[carlb]

I got tired of waiting for APR's DIY setup. So, I bought Softronic's a couple of weeks ago. Got it fully installed today. It is clearly more powerful throughout the rev range. Feels like it's got muscle. Butt dyno says that it is close enough to my LS-swapped RX-7 with ~440 whp that it feels reasonable to actually try to draw a comparison. The RX-7 is without a doubt more powerful by a good margin.

Interestingly, the Cayman S feels smoother. There are also fewer burblbes and pops. Power is linear throughout the power band. It's been nothing but heavy rain here. As a result, I didn't get to really push it.

Install was pretty straightforward. Update the MyGenius client on the pc and the handheld device. Download the current tune from the car. Send to Scott. A couple of days later, Scott sends and updated tune. And install back in vehicle after downloading to the handheld. And, voila!!! MOAR POWAH!!!

 

[vosadrian]

Softronic is definately becoming more interesting. If they can solve the S wastegate servo issue that would really improve things for them. But there is a number of before/after dynos available around the place for Cobb and APR, and nothing from Softronic except on their web page. Is anyone aware of this info being available? I realise the guy from Softronic has an opinion on dynos, but they really tell the story for someone who is unable to test the options without outlaying dollars for each option. Equally, acceleration data would suffice (100-200 stock/Softronic etc.) We know that Cobb base maps are on the conservative side, but a good protune makes a huge difference. We know that APR gets results equal to a pro tuned Cobb. We don't know where Softronic sit in this regard. If they are close to the top and solve the wastegate issue, that is a very appealing option.

 

[fontana302]

I had Softronic on my 997.2 10 years ago. Exactly the same experience as Carlb. Highly regard them.

They have been with Porsche for a very long while.....

 

[Lostpilot28]

I'm considering doing a dyno before and after I install the tune. I'd love to see real world results if someone has them...

 

[vosadrian]

That would be great. I've searched and I can't find a single 718 T4 softronic user who has posted any performance data... be it dyno or draggy etc.

I understand that people give their subjective reviews that the car is much quicker... but these type of reviews tend to be tarnished by consumer need to justify their purchases. I'm not saying they are wrong. I just want some objective data to back it up.

 

[carlb]

That would be great. I've searched and I can't find a single 718 T4 softronic user who has posted any performance data... be it dyno or draggy etc.

I understand that people give their subjective reviews that the car is much quicker... but these type of reviews tend to be tarnished by consumer need to justify their purchases. I'm not saying they are wrong. I just want some objective data to back it up.

I don't feel the need to justify your purchase by spending a bunch of money to dyno. I dyno to tune not to brag. Acceleration times are driver and measurement dependent.

Sent from my Surface Duo using Tapatalk

 

[b-grif]

Dynos are all BS anyway. Everyone knows they're all over the place on numbers for any upgrade.

 

[Lostpilot28]

I'm doing a dyno to see if there are significant changes. But I believe the data will be useful to anyone else looking at a softronic tune, so I'm sharing. 🙂

 

[vosadrian]

I am certainly not trying to push any owner of a tuned car to dyno at their cost for my benefit. I did not ask you or anyone else to do so. I simply asked if anyone had done this before as they have for other platforms. Me personally, I already dynoed mine stock with the intention of getting an APR tune to dyno it again. Unfortunately APR did not support my box code so I was unable to do this (and hence why I am considering Softronic). I do this as I have owned a lot of tuned cars, and I know cars can feel quicker or slower then they are due to power delivery so I wanted an objective measurement... but I am an engineer!! I'm happy that you are happy with the result and don't need a dyno.... but I do.

I don't agree dynos are BS. I do see that dynos can be used to enhance results. I have operated dynos for tuning purposes a lot myself (I developed ECU tune related products for about 15 years). I know how to fudge a dyno and I know how to see if it has been fudged. I find that pretty much every dyno from APR shows a consistent result (not absolute numbers.... differences before/after tune). This is for their supplied dynos and the customers independant dynos. Same for Cobb OTS maps. The dynos appear to be consistent with the performance achieved in acceleration runs. There is an absence of any data like this for Softronic. I suspect the tune is good. But I would not spend my cash based on some subjective reports and some numbers on their website that appear to be pulled from the air. Currently, you purchase a Softronic on the basis that you trust their claims and there appears to be no way to pull out if you are unhappy.

 

[Lostpilot28]

^^ This is why I'm sharing the data. I wish it were available to me, but it's not...so I'm hoping someone else finds it helpful in making a decision.

 

[carlb]

I am certainly not trying to push any owner of a tuned car to dyno at their cost for my benefit. I did not ask you or anyone else to do so. I simply asked if anyone had done this before as they have for other platforms. Me personally, I already dynoed mine stock with the intention of getting an APR tune to dyno it again. Unfortunately APR did not support my box code so I was unable to do this (and hence why I am considering Softronic). I do this as I have owned a lot of tuned cars, and I know cars can feel quicker or slower then they are due to power delivery so I wanted an objective measurement... but I am an engineer!! I'm happy that you are happy with the result and don't need a dyno.... but I do.

I don't agree dynos are BS. I do see that dynos can be used to enhance results. I have operated dynos for tuning purposes a lot myself (I developed ECU tune related products for about 15 years). I know how to fudge a dyno and I know how to see if it has been fudged. I find that pretty much every dyno from APR shows a consistent result (not absolute numbers.... differences before/after tune). This is for their supplied dynos and the customers independant dynos. Same for Cobb OTS maps. The dynos appear to be consistent with the performance achieved in acceleration runs. There is an absence of any data like this for Softronic. I suspect the tune is good. But I would not spend my cash based on some subjective reports and some numbers on their website that appear to be pulled from the air. Currently, you purchase a Softronic on the basis that you trust their claims and there appears to be no way to pull out if you are unhappy.

Fair enough.

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[CupraLeon]

Currently, you purchase a Softronic on the basis that you trust their claims and there appears to be no way to pull out if you are unhappy.

Maybe have look into FVD Brombacher, they offer one month to test the tune, not satisfied money back. They also use the same hardware/software as softronic for flashing the tune. What power did you make on the baseline run?

 

[MR69 ALB]

Maybe have look into FVD Brombacher, they offer one month to test the tune, not satisfied money back. They also use the same hardware/software as softronic for flashing the tune. What power did you make on the baseline run?

FVD Brombacher will not be getting any of my hard earned until they address the rip off the euro zone pricing first.
If you want a tune box and you live in the USA orv the rest of the Americas it is $1295 USD + Shipping which is roughly £950 GBP + Shipping FROM GERMANY
Purchase from Europe and want it delivering to Europe €1645 + shipping which is roughly £1425 GBP + delivery

RIP OFF

 

[carlb]

It was dry and cold on my morning drive. I got to push a little harder without putting others in danger :-D You really feel the increased power the most above 3,500 rpm or so. It does feel more powerful below that but above 3,500 the push is urgent. I had to accelerate unexpectedly to avoid a car that wasn't paying attention (of course, I could have slammed on the brakes as well but I didn't want to be rear ended). And... holy cow! "

My subjective view so far... My Cayman S has really come alive with this tune. I have the luxury of choosing some pretty outstanding hotrods to drive every day. I usually choose the RX-7 because it is a hooligan (LS2 swap, 440+ whp). It's raw and embarrasses many cars on the track. The Cayman isn't as fast nor as raw. But, I suspect it will now be faster around my local track with its new power and chassis advantages. My general skeptical nature is warring against my experience with respect to this tune. Butt dyno says it's close to its claimed 430 bhp. More importantly, the area under the curve feels fatter. I think that's more of a benefit ultimately than peak hp. We'll see if the butt dyno and the dynojet or mustang dyno are consistent whenever someone does that test.

In the interim, I'm choosing to drive the Cayman a lot more than before.

 

[vosadrian]

Maybe have look into FVD Brombacher, they offer one month to test the tune, not satisfied money back. They also use the same hardware/software as softronic for flashing the tune. What power did you make on the baseline run?

I think the softronic may be what I am after. I just want some data to confirm. I'm in no rush so I can wait for something to arrive here.

My 718S did 225kW ATW (~301hp ATW) on a Dynodynamics dyno in Australia. Often our dynos read pretty low, but I was surprised by this result as a previous car of mine was an N54 BMW which did 185kW ATW stock (supposed to be 225kw flywheel) and 220kW ATW with a tune on the same dyno. It seems my 718 may be a little healthier than specificed stock power which does seem to be common for Porsche... perhaps drivetrain losses are lower. I only have a photo of the result as we intended to dyno it after tune and print a nice dyno chart then. But the tune has not happened yet!

 

[don]

I think the softronic may be what I am after. I just want some data to confirm. I'm in no rush so I can wait for something to arrive here.

My 718S did 225kW ATW (~301hp ATW) on a Dynodynamics dyno in Australia. Often our dynos read pretty low, but I was surprised by this result as a previous car of mine was an N54 BMW which did 185kW ATW stock (supposed to be 225kw flywheel) and 220kW ATW with a tune on the same dyno. It seems my 718 may be a little healthier than specificed stock power which does seem to be common for Porsche... perhaps drivetrain losses are lower. I only have a photo of the result as we intended to dyno it after tune and print a nice dyno chart then. But the tune has not happened yet!

Nice result compared to a tuned N54 as that engine is no slouch! But yes the drive train loss on the Cayman is meant to be ~10% from what I've seen which is really low but make sense given the lack of drive shaft etc.

 

[vosadrian]

Nice result compared to a tuned N54 as that engine is no slouch! But yes the drive train loss on the Cayman is meant to be ~10% from what I've seen which is really low but make sense given the lack of drive shaft etc.

In a previous life I did a lot of tuning and dyno operating. I formed my own opinions on drive train losses. I think most of the losses on a chassis dyno are in the tyres. Probably about 2/3 or more. A lot of people think it is a percentage loss of power, but I think the losses in the tyre are mainly speed related... so if you do other dyno runs with more power in the same gear, the power loss should be the same and not increase (much) as power is increased. So I think the drive train loss of my 718 should be similar to my BMW assuming tyres are similar (since both are 2WD and RWD) with the BMW probably a little worse (say 10%) due to tail shaft. I think Porsche do rate power more conservatively than others. Normally for a RWD on this dyno I assume about 40kW drive train loss which puts my car around 265kW which is around 10kW up on claimed.

Of course that is just my opinion, and most think differently. As alluded to earlier... dynos are a murky area, and many interpret results differently to enhance results. I think a raw (not artist rendition of) dyno chart of before and after a modification is very useful. There are ways to fake this (depending on dyno type), but you can normally spot if that has been done.

 

[FreshDriver]

Hello, any more feedback about Softronic?

It seems they have been on the market for a while but never had reached a flood to the Porsche owners.

 

[Lostpilot28]

So I got the MyGenius handheld device in the mail...I'm in the process of updating it. I did get an e-mail a couple days ago from Softronic saying something about a PDF file...which was not attached to the e-mail. Not sure if I'm missing something, but I'm really not sure what to do next. Did they forget to send me instructions?

Thoughts?

 

[b-grif]

So I got the MyGenius handheld device in the mail...I'm in the process of updating it. I did get an e-mail a couple days ago from Softronic saying something about a PDF file...which was not attached to the e-mail. Not sure if I'm missing something, but I'm really not sure what to do next. Did they forget to send me instructions?

Thoughts?

They probably forgot to attach it. I found it mildly useful anyway since you gotta hit ok and continue about 10 times more than the directions sau