987.1 Cayman S- Softronic vs. Local Shop Tune

Hi Folks, Looking ahead to my next mod for the car, I am likely going for the tune route. I know there is only SO much that can be gained with these N/A engines, but I have read all good things about the Softronic ...however, I have a local shop that will do, what appears to be, virtually the same tune, for less cost. Softronic - $895 USD / $1250 CDN (+20 BHP / +17 TQ) - Includes flash device ECC Tuned - $500 USD / $699 CDN (+18 HP / +14 TQ) https://www.ecctuned.com/product/porsche-cayman-s-2007-2008-stage-1 Does not include flash device Flash device extra $294 USD / $410 CDN I am leaning toward the Softronic, main because if I plan to do any future upgrades (headers, exhaust, plenum, etc.), having the flash device will be required...correct? Does this tune increase anything to do with borescoring, or other reliability issues? My main goal is to smooth out the power band and be rid of the hesitation at 3500rpm, and of course the possible power gains. I don't really care about the extended redline. Thoughts?

Hey @kyles , I see you're looking to tune your Cayman S to smooth out that hesitation around 3500rpm. Have you had a chance to ask the local shop how they handle future tune updates if you decide to add headers or an exhaust down the road? Sharing what they say might help others with similar setups give their two cents.

I called the lcoal shop and they said about 2-3 hours to perform the ECU tune, and the figures they noted on the website are pretty typical. Their tunes are in house developed apparently (or maybe "enhanced" after the fact?). If I want to add cattless headers , that would require a reflash again to remove any sensor codes issues.

THE ANSWER : Kyle, an ECU re-map tune will NOT do much of anything for your M97 Flat-6 engine. This may not be what people want to hear but it is the truth. It is NOT possible for these tunes to just add 18-20 HP above OEM figures. Maybe 7-9 WHP. Unlike other manufacturers, Porsche runs the M97 engines at the upper edge of optimal/advance timing, AFR, and higher compression. Meaning the engine's potential on stock internals is already maxed-out to its safe limit. Also, the way some tuners claim HP increase is misleading. Some tuners are actually only referring to an attempted dip-zone correction, where OEM HP momentarily drops by 20HP between 2400-3700RPM... they try to restore that dip and claim "+20HP gains". Alot of the supposed tune gains 987 users experience are from three things: 1) Placebo 2) Throttle sensitivity (similar to sprintbooster) 3) Other mods installed simultaneously with the tune (example: headers/exhaust) - where the perceived performance gain actually is solely from the headers. - For headers /exhaust you do not need a new tune. The OEM Motronic DME is very adaptable and reconfigures itself within 50-100km of driving. -Regarding CEL from catless setups, the CEL itself is 100% harmless. Can be cancelled-out by simple O2 spacers. Longtube equal-length catless headers are the only mod that will make an actual difference across the entire powerband (including the 3400RPM dip prior to variocam engagement).

Very interesting and insightful feedback, thank you! There is so much polarized thoughts on this subject, one becomes a bit numb as to what to belive...snake oil or otherwise. I am hessitant to introduce any form of "enhancement" that takes the engine/car out of it's engineered "safety" window...I want this car to last. I do not plan to track it, but the HP drop is mostly annoying than anything. I did install the Pedal COmmander and that made a big differnece...placebo as it may be, it allows for much better throttle play and shifting timing...more natural and "expected." Sure, I do own a Porsche, but I am not made of money to willing drop $5K of parts to gain 20HP...seems a waste to be honest especially with the state of Toronto traffic these days lol!!! I don't want to fall down that pit of endlessly searching for every extra HP or noise etc.

Sound slike skip the tune, and go for hardare (header) upgrades. Makes sense! Once the budget is available, that is probably what I will do. Racing Dynamics has a cattless header option, but I don't think equal length. Woud the IPD plenum upgrade help as well? Or does that only benefit with upgrades at the "muffler" end of the spectrum?

Racing Dynamics' headers are SHORT-TUBED - not effective. Whatever catless headers you get needs to meet two criterea: 1) Long-tubed 2) Equal-length Headers first, before anything else: Pointless to get a catback exhaust unless you have headers as they cause the most restriction. - Headers [Soul/Topgear/Fabspeed] - Catback exhausts [Topgear/Soul] >stay away from drony options (CircuitWerks / Borla / Fabspeed / Magnaflow / muffler-deletes) Plenums, intakes, larger throttlebodies - all actually reduce HP and torque in the usable power curve of the RPM range (regardless whether in-conjunction with other mods & tune / or without). In the case where they do add 5HP is at the very top of the RPM range in the last 300RPMs (but removes low-mid range torque+hp). At the end of the day, these are inexpensive cars: to buy and to maintain. But at the same time don't approach them with a Toyota corolla wallet - otherwise you are weakest link, not the parts. I'm not saying more expensive is always better, but: The right parts are the right parts, and they cost what they cost. There isn't any middle-ground that a plenum or tune will make up for. All the best.

Agreed on getting the RIGHT parts, and yes they cost what they cost. Otherwise, don't bother, right? It is something I will vertainly plan to budget in the coming years. I am guessing any one of these that you mentioned would be ideal: Fabspeed Porsche 987 Boxster / Cayman Long Tube Race Headers (2005-2008) Porsche 987 Boxster / Cayman Long Tube Race Headers. Free-flowing Long-tube race competition headers without catalytic converters. www.fabspeed.com - Claimed +20 HP / +19 TQ increase. Porsche 987.1 Boxster / Cayman SOUL Competition Headers You’ll notice the weight savings and improved engine response while separating your car from the crowd with a pleasurable increase in tone! soulpp.com - Claimed +25 HP / +35 TQ increase (with tune) Porsche 987.1 Boxster & Cayman Decat Manifolds Porsche 987.1 Boxster & Cayman Decat Manifolds - This is a set of manifolds (headers) with catalyst bypass to fit generation 1 987 Boxster and Cayman. www.topgear.co.uk - No claims on website as to power increase.

Fresh is exactly correct. The guy who helped me build my M96 works with one of the major engine parts houses. He has a 996 with an early 4 liter version and has it running on the stock ECU . It runs great! He says they are very adaptable and no “tune” is necessary.

I recently went Top Gear catless headers , Softronic tune , and Circuitwerks v2 exhaust . I really like the upgrade and makes the car come alive. I might have an exhaust leak from my cat-back and hope to dyno once solved. Throttle is sharper, car is louder, and it feels faster. Under $3k all in.

I can't thank you all enough for all of this amazing feedback and advice...very eye opening! This will very likely be next year's upgrade since winter storage is coming up in a month or so. Regarding the CEL issue when going to cattless headers , would the best route to go with O2 sensors (90-degree angled is best from what I read?) or perform a tune to get rid of the error? I read that the O2 sensors can sometimes fail, but the tune gets rid of the error for good. That said, what if there is truly an error that needs to be known about? I doubt I will go with anything more than this as a performance upgrade...I'm not looking for a certain horsepower figure...just really a smoother power output. A dyno would be interesting to do from a "science" perspective, but not overly concerned with numbers per se.

Regarding omitting catless CEL: 1) Its a non-issue* 2) Either solution work: One solution costs $30, the other costs $1250. With an O2 spacer the CEL may return intermittently once every 3 months > and is simply deleted using any cheap OBD device in 20secs. *This CEL is superficial and has zero negative impact other than if you find it an eyesore. Don't over think it.

Share some pics of your car , And feel free to reach out to me on Instagram: @Fresh.Sizzle . I am local and deeply connected with Porsche & other niche special groups. I am also on AmazonPrime in the movie "Supercar Saints" and did alot of Porsche technical advising: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt25955828/?ref_=ttch_ov_bk

If you live somewhere with 91 Octane fule, Softronic claims they have a custom tune for that. Perhaps that could be useful, as the factory software is geared towards 93. I got the Softronic + 91 + throttle response way back when my 2008 was almost new. I've noticed the throttle response change and that is it. So, don't expect miracles! I want to say maybe a 1 MPG fuel economy increase, but it's way too hard to tell. If you could drop 200 pounds out of your car you might achieve acceleration improvements similar to 15 HP gain. That would be a more realistic goal compared to getting that much more out of the engine with some software tweeks and still remaining emissions (semi) legal.