Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman Power Gains with Accessport Tuning
To piggy-back on our previous post featuring 991.2 Carrera / Turbo power gains, our Porsche-focused team here at COBB Tuning is also extremely excited to start talking about the power gains we have been able to accomplish on the 718 platform. Porsche’s current revision of the Cayman and Boxster boast impressive numbers in their factory configuration, however, our calibration team has been able to squeeze even more out of the turbocharged, horizontally-opposed 4-cylinder power plants.
Porsche 718 Boxster / Cayman Power Gains
Base models of the 718 Boxster and Cayman utilize a turbocharged 2.0L motor. The factory boost levels of around 20.3 psi is good for a rated 300 HP and 280 TQ. That translated into 301 HP and 303 TQ to the wheels for recorded baseline dyno runs. Our Stage 1 Off The Shelf Map is good for 346 HP and 326 TQ on 93 octane fuel. As you can see in the chart below, a power increase is realized across the entire power band.
Porsche 718 Boxster S / Cayman S Power Gains
The 718 S model cars get a nice bump in power over base cars, utilizing a VTG style turbocharger seen on the 911 Turbo which feeds boost to a 2.5L motor producing a 350 HP and 310 TQ rating. The more efficient motor is able to produce that power at a lower boost level than the base model cars, only utilizing 15.9 psi to achieve a measured baseline of 338 HP and 318 TQ. On 93 octane fuel, the COBB Stage 1 Off The Shelf Map produces 355 HP and 360 TQ to the wheels, seeing peak gains of over 17 HP and 41 TQ with no other changes. Boost is kept to around 19 psi as to not lean on the factory cooling system too hard.
Porsche 718 Boxster GTS / Cayman GTS Power Gains
The 718 GTS gets a slightly larger turbocharger than S model cars allowing power to hold out better up top where the S starts to fall off. Our test car spun the rollers to the tune of 345 HP and 328 TQ to the wheels in stock form. With a slight increase in boost pressure, we saw results of 378 HP and 353 TQ to the wheels. As you can see in the dyno graph below, power still holds on beyond 6000 RPM whereas the S above starts to see torque tail off due to the smaller compressor wheel.
Interesting that 718 S measured TQ at the wheels is more than the factory rated 309 at the motor. Is that because of the 93 Octane fuel?
Hi Edward,
Good question. It’s pretty common for Porsche to slightly underrate their power figures. We’ve seen that with lots of cars, especially with the latest turbocharged models. Plus, with the engine layout, they tend to have less drivetrain loss compared to a front engine car. Also, there are often variances between different types of dyno’s at different locations. Ultimately, that is the benefit of the baseline values. It doesn’t matter too much where it starts as long as the percentage of increase is consistent from place to place and car to car. Regardless of the baseline for a certain car, as long as its running well and on quality fuel, each person should see about the same percentage improvement before and after the tune.
Adam@COBB
Will this platform be open source for the end users to dial in their tunes specifically on a dyno?
We do not currently plan to offer the end-user version of our Accesstuner software for the Porsche platform. We can certainly reevaluate if there is enough demand for that product.
Marshall@COBB
Well hopefully you do release it, we have been eagerly awaiting the release but unless it is end user tunable, we will have to keep waiting.
Great news! Was hoping for a bit more power so I have to ask :), will there be a stage 2?
We do plan to investigate additional off the shelf maps for the 718 cars. One element that is a bit more difficult/involved in addressing is cooling. The factory air-to-water intercooler setup is already showing signs of heat-soak at Stage 1 power levels, so we’ll have to look into some cooling options moving forward. – Marshall@COBB
Any dyno runs made with greater than factory boost levels before heat soak occurred?
Any chance I can buy this early next week for a quick delivery? I have a track day next weekend and would love to try out the extra power 😀
We’re close to releasing but no pre-orders. Sorry.
Adam@COBB
What is stock boost for the GTS and boost for stage 1?
Will there be 91 octane maps available?
Yes! We will have both 91 and 93 octane maps available at launch.
Marshall@COBB
When will pre orders be available?
Is there an email list for the release date by chance? Or potential release date?
Currently looking to release early next week (6/19-ish).
Marshall@COBB
No pre-orders, but actual orders will be able to be placed next week!
Marshall@COBB
I have a 2018 Boxster GTS PDK. Which version of the software should I be installing? V200/V300 or v103/v104?
Hey there! Either is fine, though we do always recommend using the most recent versions. The only difference between those two map versions for your car is the addition of support for new ECU IDs – no difference in power output.
Marshall@COBB
For my 2018 Porsche Boxster GTS PDK, I downloaded Stage 0, Stage 1 for 91 and 93 octane files but these 3 files turned into 27 files (9 files for each tune). So which 1 of 9 files should I use out of each turn file?
Hey Eugene, once the Accessport is connected to your car it will identify the ECU ID and you’ll be able to choose the corresponding map for that ECU ID.
Marshall@COBB