Jinster

I got sick of not having cupholders in my Boxster. So I set out to find some. The options seemed to be OEM cupholders, either the clip on type, or the single DIN type. And we all know the problems with those - not secure enough fit, not accommodating large cups, etc. Also, the DIN type takes up an entire vertical DIN slot, making fitting double DIN GPS impossible. Other solutions seem to be to use a cutout for cups in the centre console box - which means the lid needs to stay open; and "ultimate cupholder" - which doesn't look OEM at all. So I was searching for generic cupholders on Ebay, and found this: http://cgi.ebay.com....=item439b780b6e And from a seller, the dimensions are: 7 7/16" long by 1" just the cover lid, assembly is 7" x 4 3/4" The width is as close to OEM fit for the Boxster as it gets, for a non-Porsche part! So I bought it. Realising that late model VWs like Passat and Jetta has the same console width as our Boxster, I then bought this: http://cgi.ebay.com....=item3ca672b7af It's entirely possible that other units like this http://cgi.ebay.com....=item3356ef534c would also fit. And before you start, get a rotary tool (like a Dremel). It's an absolute god send! Made things so easy. Here is the unit: Compared to another double DIN unit I originally planned for the mod: The difference is the newer one has a hi res screen. I actually rather liked the volume knob on the low res one. I put the cupholder and GPS unit together, with double sided tape, like this: You can also mount the cupholder on top, like this: I chose to go with the bottom fit, because I don't really like cups placed that high, and the bottom fit actually takes up a few mm less in height, which gives a better fit in the horseshoe frame. Speaking of frame, it's cut up, like this: There was a lip on the inner aspect of the lower border, this was cut to make room to increase the height. This, together with some slight sanding of the bottom of the cupholder was all that's required to make the height of the combo fit just right. Incredibly lucky! Note, you must get rid of the lower lip much as you can. Or the cupholder would be clamped too tight between the frame and the GPS, and it doesn't open when clamped tight. In the above picture, you can see I turned the OEM metal bracket around. This was necessary as the cupholder doesn't extend as deep as the OEM stereo, so the bracket support needs to come forward. You need to drill a hole in the original bracket to allow this. The reason will be very apparent when you actually do this. Here is a close up of the reversed bracket: The GPS antenna is simply placed near the alarm cover. Remove the alarm cover first, thread the GPS wire through, then just fish for it through the horseshoe frame. No need to remove anything else to place the GPS antenna. The thick wire attached to the GPS wire is the loom for my Head-Up-Display (another mod, for another day) :) The rest of the wiring here, with the unit ready to be pushed in: Here is the test fit: You can see that I will need a "n" shaped bezel to fill out the gap. This was obtained by modifying the Passat bezel that came with the GPS. The width is an exact fit, just like the cupholder (maybe 1mm longer, but I just left it). So I just sanded down the top border of the frame. And cut off the bottom border. I don't have a picture with the bottom border removed, only with the thinned top border: Press it in, it's a snug fit, not even sticky taped. And voooowwlaahhh!!!! OEM look!! From afar: With cupholder open: With a large "cup": In summary, get a genuine Jetta cupholder and an aftermarket Passat double DIN GPS! (not affliated with the seller/s, I promise) :)