...well thats the whole point really. I mean a good tune will accommodate for any person (skilled or otherwise) at any given track day driving the pants out of his car without having any issues. That's the beauty of the stock file and certain other specialist customised tunes that can accommodate for the engine in a variety of climates and operating conditions, whether they be sustained or breif. Let's be clear here, I'm not condemming any company Chris but i'm not going to kid myself either into believeing every solitary tune that's out there is up to the task of a track day environment. If you're comfortable racing your car around the track with a 2K flash tune then that's your call and, perfectly fine by me. Your car, your engine.

My understanding where FVD is concerned it represents value for the money asked. You get a durametric cable and sometimes even a BMC filter thrown in, so for the $ you can't knock that. But every user has different expectations and i'm personally not convinced that tune can fill all shoes given user experiences i am personally aware of....that's just me, and everyone is entitled their their own opinion and/or belief whether it sits well with the fans or the vendor.

Frankly the stock file is all you'll ever need for the track anyway if that's any consolation... The car is more than fast enough/competitive with the stock file and it can be flashed to and fro easily with the right kit on hand.

Btw that user is no track newbie either. No need to for me to name him nor confirm the tune. Anyway he ate the 2k tune and was looking at a custom Giac, Evoms, Proto etc.. the last time I spoke with him. He said numbers were no longer of interest now and just wanted reliability and driveabilty first and foremost. If you like i can contact him and ask how he made out.....what he ended up with.

 

No sure how I'm being contradictory here. The OP's original comment suggested that because he was buying the tune from a Porsche dealership they would cover the cost of any warranty repairs that would otherwise be denied. I'm not making any suggestions about the FVD tune, which I don't have much experience with. I was simply saying that unless his dealership was willing to offer that "coverage" in writing, I would assume it doesn't exist. Sales guys will often say anything just to get a sale but completely deny their "promises" when they're faced with the prospect of covering your repair cost.

And to your second point... yes, I have seen it another way...right here:
http://championmotorsportonline.com/...yagreement.pdf

This is what you do when you have total confidence in the product you're selling.

 

Actually, I do have a custom FVD tune, they tailor it to your exact combo, usage etc, not really 'off the shelf', they just don't rape you on the price. I had many a conversation with Florian, their head tech before settling on a perfect, safe tune.
I'm not trying to run interference for FVD, if they had a crappy product I'd have the stones to say so. But, to condemn a company based on hersay, is not something I'd be comfortable doing. If your friend had an issue with FVD he should really say so himself for the benefit of others, one thing about the internet, you can't hide bad news, bilstein is a great example. I think one would see many failures as they've sold hundreds worldwide. I, personally, know of none.
The OP was contemplating a dealer installed flash from FVD, my only comment would be that it sounds good, but nobody (champion, proto, giac, fvd, etc) implies your warranty is unaffected by mods.

 

ummm....not entirely true.. See my post right above yours. We offer a warranty that covers your car for the entire length of your Porsche warranty. And it's in writing so we can't deny it.

 

If what you are saying is true. Then I would concluded GIAC is a "safe" tune...

 

Tom,
My impression was that the porsche factory warranty would be in question with the mods, not the additional (very good one) warranty that you guys offer
c

 

Garrett Lim has stated that he leaves the ECUU safeties intact and does not program them out.

 

I understand ECU safety features are intact with many tuning companies however I would not want them to interfere when pushing the car on the track... I think that is total BS

 

You will say differently when the numbed knock sensors blow your motor. We've seen it happen many times before. If you want to run your car safely on the track without the OEM ECU safeties interfering, the solution is to run a high grade of fuel, good intercoolers and an upgraded oil cooler. The solution is not to take out the OEM safeties.

 

Yes I agree with you, OEM Safety measures are important. However I do not want them to come into play every time the car is ran hard at the track... because of a tune.


If a tune is going to trigger ecu to use safety measures when ran hard... Something needs to be done, either not as aggressive tune, high flow exhaust, upgraded intercoolers, ETC. However one cannot simply upload a file into a ECU and be lied into thinking everything is fine... when it actually isnt... (Not pointing any fingers) however how is a consumer supposed to know their car is running perfectly on the track? And how is a consumer supposed to decide on a tune other then word of mouth and promises?

 

A properly calibrated tune will account for a given set of hardware. As long as the user follows the proper hardware recommendations, the ECU should not need to take performance-inhibiting corrective measures. The problem comes when users don't use recommended octane fuels, have broken hardware or poorly designed hardware.

I can't speak for every company, but I imagine that most companies don't want to sell an overly aggressive off the shelf file. Besides the liability involved, the ECU will nearly always over-correct. As such, you would have made more power tuning less aggressively than tuning aggressively only to have the ECU correct. If you start numbing the factory safeties, it becomes a different story with a whole new set of problems.

 

Hope I live close to Champiopn.

 

Are you aware that the stock ECU programming is constantly activating safeties? Go log a 997TT at Road America on a hit summer day, and look at what the ECU will due to the boost after a DE session. The safeties are ALWAYS active.

 

So important he said it twice!! Ill take safety any day over a little more power, $28k to $40k for a motor is a hard pill to swallow....

I spoke with Rhonda @ FVD today, super nice lady. I think she convinced me to use FVD. I really like the adaptive tune and the fact that zero safeties are removed. I also love that pretty much every comment that I have seen about FVD included "Great customer support".

I appreciate all the data that everyone is giving. This is still a hard decision.

 

Double post..... 1 demerit.