Domer911

I have EVOMS sport muffler on my C4S, and I am curious about the gain in horsepower I might enjoy with a flash tune. I understand (without a test) that I am probably at 395-397 hp now.

1. is flash tune worth the cost?
2. What's the typical gain in hp?
3. What are the implications on my warranty if I flash tune?
4. Does Porsche offer the flash tune through the dealership network?

If it saves me from any ridicule, I confess I am still just a beginner in this car...

Domer911

wow. the questions must REALLY suck...

I'm very naive, so you can make it all up if you want.

Skibum

I think I would consider new cats first, and then doing a flash if you really feel the need. (If they are available for your year)
I think you will gain the most from a flash once you have done more in the way of hardware mods first.

Minok

My position is that you only get very marginal gains via a firmware change to the engine management software. If you change the intake and exhaust and restrict the type of fuel, you can tune the firmware to run the engine in a more limited band of performance, which would get you a very small improvement in engine output in terms of BHP.

However, to get any improvement that you can really feel and use, you have to go well beyond just a simple intake/exhaust/firmware tune. You need to change the engine in more substantial way.

If there was some significant gain to be had from the engine as it was, the manufacturer would have used it. For running in daily use, with the commonly available fuels, and getting long term performance out of the engine, I think the settings are right where they should be.

If you could just put in a different cam, slightly different exhaust and intake and adjust the firmware a bit, the car could produce 50BHP more, don't you think it would come that way from the factory?

So I don't think spending money on intake/exhaust/firmware flash is worth the cost, for what you can get.

An exhaust can improve the engine note, but thats a non-performance acoustical preference... so there is an argument for that, if such thing are important to you.

utkinpol

1. it depends.
2. about of 25-30hp if with sport 200 cell cats.
3. voids drivetrain warranty
4. usually, no.

softronic is easier to do as you can do flsh yourself and flash it back to stock if you need to give car back to dealership for engine related work. mostly reason for flash is not horsepower alone but to raise torque in lower rpms and make torque graph more 'linear'. flash sacrifices some emissions complience and make engine run a bit hotter. all that was relevant for m96 and m97 997.1 engines. I have no clue how it works for new 997.2 DFI engines.

Skibum

With all due respect to Minok when it came to my car the difference in the car when I changed out my cats and cans was startling.
Did I "run it on a Dyno?" no.
Am I only feeling like it is faster because of the sound... I highly doubt it.

All you have to do is take a look at the stock muffler design to understand that it is not the best.
The design is probably the cheapest to produce.

Is this the start of another "Epic Thread"??

MichaelL

These questions have been absolutely beaten to death with the 997.1 over the last several years. It continues with the 997.2.

I completely agree with all the opinions expressed in utkinpol's response. I also agree with Skibum, put the aftermarket catalytics on it. More power and it will be a little louder.

Minok, in his post, made two statements which are generally true, but miss the mark. The manufacturer will provide the engine power that is "right where it should be", but this is for an entire model line that will run on bad gas, no servicing, no warranty repairs and meet smog emission requirements until the motor falls out of the car. More power can be had using typical bolt on parts and moving up from the lowest common denominator.

As far as "spending what it is worth for what you can get", it is a matter of opinion. Normally aspirated 997 engines are not going to make a lot more power without laying out real money for internal modifications and other expensive parts. What you can get for the usual bolt-ons is 20 to 25 rear wheel horsepower. Costs will run $6K to $8K and up, for around 6% to 8% additional horsepower. This is the cost of a set of fancy wheels and gives you noticeable performance gains. Is it worth it? You decide.

pissedpuppy

how to explain .1S @ 355 hp adn .2S @ 385hp? both 3.8L

Domer911

I apologize. I posted my question before I even figured out how to search for similar threads. That said, the answers contained here do a better job of guiding me than any I was eventually able to find by searching old threads.

I'm brand new to new Porsches, and to the purists I'm probably new to Porsche. I bought my car, dressed it up a little, liked the sound of the sport mufflers, and then started getting excited about boosting the power, even though I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

I think I will learn to drive this one first, and possibly consider doing more when and if I cease being a newcomer to the 997s.

Thanks for humoring me.

Skibum

Hey Domer

Just remember that for every "controversial" question posed here there are usually 2 diametrically opposing answers presented. Each camp is totally convinced that they are correct.
In the "increasing power" vein, I started by listening to camp "A"... then through opportunity I gave the advise from camp "B" a try. You know what... camp "B" was right after all...

Morale: Listen to and appreciate everyones opinions here... then make your own decision.

utkinpol

you got that priority right. again, most reason for ECU flash is not to get 'more' power but to change how existing power getting distributed.

for 'more' power you may use VF-E supercharger or TPC turbo - it is a real 100-150 whp boost. voids warranty too.

Minok

They may have the same displacement, but they are not the same engine.
Its the same reason Detroit designed engines cannot seem to get as much power per CC of displacement as a Japanese or European designed engine can. The whole system outside of the cylinder displacement is different. They did not just drop the 997.1 3.8L engine into the 997.2 and change the firmware in the management computer.

Dr_KarlB

in a word... DFI... well 3 words :-)

808c2s

LOL...yes, but it just maybe worth that risk.

cbzzoom

Uh... Completely different engine? Hundreds of millions of dollars in R&D cost?