[London....]

I’m a new member to the forum, and a 1st time Porsche owner. I just purchased this beautiful cayman GTS manual in July. After doing a few track days and hitting 2500 miles, I decided it was time for some performance mods.

After researching the available tunes on the market, I opted for GIAC because they are offered by more than a handful of “Dealer Porsche Tuners”. Car is currently in the shop at Manhattan Motorwerks (tuner division for the Manhattan Motorcars Group). Cayman should be ready by early next week. I will update install progress under the turbo & tuning thread.

List of mods include:
Full Suntek Matte PPF
GIAC tune (405hp & 360tq)
BMC air filter
Techart progressive lowering springs
H&R spacers (with OEM 20” Carerra wheels)
Numeric Short Throw Shifter & cables

 

[Porsche2018]

Interested in your impression of the performance improvement with the GIAC tune. When I researched the GIAC tune for the 2RS they were claiming about 100hp (+/-) gain at the rear wheel. The thing that has held be back is when I inquire about the impact on the warranty they get a little vague even though the Porsche dealership is recommending it.

PS: you appear to have a duplicate post would you like me to delete one?

 

[JDodd]

Nice ride for sure! What's your take on the numeric shifter and cables? I was considering that but opted to go with the one from Suncoast. Now I'm second guessing my decision and am considering selling the Suncoast shifter and going Numeric. You think it's worth the money?

 

[London....]

@JDodd Thanks! Pics never do Cayman/Boxsters justice. These cars have so much curb appeal when spec’d right.

The numeric seems to be a better product when compared to the OEM short throw offered by suncoast, but obviously cost is a factor. I went with numeric because I was offered the cable install as a bonus. Otherwise, I probably would’ve went with the OEM short throw. There is more adjustability in the numeric, but that will only benefit hardcore drivers on track. You can’t go wrong with either because the OEM short throw is a lot better than the standard cayman shifter.

 

[London....]

Interested in your impression of the performance improvement with the GIAC tune. When I researched the GIAC tune for the 2RS they were claiming about 100hp (+/-) gain at the rear wheel. The thing that has held be back is when I inquire about the impact on the warranty they get a little vague even though the Porsche dealership is recommending it.

PS: you appear to have a duplicate post would you like me to delete one?

Regardless what anyone says, a bad tune can definitely void manufacturers warranty if Porsche deem the issue was caused by the tune. The shop manager @ Manhattan Motorcars explained that GIAC is the only tuner used by US dealers because they leave all factory fail safe parameters in place while still getting around 40hp/40tq increase (for the 718) through just ECU. Most all other 718 tunes available are apparently defeating these safeguards to achieve the 400-450hp they advertise. Whether this is actually true or not, idk.

Another reason I think they are used through the dealer network is their relationship with a handful of Porsche Motorsports race teams. GIAC is the exclusive ECU tuner of PFAFF, Champion Motorsports, and a few others. And all mentioned race teams have Porsche dealers with in house tuning divisions, so the relationship they have developed with the Porsche dealer market makes sense.

I was able to talk to a GT3RS owner who had a GIAC 93 octane tune, and he loves it. Tracks the car regularly and has no complaints. He says he noticed a big difference from stock. Manhattan Motorwerks seem to have installed a lot of GIAC tunes across the entire Porsche range. There were three 991.2 GTs in the shop when I dropped mine off, and all had a GIAC tune.

 

[London....]

@Porsche2018 I’ll be sure to let you know my thoughts on the GIAC tune. I’m driving straight to the track once I pick it up next week, so I’ll have a good comparison between stock & tuned on track and public roads. Cayman & 2RS are in different leagues, but should still give a good base line on GIAC’s capability through a simple remap.

 

[Porsche2018]

@Porsche2018 I’ll be sure to let you know my thoughts on the GIAC tune. I’m driving straight to the track once I pick it up next week, so I’ll have a good comparison between stock & tuned on track and public roads. Cayman & 2RS are in different leagues, but should still give a good base line on GIAC’s capability through a simple remap.

That would be helpful. Questions like is the power increase readily apparent and does it produce any performance issues/quirks as a side effect. Is the tune evident low in the rev range and through the rev range? Does it start to pull hard even lower in the rev range than stock 718 does?

 

[don]

Nice looking car. Looking forward to hearing how the mods go.

I had a look at the GIAC tune and are you sure those figures are not just for the S model. The GTS with the slightly larger turbo should have more top end but I notice some tuners only quote S figures, not GTS, as if they do not have GTS specific tunes.

So I'm assuming you don't have the shorter springs that come with PASM-S hence the techart?

 

[London....]

Nice looking car. Looking forward to hearing how the mods go.

I had a look at the GIAC tune and are you sure those figures are not just for the S model. The GTS with the slightly larger turbo should have more top end but I notice some tuners only quote S figures, not GTS, as if they do not have GTS specific tunes.

So I'm assuming you don't have the shorter springs that come with PASM-S hence the techart?

Thanks! And yes, I found that most tunes available are exactly the same between the S and GTS. Ehresmann & GIAC offer the same tune for both. I was told that the larger turbos will only yield an extra 5-6hp over the S with the same stage 1 applied to both variants.

Standard PASM on my GTS. I thought PASM-S would be too low since I daily it in NYC, but haven't had any issues so far, plus I found some decent skid plates specifically for the 718 sport design bumper. So fingers crossed, a little lower should be fine.

 

[faizaan2000]

I talked to Manhattan Motorcars about the GIAC tune as well, they do warranty it if they do the install. Guessing that's the dealer and not PCNA though.

@London.... I drive SPASM in Manhattan and haven't had issues with the height, your real enemies are potholes.

 

[London....]

@faizaan2000 That’s one of the reasons I went with them instead of a local tuner. Incase of any issues, they can take it up with PCNA, instead of me. It’s worth the dealer premium for the piece of mind imo. I know people who have spent a couple of days reversing mods b4 they took their car in for a major warranty issue. Probably a little unnecessary since the mod has to be a direct cause of the claim.

Are you interested in getting GIAC tune? If you’re in the NYC area, we can definitely link up so you can see the difference from stock.

 

[don]

Thanks! And yes, I found that most tunes available are exactly the same between the S and GTS. Ehresmann & GIAC offer the same tune for both. I was told that the larger turbos will only yield an extra 5-6hp over the S with the same stage 1 applied to both variants.

I am sure an S tune is fine for the GTS and a lot more conservative. As you say a lot of tuners are not offering GTS specific tunes.

However, the GTS with the larger VGT turbo really has a lot more potential and it is a shame that Porsche has tuned it much the same as the S.

If you look at the dyno chart from the specific Cobb tune for the GTS most of the hp gain is in the higher rev range after approx 6200RPM and keeps increasing up to near 7000 RPM and holds to about 7300RPM taking advantage of the variable vane and larger turbo. Whereas the charts of the S show hp dropping off after ~6200RPM with torque increase dropping off after 5500RPM.

It looks like there is actually +70hp gain at 7000RPM for the GTS or 425hp peak which is similar to 718 GT4, but with more peak torque and much more area under the curve. There are a few other tuners like Techart and BR-Performance that show similar GTS specific gains so worth considering since you have a GTS.

 

[InTgr8r]

I talked to Manhattan Motorcars about the GIAC tune as well, they do warranty it if they do the install. Guessing that's the dealer and not PCNA though.

I have Pfaff Tuning here in Toronto and they told me unequivocally that the powertrain warranty will be voided with a GIAC tune.
That's the only thing holding me back from doing this.

He did say that Techart has some sort of in house warranty program, but its still not Porsche warranty.

 

[faizaan2000]

@faizaan2000 That’s one of the reasons I went with them instead of a local tuner. Incase of any issues, they can take it up with PCNA, instead of me. It’s worth the dealer premium for the piece of mind imo. I know people who have spent a couple of days reversing mods b4 they took their car in for a major warranty issue. Probably a little unnecessary since the mod has to be a direct cause of the claim.

Are you interested in getting GIAC tune? If you’re in the NYC area, we can definitely link up so you can see the difference from stock.

I'm in Manhattan, definitely interested to see what it's like. I'll PM you.

 

[London....]

I have Pfaff Tuning here in Toronto and they told me unequivocally that the powertrain warranty will be voided with a GIAC tune.
That's the only thing holding me back from doing this.

He did say that Techart has some sort of in house warranty program, but its still not Porsche warranty.

Same here in the states. But it won’t necessarily void your manufacturers warranty because of the tune, it just won’t be covered if the claim is determined to be caused by the tune/mod. The dealer is the one who will cover you, and I’m sure they’ll word it in a way that will pass the coverage on to PCNA anyways. It is odd that PFAFF would not warranty you through dealer coverage for a product they sell and install. I guess they keep the tuning dept and service center separate in that regards.

 

[London....]

New stance after the lowering springs & spacers. I’ll upload better pics when I get the car back.

Left techart, right OEM

 

[don]

New stance after the lowering springs & spacers. I’ll upload better pics when I get the car back. View attachment 23964
Left techart, right OEM

Interesting they are quite a bit different. Let us know if you notice any difference. Did it lower the car by much?

I'd say the Techart should be initially a little softer and good for bumps and then maybe firmer in fast tight corners, although doesn't look to be a lot of movement possible at the top there.

 

[London....]

Interesting they are quite a bit different. Let us know if you notice any difference. Did it lower the car by much?

I'd say the Techart should be initially a little softer and good for bumps and then maybe firmer in fast tight corners, although doesn't look to be a lot of movement possible at the top there.

@don should be 1” lower, front & rear. I went with 7mm spacers upfront & 14mm in the rear.

 

[jayely1]

Any updates man?? How's it handle with the Techart springs? How's the tune as well?

 

[jayely1]

hellooo?