lowbee

So I have some funds left over in my mod budget this year and I want to do either the Softronic ECU tune OR get a pair of 200 cell hi-flow CAT pipes. My 997S is bone stock except for a pair of aftermarket mufflers for sound.... so help me decide which one to get first: (a) Softronic or (b) 200 cell CAT pipes

I like having the quickened response of Softronic and maybe a bit more torque at the low end but I could enjoy higher sound volume and a quicker RPM climb after 4K with the CAT pipes.... hummmm a or b, a or b, a or b, can't decide

option c: TPC DSC

DC911S

I have FVD cats for 997.1 S for sale ar great price. New and never used. 200 count cells

997driver

Get the cats and a sprint booster for the quickened response. The Cats sound amazing and the pickup when the engine is revved up past 4k is exhilarating. I ran a sprint booster for a while before I tuned the car (after all the engine mods were done to take advantage of the ECU tune) and it is the best bang for buck. Still run one on my daily driver and it's a fun mod.

ltcjmramos

What's a "sprint booster?" Don't recall seeing that term.

lowbee

That would be a reasonable alternative if I never intend to get Softronic but that's not the case here. I simply want help on which (a) Softronic or (b) 200 Cell CATs to get first so I can have the bigger impact option installed this year. It doesn't make sense for me to spend $300 this year on Sprint booster and have it removed then spend $1K on Softronic next year when my mod budget for this car open up again. Yeah, I know it's a bit silly but I set a mod budget for each car every year so (1) I don't go overboard and (2) I get a refreshed car every year.

Besides, the quickened response on Sprint booster without low-end torque gain is not what I am after.

Btw, this is the CAT pipes that I am leaning toward http://www.fvd.de/us/en/Porsche-0/92..._U-Design.html

semicycler

It looks like your current budget is just north of the $1K mark. There is only one choice then - DSC box. Handling improvements would be very noticeable, more so than the HP improvement from just a tune or just 200 cell cats.

The cats and a tune go hand in hand, you need both to really see the performance improvement. Cats alone give a great sound improvement and some noticeable performance but not as much as you would think. Sound alone is worth it. But if you are looking for a big jump in performance alone it's not there. A tune alone does shift the area under the curve a bit in a noticeable way but not as much as you would think. Together it pays off.

The other concern is with the tune provider. Softronic is well known but I don't know their tunes well enough - you need to research this a bit. The best tuners tailor their tunes to your specific mods. They offer different tunes for stock unmodded cars, cars with with mods but stock cats, and cars with mods including cats or cat delete options. Other tuners offer just two tunes - a stock car or a modded car, or worse a single flavor tune to fit your make/model regardless of mods. It would be a shame to buy a tune now then need a different one in the future because you changed out your cats to higher flowing ones. This is the main reason conventional wisdom says do all your performance mods first then get a tune, preferably customized to your exact mods.

So if you budget is fixed and the choice is cats or a tune, cats first, tune later. Your option C is my favorite though - I vote get the DSC box first and save up to get the cats and tune together.

And welcome to the slippery slope of modding your car

gasongasoff

+1 on the DSC. I actually noticed it helped the chassis respond quicker to throttle inputs (when the acceleration is detected, the DSC stiffens the dampeners in the rear).

Another option for $1,000 might be a 3rd muffler bypass pipe, like the one from Sharkwerks. You get better sound and a little hp boost, particularly in the midrange.

lowbee

So I brought the Softronic tune while it was on sales last boxing day for my 997.1S and I just flashed it to my car (car was in winter storage) then went for a test drvie.......



and I like it..... I planned a 30 minutes test drive but it ended up taking an hour



I am not sure how much power (if any) is added at the top end but mid-range torque and power increase is very nice & noticeable....

I had Scott give me two files (normal & sport) and I flashed the "normal" file because I want to retain the change in throttle response when I hit the sport button (the "sport" file default to added throttle response all the time which could be jerky in traffic with frequent on/off throttle).

I was skeptical about the tune and wasn't expecting a lot but when Softronic went on sales, I was willing to take a plunge based on a lot of positive reviews ..... and I'd say the increase is pretty good for a normally aspirated car, feels like the tune actually delivered the 15-20+ TQ between 2600-4000 rpm

Now with the tune out of the way, I am not sure I want the 200 cell high-flow CAT pipes anymore...... First, I am not sure I want the car to be any louder; second, I think the tune helped the RPM climb from 4K to be a bit quicker which was the main reason I wanted the CAT pipes in the first place and now it seems I can live the the RPM climb rate with the tune (at least for now) ......

So I think I will put the CAT pipes $ into getting DSC now

SAN997

Neither. I did extensive research on this topic, contacted manufactures, searched for dyno charts and so forth. My conclusion is that Porsche didn't leave any power on the table. The only way you can make more power is by stealing torque from the low end and increasing power a little at the high end. The end result isn't an improvement.

A much better way to go with a non-turbo 911 is decreasing weight. Plus, dropping weight improves acceleration and handling.

90% of the perceived "horse power" from a tune is actually modification of linearity of the accelerator pedal. They program in sport mode so that the throttle opens faster as the pedal is engaged. This makes it seem faster.

If you really want more power, sell it and get a Turbo.

ltcjmramos

Don't quite agree, at least as it pertains to my ex - 6GT3. When I decided to take it off the track, I wanted less peaky power delivery. When FVD-Brombacher offered their tune for about 40% off, I had a discussion with them on what I wanted. Their tune provided me the more linear power delivery I requested. In addition, I got a bump of 17 rwhp as seen on the dyno. I had both before and after charts.

So, there is some power to be had, but it's a bit pricey, IMO.

Appraiser

Really? Doesn't that go against most critical thinking - Porsche needs to run on the conservative side; emissions, reliability, longevity, etc. I've had good experience extracting a few hp and torque across the rpm range in an S2000 without dipping or losing anything, anywhere, in the power band. There was a thread here not too long ago about chip tunes that had dyno charts posted and links to the different brands and claims. Admittedly what those gains look like may be minimal. I saw some 15 ft lbs of torque and 5 hp on the S2000 with an ECU dyno tuned on a pretty redlined F20 engine (125 hp/liter) without sacrificing anything anywhere.

I think ~5%, ~16 whp, is there on table for taking and will need a variety of complimentary performance components (cats, chip, plenum) with a clean bill of health (oil, maintenance) and those additional changes to keep things running consistently and healthily (lower temp thermo, 3rd rad, deep sump oil kit). If anyone wants to donate to science, I'll happily dyno my car after every change if they want to pay for the mods

And I agree with you 100% on removing weight. It improves acceleration, handling and braking and is the best thing you can do. A great performance plan; reduce 5% of the vehicle weight, increase 5% of the power and increase 5% of tire contact with the road. The car stays relatively balanced and you're lapping seconds faster than before. Find another 5% everywhere after that and you're rocking and rolling.

But to pose a paradigm question. If you're a faster driver because of a placebo effect - isn't it worth the money? After a decade of modding I'm keener to investment in pieces that help me get to a faster head s[pace] while not necessarily improving the performance profile of the car per se. Throttle pedal extension, CG cam lock, louder exhaust note, lowered seat rail, easier grip shift ****, etc. I become more comfortable/confident and subsequently push harder.