saudio

I've been thinking about buying a Cobb tuning kit for my '09 997.1. Tell me if my thinking is correct: The S version of this car is basically the same HP as the TT version with a stage 2 Cobb tune. Does that mean that this tune, and the increased horsepower, is completely safe for the longevity of the engine? No worries about bending something with this tune?

Also, if I just want a plug and play tune and don't want anything custom or exotic, the Cobb system is as good as anything, right? From what I've read this seems to be the case.

Next, are upgraded intercoolers important if I'm not tracking? I'm just interested in increasing the kick-in-the-pants factor when accelerating. More is better, right? :-) I have a Tubi exhaust on the car now but no other performance mods. We can get 93 gas here anywhere.

Last, anybody have a used Cobb AccessPort for my car they want to sell?

bondjockey

Why would you prefer an of the shelf tune over a custom tune? Every car and location is a bit different so why not install an optimized tune for your car? I have no experience with Cobb but many like it. I would suggest calling Kevin at UMW. Customized tune, very safe, best and most knowledgeable customer service out there.

Intercoolers will increase power, the best bang for the buck is the 997.2 IC's. A tune, better IC, free flowing exhaust and do88 inlet pipes should put you over 500 hp to the wheel while still being a very comfortable driver. As to your question about engine internals you don't need to worry about bending rods until you get north of 800 hp.

atcbi5

Never understood the concept of a "custom" tune on what basically is a production line engine. All the engines made by Porsche for the 997.1 turbo are the same. So if I was a company selling a tuned file for a specific engine configuration like the 997 turbo, that would be the file. Of course I would do all of my engineering in house and come up with a tune that would satisfy 98% of my customers. My profit would be just on that and would be satisfactory. The remaining 2% would be icing on the cake and I would charge you ten fold.

saudio

I was always under the impression that an upgraded intercooler only made a HP difference when the engine was getting warm from hard driving on a hot day. That the HP gains from the turbo decreased as the engine warmed. So if I"m not tracking, and I just want my 0-60 experience to be more exhilarating, do I need intercoolers? Plus, and I'm open for discussion on this as well, I'm under the impression that aftermarket performance upgrades can have a negative effect on the resale price of a car. I know that when I shopped for mine I was looking for something as close to stock as possible, assuming that something with performance mods likely would have been used harder. I know there are some people who would like to buy a car already tuned and performance modified, but I speculate that they are a minority.

jhbrennan

Personally I find it difficult to experience any more exhilaration by improving from 3.6 to 3.4 - do you think you'll really be able to tell? Unless you're planning to track (you say not), save your money.

cdk4219

That's great (maybe) if all the cars you are tuning are stock. Most of the cars that will get a tune will have at least an exhaust, if not more. Changing things will require that the tuner pay special attention to sensor inputs. Tuned a lot of cars, and can say that I have caught everything from weak fuel pumps( clogged filters) to bad spark plugs, to lazy mafs.( which would all cause varying degrees of problems) Just plugging in a tune sounds great, but it better be really conservative if anything is wrong, especially on a forced induction car.
I believe UMW reads data logs and makes recommendations and changes from there, if you have a tune that doesn't do that, it's tuning blind.

saudio

I'll give some more thought to a custom tune, the only thing that caught my eye is increased likelihood for engine damage without one, if that is the case. And I'm not sure I need to track my car to appreciate more HP and torque. ;-)