Just a final update on current changes
Set Up
Following the April Drive and Dine, I have a much better handle on the changes Chris has made to the car set up, frankly its transformed the cars on road manners - turn in is much sharper without having to have 2 bites on tight corners, as I sometimes used to have to do. The rear is much more planted and stable. The cars overall behavior is much more predictable - the car now breaths more with the bumps in the road (compliance) so there is a bit more up and down but it no longer kicks the tail to one side or the other with a big bump. The only minor negatives are a slight increase in road noise due to more rear tyre in contact with he road and a slightly lighter steering which means it hunts cambers on the road a tiny bit more, Overall a more than acceptable compromise for the benefits gained.
The changes have given me much more confidence to press on and much better turn in plus stability - so the work was worth every penny. I can highly recommend Chris' work.
Re-map
Got a comparison between re-map and no re-map on my car. As per my slight cynicism on the manufacturer claims, the power gains were there but not massive. 22 hp and 11 lb ft more at peak. However this is only half the story - the comparison between remap on and re-map off also showed quite a difference in drive ability - Peak torque with the remap is pretty much from 3k revs all the way to 7k revs - without re-map peak torque its 3.5k to about 5.75k. So I get peak pull for almost twice as many rev's as well as a slightly higher total value.
The power curve with the re-map is very smooth and mitigate a number of flat spots in the "normal curve" - most notably at around 5750rpm to 6250rpm where the power curve goes flat well below peak. At this stage with the re-map it is already passing the max non-remapped power. It is a smooth curve with only a slightly lower rate of power increase per rev. So on the road it should be pulling much harder than the stock car at this point
The guys at the rolling road were deeply impressed with the overall power and torque curves and felt it was significantly better than the standard set up. They also remarked that the throttle response and willingness to rev was substantially better with the re-map. However these guys are not Porsche specialists so I will be looking to get a second opinion.
The guys at the rolling road were a little cautious as to whether they had a fully accurate peak power reading, but were fully confident that they captured the before and after differences. They kept emphasizing the relative differences rather than the absolute values. They don't do many Porsche's so they were a bit wary of being quoted.
So I'll give it another thousand miles or so and pop down to Parr and get a full output figure - these guys can then tell me how that stacks up against a standard Gen 1. Then I can answer the questions I keep getting asked on whether the Power Kit or Milltech/Revo option was better value.
The initial findings by my local rolling road guys bear out how the car feels on the road - it goes like a scalded cat from 3k - 7k, mirroring the flat peak torque curve across the range - it also pulls persistently harder as I rev, matching the smooth increase in power on the curve and seemed much faster at the upper end as well as the 2.5k - 4k end. Again this mirrors the torque curve and the more responsive power curve at these points
Porsche shop set the throttle response for me at 7 on a scale of 1-9 so no surprise its very sensitive to throttle inputs and responds much more quickly to changes than the standard set up.
The canning the car got from Chris and I on its set up run and on the drive and dine has really brought the sound out of the exhaust now - its making a very nice growl
A couple of learning points here though - firstly the power curves in the Porsche gumph are it turns out from an engine on a dyno. They do the same to get power and torque figures. So not when connected to the rest of the oily bits, exhaust, filters etc. This then changes the actual power/torque curves you get on your car. Talking to my independent, all manufacturers do this - which is why my description of the basic curve does not fully reflect the near perfect graph in the sales gumph. Lesson 1 learned
Lesson 2, having got a nice loud exhaust - its loud, once it cuts past 3k revs its a fairly noticeable noise in the cabin. Fine when pressing on but a little monotonous on the motorway at constant speed. Conveniently this equates to low - middle 70's. So for commuting this will now encourage me to stick it on cruise control at 70 on the motorway where the car is nice and quiet.
Lesson 3 - manufactures quoted "power increases". i was a little cynical about how much difference some of the changes would make - if you added all the values up it was suggesting another 40-60hp. Which I was a little wary of. This is where Porscheshop earned there stripes because they were much more conservative and focused on the improved drive ability you'd get and the faster on road progress (plus better noise from the exhaust) rather than going for top end power figures.
To be honest that was what I was after more pull through the rev range, better overtaking capability and a but more responsiveness in the throttle and acceleration. Which seems to be what I've ended up with so I am happy[
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