With or without the box, I have concluded that wind direction has a lot to do with Cayenne fuel economy. I don't know how the Cayenne coefficient of drag (CD) number compares to like SUVs. 40 inches of tire width alone must make a meaningful contribution to the drag. But despite all the esthetic curves, the Cayenne's 0.36 CD is higher than many previous cars I've owned. I once had a Citroen BX Estate that was all edges and corners, yet yielded an impressive 0.29 CD. I mention drag, because I make frequent 200 mile round trips to Nashville; combined residential, metro, two lane blacktop, and freeway. Fuel consumption swings significantly (between 31.3 and 35.5), with no meaningful differences in driving conditions other than wind direction. Not a profound conclusion, but it demonstrates how Cayenne mpg can be measurably helped or hindered by something as innocuous as wind direction.

In other news, I make a short (35 mile) trip with Map 6 yesterday. The flatter torque curve didn't deliver the response I was expecting, and the mileage drop was noticeable (as compared to Map 7). But rather than rush to judgment, I'm going to give it at least to the next fillup before finalizing an opinion. Map 5 will be next. But as previously stated, I have a feeling I'll be ending up back in Map 7.

//greg//

 

Heh. That's the most frustrating part for me. I'm the type that doesn't like to wait and the combination of great fuel consumption, the hole in the world that Porsche calls a gas tank, and my measly ~150 mile weekly average means the last two tanks have taken a bit over a month to get through. I suppose it's a good problem to have though

 

So there is one thing I do dislike about the BSP. That is the need to pop the hood, dig out the unit, and take it apart when I want to change the setting. Since that won't be a regular occurrence I also think I'll forget until I'm already on the road. So being a bit of a hack with electronics I contacted them about removing the dip switch and running it into the cabin.

With their permission I'm sharing that they have already been thinking along these lines and a Bluetooth based model is under development which will let you change the Map as well as see "live data" from an Android or iPhone. No ETA at this time, but they expect the Android app first. They will be offering an upgrade option, but there are no details on that at this time.

 

Hello All,

After corresponding with the thread authors and doing a bit of my own research, I ordered the Bluespark Pro w/o boost control. The cost was $ 328.00. It took about 10 days total from payment date to receiving the unit (7 days via post).

The unit came in a non-rigid padded envelope. I had some concern because I felt that this was inadequate to resist bending and shock forces which could damage the unit in transit. The unit itself appeared in fine shape though and the head unit was enveloped in a cuddly fabric sack.

Installation was a snap. The unit was mounted on the plastic trim as per photo using Velcro, which enabled me to manipulate the unit as needed. I cleaned the surfaces with mild solvent prior to affixing Velcro with adhesive backing......The position of the unit enabled convenient access to the screws that removed the end cap for tuning pot access without removing the unit from the Velcro mount. The hood closed without contact with the unit.

I also treated the edges of the removable end caps and the plug with dielectric grease to prevent or slow moisture ingress due to under hood heating and cooling. I live near the ocean, so corrosion is a concern. NOTE: silicone grease is the kiss of death for adhesives, so if you do this do not contaminate surfaces.

I also looked inside the unit. Not much there except for a small circuit board and a small microprocessor. I guess that is where the magic lies.

After perusing the map curves as provided, I decided to go for broke and start with map 7 (the unit was preset to 6). The blue colored curve as provided by Bluespark and shown in this thread exhibits the absolute broadest torque curve out to almost 4000 RPM, in contrast to stock, which really plummets after 2800 RPM (see Porsche data). Map 7 has the 4th highest peak power of the 9 maps, but is still close to the others above it....


Map 7 short version: I was stunned by the acceleration and new aggressive nature of the motor that extended to 4000 RPM or so. The seat of the pants dyno on the flats and up hills did indeed track with the torque curve data provided by Bluespark. This setting gives the vehicle significantly improved passing ability and acceleration over a wide swath of RPM and improved the passing ability dramatically from 65 mph plus. The motor also took on a different timbre which was pleasing in nature and definitely noticeable.


I then switched to map 5. This was frankly a big yawner after 7. Perhaps I should of started with 5. Whatever the case, map 5 was reasonable, but reminded me of stock (zero setting) in comparison to 7.
I went back to the beginning of my test loop and switched to map 6. Map 6 exhibited a significant seat of the pants improvement over 5, which is consistent with the curves provided. Bluespark claims that Map 6 yields the best balance of power and economy. I did not test economy, but indeed found the power and torque to be a significant improvement over stock, and did not display the off the cliff drop at 2800 RPM.


Conclusion: this was a qualitative seat of the pants dyno test of 4 maps on a test loop featuring flats and hills. Maps 0 (stock), 5, 6, and 7 were tested. Map 7 was the most fun and the vehicle became much more sporty in nature over the broadest RPM range. This will likely hurt economy as it is more tempting to accelerate and drive aggressively. I left the setting on Map 7 and will put some miles on it to see the longer term effects on fuel economy. I suspect that I will settle on Map 6 and leave it there, as it seems to be a detuned version of Map 7 that is more tractable. Finally, I was very skeptical initially, but I am now a believer. This product does tune the torque and power bands of the vehicle in a positive fashion. I suggest to the manufacturer that they should ship the unit in sturdier packaging to prevent any chance of product damage in transit.

 

Congrats. Sounds like you are well on your way to enjoying it.

Even UPS drivers aren't likely to submit it to the kind of abuse it will see under your hood.

Nice spot. Mine is loose under where yours sits. I might have to consider moving it.

What I've found is that you have to know how to drive it to get the best economy. Just like a Hybrid. On 8 I found it very easy to adapt my style and getting great (for me) milage, but on 6 I could just never get consistent results and the overall tank suffered (compared to 8, it was still better than stock). Getting on it will indeed drop the economy, but in my experience so far you are still better off than doing the same without the BSP (so you'll get 14 instead of 12 ).

Be interesting to see if that is what you ultimately do. Both Greg and I seem to have decided that 6 is no good for us and have settled on 7 and 8 respectively.

If you want a real kick in the shorts, try 9 I don't think it's good for every day driving, but holy crap is that a kick before the torque starts dropping!

Indeed. I knew to believe the potential power gains as I looked into this type of stuff when I was considering a BMW 135, but I was skeptical of the economy gains while still getting the power (all the BMW tunes seem to be either or). It's definitely in the running for "best money spent".

 

Hello Gnat

Thanks for the comments. I am looking forward to more experiments, and I will be trying 8 and 9!

Caveat Re mounting: the unit sits in that niche on top quite well. However, I am unsure how well protected it is from water vs under the trim where you put yours......during washings and the like.

 

Since I don't believe in washing cars I should be OK then

You previous post got me curious and I built a rough spreadsheet to show the theoretical curves based on the graphs from Porsche and Bluespark.

I've attached a PDF version of it so others can laugh and my late night bad math (OK there is no time of the day that my math is "good"). It's a bit rough as I eyeballed 250 RPM points and some of the significant BSP data points fell in between points. More notable, however, is that the peaks are well above their stated max values. Additionally according to these numbers, the torque curve lasts almost twice as long as the factory map, but my butt dyno doesn't agree.

Really need to get this things on a dyno...

 

I just installed unit and set it at 7 with about a 50% fine tune. At full throttle, I noticed a strange interruption of power at 72mph. It felt like the furl pump momentarily quit. Did you experience that?

 

My guess is that your problem is related to the 50% power setting. Seems rather self-defeating. I think having it only at half power causes your torque to drop off before the horsepower catches up. I cranked mine to 100%, then backed it off just an eyelash (95% maybe?). Try that.

//greg//

 

I set the "volume" control 1/4 turn counter clockwise from 100%.

Never observed any abrupt transitions or hiccups.

I note that I am running the Pro without boost control.

I have observed that map 7 fuel economy is less than stock in mixed town driving than stock. However, driving on the highway with self control, the mileage migrates back up to 30 or more.

 

Thanks for your response. I have the boost control, and have been advised by Grohgreg to turn the fine tuning to 95%. I'll try that to see if it fixes the problem. Bluespark advises to perhaps try Map 5. This is fun -- provided that one of the fixes works!

 

Can't speak for that model. But on mine, there's only a quarter turn between 50% and 100%. I wonder if you're running at or barely above 50%. Try turning full clockwise, then just backing off an eyelash. I've seen over 36 mpg highway like that

//greg//

 

Was there a particular reason you didn't get the Boost Control version?

That's interesting to hear that the BC might make that much of a difference. With the BC both 6 (moderate) and 8 (significant) show improvements over stock for me, but a lot depends on the driving and conditions.

 

Guys,

I will readjust the magnitude pot to a knats *** or eyelash later when the wifey returns.

I went Pro vs +boost because the claimed numbers were the same and the cost was almost 80 bones less.....the CD is a family wagon mostly that I hijack occasionally.

Best

UJ

 

Honestly I went with the BC version because that is what Greg went with. Based on what Greg and I have seen as the long(er) term users their claims for the BC version seem to be pretty close to reality. It will be interesting to follow your data to see if the non-BC unit is equally close.