How hard is it to swap out the ECU in a 996TT? If the car goes in to the dealer for service will they be able to tell that the the upgraded ECU has been swapped back to the stock ECU? Is it true that you can't use an ECU from one car on another? Sorry for the noob questions but the 996TT has only been in my possession for a week. Thanks.

Ignacio

 

Ignacio, not hard to remove ECU but it is easier to take the car to a local tuner who can flash thru the OBD2 port. ImagineAuto.com has a nice step by step ECU removal pictorial. As for the dealer finding the flash, I have an EVO stage 2 flash and it has been at the dealer for several warranty issues and they haven't found it yet. To be perfectly honest. a good relationship with your local dealer is key. They will help you or hang you on warranty issues. Some are mod friendly, some are definately not! Good luck, Kevin

 

KPG: I didn't buy the car from the local dealer so I have a feeling that they will be a pain in my a$$ if and when I have to take the car in for warranty work. This is just a feeling though.

 

I would check with people locally that have dealt with that dealer and try to get some feedback. I did not buy my car from my local dealer and they have been great. The Porsche tech told me he saw the diverter valves and gave a wink and a nod. The other dealer near my house made it clear that aftermarket anything will be a serious issue. You never know. Kevin

 

You can flash the ECU back to stock for service with a handheld programmer you can buy for a few hundred and then falsh back to chipped whenever you want.

Much better solution than removing the ECU over and over....

 

The dealer will not pick up on the ecu program if you take it in for an oil service or a brake service. They won't have reason to waste in finding out how much boost the car makes. However, this could throw a red flag if there are any check engine or lights flashing causing them to due further investigation. Therefore if the car is running well and is only there for straght forward servicing I would feel confident that you won't have any problems. Good luck.

 

Up On 3 Racing: I don't know if I would take the car to the dealer for regular service since it isn't covered. There is a good independent shop that I rather use. Will using an independent shop for service work void the warranty?

The car would probably only go to a dealer for warranty work. I am just worried that the dealer will bust me and void the warranty. Heck that's why I moved from a 993TT to a 996TT.

 

Even with a hand held programmer the dealer could find that the ECU has been played with if they realy wanted to.

Neil

 

Yes, Neil is correct...although they do need to know what to look for (and be smart enough to find it). There are some that are better than others for undetectability (like those that are actual Bosch code vs. multipliers).