MotoJB

Hey gents, hoping to get input from anyone with experience or knowledge on tuning options for the 981 Boxster S.

I'm simply looking to tune a little more power into the car for street driving here in CA.

Our 981 S came with FVD Brombacher sport muffler exhaust. It does not have the Sport Chrono Package.

For tuning, should I go with Brombacher or COBB? Other?

I've been leaning towards Brombacher since I have their exhaust...anyone have experience with or input on Brombacher tunes? The power increases they claim seem pretty high (impressive if accurate).
Brombacher Filter & Tune:

Or go with COBB? My 911tt is custom Cobb tuned so I have plenty of experience there. Cobb also has PDK flashing and some other cool features, although COBB is also considerably more expensive. Then there's possibly more custom tuning required with the COBB route.
COBB with PDK Flashing:

Any thoughts or input?

Appreciated!

MotoJB

Nobody has tuned their 981 S?

Found this guys videos...he claims "Increased who by 32.5 whp peak and 27wtq peak"...just from just ECU tune????



Done deal, going to try it out.

ETA: Contacted the guy in the vids...he has stock filters and Borla exhaust, so the gains are obviously higher due to that. I would venture to guess, my gains might be even higher with BMC filters. We will see. So as long as I feel "seat of the pants" to a degree, it'll be worth it. I'm also hearing from another guy that with the FVD tune, the initial drone on throttle with the FVD sport muffler exhaust lessened a tad. We'll see!

alex911s

I've tuned my 987S and 997S 12 years ago..lol but I normally use softronic..
My 981 Cayman Shave no SC.. so I'm thinking of having sport plus programmed and use softronic for ECU.. Scott been doing this awhile.. same with FVD..
Only plus side with Cobb is pdk tune...don't know what I'm gonna do either lol

garfunkle

I dyno'd my 991.1S before/after with FVD and saw similar. I didn't dyno my 987 but my @ss says that that's pretty spot on. Mine has the tune, headers, plenum, TB and filters too though. It pulls significantly harder than stock.

MotoJB

Nice, thanks.

Your 991.1 Carrera S motor is a 4.0, right?

garfunkle

3.8

okie981

Add some headers, get Cobb and a pro tune from BGB. You will not regret. Without headers, still get Cobb from BGB and use the Cobb off-the-shelf tune. BGB’s customer support is A+.

John Ferguson

Based on their "best bang for the buck" recommendation, installed Fabspeed race headers and Cobb protune on my 981 GTS PDK … no dyno but no doubt it kicked the hp up to a much more satisfying level and the sound with PSE open rips. Search my posts for sound clips. Runs smoother with a protune over OTS. Since you already have FVD exhaust would probably try FVD. Worth every penny.

iflywoe

Get headers first if you don't have them. Biggest gains are there.

ekam

Yup.

MotoJB

Thanks guys, I get it on the headers part...but not going to go there at this time, given the issues for SMOG in CA. Even catted after market headers that don't throw codes won't pass visual, if they get picky. I don't want that potential for my wife's car. I already go through smog hell every 2 years on my 911tt.

Anyhow, I ended up going with FVD's filter and tune setup. They offered me an additional discount, putting the cost with BMC filters below the best I could find on a COBB (without filters or PDK tuning).

I bet their tuning will be pretty solid with their own exhaust.

If I ever get the itch to go further, I can add their headers, TB/IPD...and they will retune for free.

Lastly, I think keeping all of the bolt-on power adders and tune consistent from a single, reputable, Porsche-focused, quality German mfg might be the best strategy.

SouthJerseyRider

How did FVD tune workout for you? Were you happy, did it throw codes? Did it smooth out the throttle acceleration a little. Thanks for any feedback.

MotoJB

Wife's car has been flawless.

I can't say I felt a huge difference from the tune but no codes, car runs flawlessly and really good/smooth. Zero complaints. The Brombacher exhaust sounds pretty epic, our 981 sounds better than the Brombacher catless setup I have on my 991 Turbo S. The noise it makes upshifting and downshifting really make the car fun to drive. It sounds so mean and menacing, it's just plain entertaining to drive. At WOT, it's glorious.

The only issue with the exhaust is the drone. There is strong cabin drone in a very narrow rpm band in all gears and in 7th on the freeway, it's pretty bad just on and off throttle. You get used to it, or just shift to 6th but it's enough that I might swap out the exhaust to something else someday for the wife's tastes.

SouthJerseyRider

Thanks so much. I already have the FVD "Quiet" CatBack Exhaust, which I love. I have a Boxster with 6 speed manual tranny so I'm not really getting drone, maybe a very little bit with top up if I let it labor. Don't really need more power but would like to smooth out low rpm acceleration, it feels a little choppy between 2,000 and 2,500rpms? Not sure if thats the way I'm driving it or if there are some little hesitations in there? Maybe I'll give it a try.

MotoJB

Ahh, good call outs. I have the FVD "sound" version, so it's probably more drony than the quiet version. Also, yeah, there is less of a drone problem with the manual transmission. Not sure why you'd be having choppiness....there are no hesitations or choppiness in our throttle response.