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I recently purchased a 991.2 Turbo S built by Boost Logic with BL1100 package. The car has Meth Injection but it does not have the typical VC-50 Pod controller you see on most Porsches. VC-50 appears to be a controller and display all in one. My car has the VC-30 controller which consists of a control unit mounted in the frunk under the access panel where the battery is and a separate remote display / controller mounted in the glove box.
I was thinking about upgrading to the VC-50 pod controller so I wouldn’t have to have the glove box open to monitor status and so I could add low level alert. After researching this a bit, it seems there are tons of complaints about the VC-50 on various car forums (BMW, Nissan, VW, Audi etc) where it apparently freezes up and become unresponsive after sitting out in the sun.. so maybe I should not switch? I couldn’t find any reference to others using VC-30 here. Are 991 owners having this overheating issue with the VC-50 pod mount? This area takes a lot of direct sun.
My VC-30 system works just fine, it’s just the display isn’t conveniently located and there is no low level alert. The VC-30 install manual says you can purchase optional low-level yellow LED and wire this in to a level sensor. If the VC-50 is prone to locking up, I’m thinking of getting the level LED and moving the VC-30 display to better location like left / right of steering wheel. Curious if I’d be missing out on any other features with VC30 vs VC-50 and if others have any experience with either of these two controllers? Thanks.
I had no issues with the pod controller in the sport chrono location, though my car was garaged, so extended parking in the sun might be an issue I would have never encountered.
I had no issues with the pod controller in the sport chrono location, though my car was garaged, so extended parking in the sun might be an issue I would have never encountered.
Than you. I’m garaged at home as well but once in a while I drive the car to the office where it sits in the direct Carolina sun for 8 hours.
Regarding the VC-50, I heard from my shop that there were two iterations of that pod controller, and that the earlier iteration was much more reliable.
Earlier Version Later Version
Last edited by Pb Pedis; 08-14-2024 at 10:41 AM.
Reason: adding pictures
^ The earlier version appears to be what AIM installed in my car.
It's possible they changed some internal components that may have made it less expensive to produce for greater profits but less reliable as a result.
Just thinking out loud.
Glad to hear the earlier version is working out for you guys. Frankly I’m not sure how either version of the VC-50 dissipates heat effectively with all the control logic inside the gauge pod. The earlier version must have been more tolerant to the heat.
I think I’ll stick with the VC-30 for now since it has the critical control logic inside a separate larger aluminum chassis with heat sinks tucked away in the frunk. I’ll just move the auxiliary display to a more prominent location and add the tank sensor and low-level LED.
I've had both the newer and the older version vc-50s in my 991s. I've never had an issue nor have I ever heard about this issue on 991s. Mine have been garaged but have also sat out in the sun plenty of times for days.
I think most people run the vc50s on porsches, I didnt even know the vc-30 existed until I saw your post. I'd uprade to the vc-50 purely based on the fact thats meth flow, meth level and more importantly boost is always easy to see. Especially if you are doing testing, when I do dragy pulls, I do video mode and set it so that you can see the gauge in the video this way you can also see boost. Just last night my buddies 991.2 ended up running a lot slower than usual, trap was down a lot, he went back out , watched the boost gauge to see it was only hitting 20psi made it easy to diagnose that it had a boost leak without having to pull logs or anything else.
I have the VC50, it's the newer version above. It was installed 4 years ago. About 6 months ago, the display screen began to fail and get very very faint. It still works, but you can't see the readout in daylight. At night, you can faintly see it. The unit is working fine functionally (ie, the meth is spraying correctly) , it's just the display is failing. Frustrating. I guess I will have to buy a new one, cut the current wires and splice the new gauge in. The car is driven maybe once a week and is never parked outside in the sun. So it has not had much use.
I have a friend with his controller in the sport chrono location. It hasn't been that long that it's been there and you can barely see the display. We thought it was broken at one point. But just turns out the display was dying or something.
What is that controller that installs in the overhead area near the lights and mirror?
I've seen it on one or two builds in videos but it's not very common, I just like the location and low-profile nature of the mod.
What is that controller that installs in the overhead area near the lights and mirror?
I've seen it on one or two builds in videos but it's not very common, I just like the location and low-profile nature of the mod.
Not familiar with anyone who makes a controller that fits in that location. There is a thread of a forum member who took apart a VC50 chrono type controller and fit the parts into that location as part of his custom meth install.
Not familiar with anyone who makes a controller that fits in that location. There is a thread of a forum member who took apart a VC50 chrono type controller and fit the parts into that location as part of his custom meth install.
Wow, that overhead mount in the linked thread came out nice but that looks like a lot of work. It would have been easier to use the VC-30 I have (shown in first post) as the control circuitry is mounted remotely and the display / control interface is already very compact and low profile.
I've had both the newer and the older version vc-50s in my 991s. I've never had an issue nor have I ever heard about this issue on 991s. Mine have been garaged but have also sat out in the sun plenty of times for days.
I think most people run the vc50s on porsches, I didnt even know the vc-30 existed until I saw your post. I'd uprade to the vc-50 purely based on the fact thats meth flow, meth level and more importantly boost is always easy to see. Especially if you are doing testing, when I do dragy pulls, I do video mode and set it so that you can see the gauge in the video this way you can also see boost. Just last night my buddies 991.2 ended up running a lot slower than usual, trap was down a lot, he went back out , watched the boost gauge to see it was only hitting 20psi made it easy to diagnose that it had a boost leak without having to pull logs or anything else.
Yes, most do seem to use VC-50 on Porsche. I’ve never seen another with VC-30 but it’s common on other platforms, it’s simple and does what it’s supposed to anyways. It does show boost level as well but I also have bigger non VTG turbos so I have an HKS EVC-7 next to the snow controller. The EVC-7 also displays current and peak boost separately and is brighter, larger and much easier to read at a glance. I did a few pulls video recording with glove box open but I also have Cobb hooked up on a windshield mount where I can keep eyes on parameters and initiate logs on the fly.
When I get the chance I think I’m going to move both the VC-30 and EVC-7 to the right of the steering wheel and add tank sensor low level LED inside an air vent.
Not sure if this is overkill but I purge the the meth lines at every startup and I’m reassured it’s working when RPM dips.
08-13-2024, 11:02 PM
Snow Meth Injection Controllers: VC-30 vs VC-50
