4ocious

First let me say that I've never driven a 911 TT with an ECU reflash so what I'm posting here are truly "first impressions" based upon today's FVD re-flash. My 07 TT with 27.5K miles is stock with a Tiptronic transmission.

Prior to purchasing my current TT I owned and occasionally tracked a 2008 MB CLK63 AMG Black Series. That was, and still is, an awesome car that absolutely deserves the performance and handling enthusiast reputation is has rightfully earned. It was crude and raw, a handful to drive, without a doubt 100% fun to own, but you always had to be prepared for its explosive performance when you decided it was WOT time. That said, it's absolutely true what other posters have written about ref-lashing a 997.1 TT, there is no question it unleashes the CLK63 Black Series equivalent "beast" this car was meant to be.

In normal non-sport mode my TT feels like it's in sport mode. Throttle response is improved, my stock exhaust sounds a bit more aggressive and you can "feel" there is a lot more "on demand performance" waiting for you if/when you want it. It drives normally, remains very controllable, shifts correctly, and there were no CEL's or other warning lights.

In sport mode acceleration is awesome, the turbos kick-in earlier, down/up shifts occur sooner, and you'd better be prepared to hit 100+ a lot sooner. But, as noted above there is absolutely no decrease in handling or control, you can really hear the exhaust and you know and feel your TT is a lot faster than before.

Place you TT in sport mode, turn PSM off and, hang on! It's everything above and more. It's a wild beast on steroids!

So, is an FVD ECU re-flash worth it, you bet and more! FVD (Rhonda) and David Green of Green Motorsports made it all happen "the right way" for me and I couldn't be happier. If you're on the ECU re-flash fence right now as I know some of you are, I highly recommend you purchase the FVD re-flash, you'll be very impressed with the results and wonder why you didn't do this sooner. In summary, my CLK63 BS was great, my TT is now even greater! JMO.

UT_farhan

Thanks for the update!

jcnesq

Thank you for the comments! I plan to download the stock s/w tomorrow and then flash mine in a couple days when FVD sends back the new s/w. Can't wait!

Runner

Right on! You did a fantastic job in describing my experience as well after FVD flash. Thanks for your update.

thouliares

I had my 997.1 2008 flashed today by ***** Bombacher himself ! Cars an animal. There is definitely a huge difference between normal and Sport Mode. Sport mode kicks ***! I can't wait to change the exhaust. Im still deciding what sound I want. The FVD flash is what the car needed. ***** was great to work with. Hurry up guys, Valentines Day is coming....

Igooz

4ocious...good stuff! I am always interested in knowing what the new peak boost is after the reflash. Did you happen to look?

GTRNICK

The car guage only reads upto 1.2bar.

In sport mode I have seen peaks of 1.5bar and holding 1.4bar down 1.3 and so on with the durametrics.

4ocious

Absolutely correct, FVD increases the maximum boost to 1.4 bars which is the upper limit Porsche allows. IMO that is more than enough to achieve the performance gains I hoped for. I'm not an authority on his but my research shows anything above 1.4 bars you may risk engine damage. Other tuners I'm told may increase the boost to 2.0 bars which may be okay if there are other mods that compensate for the increased bottom-end pressures. In my case I wanted to remain within established safety, usability, driveability, and engine/turbo performance tolerance limits. The advantage of the FVD re-flash is you can also use 91 or 93 octane pump gas without re-mapping the ECU and, if you add a performance exhaust (I plan to) your ECU will compensate for less back pressure and essentially re-map itself. I also changed my oil, filter, plugs, and diverter valves (Force) in preparation for the re-flash. Changing the diverter valves was probably not required but I would certainly consider changing your plugs especially if they've been installed for a few years and/or have more than 6-7K miles on them since they were last changed. JMO

flyjets

Thanks for posting all this good info.

Ian

atcbi5

Did you do it yourself or had Rhonda FVD do the work? I am on the fence about it, I kind of don't like messing around with it. I was told the OEM ECU with current updates will also adapt itself if you add an exhaust system. It also has maps that are called upon by software to mitigate changes in the system.

4ocious

I used a trusted FVD authorized dealer to upgrade my ECU. He downloaded my OEM software to my own laptop through the OBD II port via a durametric cable. He then emailed the file to FVD software engineers in Germany who modified it based upon any installed mods (except for a BMC filter my car is stock). He then re-flashed my ECU with the modified FVD software and I couldn't be happier.

FVD recently introduced their Genius handheld unit which eliminates the durametric cable and laptop. In the past you could upload and download the FVD software on your own laptop via durametric but FVD learned over time that this is not the optimum solution because of residual resident software on your computer that could unintentionally corrupt their files. So they introduced the self-contained hand held Genius unit that is totally independent of external hardware and software. My understanding is you plug the Genius into your OBD using the provided cable, download the software, save the OEM file to your own computer via USB, email the file to FVD who modifies it and emails it back to you. Then, you reverse the process to install the re-flash. The nice thing about this is both ECU files (OEM and re-flash) are automatically saved on the Genius which allows you to overwrite the re-flash and re-install your original software before you take your TT to the dealer for warranty/CPO work. You then re-flash the ECU when your car is returned. Re-flashing takes about five minutes.

Let me also say I'm in no way associated or involved with FVD in any way, I'm just a satisfied customer. I too was skeptical and did a lot of research before venturing down the ECU re-flash path. At $1,995.00 I though re-flashes (FVD, Softronic, Protomotive and GIAC ($3K) etc. ) were too expensive so I sat on the fence waiting for a sale. So, when Softronic lowered their price and FVD matched it I jumped on it and I'm glad I did. Talk with Rhonda a FVD.US and I'm sure she'll be able to answer all your questions and resolve your concerns.

UT_farhan

How long did it take you to get everything once you ordered it?

Airjoe

It took 3-4 days to get the MyGenius. I haven't reflashed yet, as we have too much damned snow!

UT_farhan

I'm trying to get in touch with Rhonda to order today so I can have it before the weekend, but she has not responded to my PM or email. Not a good way to start.....

Rhonda@FVD

I am trying.... I apologize for the delay but it appears that everyone was waiting for feedback. I will answer you today and get it taken care of today.