Sorry for the delay guys!! I am BAAAAACK!!!! did you miss me??
I will try and answer all the questions to the best of my ability, and if I miss anyone/anything - sorry, just ask me again
1. MN Boxster said:
Hi,
No one said it had no effect, what they said was the effect wasn't worth the cost - Cost /Benefit. Chop the price in half for your chip and you may get some users...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99
If I could give it away for free I would!! Seriously though for the small cost of $600 you will feel the difference immediately. If you would consider changing say an air filter for $100 in return for >1hp gain (many do), then the upgrade is 'worth' the investment. If you ask a guy driving a rusted out 928 if this is within his budget, the answer would maybe be no; although MOST guys driving a Boxster can justify this cost for the gain. Many Porsche clients of ours go the other way: 'I paid $x00,000 for my car, I am not leaving the last 12hp on the table when it only costs $690 to tune'. To each their own.
2. Blue 2000s said:
What is it that you do for Powerchip? I think most folks know the basics of what's changed within the mapping but maybe you can give us an idea of what size of company it is, what type of equipment they use, and what types of use/abuse testing they do.
We have been tuning cars (chip upgrades exclusively) since 1991, in Australia. We opened up our North American operation in 2001 based out of Los Angeles, CA.
We employ 8 full-time staff in North America. I am operations manager and have worked with Powerchip for 9 years. We use state-of-art equipment and have the ability to modify certain vehicles that no other company in the World can.
For example, we are one of the very few companies to offer an upgrade for the 1996 993 Porsche 911. This is an example of how we focus on our Porsche range, to make sure we keep up-to-date.
We have developed a number of files for the Boxster engines that vary by octane rating and any other modifications made to the intake or exhaust. Over the years we see everything including supercharged, turbo and even NOS applications. Fun Fun Fun.
More information on our development, testing and other background is in our corporate brochure:
http://www.powerchipgroup.com/interact/brochure.asp or a video that was made for our Australian office is here:
http://www.powerchipgroup.com/interact/video.asp
3. dcporsche99 said:
One of the things I would be worried about is their warranty. It sounds good at first, where it mentioned something like "unlimited mileage / 3 years" and then you could add some cash an get another 3 yrs. ....but then it states that if anything happens to the car they'll fix it ???...not sure what that means???
Anyway, I would really like to hear from the folks out there who have this mod to give us some input...especially the one's who have had it for a couple years...
I'm still on the fence about this one.....but I would certainly be swaying more towards getting it, if the price were CUT IN HALF (Good idea Jim!!)
..but, I do have say that the video / advertisement is very professional...as many have already said...impressive!
Don't be: we are not in the business of manipulating people out of warranty claims. In fact, the warranty that each customer gets is for 3 years and covers the ECU software and any other element of the vehicle relating to the ECU software.
We introduced this for 2 reasons:
1. software cannot break, change or crash. Powerchip is a digital set of instructions that are static. Once it is installed properly, and the vehicle starts - then the various checksums and other codes have been verified by the internal system, and the software is as good as the stock version.
2. most clients are under warranty still. A majority of the vehicles we work on are 2005+ newer and are still under new car warranties. The Powerchip warranty is designed to fill any gaps left by the factory warranty relating to the modified part (ECU software). If your car suddenly explodes the ECU (virtually impossible), the Powerchip will be there to make sure you have a new one.
We have some testimonials on our website from customers that bother to write in and let us know what they think. I know you may think I am biased, but I started out as a Powerchip customer at the start. I was so impressed by the product that I now work here. I have also had it in my Boxster for over 2 years without any hiccups. The only downside is that you MUST run 91 octane (or 93 if it is available and you buy the Gold93 program), because we have tuned for it that gas specifically. Thanks for the nice comment on our advertisments, but they are not just made up figures, we prove these time and time again.
4. Blinkwatt said:
Could flashing the ECU be reversed is the battery is dead or drained? Could Powerchiping the car mess with the regular functions of the DME?
No it cannot. The Powerchip software is an adjustment of the factory mapping. Nothing is added or removed, and there is no way of telling that the adjustments have been made by looking at the diagnostic information. Removing the battery terminals will NOT erase the settings as they are all housed within the EEPROM chip soldered to the circuitboard itself... But remember to get your radio code before you do, or else you will be forced to listen to yourself humming!
5. blue 2000s said:
I've seen companies that make up some very professional looking presentations and videos that don't even have a working product. Never buy a product based on advertising literature alone.
By that same rationale: you probably have bought items in the past that do not have ANY sales literature to accompany them. Our sales literature is designed to provide as much information as possible to anyone interested.
I guess we would rather accept comments such as this - than the alternative: 'why isnt there ANY sales literature whatsoever? Never trust a company without a website or sales information'.
You will find that MANY competitors do not provide anywhere near the level of detail that we do. You will also find other websites that copy our information to give to their clients as well.
The fact of the matter is that in the performance software industry the information on a companies website says it all. If you can't find a price, horsepower gain, testimonial, brochure, list of dealers etc on a website, then chances are they are not worth dealing with.
6. DMCutter said:
Slick looking site, but they don't know how to use apostrophes. Man, that bugs the ******************** outta me. I dunno, if they don't know the dif between its and it's, can I trust them to tweak my engine?
This annoys me as well. If you can let me know any that you see, and I will remove them. I had a look, but couldn't find any.
7. Blue 2000s said:
Dyno numbers can be influenced by everything from calibration variation to the weather to barametric pressure to how tightly the car is held down to tire pressure. If you can't do tests back to back within a few hours on a calm day, you'd need to do some pretty extensive ongoing testing to get answers for sure. Or you'd test two identical unmodified cars at the same time, then modify one and retest them both to get an idea of the variation due to environment/calibration.
As you said, all this time and effort for a squiggly line doesnt make sense.... the upgrade will be immediately noticeable without any need to spend money on proving it. Please feel free to do this (many do), but I am confident you won't need to after the upgrade.
Let me reiterate: this is
NOT a Cold Air induction system or muffler upgrade that many are hardpressed to feel (you can hear the sound difference sure).
With Powerchip it is a case of simple testing: go for a drive in an area that you know well, do some timed runs before and after, take someone as a passenger to note the difference or if you can, try a G-Tech or other system for measurement. They will simply and cheaply show you that its working.
Bottom line: if you dont truely believe that the hp and tq has gone upto the amount we claim - your money is cheerfully refunded. You will be the first! Now how many exhaust, intake or even wheel manufacturers put their money where their mouth is like that?
---- fingers tired out now ----
Trav (pic attached of Mr. Leeman's lovely silver Cayman) - enjoy!
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