Wow!!! what a visceral feel when driving this machine. You really feel connected. My wife drove it and gave me the Julia Roberts line "It corners like it's on rails."

Did you guys read the manual all the way through for both the car and the pcm? I find myself poring through it nightly. :-)

Can someone explain to me what is special about the Bose sound system? What should i be programming to make it a better experience? Also, mine did not come with bluetooth integration. How difficult and expensive is adding that option? Am i better off just using a buetoohth headset?

I am glad this forum is around.., I read every post I could find on the C4s and it helped me decide which car to pick. You guys are great. Thanks to all for the advice

 

Congrats on the new car! As for the manual I am still trying to make my way through it, every time I open it I decide to go out and drive the car.

 

Congrats on the new ride. Pic's.

Yeah, the manuals are pretty thick.

 

congrats! I'm new to the Pcar club to (I've had my '06 C2S for a week!)

the manual is ridiculous...300+ pages for the car and another 300+ for the PCM. haven't made it through the PCM yet...too busy driving

 

Congrats on the new car !!!! I only read the manual when I have to . I never use the PCM . The M3 is even worse . I almost crashed it on my first drive home trying to fiddle with it. I set everything one time and still never use it.

Pics ? What color /options ?

 

Regarding bluetooth, you have a few options. I went through several headsets before settling on the Jawbone (either 1 or 2). Ultimately I prefer a hard wired solution that is ready every time I start the car, so your choice is between a standard car bluetooth handsfree from Motorola (or others like Parrot) or a PCM integrated solution (Dension, NavTV or mobridge).

I used a Motorola IHF 1000 in my 996. It muted the radio and worked well. It comes with a small faceplate/controller that you need to mount to answer and end calls and did voice dialling. It costs around $200 and installation was around $150.

In my 997 C4S, I went with the Dension ipod and bluetooth set up from Eric at Bumperplugs. This fully integrates with the pcm so you can dial from the number pad etc etc. You can check with him for current pricing. PCM integration is the most expensive solution, but it was worthwhile to me and I'd make the same choice again.

Hope this helps and best of luck with the car.

 

Coming from an IT background, I only RTFM (read the ******* manual) when it's absolutely necessary. Just today I had to dig into the PCM manual to find out how to disable the side mirror tilting down on reverse, and how to enable automatic door lock.

While these cars are awesome to drive, I have to say the electronics are still in stone ages. Even our 2004 Toyota van has an all in one audio/nav/etc system that's light years ahead. Plus they are far more intuitive to use. My wife was able to start using the nav without opening the manual even once. She kept on pushing the PCM screen on my 997 trying to do things. I told her that could be an expensive repair if she pushes too hard.

Congrats on the new buy.

 

Congrats on your new sled and enjoy her in good health.

Manual? What's sthat? Just like NorthVan997C2S said, I drive my car instead of reading the manual.

 

Congrats on the new ride. I agree that the electronics are a bit retro. Clearly Porsche engineers concentrated on the mechanical stuff. I added the MoBridge setup for bluetooth and iPod integration. In general, a very nice design and extremely well integrated. The user interface is a bit limited, but that is a function of the design of the PCM.
In general, though pricey (with installation) I'd recommend it.

 

Thanks to all for the input. I will start to llok in that direction. Do we have to buy updated DVD's with map information for our NAV's or are we just stuck with what we got?

 

I agree completely. The PCM controls are a mess, they are not intuitive, and the buttons are small. On the positive side, the buttons are very tactile and the audio system responds very quickly. I need to play with the settings as I can't believe the Bose setup sucks as much as it does.

 

Agreed . I never used my PCM other than the radio and Cd minimally. The problem --upgrading in nearly impossible. Awhile back a guy on the Turbo forum tried to go the route of a Reus and it was an installation failure .

On the other hand my M3 has all the bells and whistles and I nearly crashed it on my first drive home trying to figure it out . It's such an overload of settings that the i drive/nav ought to be a day class .

 

Good for you.

I read my manuals cover to cover in the 1st few days. I don't know that having a computer science and engineering background leads me to do that or if a tendency to do that led me into that vocation - chicken or egg? I do think there are many things that are discoverable without RTFM and then there are the tidbits of little "oh that's how that works" that you can get from reading the docs.

My approach is to read a good bit, then go into the car and try out what I have read about - WHILE THE CAR IS NOT MOVING.

My previous car was a loaded '07 550i - the '09 PCM setup to me is leagues better. And we also have an '05 Lexus G470 - I hate that system - and the manual is even more enormous than the 997.2.

What I like:
- DVDA disc playback...on the few DVDAs that are available that I own. They sound great.

What I don't like:
- no EQ, so adjusting the sound is crude - getting more mid-range can only be achieved with Bass/Treble cuts - it works, but takes some futzing with. The upside is small cuts can make a useful difference.
- Simulated Surround is terrible on most material (the BMW Logic7 was much better). If you have that feature and the "center" seems lost on a track, turn off Surround.
- Audiopilot is supposed to compensate for ambient sound changes, but I find that other cars with a simple "volume vs speed" control work better.
- Linear - supposedly for audiophiles. Just seems to make a thin sounding system sound thinner so far.

Upgrading from an older iPod 80GB to a new "Classic" 120GB made a huge difference. So I think the iPod interface (at least in the 997.2) is designed more optimally for whatever is electronically different with the iPod Classic.

 

^No highs... no lows... must be Bose.

 

That saying probably comes from the Bose 901 system (one of my roomies in college had one) with the funky speakers with an array of drivers all the same (no woofer, no tweeter) and some "box" that was supposed to make it sound right. I never loved it.

Not in my car though - all highs and all lows - MIDs are elusive.