[JFP in PA]

Most of the cheap Chinese PIWIS systems actually turn out to be knock offs of the early Durametric system relabeled as a PIWIS system, and even then some of them have proven to be such poor copies that they either don't work or do harm you your electronics.

As for PIWIS I or II, the system II will work perfectly on any 996; the big difference between the I & II is that the II is a hyper secure networked system to prevent pirated copies and can be disabled remotely by Porsche if they detect a bogus or unauthorized system on the network. The system II was also never sold to anyone, it was only leased (first year costs are just short of $20K,and then around $12K for each year thereafter), again to give Porsche total control over who has one and whether it works or not. It is also the only PIWIS system that can be kept updated as new systems and cars are added. When Porsche when from I to II, they simply discontinued all I support, which makes the I system questionable, as it does not work on cars built after 2005.