I agree with you Mike, I asked my local dealers shop forman, he is a track guy and I asked him about the flash, he told me that Porsche can tell if any files have been added, deleted, replaced, etc. There is no hiding this mod, I plan on doing it when the car no longer has a PCNA warranty.

 

I sent an email to a major aftermarket tuner asking about Flash and warranty. Here is their reply:

"Our software is undetectable by the dealership as we use the same tools to tune these cars as Porsche uses at the factory. If you are worried that there will be an issue with it when bringing it into the dealership we offer a free flash back to stock before you take the car in. Once you get the car back we will put the performance software back on the ECU at no charge as well."

 

Your free to do what you want to your car, and I am sure that the tuner can return it back to original software, but the guy I deal with has no reason to lie to me, he is a track instructor and loves mods. He was just giving me a piece of free advice, and for me 10hp isn't worth the possibility of getting a $30000 engine that failed due to something else get denied because the software is not what Porsche wrote.

 

Porsche isn't exactly handing out free engines even to those without flash . What has you thinking the flash will bow the engine ? You aren't seeing post after post of modded car owners upset . In fact I can't even think of one example which was directly related to any of the major softwares available.

BTW --the 997S does drive differently particularly in the midrange with upgraded sofware .

 

there should be a Porsche flash company prepared to do what Dinan does with BMW. they agree to meet the BMW warranty on motors if you use their upgrades - i never read the fine print but i suspect it has no more holes than the oem paper.

anyway, i think if someone did that they could do very well with Porsche owners.

 

You are absolutly correct. I am surprised Porsche an a tuner have not aknowledged this untapped resource.

 

Actually, there are some Porsche dealers that are also Evoms dealers who do offer this.

 

I don't think that it will cause a problem, however Porsche has itself covered in there legal for coverage...if the software is not from Porsche and your engine fails they will tell you to blow it out your ***! I am not Porsche so it doesn't matter what I say should be covered, and what shouldn't be.

Porsche has ways of seeing what you have done to your software, if you have changed it they will know.

As for having a flash on a 997S, my first 997 had GIAC, IMO didn't do anything for cars performance.

 

My thoughts on a blown engine might differ from most . Even if my car was bone stock I would sit down with the dealership and begin negotiating a new car . One forum member even went so far as to insist on a car replacement from Porsche and claims that he got it --a Turbo .

Unlike him I would expect to pay for a new car.

If my car was modified (which mine is) and it faced a blown motor I would sit down with all parties involved in the project as well as a dealership and work out an agreement at placing me into a new car .

My philosophy on cars is simple --keep a car until it gives trouble big enough to consider letting it go or until one gets bored --whichever comes first.

 

Or let's not forget the shinny new model comes out!

 

Ruf will warranty their upgrades to any Porsche engine, and make payment for any repairs as related to their upgrades. It is limited coverage to a year, but there are many Ruf owners that have had issues taken care of by Ruf beyond their warranty coverage date.

 

The warranty claim denial fear tactic droned into the minds of buyers has been the general message from auto manufactuers . For some reason buyers don't even like to question it much less defy it with THEIR own cars .

No tuner would stay in business if engines were blowing and for some reason these extreme examples can occur even with stock cars . Oddly enough many car manufacturers have also denied repairs on cars which were stock too.

This false sense of security that all is well with a factory warranty is not always the case .

Granted -- adding mods does increase performance and it also adds a new challenge in every aspect of a cars ownership from more maintenance to insurance .

That's the price of the toy . If I want boring I can buy a lot of other cars . If I want to be part of a more homogenized Porsche culture I would leave it stock .

 

Most, if not all, software is invisible. I've been on track-oriented forums for about 10 years now and I've never heard of one example of warranty that was impacted by using software upgrades. In many cases (ie: Conforti for BMW, Softronic for Porsche), it's as easy as plugging your computer in (or the OBD module) and returning to stock if you are nervous.

As to the benefits, it's not just 10 HP. It is more about a better throttle map and creating a program for my car and how I use it. For example, having a program that is oriented to the 93 octane fuel I use, vs. a generic that comes with the car for anything from 87 octane that they know people pour into these cars.

Some people will spend $2500 for PSE thinking it enhances performance, which it doesn't. Others will spend thousands on other items like SC, wheels, etc. - again, which do not enhance performance. At least good software actually does something and gives you an even better throttle map than SC does (more linear, less jumpy).

I think everyone has to have their own feeling of security with this. It's not crystal clear. Some say it impacts warranty, while others say it does not. If you are uncomfortable, then by all means, stay away. On the other hand I have 10 years with tuning software as a consumer and have gone from being concerned to being comfortable. 10 years and thousands of threads and conversations / emails later is what did the trick.

 

The manufacturers are getting more sophisticated in their ECU software. I've read on this board and others that Porsche can tell if the ECU has been flashed even if subsequently returned to stock - don't know the validity of this claim since I don't recall seeing any first hand reports. I do know that GM dealers can tell if an ECU has been flashed and then returned to stock. This happened to me with a Hypertech device on a Chevy 2500HD diesel - I returned it to stock before service but a minor warranty claim was denied because of my modification. It will interesting to see if we ever get the "real" story on Porsche.

 

I suppose it all depends on the tuner. There are computer wizards that can hack into government and bank secure systems, so why can't there be engineers that are tuners that "tweak" values in software and not leave a trail? Granted, the newest 997.2 DME is the most sophisticated yet and I've read the threads about how tough it was to create better software for them.