Diagnostic Tool

Any opinions on the best diagnostic tool for my 1997 c2? Right now I'm looking to investigate cam deviations and perform variocam activations to diagnose a problem with my car feeling flat/down on power at higher RPM. Ive recently rebuilt my variocam units with new seals, so I suspect it could be an issue with these. I like the idea of having the power of PWIS, but not sure where to buy the clone I like the portability of the Foxwell units, either 530 or 710, and they look like they will do the job I need. Probably swaying towards one of these Durametric looks OK, but I'm not sure whether I will need to program anything in the future and the idea of being restricted to 3 Vins irritates me, even though I currently only own 1 porsche Anyone have any experience with either of these?

I use an Icarsoft Porsche specific, I’ve been pleased with it, not done the things you mention above so you would need to check if it would be suitable. I keep mine in the car and has got me out of a pickle more than once.

I have both the icarsoft and the NT 530 Of the two it would be the NT530, i recently found the icarsoft 'wanting' However recently a durametric solved an issue neither of the previous 2 could solve so am tempted to buy a durametric for the coding capability. But in 9 years of 996/997 I only needed the durametric once, but it was a game changer. Forget icar soft,

I've been really pleased with my icarsoft as an 'intermediate' level scanner. But it won't do cam deviation readings or Variocam activation.

Great to hear your opinions, thanks. Looks like I might be going with Durametric

Tried to order yesterday, but I was told by the seller that Durametric does not work reliably on early 996 (unstable software connection, struggling to obtain live sensor data etc). Mine is a 1997 registered (MY '98) car. It looks like I might have to try something else

I got a PIWIS2 clone from Cheeina. OBD2Store or something like that. I think I paid with paypal, so was failry well protected. Took a couple of weeks and I went the Virtual Machine on an old laptop router for the software. Think is was just under £400 delivered, but worth it;s weight in gold so far for my 2 cars. I'd never have sorted the cab roof issue for free without it.

I'm not sure I fancy the 2 week wait or the price tag really. Anyone tried the Foxwell NT710 on a 996? The 530 seems to get good reviews, but the interface of the 710 looks a bit nicer

I’ve got an Foxwell 510 Pro, forerunner to the 530 which is quicker and has a couple of extra functions it think. Mine is reliable and always connects and has helped me fix several faults so the 530 should be a good option. As always full functionality comes at a price, I just accept that I might need to visit my local Indy for some options.

ThinkDiag is pretty good. Have used it for coding things like lowering air suspension, adding hidden features such as a boost gauge in the OE instrument cluster of my Macan S. Does all the general faults code diagnostics, live data, etc. Pretty good tool really. It’s a subscription based service though, but if you buy one with 1, 2 or 3 years for c.£100 it’s effectively cheap enough to throw away and buy a new one. The subscriptions are either one manufacturer or ‘all brands’ which is useful if you have multiple cars or want to help others out. If you do go this route, I would suggest buying direct. When it’s live, check the expiration date meets the subscription you’ve purposed and email them if not so they can resolve at time of purchase rather than have a problem later down the line.

Quotes source post: 2820628

I have Thinkdiag and went for the 3 year deal, very good value and a very capable tool. I’ve had all the main tools, Durametric, ICarsoft and Foxwell NT530 and I think Thinkdiag is the best in terms of functionality, ease of use, features and value. I didn’t use the Durametric much as the specific function I wanted it for wouldn’t work on my car. The Durametric support guy said effectively that he used to get access to the main Porsche data files, required to make Durametric work, on more modern cars through a friend and that path was cut off and he was finding it impossible to get the required data. That effectively there was very little chance the tool would ever work 100% on my car and that almost made me doubt some of the data in other functions. However that said I’ve heard that Durametric has recently been sold so it may improve.

Quotes source post: 2819290

A PIWIS clone can be had for under £50 and it's a no-brainer. You buy the interface which is shared with VAG cars from Aliexpress, and you get the VM image for free from pdk pirates. This has been discussed many times before and there are guides if you use the search function.

Quotes source post: 2820643

I've never used PIWIS, is there a steep learning curve? I've heard quite a bit of it is in German?

Quotes source post: 2820658

It's only in German if you go in the wrong menu... And there's no learning curve, it's the typical diagnostic software, value panels, actuation panels, stored fault codes, etc.

excellent news, thanks

Quotes source post: 2820672

Excellent info, thanks. ​

Quotes source post: 2820643

That's surprises me. My PIWIS2 clone is a large aluminium box you plug into the car and a laptop with the software on VM, with a thick boyonet connector cable. I also have VAG VCDS for my VW T5.1 Campervan and whilst it can read some modules, it's nowhere near as detailed as my PIWIS2 for reading sensors and pre-requisite readings for cab roof etc. I've never heard of a £50 clone, so presume it's just a cable?

Quotes source post: 2821615

There are many threads of you search here or rennlist. It's a VAS not VCDC analogue WIN11 For VAS6154 Wifi OBD2 ODIS 1.6.6 for Audi Skoda v-w Diagnostic Bluetooth VAS6154 WIFI Full Chip UDSSupport GEKO FORpiwis 3 - AliExpress 34 Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com

The PIWIS2 I have is;

Quotes source post: 2821633

That's not going to have been able to do a lot of the jobs I use my PIWIS2 clone for. The best example was probably troubleshooting the cab roof issue on my 996.1. Without being able to see all the pre-requisite sensor values and calibrated limits, I'd not have spotted the clamshell drive potentiometer wasn't reaching the calibrated voltage value at fully up. That free fix alone, just adjusting the POT, paid for the cost of the PIWIS2 clone for me. Incidentally, I used VCDS on Sunday to do a full diagnosis of fault codes on my T5.1 VW Transporter campervan conversion to find out which wheel sensor is flagging up the ABS light issue. Ever car I get, I make sure I have full dealer level diagnostics, from Beemers, to Jaguar/Land Rover, Volkswagon to Porsche.

Quotes source post: 2822223

I'm sure your clone is a lovely bit of kit but the interface I shared provides 100% of the PIWIS 2 functionality as far as I'm aware, it certainly gives full access to all the sensor values.

I bought a Chinese clone from ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/31729028...teid=0&campid=&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1 It seems to work ok on the engine and alarm, but won't communicate with the other modules. I haven't looked into it properly yet

Thats an old Durametric clone, nothing like PIWIS, not the best bit of kit around

I did a lot of research to build a PIWIS clone about 6 months ago and this seemed to be the unit that most reliably worked It was under £40 from aliexpress but I’ve not got around to d to building the clone yet so can’t 100% confirm it works.