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I have a 2018 718 s non sport Chrono. Is there any way to add or update the software to give the advantages of sport + mode?
Any way to add Sport Plus features?
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What function/feature are you hoping to gain, IF you can add a sport+ mode?
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Mainly the throttle and pdk shift remapping. Secondly launch control
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Haven’t seen a tune for that yet. They do have customer for the 981 from Cobb and possibly others.
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You still have a semi-launch control now, without Sport Chrono.
1- turn off PSM
2- place the shifter in drive (from a dead stop, of course)
3- turn on Sport mode
4- place your foot on the brake, HARD
5- FLOOR the throttle! This is the most important step. Do NOT ease on to the throttle. Floor it completely in one shot! The car will automatically hold at a specific RPM (anywhere from 3,500-5,500).
6- wait 2-3 seconds after flooring the throttle to build boost, then simply let go of the brake completely.
7- hold on and enjoy!
Your Porsche is surprisingly quick from a dead stop when you do this trick to a PDK car. I have a manual, and it's much more complicated and annoying.
As far as retrofitting a Sport Chrono properly to your car, I've never seen it done, and I've never heard of anyone doing it. I have learned one thing modding several cars in my life:
Almost anything you ask for can be done, but the financial cost might not be nearly worth it.
If you want some cool features or a faster car, place a VR Tune on your car! That is a much more financially sound investment to increase performance. Then consider a downpipe... I would certainly forget the idea of retrofitting Sport Chrono. Not because I believe it's impossible, but simply because it would cost way too much for so little gain...
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And I wonder how surprisingly quick you can wear out the transmission doing that. In the old days that's how the car mags tested cars with an automatic. I guess maybe they still do. But they're thrashing a car they don't have to live with, haven't paid for.
This has come up in another thread too, never got addressed. So I'm asking the real question, not just being a troll. Just how hard is it on the clutches to make them slip like that?
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Hello from that other thread.
I would certainly not do this in a non-Sport Chrono car, knowing what I know; assuming what I assume. And I assume that there is some significant difference in the mechanics of launching a car that is designed to be launched, with Sport Chrono.
And let me add that based on my preparation for, and participation in, my first autocross, the car is pretty **** fast without launching - just moving your right foot from the brake and flooring it. Now a launch may well be faster, and we can time that, and/or look at the g's of acceleration achieved, but if you don't need that extra speed, it's kind of a parlor trick.
I would certainly not do this in a non-Sport Chrono car, knowing what I know; assuming what I assume. And I assume that there is some significant difference in the mechanics of launching a car that is designed to be launched, with Sport Chrono.
And let me add that based on my preparation for, and participation in, my first autocross, the car is pretty **** fast without launching - just moving your right foot from the brake and flooring it. Now a launch may well be faster, and we can time that, and/or look at the g's of acceleration achieved, but if you don't need that extra speed, it's kind of a parlor trick.
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Stop assuming, go with facts! I have a 718 Base without the Sport Chrono, and the procedure for Launch Control is in the owners manual. Pretty sure Porsche would have added a disclaimer saying not recommended for cars without Sport Chrono if it wasn't ok.
Speaking of facts, which page is that on?Stop assuming, go with facts! I have a 718 Base without the Sport Chrono, and the procedure for Launch Control is in the owners manual. Pretty sure Porsche would have added a disclaimer saying not recommended for cars without Sport Chrono if it wasn't ok.
The one I found says you need to be in SPORT PLUS. Not sure how that's possible without Sport Chrono
Page 264 | 2017-2019 718 Cayman Manual | Porsche iManuals
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I've read through the manual quite a bit just 'cuz I like Porsche stuff. Somehow I got the impression that Launch Control (as opposed to merely launch control) was a feature of Sport Chrono. The real question is whether the PDK's clutch engagement algorithm has a special consideration for this, perhaps to maximize performance and/or to minimize abuse. Or is it just a different mechanism to release the brake. I will go RTFM again but I must say, while it is fun it is also confusing. The manual describes so many features that are either optional or bundled with other features that I can't always tell which ones apply to my car and which ones don't. So I'm not assuming, I'm asking.Stop assuming, go with facts! I have a 718 Base without the Sport Chrono, and the procedure for Launch Control is in the owners manual. Pretty sure Porsche would have added a disclaimer saying not recommended for cars without Sport Chrono if it wasn't ok.
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Apologies, I humbly stand corrected. I totally missed the SPORT PLUS mode activated prerequisite.
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I'll take a minute and answer this, I'll also toss out a bit of homework for anyone who's interested in learning more about the PDK.
The PDK is extremely resilient! You are of course creating more wear with every launch, but it's very little compared to rival manufacturers. The PDK is created in conjunction with ZF. For those of you who are familiar, ZF makes one of the Best automatic transmissions at the moment. ZF makes the transmission to Porsche spec, hence why it's called a PDK in Porsche and a ZF in Jaguar, BMW, Alfa, etc...
If you watch videos online of people drag racing modified street cars, you'll notice they almost always go into "limp mode" after a few consecutive launches. The cars go into limp mode to protect the transmission from over heating. This happens in ultra exotics like Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, etc... Which means it especially happens to modified or stock Beemers, Audi's, Jags, etc...
The PDK is one of the very few transmissions for street cars (at least that I know of) that you can repeatedly launch multiple times, consecutively, without your car going into limp mode.
In one video, there was a guy trying to break or test the limits of his PDK on his Turbo S. He launched over 50 times In the same day! No limp mode. He ended up getting physically sick from the violent launch, and stopped. Nothing happened to his car. At least not on that day.
I'm not saying to go out and launch your car 50 times, but I am saying that you can absolutely launch your car freely, whenever you feel the urge (and have a safe place to do so), without horrific wear on your transmission.
Interesting little tid bit: when people modify their sports cars to handle a proper launch, they will upgrade transmission and clutch components to do so. People that heavily modify Porsche's for power, rarely modify anything in their transmission for repeated launch control. Again, I'm only talking about PDK, I'm not talking about manual transmission Porsche's.
So if you're interested, look up videos on YouTube with Porsche's vs whatever in drag races. You'll find that Porsche's with crazy amounts of power, drag racing against all kinds of cars, with stock PDK's, and no downtime. The other makes need some downtime between launches. I remember BMW had a maximum limit of 10 launches on their M/// cars before they void your warranty! That's insane to me! I'm not sure if BMW is still doing that now, but I've owned quite a few Beemers (2 different M3's), and that was "a thing" not long ago... Obviously our cars are not drag cars, but my point is, they can be launched repeatedly with very little to zero repercussions.
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Just to add a bit to the above.
Porsche maintains that as the PDK clutches are "wet" (bathed in oil) they are much more robust than dry ones and the wear is minimal, so I think a few "pseudo launch control starts" would be OK.
*****
I can't say whether Launch Control manages the clutch engagement but you can certainly hear it manage the throttle as the rev limit is reached. The manual says "Release the brake within a few seconds." I suspect this is to protect the clutch.
Porsche maintains that as the PDK clutches are "wet" (bathed in oil) they are much more robust than dry ones and the wear is minimal, so I think a few "pseudo launch control starts" would be OK.
*****
I can't say whether Launch Control manages the clutch engagement but you can certainly hear it manage the throttle as the rev limit is reached. The manual says "Release the brake within a few seconds." I suspect this is to protect the clutch.
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Thank you both for taking the time to write that.
Gee, I wonder how much trouble I could get into by trying some launch starts from stoplights on my commute this morning?0
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I still have not seen what the difference is between launch and semi-launch. Doesn't the guy in the video, puking his guts out, have PDK, Sport Chrono, and explicit launch control?
In post number 6, in which the semi-launch procedure is described - are steps 1 and 3 necessary? Desirable? Has anyone done this? Is there no mechanical difference between a semi-launch and a launch? Can a car without Sport Chrono do 50 semi-launches?
In post number 6, in which the semi-launch procedure is described - are steps 1 and 3 necessary? Desirable? Has anyone done this? Is there no mechanical difference between a semi-launch and a launch? Can a car without Sport Chrono do 50 semi-launches?
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I've done a couple without #1 (and with #3). I let the brake go as the revs reached 4000. They were really fast launches and I exceeded the speed limit by a considerable amount in seconds!
As far as mechanical differences go I can't say. Electrically the revs are managed by LC and I suspect the turbo is also managed.
I have little desire to keep repeating the process--much less 50 times in a row. (There's a video around of somebody doing LC launches through a drive-through and other inappropriate places.)
As far as mechanical differences go I can't say. Electrically the revs are managed by LC and I suspect the turbo is also managed.
I have little desire to keep repeating the process--much less 50 times in a row. (There's a video around of somebody doing LC launches through a drive-through and other inappropriate places.
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