I am a new member looking for any ideas to improve the performance and sound of my 2007 997 Targa 4 Tiptronic. Although I prefer manuals, this one is a Tiptronic since my wife also drives it . Unfortunately unless you really get on it the car feels sluggish since it reverts to better fuel economy and is boring. I do not get enjoyment out of shifting with the button on the steering wheel. It does not have sport chrono. Does anyone know if the shift patterns can be remapped? Any suggestions for mild performance mods without spending a fortune or voiding the warranty? I had planned on buying an inexpensive track car (ie e36 M3) but am not thinking of enhancing the Porsche instead and trying to find a happy medium.

Cold air intake? Exhaust brands that might work well with tip? Tried searching but still needing suggestions!

 

I believe you can add the Sport software & button feature on your car. Try suncoast for that. I do not know if it does anything to the TCU.

 

If you drive it in "manual" mode you'll always be in 2nd or 3rd (well at least up to around 110MPH) and you'll find yourself in the meaty part of the power curve much more of the time -- not sluggish at all. Of course you can also drop it down to 1 for jumping off the line if that's your bag.

If you want to have some fun, add sound and a bit of power, I'd suggest cats and a Gundo hack to begin.

The only way to noticeably change the mapping on a tip is to drive it like you stole it -- the tranny learns and adopts your style, though that won't work too well if your wife drives it like an old lady.

You can add sport chrono or aftermarket ECU flash but IMO it's a waste of money on that car unless you do more significant intake/exhaust mods and even then don't expect much value.

 

I am looking into the Softronic mapping options. I am referring to the software for use with a laptop. Has anyone with a Tiptronic tried this? Most everything I read seems to be more manuals. What I am hoping for is a sportier driving mode much like if you push the button in a sport chrono car. I do not think they provide a button, but you could change the software anytime.

 

Talk to Scott at Softronic, he might now more about the tip software.

 

Go for the factory sports mode software. It will change the shift pattern, and crisp-up the throttle response. Warranty safe, and she won't even know it's there.

 

Sell it. I kid..... no really.... just joking.

Try the Sport SW. Can't hurt.

 

I have an 06 S with a tip with the Sports Chrono. There is a huge difference between regular and sports mode. It feels like a different car. The normal mode does attempt to optimize fuel economy, although, putting it in sports mode does not make a difference if you drive conservatively. The problem is once you put it in sports mode, you don't want to drive conservatively...

I would strongly recommend getting the factory software. As others have said, the shifts are much more crisp and the car is significantly more responsive.

 

I had a T4S with stick, so didn't suffer from the issues you raise. But I did install a PSE, X51 headers, and sport cats (200 cell) which gave it a great sound.

 

Thanks for the valuable input!

Anyone know anything about this company? I called them and they seem competent. Not sure if it is any different than the ECU flash the other companies sell.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHIP-TUNING-...04339479625467

 

It looks a little scary to me, especially being on eBay. And, they don't include 997 models in their description.

 

Why would you look for your software uprages on ebay? Just contact some forum sponsors here who have good feedback on their SW products.