I am up to 3 Porsches now that all need some varying amounts of diagnostic, and I am looking at getting a durametric for myself. For those of you unaware, Porsche has their own OBD system that most readers barely talk to (and annoyingly is not the same as other VAG as I already bought a VCDS and an obd11 for the Audis) and the best aftermarket solution that can actually do all of the things (including DME, airbag, tiptronic, etc). If I buy the Pro version, it's unlimited VIN, and I would get the older car cable as well.
Would any of you be interested in using it? It comes in a hardcase but it's going to require PC software. I don't know if it's locked to a single PC (and if so, that single PC would have to be shipped around with it). Would you be willing to rent it?
I would consider it, though with more modern cars I just send it somewhere I trust.
Maybe. I do need to figure out what's up with my CEL, but right now I'm leaning toward just taking it to a shop.
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
To clarify, I'm willing to buy it 100%. Renting it would be say, paying for shipping and sending me a PayPal deposit that I'll return when you ship it back with some cookies.
For whatever it's worth... when I owned my Cayman I bought one of the iCarSoft scanners for around $150, and it did everything I would ever need it to so. All the diagnostics, reset service codes, enable ABS service mode, etc. I don't know how well one unit will work across multiple car models but it's something to think about.
My wife want a Macan as her next car...
Potential future use for one.
To echo ShinnyGroove I just picked up a Foxwell Nt530 with Porsche specific options and it does everything Durametric does, at least the Enthusiast version (DME overrev check, service reset, check all module etc), and is not locked into any VIN. Cost was $165 shipped.
Intereting. I didn't know that there were cheaper alternatives.
newold_m (Forum Supporter) said:
To echo ShinnyGroove I just picked up a Foxwell Nt530 with Porsche specific options and it does everything Durametric does, at least the Enthusiant version (DME overrev check, service reset, check all module etc), and is not locked into any VIN. Cost was $165 shipped.
So the problem I am seeing with these cheaper alternatives is that they don't support the pre-OBD2 Porsches (like my 89 S2) and more importantly accessing all of the Porsche-specific data is very hit and miss. Foxwell and iCarSoft are both based in China with no US based tech support and the forums are littered with users who were sent wrong modules, have INOP coding, and bricked units. The big repeat I see is that while they claim they can code to the car (like programming a new battery or doing a PDK relearn), the car never gets it on it's side so the programming doesn't take.
I have dealt with a number of sketchy OBD scan tools over the years, and that's not a hobby I am interested in. If there is a cheaper alternative to durametric that actually flat-out WORKS like it does, than I am all ears. Neither of the 2 mentioned so far seem to be it, for my needs at least.
Is it like the VAG one where you have to pay by VIN?
A version just came across my IG feed, read all the codes and had the ability for some programming but not all. I wish I wrote it down to link it here.
