. If you want to research more (but are also prepared for some serious head spinning), look at the dev team blog.
Haven't done to many more interior mods, though a few new exterior upgrades!
Still super happy with the setup. Extremely cool/useful at the track as well when set up with Harry's Lap Timer. I get great GPS signal reception, even buried in the dash, which was a bit of a problem.
The Pioneer unit functions quite well, and the ergonomics are good but not perfect. One issue I have is that while I can set the display color to a very close match to the Porsche lighting, it becomes pretty difficult to read at that particular color/intensity with my sunglasses on, so I've changed it to a blue/white anyway for legibility, offsetting one of the advantages of the Pioneer unit (color match).
Pandora and Waze are pretty much running all the time, and I honestly can't imagine driving in a busy urban area these days without Waze.
Congrat's to all the folks who did their own installs, they all look great!
PS: On the jailbreaking... Never upgrade your ipad if it is jailbroken unless you know what you are doing, especially using an OTA (over the air) upgrade. Downgrading an ipad isn't always simple or possible, as once the 'baseband' gets upgraded you often can't go back. If you want to research more (but are also prepared for some serious head spinning), look at the dev team blog.
That's awesome you play a role in your sons life like that. Most parents I know just put their kids in front of the Xbox these days. I'd call him a lucky kid getting a Subaru lol. Funny you say that about your fathers Z; my father had to sell his 944 when I was like 17 or so. I felt so bad for him cause that was his baby.
I tracked down the guy he sold it to about 3 years back and bought back from the guy and gave it to my father as a gift. I only seen my father cry twice in my life, once when I left for Iraq and the day I pulled up in the yard with his 944.
I tracked down the guy he sold it to about 3 years back and bought back from the guy and gave it to my father as a gift. I only seen my father cry twice in my life, once when I left for Iraq and the day I pulled up in the yard with his 944.




