When I had my 997 with Sport Chrono and tiptronic, I noticed a huge difference with the sport mode selected. In manual mode, shifting was a lot faster. In auto mode, the car shifted at higher RPMs. Also, if you were in auto mode on the freeway and gunned it, RPMs would shoot to 7,000 at the blink of an eye, but the tranny would have to catch up (that is, excelleration was not as fast as the RPM increase).

I will be interested to see with my new 997S 6 speed and X51 how sport chrono impacts driving. It is clearly a must have with tiptronic.

 

I am sure that the Sport Chrono will to a certain extent enhance the driving pleasure. However, please correct me if my understanding is wrong. The car is basically the same car with 355hp. The Sport Chrono just make the throttle response a bit more sensitive (and the suspension a bit firmer), right? so without it, the car should still runs the same way (except one may have to push the gas pedal a bit further down and change the setting of the PASM to sport)? Do you agree?

 

No, like I posted earlier. Sport chrono does more than just adjust throttle response and stiffen the suspension. It changes the way that PSM reacts and allows you to drive the car more agressively without PSM kicking in.

The Porsche website says this, "When “Sport� mode is selected on the optional Sport Chrono Package Plus, the PSM threshold is further extended to enable greater driver involvement... Also included in the Chrono package is a modified ABS offering shorter braking distances. Occupant comfort has also been improved by refining all potential PSM inputs." In another part of the site it says, "The new Sport Chrono Package Plus option is an all-new integrated system providing simultaneous enhancement for engine, chassis and the optional Tiptronic S transmission. The results are even greater performance and pleasure from your Porsche.

Pressing the “Sport� button on the center console is all that’s required to begin exploiting the new 911’s generous reserves of power and agility in a more immediate manner. In Sport mode, the engine management system’s variable parameters are recalibrated to enhance engine response. A modified throttle map empowers your right foot with more progressive reaction to each tap of the accelerator. In higher gears, a rev-limiter works in tandem to offer additional protection for the engine under acceleration.

On vehicles with Tiptronic S transmission, automatic gearshifts also become faster and more dynamic. Lift off the throttle – even at high revs – and the system immediately shifts down to apply engine braking.

Unwanted upshifts in manual mode are also prevented, even as you approach the engine’s rev limit. The payoff? More secure and predictable handling, particularly in the corners.

While all of this is happening, PASM switches to a more rigid setup with firmer electronic damper settings for precise cornering, improved high-speed stability and tenacious road-holding traction. (Note: PASM, or Porsche Active Suspension Management, is optional on the 911 Carrera and standard on the 911 Carrera S).

Porsche Stability Management is also performance-optimized by raising the thresholds for triggering automatic intervention by the ABS and engine management systems, resulting in a more natural response, but less forgiving to lateral and longitudinal g-forces.

A digital/analog timer mounted on the center dashboard keeps score, measuring time as deftly as the 911 concept transcends it.

To help you gauge your 911’s performance in a more exacting manner, a digital/analog stopwatch tracks time from hours down to hundredths of a second. Driving times can be recorded for any stretch of road, and benchmark times can be defined.

Stopwatch functions are operated using a control stalk mounted to the side of the steering wheel, and data is continuously fed to an on-board computer integrated into the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system.

A second digital display located on the instrument cluster gives your eyes another option for viewing time information, while the PCM display lets you analyze detailed performance data at your leisure. The system records and displays the time and distance traveled on the current segment, number of segments completed with respective times and the fastest segment. Other useful features include a memory function controlled via the PCM system which can store a range of personal preferences."

You are absolutely right though, it doesn't increase horsepower in any way, it just changes the feel of the car. Jeremy Clarkson on top gear kind of summed it up best when he tested a 997S with sport chrono. He said that the sport mode completely transforms the car into an absolute beast. The best thing to do is try it out for yourself.

 

I am new to 997s , i just got a 07 - 997s , how to tell with Sport Chrono or not ? How do i know which options do i have in the car ? thanks

 

Sport Chrono (minus the chronometer) can be added now by your dealer. Check Suncoast for it.

Here it is:
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-retrofit.html

 

You'll have a Chronograph (timer clock) sitting in a wart on top of the middle of your dashboard - hard to miss it. And the operation of it should be in your owner's manual.

Suncoast Website has a VIN decoder, but I don't know if that will show all options... http://www.suncoastparts.com/category/VINDECODER.html

Look in your owner's manual also for what "Sport" mode does. If you don't have it, the software, not the clock, can be added: http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...Code=997236per

 

Another data point for the OP. Now that I've had my car for 6 months or so, I'm finding that my standard startup procedure is to hit the sport button and then the PASM button so that I am in sport mode but with the softer PASM setting. I find the throttle response to be perfect, without being overly sensitive and jerky, and for the street, I think the hard suspension settings are overkill. If I want to play, I generally turn off PSM so I can hang the tail out . So basically, I think sport schrono is worth it for the improved throttle response alone. You could look into reprogramming the ecu or adding the option from suncoast if you find a car that is otherwise perfect, but I personally wouldn't be happy with the "stock" throttle mapping.

 

IMO, the 911 base family (not t, not gt...) should come out of the factory with sport as the norm and sport + as the "option". All of the marketing mumbo jumbo does translate into technical and driving differences that, when you first look at this car, you just expect it to have. My guess is that, like BMW, in order to get the mpg rating for sticker purposes, but unlike BMW, for option revenue and product segmentation reasons they do what they do. Personally, I would prefer it without the dashboard delight but I would always want this "option".

 

Good question.

Would a Softronic tune do almost the same thing?

 

I just have to LOL at the "you must have it" folks. I guarantee you they all have it. Bottom line, is that unless you have a PDK there is no benefit whatsoever to having the SC unless you feel like the PSM off/on settings don't work for you and you need a setting in the middle. That's it.

 

A Very old topic and older viewpoints - I think some of the myth and enthusiasm has mellowed now into objectivity. It's nice to be able to upgrade the software though, and for PDK, I'd still say it is well worth doing, if not a must. I stay in Sport now and still get great gas mileage and the car is just more fun to drive that way - "fun to drive" that was my purchasing goal in the 1st place.

 

I don't believe the Sport Chrono option has any affect on CS 997.2 PASM 6-speed manual (non-tip) cars. Am I correct?

 

Only if your owner's manual is incorrect. I vote, go with the docs unless something else becomes more compelling.

 

As for power, not value of the car. A Carrera S with a softronic tune gives more power then the sport crono. correct?

 

It looks like there is still a lot of nisconceptions about that sport chrono thing.
all it does is different ECU mapping. so it affects throttle response curve, makes it more agressive, and who knows, may be it also changes something in the way how generic ECU map works, but it is unlikely.
so it does not 'add up horsepower'. it maps it differently.

ECU flashes from GIAC, softronic, what else is there do offer same services. or SC can be installed as an option retrofit.

what is important - for 997.2 PDK cars same 'sport' button also controls behavior of another ECU - for PDK and it enables different maps there so that is why SC option was so important for PDK cars. for manual cars I would not care less about it - I did not have it in my car, so got ECU flashed with softronic and got much more features from that flash than I would get from SC.