I first bought a DME (ECU, whatever you what to call it) and it had a FVD tune on it. After trying that out, it became apparent that part of the tune wasn't there as the boost remained at stock levels. Since FVD wanted full price to restore it I shopped around. I sent the DME to one of the Texas Upsolute places, but since it was apparently the guy's second job he could never make it to the post office to get the DME after several weeks of attempts, USPS just shipped it back. Not really the greatest way to do business, IMO. So I was torn between going with Evoms or APR. I decided to try the APR tune and went through a local shop that was an authorized dealer. He tried to flash the tune but the DME would not take it. He contacted APR and they said to ship it in. I was attempting to set that up, but the shop did not return my calls so I punted. After mulling the prices over for the other familiar tunes out there, the M3 crowd (m3post.com) announced a group buy on Powerchip and I had never heard of them before. I surfed and looked at several forums and it seemed OK. Unfortunately for me the tunes, while custom, were on a 2wd dyno so they were just going to flash mine. A big thanks to the M3 crowd for letting me in on the deal!
I went and the flash would not "take" just like the APR tune. I left the DME with them to take back to California and have it flashed. I got it back within a week and after returning from a vacation, I put it in.
Things I noticed were that it seemed a bit choppy on part throttle acceleration. No pinging, but it seemed to miss or surge a bit. Boost was up and once it reached the upper revs, it ran fine. Tip in throttle response was improved. I drove around on it for about a month and took it to the dragstrip where it would not run faster than a 14.0. It was mainly due to lack of boost and surging in first gear and well into second gear until it would smooth out and start running. I put the stock DME in and it ran the usual 13.8-13.7s (13.80 on that run in particular). I even tried some unleaded race gas to help it prevent pinging but it didn't help. I pulled it out and contacted Powerchip and they said to send it back.
What was happening is that apparently some of the FVD parameters were still in the program - parts that Powerchip does not change from stock. So they flashed a completely stock tune into it to restore that point and then they reflashed their program. The part-throttle lag and surging is now gone and the throttle is crisp as ever. This must be what the Sprint Booster feels like. The whole thing feels 1000 pounds lighter just driving around. More importantly I returned to the dragstrip (this is why it took me so long to do the write-up) and got the positive results I was looking for.
With the stock program, the best I've ever run was a 13.5@101. But it's only run the 13.5 one time and trapped 102 mph once or twice (102.0-102.1) and that's with good weather. Last night I went in 65 degree weather with a still 10-15mph crosswind and ran a quickest 13.37@103.9 mph. After a two hour delay for them to clear the track from someone oiling down one lane, it ran a 13.39@104.4mph. The bad thing on that second run was that I botched the brake-boost off the start and ran 0.1 sec slower in the 60' time (1.976 vs. 2.103). I really think with a good launch it would have run a low 13.2 or maybe a 13.1. I had the stock DME with me as well to swap it back but due to delays I just didn't get the chance this time to directly compare the two. But for comparison sake, there was a stock IS-F lexus out there running 13.0@109.
So really looking at the mph and the weather differences I think the tune is worth around 45hp or so to the wheels. Powerchip advertises about 65hp on the 93 octane tune that I have so figuring the driveline losses, I think that's about right. Without a dyno I won't know for sure. Race weight at the track was 5515 pounds with me in it and I ran on 93 pump gas.
So in all, I like the throttle mapping over stock and the power is a noticeable increase. About the only thing I can complain about is the slight hesitation it takes when punching it from 55mph (say, to pass) it takes a split second longer to get fully into the power than the stock program. But the boost keeps the gauge pegged (0.8 bar) for the most part. I think I've seen it drop to about 0.7 on occasion. On a long, deserted stretch of highway it was still boosting hard at 150 indicated before I got out of it. The top end rush is much better than stock to say the least.

Keep in mind that I have a few other mods as listed in my signature. But I'm happy with the results and Powerchip fixed the bad data on the DME I gave them for free and did that with a quick turnaround. I'm very pleased with the results of this tune and dealing with Mike over at Powerchip.

 

I should mention that this is the last of the power mods I have planned for my vehicle, unless I can find some Turbo S intercoolers cheap. I just don't want the extra noise of an aftermarket muffler.

 

Good writeup!

Aren't there some performance shops that make intercoolers? You can probably get the key dimensions from the Turbo S intercoolers and have them made pretty inexpensively (relatively speaking)...

 

I think the cores would be easy but getting the connections and so forth would be the harder part.

 

WOW great times for so little mods.

 

what do you think of euro charge tune ?

do you recommend it ?

 

You could ask, but this is 3 years old...

 

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in a software flash. We offer the only full DME flash, meaning you wouldn't have the aforementioned issues of only a portion of the flash taking. We re-write the factory code in favor of our own proprietary code, as opposed to just modifying the factory maps. This leads to perfect levels of drivability coupled with the maximum power output that can be reliably achieved.

 

Seem like a decent solution. Nice write up. I would likely follow your foot step on this. Keep the stock dme and buy a spare one to have it flashed to match my car. Glad to hear it worked out for you.

 

the head. Are the numbers on the sticker the same between the one from your car and the one you purchased?

 

I'll have to check. To answer the other question the Eurocharged tune is superior in smoothness and power delivery for me. It isn't abrupt at all. I highly recommend it. Feel like stock but with more power. It also reduced lag a bit but it still has some.

 

hi I have a 06 turbo s cayenne and wanted to chip it can u help

 

Got it on my S600 and it is a nice tune. Not sure how their products are on Porsche.