Rustler

I am wondering how/whether I can tell if my '01 996TT has an aftermarket tune? Here is some information that may be of help:

My in-dash/factory boost level gauge frequently peaks in 3rd, 4th and 5th gear at 0.9, and I have seen 1.0 bar of boost occasionally. Less boost in second, more like 0.6. I haven't noted peak boost in 1st or 6th. I'm seeing lots of references on this site that would suggest that that is higher than factory tuned boost settings.
I am the third owner. I have some dealer service records from the first owner (but no personal info), and detailed records from the second owner. I've spoken with second owner had no knowledge of a tune.
Visible mods are a Ruf exhaust, and short shift kit.
I had a PPI done before inspection at a reputable Seattle are Porsche specialist that identified the above mods, but said nothing about a tune. It included a DME report. Would the DME report have disclosed a non-factory tune?
Bought it at Seattle area Porsche dealer, they did a "major" service before purchase, and pre-sale inspection, no mention of tune.
I am at about 5,000 of elevation, very arid air, and the best gas I can get is top tier, ethanol free, 91 Octane. I've been running this gas for 2+ years and about 6k miles. Would altitude factor into this equation?
I don't have another 996tt to compare it to, but I can say it pulls like a freight train, and seems to operate as designed otherwise.

nelsontod

I would say no tune. go get a UMW stage 1 from kevin, then you will know you have a tune. it will be better than what/if you have anyway.

Turbodan

if showing 1.0, you have a tune.

emptypockets

If it revs past red line it has a tune.

602996TT

Unfortunately there's no specific way to tell which tuner tuned it if no paperwork, the best you can do is send your Vin number to a couple of the popular tuners and see if they've tuned it? your car most likely does have a tune otherwise your car would only max up .7 bar. Unless your car is an X 50 then possible it's boosting .8-.9 stock. The first thing I would do if it was my car is do a boost leak check and go from there. Good luck

my04996tt

As others stated for a non x50 tt, if your seeing .9+ you probably have a tune. If it's an older tune you could look at your ECU to see if it's been toyed with.

Kevin

Like those that have posted up above. It looks like your car is tuned.
Feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to re-tune or have questions!

Email me kevin@ultimatemotowerks.com

nelsontod

Rustler

Whelp, consensus seems to be that it has a tune. I guess I'm surprised that a ECU scan wouldn't reveal a non-factory tune, but no one else seems to be surprised by that?

Thanks all for the input, I have a few follow up questions:

1. Are there risks to having a mystery tune on the car? It seems to run like a banshee (and has since the previous owner purchased it, so for about the last 9 years), but one thing that comes to my mind as a possible concern is the low octane (91) and/or altitude (5k feet) I am running at. Would anyone else be concerned? Spent it's whole prior life in the Seattle area, and I think 93 is hard to come by there as well, so there's that.

2. If I were to send my VIN out to a few of the popular tuners to see whether they have any record, which ones would that be? Does Ruf have a tune for these cars? Since it has the Ruf exhaust, I suppose I might start there?

3. Tell me more about why you would do a boost leak check? Might there be a mechanical issue causing higher boost, as opposed to a tune? If it's making more boost, intuitively I wouldn't think a leak would be an issue.

4. My local mechanic agrees (based on my description above) that it likely has a tune. He says he can return it to the factory tune, but I would have to purchase it, or, I could go to a dealer (nearest one is 6 hours away) and get it flashed to stock for an hour's labor. Any reason to explore either option, or just enjoy as is?

Dock

Just re-tune with Kevin at UMW.

Rustler

Seems to be a popular option. I will reach out to Kevin, but also interested in thoughts on questions above, if nothing else to just get a better understanding of the history of my car.

nelsontod

+1

Rustler

Ok, understood. Kevin comes highly recommended!

nelsontod

he will send you a device. you will scan your ecu. it will clear out all your old crappy error codes,but not the tune yet. you will send it to him and he will give you a custom tune based on your ecu info. he will then send it back and you install it. takes 23 seconds all combined. very fast and simple to do.

the clearing of the error codes made my car so good that i thought it was the tune. but, then the tune came back to me and i installed it. and the rest is the proverbial history.

Dock

Check with RUF on the tune. Otherwise, I wouldn't spend a lot of time investigating.

Tuning with Kevin provides a known very high quality tune, and a known new starting point.