Cell phone storage solutions ...

[CincyJohn]

first, let me say that I am actually even more impressed with the upgrades provided by the Gen 2 over the Gen 1 than I thought I would be. As for the motor/power/torque, it now feels legitimately "quick" especially if you get the revs/gear just right in second and third. Getting close to feeling like my old 2007 twin turbo 335 coupe. I also feel like almost everything about it that is changed moves it a step away from "boy racer" to legitimate entry level Porsche-feel. I know others will differ, just how it feels to me.

In any event, love that they have an actual factory armrest and that they moved the CarPlay phone ports into the armrest. But I HATE that they didn't provide any dedicated options for cell phone placement/storage when hooked up to CarPlay (a simple slot like last Gen would have been PERFECT).

Specifically, I almost always am travelling with the 24 oz Yeti in the first cupholder. It doesn't fit in the door bottle holder so this isn't an option. I also like to have a few small things at very close reach all the time (sunglasses, reading glasses, parking pass). These can go in the bottle holder if necessary but would prefer to use the rear cupholder because it looks cleaner and rattles less. I also have been putting my phone either there or simply putting it on the passenger seat. The problem is that with the slot between the first cupholder and the second cupholder and the cord going from front to back, every time I take my cup out of the first cupholder, everything gets tangled/messy/needs to be messed with.

I have a few ideas for do-it-yourself solutions. Just wondered if anyone else is in my situation and has already resolved these issues. Any suggestions appreciated.

FYI, one solution that would take care of everything (although not elegantly) would be to put something soft/felt at the bottom of the second cupholder (so nothing rattles), use black duct tape to close off the slot between the two cupholders, and route the USB cable around the first cupholder to the second cupholder and affix it against the edges of the armrest, once again using black duct tape.

[Yoshoobaroo]

I’ve been thinking about printing an insert, but I haven’t made my mind up about it. Mostly because all my ideas completely obliterate the cup holders.

My original idea was to use a wireless CarPlay receiver in the armrest, and a wireless charging slot in the glove box. But the wireless receiver are all crap. I’ve tried 3 and none of them stay connected for a 3 hour drive. 2 of them barely ever made it over half an hour before disconnecting.

Side note: I miss my 2007 335i coupe. Yes it’s a tank compared to the BRZ and the open diff sucked and it was expensive to maintain. But that engine and the modern interpretation of 90s bmw styling, ugh. It was a very good package, with much more personality than the current (objectively arguably much better) BMWs.

[joemysterio]

I bought this so a passenger can store their phone. I started using it on my side out of curiosity to see how it goes and it's been fine and I've felt no interference in my driving.

https://www.amazon.com/Organizer-Poc...dp/B07NQD5D3C/

[timurrrr]

I'm thinking about creating a pocket I can hang on the back of the passenger seat, roughly where gen1 cars had a pocket.

[CincyJohn]

Originally Posted by joemysterio

I bought this so a passenger can store their phone. I started using it on my side out of curiosity to see how it goes and it's been fine and I've felt no interference in my driving.

That looks like a pretty good solution. Certainly worth a try.

[joemysterio]

Originally Posted by CincyJohn

That looks like a pretty good solution. Certainly worth a try.

It's not too expensive so worth a try. So far it's working for me.

[Spektyr]

Originally Posted by Yoshoobaroo

I’ve been thinking about printing an insert, but I haven’t made my mind up about it. Mostly because all my ideas completely obliterate the cup holders.

I've been kicking around this idea as well, but haven't gone far enough to actually take apart the console to get measurements of the part inside. (Actually considered just buying that plastic cupholder piece so I could measure it without taking my car apart until I had something printed.)

I was thinking that it should be possible to use some of the (I assume) dead space forward of the current USB ports to move those ports out of the way more. They'd be harder to access, but I don't need to plug/unplug stuff on a regular basis. Then, with a little bit of extra room there, a phone slot at the front could probably be added. I'm also looking for a better place to put my garage door opener. I may just get the expensive rear-view mirror option, but for the time being I have it velcroed right under the USB ports and that works fairly well. It'd be pretty trivial to just build it into the cupholder - take the innards out of the remote and just build them into the new insert.

Originally Posted by Yoshoobaroo

My original idea was to use a wireless CarPlay receiver in the armrest, and a wireless charging slot in the glove box. But the wireless receiver are all crap. I’ve tried 3 and none of them stay connected for a 3 hour drive. 2 of them barely ever made it over half an hour before disconnecting.

Does that include the Motorola MA1? That's the only one I've seen that actually looks like it's not utter garbage, but it's also hard to find in stock anywhere.

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

Does that include the Motorola MA1? That's the only one I've seen that actually looks like it's not utter garbage, but it's also hard to find in stock anywhere.

No, the Motorola only does Android auto I think.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

I'm also looking for a better place to put my garage door opener. I may just get the expensive rear-view mirror option, but for the time being I have it velcroed right under the USB ports and that works fairly well. It'd be pretty trivial to just build it into the cupholder - take the innards out of the remote and just build them into the new insert.

If you want an alternative garage door opener, how about one that takes up no room? "Flash2Pass" hooks into your headlights and you flash your high beams to open your garage door. I've not installed it on a car but have used it on motorcycles and it works great.

[Yoshoobaroo]

Honestly the mirror is worth it for the auto dimming alone. It’s pretty much mandatory here in Florida when I drive among all the pavement princesses. The homelink is a bonus at that point.

[CincyJohn]

Follow-up question. On my Gen1, when my Apple phone was plugged in, hitting the voice button on the stereo ALWAYS called up Siri (most importantly, for making calls). In the GEN2, it always defaults to the crappy in-car voice recognition which is close to useless. I looked in the settings to see if there was some default to CarPlay setting for phone but didn't see anything obvious. Any help here would be appreciated.

[Spektyr]

Originally Posted by CincyJohn

Follow-up question. On my Gen1, when my Apple phone was plugged in, hitting the voice button on the stereo ALWAYS called up Siri (most importantly, for making calls). In the GEN2, it always defaults to the crappy in-car voice recognition which is close to useless. I looked in the settings to see if there was some default to CarPlay setting for phone but didn't see anything obvious. Any help here would be appreciated.

On my wife's Honda, and Android Auto, you press/release to use the useless car voice assistant (seriously, why do auto manufacturers even pretend those things are useful?) and press-and-hold to access the Google Assistant.

I don't roll with Apple so I don't know how it works on their stuff, but that'd be my first guess.

[CincyJohn]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

On my wife's Honda, and Android Auto, you press/release to use the useless car voice assistant (seriously, why do auto manufacturers even pretend those things are useful?) and press-and-hold to access the Google Assistant.

I don't roll with Apple so I don't know how it works on their stuff, but that'd be my first guess.

Thanks - will try. Would love to make it default so as long as the phone is plugged in, it goes straight to Siri.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

...you press/release to use the useless car voice assistant (seriously, why do auto manufacturers even pretend those things are useful?) and press-and-hold to access the Google Assistant.

The in-car assistance built into the 2014 model year Pioneer I have in my 2013 works really well. I was surprised how well it works. I use it all the time, including for navigation.