ECU/Powerchip (Is it worth looking into)

Has anyone chipped a Carrera 996 4S. I just bought a 2003 4S & would like to possibly look into headers, CAI or possibly an ECU flash/chip. Are there downsides to this? Is it worth the expense. I am looking for a decent SOTP improvement. Thanks

I've been considering the GIAC, to compliment my CAI and exhaust. From what I can gather, the only downside in use is that you have to be fussier about using premium fuel (which I do anyway). IMHO, from a SOTP point of view, the flash is probably going to give you the most immediate sensation of improvement, since most of them remap throttle response one way or another. Exhaust and intake gains tend to be at high rpms, if you can feel them at all. In fact, some exhaust changes will actually cost you low end responsiveness, a product of simple physics (Disclaimer: General observation, not Porsche specific). However, they sound freakin' glorious! Worth the money? That, friend, is in the eye of the beholder. On a dollar to power ratio basis, I've received terrible value for my mods. On the other hand, they've made my car priceless (to me), so they're a bargain.

According to Excellence Magazine, the GIAC doesn't give much HP for MY2002+. I have it on my pre 2002. It probably gives 7hp + 10hp to the wheels with an intake and exhaust.

The question was, what will he feel in the 'seat of his pants'. My experience, you get in, you start the car, you put it in gear and drive a way... which mod will you feel first? I believe it's a chip. Throttle response for most people is a very pleasing improvement, if you're looking for butt dyno results. Horsepower is a difficult concept. For one thing, you don't really 'feel' horsepower in any kind of normal driving situation. More horsepower might give you more top speed (being a measure of how much work an engine can do), but it's torque that you 'feel' in the seat of your pants (being a measure of an engine's ability to overcome inertia). For another, the horsepower gains for intake and exhaust mods tend to occur at high rpms, where most of us don't spend much time in a daily driver. For sure, if you want hp gains to talk about, intake and exhaust mods will give you more bang for your buck. But if you want to feel a difference, my money is still on the chip.

Oh, I didn't know what SOTP meant. I have never felt a seat of pant (SOP) difference from an ecu, intake, nor exhaust or any combination. I've only seen increase dyno #'s, 1/4mile ET's and beating stock vehicles easily. I didn't feel any throttle response changes until I did the LWFW.

OK forgive me what the heck is LWFW?

LWFW ... L ight W eight F ly W heel

Thanks!

Throttle response is a nebulous term. If you mean the engine revs faster (as with a lower mass flywheel) that can be a good thing (as long as one knows the drawbacks to the lighter flywheel). On the other hand, some mods just make the accelerator pedal more sensitive, i.e. for a given amount of pedal travel, a greater throttle response results. This makes the car feel faster, but doesn't actually change performance at all. I think that kind of mod is a disadvantage to serious driving. One thing I like about my Porsche is the ability to smoothly manipulate power in a carousel type turn, throtttle steering my way through. A pedal with a lot of modulation travel is far better than an on-off switch.

I was referring to the second definition, a more sensitive throttle, which is how I understand the term (I agree, the term gets used pretty nebulously). By the 'seat of the pants' yardstick, it's something a lot of people like a lot. Personally, I'm with you. I prefer a throttle I can modulate.

the car will NOT feel faster, but the throttle response is smoother and there's no longer that hessitation b/t 5-6K rpm, well that's what i had on my 99 cab. in terms of worth it? well....... all i can say is the car IS smoother, but is that worth $1K? i think for the price, go with the RSS Plenum......

Are you referring to the 'chip' option? Which one have you tried? I'm still in pondering mode on this one... With some chips/flashes on some cars, the car does feel faster. There used to be a lively debate among E36 BMW owners about Dinan vs. the Conforti Shark. Conforti focused a lot on throttle response, so the car felt a bit like the 'Sport Mode' that came on later S54 engines. The throttle was almost touchy, which to some folks felt like power. Dinan focused on usable power near the peak, so you didn't feel it per se, but it showed in the performance numbers. The debate rages to this day, despite someone actually doing a back to back with two E36 coupes. Their verdict: Conforti for the street, Dinan for the track. I ended up choosing Dinan for my car. You couldn't feel much difference at all, but it just seemed more worked out somehow. No flat spot off idle, smoother transition when VANOS kicked in the high-rpm cam profile, stuff like that. There's a lot more to it than just buying ponies, as you obviously know.