Just wanted to share the results of a wholly amateur and only very slightly scientific experiment I conducted about the effects of a Softronic flash on my 2010 Boxster S.

I took the car on a long motorway drive at night before the flash was carried out and reset the mpg meter before driving for 30 minutes on as constant a throttle as I could manage at 70mph, which equates to 2,000 rpm in 7th (PDK) gear. The car returned in the region of 35mpg (I actually did it twice, and once it was 34.5 and once 35.5).

After the flash I did the same thing again. Conditions were not identical. It was a different road in in the day rather than at night, so there were more changes in speed (which would increase consumption) but a slightly lower average speed overall (which would reduce it). The car did 39.7 mpg in the one half-hour run I did. This tallies with how the car feels (needing less throttle for the same result) and seems to say good things about the tune.

Before anyone gets too excited, I should add that I also had an IPD competition plenum and larger throttle body installed between the two runs (sorry science - one can't have everything), but I haven't heard about a plenum affecting fuel consumption.

Now time for some sums:

The car gives approximately 5 mpg extra post-Softronic.

1 gallon of super-unleaded is 4.55 litres at £1.48 a litre = £6.73.

This means that 40 miles costs £6.73 in fuel

Pre-Softronic, for the same money, you'd go 35 miles, so 40 miles would cost you 40/35 x £6.73 = £7.69, so you save 96p per 40 miles.

The Softronic product for a DFI Boxster costs 1200USD + 100 for the cable = 1300 USD, divided by 1.6 = £812

Accordingly, once you have driven 812/.96 x 40 = 33,833 miles (at exactly 70 mph of course), the flash will have paid for itself!

What are we waiting for people?!

 

i believe the theory of less mpgs = more fun or as the revs increase so do the grin factor

 

Didn't buy a Porsche to save gas.

 

Neither did I. My point was that you can improve performance and reduce running costs at the same time, which is surely a good thing, no?

 

Hard to believe in this day/age of concerns about fuel economy and CO2 with such big sums of money at the risk that Porsche leaves 5mpg on the table that some indy tuner can just walk in and pick up.

I therefore have to doubt the accuracy of your testing.

Sorry, but I think your testing needs some better testing discipline behind it.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Sorry - can only say what I did. I have authored a couple of scientific papers in the distant past and know this in no way qualifies as a significant result as it has a sample size of exactly 1 and was non-blind (I knew when the car had been tuned and when it hadn't), but I'd be interested if anyone else has had a similar experience.

For what it's worth I a) did not have the mpg meter visible while I was driving and
b) was surprised sh*tless

Porsche do seem to have left quite a few things 'on the table' that modding the cars can pick up otherwise nobody would do it so I don't see that fuel consumption would be impossible to affect...

 

bottom line is you are happy with the car