Boxster Chipped - watch this space

[southwd1]

I see there's been a few threads about this topic but has anyone actually had their Boxster chipped?


I know a few people that have had their cars (petrol & diesel ) done and have nothing but phrase and "no come backs" Their cars run better, smother to drive, better economy, more bhp&torgue thus faster. Only one thing though - their cars were turbo's.

The company below have been used by my colleagues and said how professional they were.
They reckon i will get an extra 15-20BHp

Does anyone have any facts, advice, information, even peoples opinions, before i have my car done.

David

ps - this is what i've been quoted
Porsche 987 ecu upgrade including before and after dyno runs - £450.00 + Vat = £528.75

http://www.paramount-performance.com/acatalog/porsche.html

 

[Black80XSA]

20bhp on a normally aspirated engine ? - seems optimistic unless you also change the air filter.

I'd want to know who's software they are using - if its DMS or Giag (although at their prices i doubt it very much) then maybe its worth a try.

I personally wouldn't bother, £500 would get you 2 full days of driver instruction on road, which will give you more benefits than a rechip.

 

[southwd1]

They advised me to change the filter aswell. Porsche 987 performance panel filter supplied and fitted £65.00

Im definitely going to get it done so will let you all know the outcome.

david

ps - I did an advanced drivers course a few years ago which was well worth the money.

 

[berty987]

Insurance will be expensive after a remap, so be warned. I doubt you will see full seconds off the 0-60 time or 10's of extra MPH at max speed. Your car will also be less tolerant to poor fuel , as the remaps tend to tune the engine based on optimum fuel and ignition parameters. You cannot get any more fuel or air than the intake plenum and fuel pump can provide , so these are the limiting factors. The stoichiometric ratio has to be maintained as part of the Lambda reading and emissions control ,so the fuelling has to be matched to the air. Considering the Cayman 3.4 uses the same intake filter as the 3.2 Boxster , I doubt the "performance" filter does any more than act as a placebo by giving a bit of better throttle response and more induction noise. The differences between the Cayman and Boxster are on the intake manifold and not the upstream filter , suggesting this is where the true restriction lies. Performance Oiled filters also come with their own issues of contamination of the air mass sensor.

 

[944s2]

Got to be honest for that cost plus possible added insurance costs is it worth it?

Using the right fuel - V power rather than regular for example would probably have as much effect even if you could notice a 5% or so improvement in power

See this for economy version

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20BHP-PORSCHE-911-928-944-968-CARRERA-CAYENNE-BOXSTER_W0QQitemZ180287950262QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180287950262&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20BHP-ANY-PORSCHE-911-944-BOXSTER-CARRERA-PERFORMANCE_W0QQitemZ180287811669QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item180287811669&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[Black80XSA]

Alternatively you could try the IPD replacemnt plenum - not exactly cheap with the dolar exchange rate as it is at the moment but another consideration. Claims 15-20bhp. Add that to the chip and similar for an exhaust and if you believe all the hype you'd have a 350bhp Boxster S or 300bhp 2.7

 

[berty987]

you forgot to mention the price....2k for the exhaust manifolds 2k for the silencers and another 2 k for the chip and plenum, then a void warranty ! if you have a 3.2 then ideally you also need an uprated clutch as the 3.2 has a weaker cover plate than the 3.4, these mods will stretch its capablities. if you want more go , sell the car and buy an RS60. Supercharger kits are about 6k this will give 400 plus BHP.

 

[daro911]

ORIGINAL: southwd1

They advised me to change the filter aswell. Porsche 987 performance panel filter supplied and fitted £65.00

Im definitely going to get it done so will let you all know the outcome.

david

ps - I did an advanced drivers course a few years ago which was well worth the money.

If it ain't broke why try & fix it!

Keep the £528 odd and you won't have to spend the rest of your time together wondering if the car is anymore efficient, better to drive and as quick as your £528 went from the bank to the chipper []

Fitting a decent sports exhaust won't make the car any quicker but it sure will sound and feel as if it is []

 

[Glyn]

who would tell the insurance []

 

[nathan 1981 930 G50]

I too pondered around a chip for my 3.2 carrera some 6 years ago. I was told at the time that due to technology the software 'these days' is much more improved than when my car was built. This isn't going to be the case with your car.
So, did I do it? No, I bought a 911 turbo albeit 2 years older than my carrera.
Currently my 911 turbo is in pieces due to upgrades. I will get another 80bhp when it's done, stock is 300.

Anyway, you've made your mind up! I look forward to reading your comments. Sounds like you need a turbo!

I agree with the negative comments about the air filter ruining your MAF. However, supposedly they can be cleaned with a certain type of cleaner. If you ever have a problem with your MAF do a lot of research for what to clean it with before you let anybody loose on it as they may ruin it...

 

[Black80XSA]

ORIGINAL: Glyn

who would tell the insurance []

It might be awkward to get to the air filter on a Boxster, but i can tell you that faced with a big payout for repairs or write off the insurance assessors WILL check for any mods. Its more difficult to check for ecu reprogramming via the diagnostic ports than the days of replacement chips, but assessors do open up ecu boxes and check for inline plug-in chip tuning boxes.

Think at least 10% insurnace premium increase (25% more likely on a Porsche), and for a few bhp its not worth it.

 

[southwd1]

You've got me thinking now chaps is it definitely worth it.

I have the car booked in for next Thursday but am in two minds. Do I - Don't I..!!

Surely there must be someone out there who's had it done, I can't be the first - can I?

ps What's MAF?

 

[Bluebox]

MAF - Mass air flow (Measures the mass of air entering a fuel-injected engine, used by ECU to work out the best engine's air/fuel ratio, so it can be controlled very accurately. Very important sensor!)

I wouldn't let anyone near my car!!!!
Porsche spend millions on engine performance devolvement.

 

[nathan 1981 930 G50]

I wouldn't bother. I didn't [&o]

Get it supercharged [] http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ELECTRIC-SUPERCHARGER-TURBO-PORSCHE-BOXSTER-2-5-2-8-3-2_W0QQitemZ380066551575QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item380066551575&_trkparms=72%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[Black80XSA]

The difference in fuels on the forecourt can be worth 5-7bhp, so if you fill the car with Morrisons dirtiest unleaded, and then with Shell V Power and you can feel a noticeable difference then you will get something similar from a remap. Not very scientific i know as a remap will improve the fuelling more in some parts of the rev range compared to others, whereas fuel will be a relatively constant trait across the revs.

I think you'll look long and hard to find anyone int he uk thats done it - too many people worry about warranty, engine failures and the gains just aren't worth it for the cost/risk.

 

[Bluebox]

Really funny[], these ebay links people are posting are all scams, I can't believe people are taken in on these so called performance gimmicks!!!!

I worked in engine management and diagnostics software design for 20 years, and I can tell you adding a tiny fan (£2) to the air intake is going to do nothing, but stop the flow of air and make the car run rich, you need a few bar of pressure to increase performance.

The other Ebay cons are adding a resistor (2 pence!) across one or more of the sensors to fool the engine management into thinking its running too weak.

I agree that different fuels can make a noticeable difference in performance, but you ECU will automatically remap itself!
If you change from Shell V-power to standard Shell unleaded, your ECU will just switch to a different fuel map.
Tip: I run my 986 on standard Shell unleaded fuel and the car is a joy to drive, loads more low down torque, and with normally driving conditions ( <110 MPH) its just brilliant and saves a few pounds a week and seem to get more MPG!!!

On V-Power I was getting 28MPG and now with standard Shell unleaded fuel I'm getting 32MPG, maybe with the extra torque my driving style has changed, but I get to work in the same time (i.e. fast as possible).

Regards,
Chris.

 

[GOOFY]

This doesn't make sense.

The higher the Octane, the more power & torque the engine can develop (up to the point that it can take advantage of this increased Octane).

The ECU optimises itself to the fuel to avoid pre-detonation or pinking. By putting in Higher Octane Fuel , the ECU can then detonate earlier with the fuel burning longer , giving up more energy.

Using lower octane means the ECU ignites the fuel later. This means less energy available to work the engine.


If you had a Turbo Car the Octane Rating becomes more critical due to the effective compression / fuel to air ratio.

 

[Bluebox]

I agree with you, it doesn't make sense.

I have always used Shell V-power in my 986, but with the Shell truck driver strike I could only get the standard Octane Fuel.
The car does run better on the standard Octane Fuel, maybe the ECU map for this fuel gives a better torque curve at low RPM.
Anyway, I swapped back to V-Power this week and its make no differance, maybe it takes two fill ups before the ECU swaps fuel maps...

Also the weather has changed this week, which is a big factor in engine power with denser air, lower ambient temperatures, I would have thought V-Power would have made a big differance.

My Mr1 MR2 loves V-Power, this does make a huge difference with pinking, as the AW11 engine doesn't have any knock/oxygen senors and runs in open loop mode.

I will swapping back to standard shell Octane Fuel and save myself a few quid !

 

[Black80XSA]

Well i've always had better mpg (10%) and better throttle response on VPower than std Shell - whether its been old runabouts of my 2 Boxsters - i guess its down to your driving style, although i got the same improvements whether motorway or town biased driving ?