Softronic ECU Flash

[texwayne]

Originally Posted by porsche986spyder

I was just saying it didn't seem like much BANG FOR THE BUCK. $900. for 18hp!

yeah, i hear you. it's a lot of money. but think about it for minute:

ECU tune - $900 / 18 HP = $50 / HP
Headers - $1500 / 25 HP = $60 / HP
Turbo - $8000 / 75 HP = $106 / HP

i know the headers and turbo numbers might vary a bit, but i still think the ECU tune is in the ballpark. the real bummer is that NA cars can't gain nearly as much from ECU tune as turbos.

[Kirk]

[QUOTE=porsche986spyder]

Originally Posted by Kirk

Right, the link you gave is for the Upsolute remap, which I think is really the only comparable, lower cost option out there, which I mentioned in my first post.

I was just saying it didn't seem like much BANG FOR THE BUCK. $900. for 18hp! I knew there were others out there cheaper. Upsolute you mentioned is cheaper by $200.00 over the Softech option. Softech doesn't sound very easy to install with all of the warnings it mentions while doing the install yourself while plugged in on-line!!? By the way, Unichip, like I said only makes a System that works with the "S" type which is the 3.2Ltr. Not the 2.7Ltr. So I'm not sure where that chart you posted came from. They use a biggy-back type of system the plugs into the O.B.D. and allows you to turn it on or off when needed. That was what I liked about it. Not sure about what they used to sell for your WRX. Maybe they have changed since then. Other than that, the cost was worth the HP & TRQ. But like I said, unless you have a 3.2 it does matter anyway.

Dude, I agree with you completely. It doesn't seem like much bang for the buck to me either! Especially since I think that 18 HP is overly optimistic. The dyno chart I posted claimed a 21.7 HP gain. But that's like only at the very extreme. For most of the curve you've only got a 2-3 HP gain!

Personally I'd save my money on intakes, exhausts, headers, and chips and look more at a motor swap. I've got a 3.2L, I'm pretty handy, and I know someone who can remap the ECU for me. Thus I'd be more inclined to get a good, used 3.4L engine, install it myself, gain an honest, usable 50 HP and call it good for about $5K. Again, not a huge amount of bang for the buck, but I think a better deal than trying to squeeze the last bit of life out of an already well tuned engine.

As for the curve I posted, it was from the Unichip website. You may be mistaken about them only making a chip program for the 3.2L.

http://www.unichip.us/search_results.asp?dhtmlgoodies_year=2000&dhtmlgoodies_make=Porsche&dhtmlgoodies_model=453054452

Click on the 2.7L CAI link at the bottom to get the dyno chart. It's a 2.7L Boxster with S-Car-Go cold air intake and Unichip. But that's a 2000 2.7L with I believe the 7.8 DME. Maybe they don't support the earlier DME version, which is what you've got if you have a '97 - '99 Boxster, non-egas.