Comparison of Launch Pro models

 

How much is a PIWIS-3 clone?

 

Contact @rnlst_log

siberian

 

The nice thing about the x431 is that you don't have to become a guru at virtualization, monkey with your system date, worry about whether an "upgraded" version really is one or not, or read German. It just works.

 

How much is it ?

 

42

 

From my experience, I'll try and summarize the pros and cons of the Launch vs PIWIS 3 v.40.600

Launch The Good:

Multiple cars. If you have other vehicles in your stable this is the go to analyzer.
Nicely portable. Handheld is great to for example check rear brake lights without trying to balance a laptop getting in and out of the car
Search Function. You can search for a variable in just about any category to find where an item is - contrary to PIWIS where SEARCH function is very limited.
Free updates. Two years of free updates, and done very nicely and pain free
Ease of Use. Easy to use with no real computing knowledge needed nor need to understand the internals of how to install it or how it works.

The not so good:

Updates. Two years of updates does not mean Porsche updates or that they will be anywhere near PIWIS in terms of coverage. Updates are haphazard at irregular intervals and trying to find out when a specific item will be supported for a specific Porsche vehicle is nigh impossible to foretell. Renewal afterwards can be up to $400+/YR
Support. Dicey at best depending on your vendor. Communication depends on your level of Chinese. I tried to see how to renew once my 2 year was up and they told me my version was not supported for renewal etc.
Vendors. Multiple ones across the spectrum. Some are independent Launch outlets others are fly by night. If you happen to buy from one of them, the mainline distributors will not help or deal with you. It's a messy situation
Pricing. Yes it covers a variety of vehicles but if you don't need that you're paying for it anyway
Models. Myriads of versions and models and pricing all over the place. Which one is right for you?

Conclusion:

For a multiple stable garage it's an ideal product. It's handy, updates are great, no hassle, but it's also pricey if you don't need to have access to 30,000 vehicles. It's definitely more up to date than other scanners (than PIWIS) such as Durametric etc. but definitely doesn't cover the breadth of PIWIS. However if you only need to reset an SRI etc. the cheapest way is to find a friend near you and offer a case of beer or whatever. You don't need PIWIS nor Launch. For what I needed I found Launch wanting. No support, very expensive yearly updates - most of which I wasn't interested in, and Launch wasn't able to cover the stuff I wanted done.

As for PIWIS, and only being a casual Window$ user when I worked for a living, I definitely missed VMS, Linux and Macs. I tried to get PIWIS to run on a Mac via VM but gave up. However thanks to great support on the forum, I managed to slug my way to buying and installing PIWIS on a Lenovo. Luckily I speak German so that wasn't an impediment but for those who don't, Google or other on-line translator will do the trick. It is cheaper than Launch, but will obviously not cover any non Porsche vehicles (I have my trusty VAG-COM for Audi/Touareg/Lambo). Updates? Readily available, but I doubt I'll be bothering unless something really enormous is missing in 40.600 that I absolutely must have. So my price is the purchase price as $400 bucks a year is a non starter.

I'm not selling either, just my thoughts of using the Launch x431 Mini on a 2020 Macan S and PIWIS on my 992. HTH

siberian

 

Kindly try make VAL on Macan using 40600. Curious if it will be successful just like on 992?

 

Need to have Mme.'s car available of course. Will do, on my list. Please note I do have LED lights...

siberian

 

Today I coded my instrument cluster lights to be on during the day, and I fixed the dummed-down engine temperature gauge to now show actual coolant temperature....what a concept!!
I also enabled my boost gauge and oil pressure gauge.

 

Can you clarify "dummed-down engine temp" please? How you coded (on Launch or PIWIS) please?

siberian

 

I would love to get my cluster lights, especially the tach, to be lit all the time. At this point in my ownership, nothing else I care about, which might change in time. But spending money to see the tach better is not a priority now.

 

The temperature gauge does not read the true engine temp in the normal warmed-up operating region. As the temp rises from cold, the gauge is accurate, but when the engine reaches the normal operating temperature (about 200F) the gauge will display the same value even though the actual temp may vary from say 195F to 230F. The gauge will only display a higher value if the car begins overheating, say if the actual coolant temp starts to exceed 250F. Porsche, and most other manufacturers do this, basically making the temp gauge just an "idiot light". See post #162 in this thread.

For my 2019 Base Macan 2.0, before I made the coding change (with a Launch X431 "Torque III"), the temp always displayed 194F during normal operation. After I made the change, you can see the real temp vary from 195F to 235F, between cruising at light throttle, to heavy acceleration, to idling in stop and go traffic.

 

Thanks, can you tell me where in Launch menus those values can be changed?

siberian

 

I will have to "go back in" and write down the menu sequences to get to those settings.

Which ones are you interested in?
- Coolant temp linearization
- Oil pressure gauge
- Boost gauge
- Always ON speedo & Tach backlighting