Tune without HFC
 

Motordyne shockwave exhaust and Z1 CAI installed. I'm thinking of NOT getting HFCs because tbh I'm afraid I'm not going to like the sound. If I slap them on then really don't like the note, I'm stuck. The Z is my daily driver and what me and the wife take most places.

A tune is probably the last thing I'll do to the car outside of cosmetics. I doubt I'll go headers and such, but is the lack of HFCs really going to throttle its overall performance?

I know most people only notice minimal gains with HFCs anyways, so looking for some advice.

Thanks.

Don't sell your cats and put them back on if you don't like the HFC. IMO you have Motordyne, I wouldn't pair gold standard with bronze standard, get ART pipes. I really don't see how anyone wont like that combo but to each their own.

You'd be increasing the airflow and removing the bottleneck. You'd probably see and feel decent gains. If you're going to spend $800 on a tune why not go the full distance and get the most value out of your exhaust and intakes you already have and make your tune the most worthwhile for the money? Those are some of the most common and biggest gains you can do.

Good point. I'm not sure the ART pipes would pass inspection (Delaware) but I'll look into it. I'm really basing my opinion on sound on YT videos.

Oh duh, you said HFC. My bad, although I didn't know you had to pass an inspection. Not sure what pairs well with it. Z1 or Fast Intentions probably wouldn't be bad.

I mean, I guess I could always just go get a 2 year tag before doing anything to it then throw the ARTs on it. I think I will go with these https://www.z1motorsports.com/exhaus...es-p-7311.html , thanks for the advice.

I guess the only reason I was thinking of pushing the tune to the front was because of the 2 bolt ons and I was getting nervous about accelerator / computer trouble.

Highflow cats alone won’t make a deal breaking difference in sound, test pipes will. But keep in mind, the cars are the biggest restrictive piece on the car, there are gains to be had there. Just my .02

I too run my Z daily. I PURPOSELY didn’t go with HFC’s for the exact reasons you mention. Stillen Gen 3’s, a FI cat-back and a good tune is all you need.

It’s not obnoxious, has no lag and has thrown no codes since I had it done in November.

I’m still running stock manifolds and stock cats and gained almost 50 WHP.

Thanks for the input. Did you notice a substantial difference after your tune? Not just in raw HP but in reaction from a stop and such?

Absolutely! Money well spent. Just do your due diligence when looking for a tuner.

Throttle response improvement alone is worth the tune. I had my Ecutek tune done when my only performance mod installed was a set of intakes. Totally worth it IMO.

You have to keep in mind that the Z is “fly by wire” which is what gives you the lag.

Once again, a good tune will fix that.

I have a tuner shop pretty close by my house. He's been around for a long time and he offered me a Dyno tune with Uprev Osris and ARC license for $745.

Thoughts?

That’s what I paid Z1 to do mine. They gave me a couple of bucks off because I had them install the mods.

As far as your guy? Get References! You really don’t want someone ******* around with your ecu that you’re not 1000% sure can do it right!

When I installed my Berk CBE years ago, I was not impressed by the sound. Not that it wasn't better than the OEM ones, but it was still too quiet. When I installed the Berk HFC, the car sounded totally amazing. No drone at highway speeds, great full throttle sound and a little bit of the "hiss" when downshifting. I get a ton of compliments about the sound and I am so glad I decide to get the HFC. However, I did wait until I was done with the "bolt-ons" before I got my tune.

Seems just a little high to me, but not bad.
Sebastian from specialty z did mine for $600