Considering adding a factory PSE and a tune to my 2018 S but I have some concerns. I don't really track or race the car. It's a daily driver somewhat (I have a company car for work) but I like having the speed and performance when I want it or need it. Never had a tuned car so question is that still OK for daily, is it too much, does it affect the reliability? All work to be done by a certified Porsche Mechanic at a local shop.
What say those who have it or had in the past?

 

Most off the shelf tunes are relatively safe. It's when you start hunting for the higher horsepower where reliability "can" start to get iffy-iffy.

 

I have a 2017 S and installed a conservative tune and the improvement in performance was breathtaking. It was hard to believe that you could easily get so much more power out of these cars without making it feel like the power didn't belong there in the first place. These cars and engines are built to handle much more than what they come with from the factory. If it's one of the more common 'stage-1' tunes from companies like Softronic, APR, Cobb, or GIAC (just to name a few), you are very safe. You won't be able to find any reports anywhere of someone harming their engine from one of these tunes. I went with the Softronic which I was able to easily DIY install at my home in my own garage. Close to 100hp increase without changing the overall 'feel' of the vehicle. It just feels natural to the car. I've had it for a few years and still love it. However, I've recently gotten the chance to drive someone's T which was tuned with the newer APR tune and was VERY impressed with the power delivery. If I were to do it all over again or perhaps upgrade my turbos one day, I might choose the APR.

 

Yep. From what I understand with the 991.2 3.0 engine the only differences between the Base, S and GTS are the software tunes and sizes of the turbos. You can often bump each model to near the performance of the next with a tune mapping.

 

I have had APR in the past and have been very impressed with them. The only drawback, until recently, was you had to go to a tuner to get it installed. Now that you have the ability to tune at home, it would be my first choice.

 

The only other caveat is that some of these tunes require you to commit to 93 octane fuel.

 

Thank you all, looks like a tune is gonna happen. How much should I expect to pay.
What about the exhaust.. Is the Porsche Spot a good choice?

 

I would do Soul Performance exhausts and an M-Engineering tune. Popular combo for us.

-Josh

 

A good quality basic 'stage-1' tune should run you around $1500 - $2000. I've also heard great things about M-Engineering tunes as mentioned above.

For exhaust, there are 2 things I would mention. First, you will get more bang for your buck by simply swapping out your cats for sport-cats (200 cell). I have the Soul Sport Cats and they sound amazing. If you want to go beyond the cats, then look into the Soul Valved Exhaust or Street Package (vs OEM).

 

IMO, I would go with aftermarket sport exhaust; Sharwerks, Soul or Fabspeed instead of factory PSE for the price, cost of installation and sound. I also have Softronic tune paired with Sharkwerks sport exhaust (no cabin drone), so far so good for the last 4 years, love the power and torque delivery when I need it.

 

My Fabspeed tune was about $2500 a few years ago, but i'm sure that's gone up like everything else. But that did include a handheld MyGenius unit so that i could flash it at home and back to stock if i ever chose to.

 

I did a Sharkwerks X-Pipe and softronic tune. It added about 140bhp. The car was shockingly transformed in sound quality and acceleration. I installed both myself.

Tune was $1495.
Exhaust was $2350

Both easy to install yourself.

 

Lol, I can't install a windshield wiper...

 

Thank goodness for youtube!

 

I flashed my car at home with the APR tune a couple of days ago, I chose the high torque version. It took 5-10 minutes, woawewa car is a rocket ship. I love that I can change the power using the dial on the wheel. It is super smooth and has a ton of grunt. A different class of speed altogether.

I don't think M-Engineering is tuning our cars right now. They are close to releasing the M-Tuner for us, and I am told they are not tuning Cobb AP anymore.