Fastboy

I know, I know, this topic has been done to death on this forum--but I want the straight goods here: I am seriously thinking of chipping my car in the spring - I bought an aftermarket performance exhaust off of one of the Rennlist members recently, and the next logical thing is to chip the car(as my descent down the slippery slope begins...). .

But in exploring this forum with a few searches, some items have come up that may sway me from doing this--inluding the potential to need to replace the clutch sooner than if the car was not chipped due to increased power, the potential for other things to go wrong such as diverter valves, and other bits and pieces that may wear earlier again due to increased power. I want to keep costs down-or at least do things one step at a time with "bank account recovery time" between each modification. Thus--my question is--can I chip and just drive away in the car--or am I in for a whole new world of financial hurt after doing so?
Also--what is the difference between Directport, Onboard and Offboard tuning?

Os Inspector

what you should do is get in touch with kevin at UMW he can get you into a flash that will take care of your needs.

Btw we dont chip our cars we Retune them by Flashing the EProm in the stock DME(ECU)

your car is not going to fall apart as your inquiring about because you reflashed it and allowed it to make a bit more power. Now if you have boost leaks or bad diverters now it will be more evident as boost rises. DV's are cheap and so if the F hose and can be done witha few tools at your house. Clutch should be okay with a basic flash if you dont abuse the crap out of it.

a good idea to see if your going to have issues with more boost is to do a boost leak test before flashing and that will show you if you have problems

Land Jet

I have Kevin's tune on my car and have tracked the car on the original stock clutch for 3 years now. It has never been a problem. Mind you, I have never done any burnouts.

Seattle996

I've had tunes on a few different 996TTs. Never had an issue.. I don't think you will run into ANY problems w/ just a tune. And DV's are relatively cheap to mod/replace fyi.

You can compare tunes until your blue in the face (I did). If you have an exhaust and your itching for more.. a tune is a must! You can stop there.. your car will be awesome.

As the boys said above, Kevins (UMW) tune is top notch, but the SERVICE is what you will appreciate the most Fastboy . He takes care of his kids. Call him... he answers. Email him... answers. Ask him anything.. he will give you an answer.

Good luck buddy.

Joe Weinstein

You are on a slope. I think the basic stage 1 is a chip tune, exhaust, and diverter valves, and if you
want to enjoy all that without worry, do a clutch. The Evo short shift kit is cheap and removes a
weak plastic shift link that can strand you... Oh, and better hoses.

MGS996

Call Kevin @ UMW

fdorn

Call Kevin @ UMW - he might not tell you what you want to hear - but he will set you down the right path.

Horus2000

Fastboy, I'm pretty much a newbie and wanted to limit my mods (& especially repairs). I had a flash done by EPL. It's been fantastic. Major improvement to the drivability of the car. I'm having the DV's changed now at the 60k service (approx $250-$300 total depending on your preferred shop). Both the guys at EPL & RUF said no problem with the clutch for just the flash unless you're doing lots of full throttle runs from a stop (0-60 trials, or drag strip). I like the short shift kit as well (mine is B&M).

slant911

I also have UMW's tune and can't say enough great things about the product and the man behind the product.

adam_

Ding, Ding. Ding... we have a winner.

This misconception that Tune=clutch has always made me scratch my head.

I have an X50, UMW tune, wastegate mod.

I *can* make the clutch slip...But I don't. Pretty simple

Would I rather not have to be aware of this danger zone and take a bit more care? Sure. I think many drivers don't really have a feel for what is going on when they mash the fast pedal and all the noise starts... but you can feel what is going on. Eventually I may replace it, but for the last 2-3 years its been OK.

All depends on how the car is abused....IMO

A

John 996 TT Cab

I started down the "slippery slope" by thinking I was just going to do a sport exhaust on my 996 TT Cab Tip then came diverters, manifolds, cats, chip reprogramming and air mass flow! This was all done at the same time but it was quite a change in total cost. Of course then had to lower also to make it look better.

All in all, I'm extremely pleased as the car is much easier to drive in the city with the extra torque and of course higher up the rpm it's just fantastic!

lhsa

adam_ : i have an x50 and thinking about doing the same mods you've done. do you know what the hp/tq increase is? dyno numbers at the wheel would be even better 8?)

Mikelly

I'll be the decenting vote here, then... But I'll qualify it with the "I've also got his turbos" comment... Kevins' UMW tune INSTANTLY killed my stock clutch. I already had his K16/24 turbos, GT2 intercoolers, and upgraded DVs along with UPSOLUTE tune software... The addition of the 5Bar FPR, wastegate springs and UMW tune instantly caused a slipping clutch that I could not get past. Maybe the clutch was toast... Yea, except the Upsolute, a completely inferior tune wouldn't break the clutch loose...

All that said, GET KEVIN's TUNE! In my opinion, there is no equal for knowledge, support and service. I've been VERY happy in the nearly 4 years I've known and been a customer of Kevin's.

Mike

Fastboy

Mike--are you not happy with the Upsolute tune?

Mikelly

The upsolute tune is long since gone man... Been gone for over 2 years. it was GARBAGE. NOT worth the money... Period...

Lack of throtttle crispness, and lack of power... The UMW tune pulls like a tractor from 2K RPMS to Redline... Torque curve that is flat and broad... And this goes to another point... NOT ALL TUNES are the same... Do not believe what they tell you... I've had members here tell me some of their stories in convidence, so I won't go into it at their request, but some of those tuners (Even one named in this thread) have given totally ignorant advice like "You tune the lag for road racing." You won't hear such nonsense from Kevin. He won't give you flowery sales pitches. He won't be warm and fuzzy. He will be honest and straight forward.

Here's the other thing Kevin is... he's a mechanical engineer who could be making a fortune in the aircraft industry. Fortunately for us, he chooses to continue his passion for Porsches and only plays in the aircraft business as an aside.
Mike