ECU Flash Tune...
 

I've been looking at the ECU Flash tunes that companies offer and I haven't seen any reviews on them after people been running them for a couple of years. For people that have been running an ECU Flash tune like Softronic, Evomsit, FVD, GIAC, etc., how's it holding up? Any problems with the car while running them for a couple of years? Also can you really feel a difference in the car? What's the best and easiest one to load up?
I do have ECU Flash tunes on a few of my cars (Coob Tunes) plus some bolt on mods., and they do make a lot of difference.
Sorry for so many questions but I don't really want to spend $900.00 Usd. which = $1100.00 Cad. and then find out that they make no difference at all. I appreciate your input if you have any experience with ECU Flash tunes on the Boxster, thanks.

That money can buy more & safer power on better parts. Don't waste your money!

I have the FVD Tune on my car. I should have done it sooner.

I quite like it and it did make a difference, but to be fair, I had all the bolt ons added with the exception of the header (work in progress.)

I think in terms of ease, they are all more or less the same across the board - you install the software onto your laptop (mostly Windows) update the firmware of the tuning device (if applicable) and then plug it in to your car to capture the stock image. You then upload the stock image into your laptop, send it off to your tuner, and they send you the updated file. Take new file, upload to your car, and away you go.

I can't speak for the other vendors but before you buy, see which vendor you get the best response and support from. That and read through their software installation procedure. FVD for me provided a lot of support and was very responsive during regular business hours, and the bonus is they have a team in Germany who will reply to you before you get up in the day.

My only "gripe" (read; first world problem) is the software where you need to disable firewalls, disable anti-virus and stuff like that before you can update the firmware of the device. This is more or less a two time thing because realistically, how often are you going to flash your car's ECU? Maybe a few times and that's it.

Any how, the tune has really changed the car. I'm still getting used to it and it is quick, but I am loving it. If you have bolt ons, get the flash. If the car is stock, I would spend the money on maintenance and necessary repairs. :D

Like what? I don't really want to modify the car to much, I kind of want to leave as much stock as possible, that's why I was looking at the ECU tune.

Aftermarket tunes only really add marginal improvements, and then only with all the other mods (throttle body, plenum, headers, etc.) already done.

What kind of bolt ons did you do before you added the tune?
Maintenance wise the car is up to date, the only thing I haven't done is the IMS bearing, I plan on looking at it whenever I need a new clutch, if it goes then it's my opportunity to get a Cayman S :)
Okay, so it's a bit different than cobb, with cobb all the maps are already pre-loaded in the accessport and you just have to go thru the maps according to your bolt on mods. Like on the 535 I'm on stage 2 with a catback exhaust, bigger intercooler and a drop in k&n filter.
I didn't notice anything different when I put headers on my 330, the only thing I noticed was that it was a bit louder, maybe because I already had a catback exhaust on the car.

The only mod that I was considering was the underdrive pulley, it seems to add the most power for the money, but after some research I see some people are against it, including yourself. I do have a K&N free flow filter, I just took it out a few weeks ago to clean it. If it adds a couple of horsepower or not I don't really know, but it sounds nice.

I have the following bolt-on modifications:

1. IPD plenum and the 74mm throttle body upgrade
2. FVD "Sound" exhaust
3. BMC air filter (it was part of the FVD tuning package)
4. To be installed in a few weeks - FVD long tube headers

I cannot speak for the other vendors of flash software but for FVD, you can get a tune based on your bolt-ons. I do not believe they offer an ECU flash for cars without the bolt-ons, but I could be wrong. I wished there was a simple option for the 986 Boxster where Cobb offered pre-loaded flashes on the device itself without having to upload/download software or flashes etc. But c'est la vie. It's worked well for me and enjoying it.

Get the Cayman S regardless of clutch or IMS. I heard they are better than an ECU flash. :D

Just to clarify, under drive pulleys do free up a few HP; what I have a problem with is cutting away the boss used to lock the engine at TDC to fit one on, which make some potential future maintenance items, like retrofitting the IMS, more difficult for a shop.

As for any oiled air filter, no. Putting an oiled air filter in the air stream ahead of the MAF is asking from problems down the road. While they may sound cool, any power improvement is at best within the margin of error on a dyno pull, and every GT 2, GT 3, and Cup race car out there runs a dry element air filter.

Are all 986 under drive pulleys like that?
Was thinking of getting one, mostly to reduce PS temp at track

Thanks for the info. Yeah cobb is so easy to upload and change maps.
I don't need to get divorced at my age. With 5 cars already, if I get another car, I'm either going to be sleeping in the shed or the wife will kick me out :D. Been trying to sell one for a couple of weeks, but no luck yet. Even at a loss, people still want something for nothing.

That's why I haven't put the K&N filter back on again, I've been reading a lot of horror stories about oiled filters on these cars. I was looking at the BMC, but it's also an oiled filter.

Using an oiled air filter on any car using a MAF Sensor and or a MAP Sensor is asking for problems.
So that's pretty much any car manufactured and sold in the USA from about 1994-1996 on.

To my knowledge.

I have K&N air filters on all my cars and never had any problems. The only reason I took it out of the Boxster was to clean it, I was planning on putting it back at the next oil change. After doing some reading that they might screw with the Maf sensor in the long run I might just leave it out.

When I bought my Boxster a few years ago I got very interested in OBDII and how it functions.
So being retired I had lots of time to do research. I found that the hot film and the hot wire MAF sensors are very sensitive in many ways.
I found pictures of MAF sensors that were magnified (microscope). They showed how the coating on the hot wire and the hot film would erode under different conditions. like they had been sand blasted or dirt, oil coated.
Thus altering reliability or causing premature failure.
Some of those conditions were specifically different types of air filters. Convinced my that any oil type air filter is a no no.;)

Do you have a part number or any advice on where to find the 74mm throttle body for the 986/987 plenum?