In the past, with many of my BMWs and 'S' Audis, I would simply swap in a Conforti chip (for a BMW) or ship out the ECU on the Audis for an upgrade, based on certain mods, and hope for the best. I never really got to the point of dyno tuning any of my cars to maximize the specific mods on the car. I have spoken with a shop that has suggested I go the GIAC upgrade method with some additional tuning to maximize results. They stated that true dyno tuning would be cost prohibitive compared to the GIAC route. So, basic question is; what have all of you done to maximize your mods/results when it comes to the ECU? Flash and hope for the best or have some of you taken it a step or 2 further? I have the typical mods, so there may be a GIAC flash upgrade that already takes into account everything I have. Just curious what everyone here has done and how successful you think your route was. I know I'm wasting my mods without a proper flash/tune.

If anyone is in the Dallas area, what shop did you use and what was the extent of your tuning with that shop? RAC is right down the road from where I work and I plan on speaking with them also.

My mods consist of:
X51 headers
Fabspeed X-pipe 200 sport cats
Carpgraphic sport cans
Evo CAI

Thanks.

 

wow. no one is 'tuning/flashing' the ECU to maximize intake and exhaust mods? for all the people on this site that have exhaust and intake mods - are you just adding these for the sound improvement/increase and the purported power increase?

 

I have x-51 intake, TB, plenum, fabspeed headers and 200 cell sport cats and must admit the soft tonic tune worked great to maximize performance. I take my car to RAC as well and Hans has driven my car (last week) if you'd like to talk to him about it.

 

Didn't mention your use case, but I feel the best mods for the money are (in descending order of importance)
1) driver
2) tires
3) suspension
From a track/autox perspective

 

you're correct, i didn't. my question was based on optimizing multiple exhaust/intake upgrades for the best possible result - whether that be street, auto-x or track.

so you know, my experience is this:
Previous SCCA and BMW CCA racing licenses
Track instructor for BSR, Mazda Club, Mercedes Club
10+ years experience in auto-x w/ SCCA & BMW CCA (BMW championships)
Autox instructor for BMW CCA
Years of R-compound and adjustable suspension tuning experience

not sure why one would require the other, but i understand your suggestion.

 

I have the following engine mods on my 997 C2: AH mufflers,Borla Headers, HJS 200Cel Cats, X51 airbox w/ BMC filters, IPD plenum, RSS pulley, Aasco Lightweight flywheel and a Sachs stage 2 clutch. After installing all of these mods I had Evolution Motorsports tune the ECU http://evomsit.com/ The guys at Sharkwerks and RSS swear by them and those guys in my opinion are the masters of their craft when it comes to Porsche tuning. http://www.sharkwerks.com/products.php?pid=150.
I told them what modifications I had and they tuned the ECU on their computer to cater to my vehicle. Drove it immediately after the process and power delivery was noticeably different. It wasn't a "I think it's faster; it feels like it may be quicker" etc. It was definitively different. Before the tune there was a flat spot in the sub-2k rpm range where power would bog down when I pressed down hard on the accelerator, and when I tried it after the tune it was gone; power delivery had become linear and the car just spun its tires. The guys visually showed me on their mapping where that flat spot was on the factory ecu tune. Definitely something to do after you have installed all the exhaust/intake mods to tie everything up.

 

Proper driving instruction.

 

how is this relevant??

does everyone just like to suggest driving instruction for others they assume have never set foot on a track or worn a driver's suit, balaclava and helmet?

i thought there would have people here with real tuning suggestions...

 

These are dumb posts and not relevant to this thread. Anytime someone posts something about improving performance a handful of you post this crap. How do you know the op is not a professional driver???

Sorry for the rant. It's just getting annoying.

 

I am very curious about the OP's questions as well. i have always been leery of intake/exhaust upgrades for the purpose of performance gains. Aural gains, yes, and sound is very relevant, but my sense has always been that there is little that can be done to a normally aspirated car to increase performance substantially. What about the effect of a tune on a stock car, for example? Softronic claims 20 or so HP on a stock 3.6 997, which seems high. Do the headers, plenum, sport cats, sport cans, and an ECU tune all add up to an additional 40-50 HP as one might be led to believe from their literature? Sounds like too much to believe, and that the better route would be to go for a supercharger and get serious power for not a great deal more money... We seem to need some independent reports on these claims to make an informed decision.

 

Totally legit question. I have been driving my 2006 9114S for about a year. It's my daily driver, and really my only practical (!) vehicle. As of now, it's stock.

As per Tqevo, certain mods are definitely better for different applications, - although I track my car, it's main function is to get me to work and back, so I don't want anything too extreme in terms of sound or suspension. That's a totally different POV than if this were my toy/track car.

Possible Options:

1. Exhaust bypass
2. Completely new exhaust and/ or headers
3. Lowering springs
4. Software Flash
5. New Intake and/or Plenum and/or throttle body

What else have people had good success with? This is where a company like Sharkwerks (which is not an option for me) should feel free to chime in. For the OP, taking a look at their site should give you a good idea of the options out there, given the different applications.

And remember, if you don't feed the trolls, they'll eventually starve to death.

 

I think you have hand selected very good quality parts on your vehicle. List looks great. I see you are stock ECU. Right now, technically the car is not running to its potential with the mods you have. I can say it is running richer.

I would suggest IPD plenum and Evomsit corresponding software. You can do larger throttle body at the same time.

Given the fact that you have done the suggested mods:

*Your throttle response will increase vastly.
*You will definitely feel the difference in power.
*Power and torque will come in sooner rpms, and stay flat.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask here, or email. No purchase necessary, I would be more than happy to help.

-Berk

 

@phily - that was a mild rant - no need to apologize. ;-) i agree that this may not be the best forum for actual information. best for posting pics, it seems. thanks for your reply either way. i'll head back to rennlist for some actual related comments...

@brewer - claims you see in articles, ads and online are never without some embellishment - either other upgrades were included, all were tuned together, etc. you also can not pile these numbers on top of each other - as you add upgrades, the returns start to eat into each other, but that's to be expected. what i'm looking for out of a tune is optimization and the best hp/torque curves i can get with the mods i have. can you improve on the factory numbers - absolutely! you have to be willing to flash/tune the ecu to take into account the mods from a generic standpoint or tune the car specifically for how it is currently running with said mods. as stated, under most cases, losses can actually be found unless you remap the ecu.

@1000 - i'll try to remember not to feed the trolls. i guess since i've had significant track time, i can't stand these blanket 'fix the nut behind the wheel' and 'spend some time at a track event' comment. not that it is bad advise, but it literally had nothing to do with the question i asked and i have no idea what experience the poster has - could be FAR LESS than me. give constructive advise or keep the 'nut' comments to yourself - unless someone says "how can i improve my car control and become an overall better driver". now it would apply.

 

I agree, you want to get the most mod for your $$, upgrade to a 911 Turbo or a newer car with more horsepower from the factory.

Besides, those in the know that the best money spent to improve two identical cars on the track is not to add an exhaust, intake, ECU remap, but to (1) learn how to drive from a professional instructor, (2) a great set of tires, and (3) brakes!

 

since the 'people in the know' think this professional instructor thing is the best approach, maybe i should look into that. thanks!!!

what are the best results you've gotten recently from a set of tires and what brand and model do you like best right now? as for pads - what brand do you like best? pagid, ebc, hawk...? what compound is working best for you right now?