rbhinvt

Thanks for the advice on which tool to get.

Stringbag

Look at Icarscan.
Will do all of that and more.
Worth considering.

roddylennox

Durametric does not support coding/programming on the Panamera (any of their versions). http://www.durametric.com/modelfeaturematrixv6.aspx

PIWIS Chinese knock-off is way too expensive for me and offers no online updates. iCarSoft POR II can code injectors, but not much else from what I can see. It’s also unclear from their website as to whether it will perform grinding procedure on new park brake shoes for example, which is necessary for my layout in addition to simply latching the park brake shoes to service position to allow removal of the brake rotors.

I am quite impressed by some of the tools available from Autel for around £1000-1500 ($1250-1750 I would estimate). Their website has a matrix for which tool does what. You can reset transmission adaptation values as well for example. Their most expensive Elite model does not seem to offer much more than the MaxiSys 906 for example.

I have Durametric enthusiast and iCarSoft POR I, but will probably be getting an Autel MaxiSys. Most independent workshops use several scanners/code readers to cover as much as possible.

Stringbag

Icarscan not icarsoft. Completely Different.
I had an icarsoft por2. Sold it a week later as it was Rubbish.

Icarscan by launch (I have the little orange version) will do brake pad grinding, coding and a bunch of other things, and on 5 (10 at the moment) brands of cars. Not models, brands.
its not a patch on PIWIS but it’s a fraction of the price.

roddylennox

I am correctly referring to iCarSoft, not iCarScan https://www.icarsoft.com/

P.S. Autel Elite does ECU programming.

Stringbag

Apologies, I thought you were replying to my post.

Yes there is lots of choice around. Might be worth someone coming up with a table of which tool can do what to help out those who are considering buying one.

There is a brand called Carly that I’ve heard about too but don’t know much else.

rbrunelle

If you are handy with computers there are several ways to make a PIWIS II. You need only purchase the VCI which sells for $350 An SSD with the software sells for $120 if you are not handy. Just boot from an external SSD and voila! Many people have created a virtual machine on their PC's using VM ware then loaded the PIWIS II image onto that virtual machine. The are step by step instructions on the internet to do this IF you have the ability to create a VMware virtual machine and can add a disk image to it, then that is the way to go. I did find the PIWIS II disk image files online for free. $750 gets you a Panasonic CF30 laptop,.the VCI and cables and a nice carrying case but that isn't needed

rbhinvt

Interesting, you have the iCarSoft and Durametric. Is there anything that the iCarScan por I does that the Durametric cannot do?​​​​​

rbrunelle

An interesting thing happened to me the other day. I had just received my PIWIS III and was going to use it to change out the PSM module and before I did I had it run a full diagnostic. At the time I didn’t realize that the unit was in development mode. My PIWIS 2 would only show one code, a faulty recirculation servomotor which I have struggled to physically change due to its location. When the diagnostic was complete two things happened; one I realized it was in development mode since all the responses were in German (in development mode the menus can be changed to English but the responses from the modules appear in German) And two there were more error codes. After having google translate the German responses I discover that the b piller servomotors were mechanically jammed. It also found a fault in the brake light switch which was working properly. I switched the unit to after sales mode( the dealer mode) and those codes weren’t there Then I used the unit to monitor the servomotors in question. What I discovered was that they were indeed not moving from 0 to 100. After finally figuring out where they were located (under the front seats) I pulled one out and took it apart and the motor shaft was seized. Un seizing it didn’t do enough to fix it so I ordered 3(one for the recirc) from eBay. Anyways the point is that developers mode not only tested the motors it tried to run them from stop to stop which normal mode does not. The brake light switch after checking the voltage while pressing on the switch was showing only 7 volts so it was partially shorted something else missed by the regular mode. If you have mysterious issues with no codes and have access to Porsche tester, try running it in development or engineering mode as it is sometimes called, and see if it reveals any new codes.

vkb123

Thank you for all this PIWIS information! I’m truly fascinated and trying to figure out how to get one (practically and financially). Please keep this thread going!

roddylennox

I’m currently considering the Autel MaxiSys MS906BT. It’s around £1000 (approx $1300), but can code components to the vehicle. Can also calibrate park brake and do grinding in procedure on the shoes. There are cheaper models that do this but they don’t code. There are free software updates for first 12 months. Expensive to update after that but you don’t have to update it if you don’t want to. Not seen anything else that has the capabilities of this tool for the money. Happy to be corrected!

i keep the Por I in the trunk for emergencies.

rbrunelle

Why would you spend that much and not get a PIWIS 2? Cheaper and can code and do anything you need. From $350 to $750 depending on how handy you are with a PC. For $750 you get the factory Panasonic Toughbook that the dealer used until 2018.

roddylennox

Because the prices I got were much higher than that. Where did you get those prices from? There's nothing on eBay for that price where I am in UK. I don't have a Windows PC. I am a MacBook guy. Still open to the idea of PIWIS if the price is right, but don't want to be messing about with circuit boards etc and I'm not a computer whizz kid

rbrunelle

There are no circuit boards to play with. With a MacBook, your option would be to create a VM ware virtual machine and image the PIWIS II files to it given you likely aren't comfortable with that you can buy the exact tool the dealer used for £630 which is a complete unit. Plug it in and turn it on. Here is a link to one of many dealers of this product PIWIS II Here is another for slightly less PIWIS II There is another using a tablet pc for £291 PIWIS II Tablet Was I to buy a new one, I would chose the tablet version

roddylennox

Interesting, many thanks for this. I'll have a good think!