And the Band Played On

The stereo removal/installation is now complete, but it certainly wasn’t without its surprises. In the end, everything came out—all speakers, the head unit, amp, crossovers, CD changer, radar detector, and the navigation unit under the passengers seat. A whole mess of mid-range components and low-grade installation. It’s like a cancer was removed from the car, and now it breathes free!

The Clarion head unit was replaced with the Porsche Classic Radio Navigation system. It’s important for me to have a clean, factory look, and there’s no better way to do than with actual Porsche parts. The front speakers were replaced with Audiofrog GS40 speakers and Audiofrog GS10 tweeters, and rear speakers were replaced with Audiofrog GS42 speakers. These speakers are designed for, and made to fit Porsche and VW. This keeps with the factory look and feel that I want as it doesn’t require cutting anything to make them fit.

The door speakers were replaced with Kicker CompRT subwoofers. This gives some powerful bass to the system without being stupid or obnoxious. All the speakers, tweeters and subwoofers are going through an Audiofrog GS410C crossover and an Audison AP8.9 bit amp. All in all, I have a stereo that looks factory but sounds absolutely amazing.

I’ve been enjoying it too! Now that I can actually hear music in my car, it’s really nice to have it on those days I’m just using the 996 as a commuter. When I go out on drives and other car events, I just turn it off. It’s the best of both worlds! I can listen to music from bands, and I can listen to the music of that exhaust note.

Aside from all the stereo nonsense, there was also some rearranging that needed to be take place. Porsche, in their infinite wisdom, thought the best place for cupholders (that can’t really hold cups) was directly under the vents, while the climate control unit should be at the very bottom in front of the shifter. This just doesn’t work. I relocated the climate control unit up top, where it should be, lost the pointless cupholders, and added to shelves (a much needed accoutrement as this car has no glove box).

It’s also a relief for my eyes. The Clarion stereo was just plain hideous. It didn’t go with the car at all, as you can see above in the “before” picture on the left. It’s also safer, as now I don’t have to look down at the floor when I need to adjust the air or heat.

I had to look at this every single time I drove the car. I think that was the part that annoyed me the most. It was hard to enjoy the car with that blight upon perfection staring me in the face. The “after” picture above on the right is what I see now. However, the old stereo wasn’t the only eyesore in the car.

The leather on the dashboard had shrunk and was pulling away, resulting in some rather noticeable wrinkles and exposed inner dashboard lining. The “before” picture above, left, is what it used to look like. I had that resolved, and now the dashboard is back to looking and fitting the way it should. Just look at the “after” picture above, right. No more eyesores for this car!