Four years ago, I purchased a VW 1.8T. After owning the car for 6 months I asked the service manager at the VW/Porsche dealership I purchased the car from if a chip would void the warranty on my car. He said NO. They have no problem with the "main stream" (GIAC, Neuspeed, etc...) chips. He stated that they were aware that many customers were chipping their cars and bringing them in for service.

I did not get this in writing, but this dealer never said a word about my Neuspeed chip during routine service. You can bet they felt the 240ft/lbs of torque during every road test. If something had broken, perhaps it would be another story. Who knows?

Mike

Tim - This is the hot ticket:

http://www.motorhaven.com/customer/home.php?cat=217

Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act the manufacturer has to prove that the modification caused the issue with the car before voiding the warranty. I wonder if this applies to type of use also?

We have a club member (husband and wife actually) who are avid autocrossers. After owning a BUNCH of Porsches they just bought a Boxster S with a little bit of warranty left. Anyway the Boxster trans started jumping out of 2nd which is apparantly not uncommon. They took it to opur local dealer who trowled the internet and found a site which summarized the previous year's results for a local autocross club. Warranty denied! Apparantly the dealer took some pleasure while informing them as well.

If you're autocrossing your new porsche in a club event - INSIST on the club not posting your results on-line. That's HOOEY man!

Early failure of the 996 engines used in cars with race tires mounted for DE or PC racing have voided their warranty from Porsche because that engine prior to a motorsport update (remachining of the valve cover for better oil pressure during competition-addressing the wet sump design issue of the 996 and 986). That's the reason why I am not a fan of the newer cars except for the GT3/2/1/turbos which have engines much more proven in competition.

Also there was a warranty issue with the new PCCB ceramic brakes which are not warranted for track use until they developed the proper pads that can withstand the overheating possibilities of that system. Even Porsche who sells cars based on their racing results/image have to protect themselves from "abuse" of their street products.

I have also heard if you do perform the motorsport sump update on the 996, then this also voids your warranty, because it is assumed that you will be tracking the car. Not a problem with my 24 year old SC! :)