Hi All,

This is my first official post but I've been reading and learning from this community for years leading up to the purchase of my '09 997TT 6MT last year.
After a ton of debate and research, I finally pulled the trigger on an exhaust upgrade (Europipe) and tune (FVD).

Let's talk about the exhaust first - every review I've read here has been spot on. Stef was super helpful during the buying process, the exhaust itself is a work of art, and even my mechanic was blown away by how it was packaged and shipped. No surprise that it's the darling of this group.
In terms of sound, the videos and sound clips simply don't do it justice. The best way I can describe it is that it's as if someone turned up the volume on what was already there. On the lower end of the rev range, the notes are deeper and once you get it past 4k rpm, it really starts to come to life. Zero drone as promised by Stef. This is how the car should've come from the factory and the Europipe takes it up a notch without it feeling like an aftermarket mod. It's relatively subtle but completely wakes up the car and brings it to life. If I had to really nitpick, I'd say I wish it was just 10% louder, but an adjustment to how I use my right foot will solve for that

In terms of the tune, FVD came highly recommended to me by my mechanic (AGM Performance for anyone in the Montreal area - the best independent Porsche mechanic, period). For the price, it came with the lowest gains in power but I was reassured that those gains were reliable and that it would work magic on the power band, and it did not disappoint. The car just pulls like an absolute freight train from ~2.8k rpm to 7k rpm (new redline) without any hesitation or drop off. It holds on to boost much longer and while I can't say it's eliminated turbo lag entirely, it has made a world of difference and has made the power feel so much more linear. A good friend of mine who drives a V8 RS4 and is a naturally aspirated purist, could not stop smiling when he got behind the wheel.

All in all, I'm so happy with the combination of these two mods, it's completely woken up the car and taken it to that next level, yet it's still civilized enough to be daily driven and won't **** off your neighbours.
If you're on the fence at all about EP as an exhaust option, take the plunge. You're getting a super high quality product with an incredibly rich sound. However, if you're looking for something more aggressive in terms of sound, you might want to consider the EP2. As far as a tune goes, FVD is the only I've tried, but I see no reason to look elsewhere. AGM Performance has been working with them for 20+ years and has never had an issue and that level of reliability was more important to me than 50 extra hp.

I can't completely tell, but it looks like the car is smiling more too

 

Great review and commentary on both.

On FVD and power gains.....as far as I'm aware FVD is one of the most experienced and reputable tuners. The fact they DON'T promise higher peak output levels actually makes me wonder why they chose not to push the stock (or stock+exhaust) platform more. In other words, their reputation is one to trust.

Love the comment on closer to an N/A feel. I came from a DI, twin turbo 3.0 liter engine (the BMW S55) which was damn near N/A in it's linear power delivery and torque punch at low RPMs. It didn't have a top end though....torque started falling at 5500rpms until redline at ~7200-7400 rpms. HP remained flat, but it wound up being not "fun" to ring out as much. Anyway, when I consider what I'd like to accomplish with the 997.1, I think about trying to accomplish what you described. Really appreciate that insight.

 

Congrats on your 2009 6MT 997 Turbo and happy to hear that you already enjoy your upgrades. I assume that the FVD tune is less aggressive because the driving conditions in Germany can be more demanding. When traffic allows I cruise there at 125 mph with shorts bursts up to 150 mph so heat soak is always present. FVD is a competitor but all our customers with an FVD tune are very happy with their upgrade, both in Europe and in North America.

Regarding sound, some tunes will make the car sound louder and some tunes will make it sound quieter. The sound level at low rpm and midrange mainly depends on the amount of turbo boost. You’ll definitely notice the difference when loading the engine while driving uphill at lower rpm.

And welcome on Rennlist

 

OP, is the FVD you went with the "997.1 Turbo Level 1 (530 HP / 531 TQ)" on their website? I'm considering a tune for mine now that the Europipe (Stage 2).

 

That’s the one. It’s been about a week now and both mods are working really well together.