Disclaimer

Liabilities: The author of this document assumes no responsibility for the modifications you do on your car. Although to our knowledge these instructions are accurate, this includes any errors that these instructions may contain, any differences between your car and the one(s) showcased, as well as any errors in following the instructions. If you don't feel comfortable working with automotive electrical wiring or fuel delivery systems we suggest you let someone with some experience do these modifications. The installer should posses a good understanding of the electrical and fuel delivery systems of the vehicle being worked on. Please double check all your connections and ALWAYS work with the car battery DISCONNECTED. Always keep your safety and that of others as the highest priority.

By installing this modification and or following these guidelines you agree that the author of this document is in no way responsible for damage to persons, a vehicle or vehicles as a result of installing this system.

Warranties: The modifications described in this document could potentially void any manufacturer's warranty you may have left on the car. You assume all responsibility if your car is still covered by warranty.

Legalities: Laws in your country/state/region/whatever may not allow you to modify systems such as these on your car, the penalty being at least a fine. Please check with your local authorities to be on the safe side.

We assume NO RESPONSIBILITIES [emphasis added] what so ever for any accidents caused by the driver of a car with this modification. We always endorse good and safe driving practices at all times.

This document and all it's contents are the sole property of IMP Concepts. Please feel free to copy this document and refer to it's contents for your own NON COMMERCIAL purposes. Using these instructions, plans and ideas for compensated commercial applications is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of IMP Concepts.

OK that all said let us get on with this great mod and have some fun!

Introduction

This document is intended to highlight our experiences with installing a DME 7.8 ECU Flash from Softronic. We also purchased a Durametric Data Logger and diagnostic tool.

Parts Required

1 x Softronic Flash appropriate for your car, we used the 1.3 bar X50 Flash - Mandatory

Softronic or Durametric OBDII interface - Mandatory

Laptop Computer - Mandatory

The Flash Experience

We recently purchased and installed a Flash for our 2005 Turbo "S" car. After doing at least 5 months of due diligence we finally chose Softronic. They were actually not our first choice initially, but for certain reasons highlighted below, we went with them, it turned out to be a very good and reliable option.

The main criteria in selecting a vendor that we would not budge on was the ability to install the flash ourselves without sending off our ECU to anyone. In addition, we needed to have the ability to go back to stock without asking permission or getting sent a part to do so. Also, they will transfer the money we paid to the cost of a new flash of our next car as appropriate when this one is sold. We would of course have to remove it from the car before the sale.

After reviewing over 5 Flash Vendors or their Re-Sellers. We chose to go with Softronic directly as we got a cumalative deal on the Softronic X50 Flash and the Durametric Data Logger and diagnostic tool. April at Softronic deserves that credit, her help is what sold me and put them high on the list.

We started started by asking them a lot of questions, some hard, sometimes trying to push the envelope a little to see how they responded, and getting them to detail as many aspects of their tuning as possible in order get them to divulge. They were quick to show the error of some of our ideas, and accommodate others. One of the things we really liked was that they only needed to provide the Flash itself based on previously installed options, which were disclosed and detailed completely.

Softronic designed their flash for the car's options and modifications, that had already been installed and tested. Exhaust, WasteGate Actuators, Ported Headers etc. We really liked that.

The experience was excellent, their knowledge and professionalism was certainly up to our "Engineering" standards. We worked with a very charming young lady by the name of April, she answered all questions promptly most of the time, only when we had a question that was a little beyond her personal experience level, (which was very good) did we have to wait, and then it was not long at all, usually less than 1 day. What we really liked was that she worked directly with the Programmers and not through a middle man.

There was never any issue with them working with us, they were always very accommodating and friendly, even when trying to push them a little, they simply pushed back respectfully.

After the purchase they sent an OBDII interface cable as part of the original price, not at extra cost, and we could keep it, a VERY big deal for us.. Here is what needed to be done once their OBDII Interface cable was received, all instructions were clearly provided:

Load Their Software (About 1 minute)

Make sure my car battery was fully charged. (It was)

Connect their OBDII Cable to my car and turn on the ignition

Download my OEM DME file and copy it to their server, all done by software

That was it, literally 5 minutes after the laptop was connected it was done! We had all this completed by by 4pm and had the new tuned file along with the original back by 9am the next day. How is that for service? So now we can flip between stock and tune at our leisure.

Here is the load procedure, this is the good bit, a little heart throbbing did take place on our part:

Make sure my car battery was fully charged. (It was)

Connect their OBDII Cable to my car and turn on the ignition

Double click on the new tuned file they sent me, and hit start

Wait about 5 minutes

DONE!

It is all working perfectly, we did some basic tests to see how the performance worked out and to see if it needed any minor changes, but it did not. We were getting 1.1bar sustained at first then after Softronic recommended we increased our crack pressures on the wastegate actuators to 13psi we were very to to see 1.3 bar sustained.

We do want to say that in no way are we running down or promoting this flash over another vendor. It simply worked for us.

Well after taking the car for a significant run or 2 we are even more pleased with this flash. The first thing that was noticeable, was that the car was far more responsive to the throttle. The Turbo “S” always pinned on to one's seat when prompted, but this was no comparison to stock. I think I have Porsche emblems imprinted in the back of my head now.

The 6750-7200 rpm limit change is also very good, saves hitting the end stop in first and Second gear most of the time. This makes the world of difference when accelerating from a standing start, at Least to us. Remembering the goal is not to be the fastest person on a track, 0 – 60 times are ALL that counts!

An added benefit is that the car runs noticeably smoother and far better at cruising speeds both low and high. In addition the low speed in traffic and town in relatively high gear is also smoother.