It's been a month since I picked up my 997.1 Turbo and I'm absolutely in love with it. It came with a full GMG exhaust and I could not be happier with the aggressive sound. I may do the y-pipe and plenum at some point but am undecided. I'm looking to upgrade the intercoolers and tune it in the near future and plan to stop there.

My friend Mike (MIKELLY) has suggested that I go for 997.2 intercoolers as they are the biggest bang for the buck that fit as-is. I plan on stopping by TPC and checking them out as well.

As far as the tune goes I'm up in the air. I'm strongly considering GIAC as that is what GMG seems to push. My favorite trusted shop (New German Performance) is an APR shop. Both GIAC and APR state they will get me in the ~550hp range. Another local shop uses Softronic and told me I could expect to get into the 650hp range.

My question is this: have any of these software packages proven to be better than the other? They are all roughly in the same price range and while Softronic promises roughly 100hp more is that a "safe" realistic goal? I am also curious at what point I need to upgrade the stock clutch.

Any/all opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a great new year!

 

Check out Protomotive and get your tune dialed in from one of best in the business. Plus if you ever decide to go bigger, he would be right there with you. No need to remove your ECU, flashed via OBDII port. You can custom tune on the street.

 

Agreed. I got a 100 octane tune from Protomotive/911 Tuning and couldn't be happier. No dyno numbers yet, but an enormous difference in the feel and power of the car. With the Durametric and data logging/fine tuning capabilities, its the way to go. There has some been some pretty big builds done with the Proto's tuning. I researched my options quite extensively and ended up going with them. A TCU tune from them is next.

 

I have the APR tune and I'm pretty happy with it. With that being said, if you're planning on doing mods in the future in addition to the exhaust then you might want to consider a tuner that will offer custom tuning.

 

Yeah, Markski's (911Tuning) a great guy too. 24/7 on-call service--lol. Can't beat that combo.

 

Virtually any tune takes you into the vicinity of 600 hp. Yes, you will need a clutch in short order. Depends on how you like to take hard pulls in the big gears. Plan on the standard 2.5 Sachs clutch package though. The stock pressure plate simply will not handle the added power. Others have tried to tell me that even the stock clutch is a maintenance item that doesn't last even 40k. (I don't have the experience on that one, but find it hard to believe.)

 

Is it possible for some one to post dyno links to see how the power is delivered with these various tunes?

 

What I've gleaned from the various posts I've read on this subject is that the stock clutch should be able to handle ~600 hp without issue. It isn't until you start pushing 650-700hp+ where you really need to upgrade the clutch.

anyone with more experience confirm this?

thanks
Art

 

What I've read is that the stock clutch won't be good for long after you tune the car.

 

Emre@esmotor ftw

 

Softronic tune and a Sachs 764 clutch

 

I have Giac and love it
I believe all the reputable ones are basically similar so go with whatever shop you trust the most should you have an issue
I've never heard someone who hated their tune when it was one of the main players

My clutch is still fine but many need an upgrade

 

Protomotive - started with just the tune then a custom tune when I got the bigger vtgs. And it didn't break the bank to get the custom tune. You just datalog in durametric and the "standard" tune is tweaked.

 

Hi, first I should mention that all 3 companies you mentioned (APR, GIAC, Softtronic) have had good to outstanding reputation. GIAC is among the most popular and has been around the longest, the facility is fantastic and the head engineer (the G of GIAC, Berkeley graduate - go Bears! - and board certified in healthcare btw but has been tuning since the late 80's, starting with the Porsche 959) runs a first class engineering concern. I was there during the tuning of my car and came away impressed and convinced of the quality and safety of their tuning. The brain behind Softronic, Scott Slauson, is another very knowledgeable and experienced engineer who does work for/with Porsche, the company itself, in some capacity. APR I do not know much about but it seems like owners have been happy. There is some odd reading of the boost pressure (max out at 15? anyone pls correct as needed) but this doesn't affect the tune. Btw, APR and GIAC are the only 2 tunes on the market that allow you to switch back and forth between stock and tune to compare. YMMV but for me this is critical for my peace of mind.

You've asked for opinions regarding dyno numbers and how to compare tunes, since biased and speculative opinions were not prohibited, here are mines. And yes the fact that I only have humble stage 2 does nothing to limit these opinions LOL. Kidding aside, any expert pls correct me as needed.

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https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...uned-giac.html
3. How to evaluate a tune.
A. Objectively:
1. Dyno horsepower numbers and graphs. Once upon a time (and nowadays in private testing and custom tunes by professional tuners), the dyno meant something. These days, this parameter has been so maligned and so manipulated that my advice to you is, *IGNORE* it. A tuner could alter the parameters of the dyno and give any horsepower number that your heart desires. The horsepower number game is just that, a game, used mainly for advertisement. This is why my opinion is to ignore advertised hp figures, and even those pretty graphs on the web sites. FWIW, a stage 2 tune generally gains about 10%; if anyone claims more than this, then your questions would be, one, is it real, and two, are they doing harms to the car by giving so much horsepower to a car without modified intercooler.
2. Times using VBox, most notably 1/4 mile and 60-130: This has become rightfully the de-facto standard for evaluating a tune because of the shenanigans with horsepower numbers mentioned in A above. And *the* place for monitoring ultra high power mods for tunes are kept at 6speed 996TT forum by MBailey: 6speedonline's official 1/4 Mile, 60-130, 100-150 and Standing Mile thread . This is where giants play and I don't venture there :-). Note that my observation has been that time improvements seem much easier proven for higher power applications than for the lower stages, such as stage 2. For my car with stage 2, a considerable and obvious subjective improvement is enough, for me anyway.
3. Times around a track, truly the bottom line as this measures both low end and high end, in curves and on the straights, IOW real world testing. Unfortunately, this kind of comparison because of its complexity and professional drivers' skills required, is unlikely ever done in a hobby forum like this.
B. Subjectively:
This is a personal evaluation and there is no doubt that even with a humble stage 2 tune like mine, you should be able to **easily** feel less lag and more power (if you don't, there is something wrong), and how linear that power delivery is. For example I have had two different tunes in my car and of the 2, the GIAC tune is the more linear one. (This is why I love the idea of a tune that allows you to go back to stock with a switch of a button: the ability to evaluate long term and to make sure there is nothing wrong with the car.)