[Official] "Do I need a tune with bolt-ons?" thread
 

Please direct questions about tuning related to bolt-ons to this thread.

need a tune??
 

Would I need to get it tuned after installing the gen111 intake, catback exhaust and new cats and oil cooler?

Yes please.

Yeah, If you can afford a custom tune then go for it.

you wont get enough gains from these breathing mods until you custom tune your car.

Agreed if you want to get the rest out of your mods you will need a tune, You should be fine as far as AFR. But if you add another bolt-on like headers you will be off and your stock ECU will not be able to compensate.


DAN

So if I get headers get a tune, or get a tune even though I am not getting headers?

You can get full bolt-ons with out headers, and get a tune right after that. Or you can get full bolt-ons including headers then get the tune. Personally, I wouldn't get the headers. Waste of money, imo.

**** man, I tune my cars in stock format ;-)

All vehicles can beneift from changing the factory mapping with or with out mods.

Your car will compensate very well up to a point, but a tune should make it perfect, if your tuner is decent.

Having said that I would not loose sleep over it, get the tune when you are satisifed with your mods. N/A motors are more forgiving.

delete

Awesome, thank you..no i don't plan on headers, cats are better imo

Bolt on's, need tuning?
 

I know this has probably been asked before, but I've got the Stillen G3's and Stillen exhaust, so would a tune be beneficial? I've had these on the car for about 10k miles...and I'm just not too familiar with the whole tuning thing. Any suggestions on a certain tune if I should get one?

A tune can get you some more HP (~10) but it's not necessary. Uprev is strongly supported here.

You should also reset your ECU after installation of these mods.

That's not necessary. An ECU reset isn't required after bolt-on intakes & exhausts are installed. Yes, a tune will give a better A/F ratio and give slightly better HP numbers (depending upon the maps used).

I would recommend at least getting a dyno run performed where they monitor the A/F ratio to see what the car is running. Sometimes, G3 intakes lean the car out beyond the safe limit where I could tell you that it isn't a problem: my car was detonating slightly before my tune after installing the G3 intake even after resetting the ECU. However, conversely many run the G3 without a tune and have had no issues.

I'm running Stillen Gen3, HKS Hi Power TI exhaust, and GTM Resonated test pipes without issues so far..... :-/

I desperately want a tune but at $600... I wanted to wait for pulleys first.

Yeah the only thing holding me back right now is the price of a tune. It sounds like it would be beneficial for what I have on the car, and would even be more worth it if it's "hurting" the car in any way without the tune.

from the reading uprev seems like a good choice. plus no real hardware to get, just an OBD2 adapter to USB cable they supply in the purchase.

im more interested in getting rid of the throttle lag at the moment...

If I were you I'd just hold out till you get some test pipes/ HFC's and then get a tune at the same time. Your probably more than safe now. Before my tune and all three of my breather mods I was lean but not dangerous lean. Are cars compensate pretty well.

Tunes after mod question
 

Hey all, I just wanted to find out if I will need to up rev/tune my Z after adding some bolt-ons. I have a Gen3 intake and FI TDX CBE is on the way, I just want to find out if I will need to do anything after/when I get these mods installed ?


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Just a little help
 

Ok so I just bought an 09 370z Saturday. Being the kind of guy I am, F.I. exhaust and stillen G3 intake are in the mail. I had an 06 mustang GT before this, which had a great community of tuners that sent reflash files for those of us too dumb to know where the dyno guys were at. Quick plug into the obd2 with the sctsf3 after any bolt on mods and you were set. however, I feel the Z is a much more luxurious vehicle and will receive special attention. I have never done a dyno tune before, So do I NEEd to get one? will I ruin anything with these 2 minor bolt-ons without a tune? I MIGHT put HFC's on later, but this is probably the extent of my engine modifications. I'm just new to this whole thing and am looking for advice. I live in college station TX, so if there is anyone around here yall know about that would be great information to have. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I appreciate any advice, I'm new to the Z world haha.

I have the F.I. exhaust and G3 intake, but never got it tuned afterwards. It has been at least 6 months and I haven't seen a need for a tune.

I have the F.I. Exaust w/o a tune and haven't had any issues. I've been driving this way for about 1.5 years.

You dont need to get it tuned as the ECU will correct itself with some time. Although a tune is recommended to get the A/F ratio perfect...

You definitely don't NEED a tune. That being said, a tune will help get every bit of power out of your mods, just wait until you're done putting on bolt-ons to do it.

Congrats on your new Z, you're going to love it.

P.S. FI exhaust is the best! Good choice

:iagree: G3's and just the CBE won't affect your A/F ratio too much to where you NEED a tune. I've got the G3's, and my non res'd FI LTH/CBE combo will be here in June. I'll be getting the Uprev after that since that freeflowing of a design is a little bit more dangerous...

Welcome & congrats on ur Z purchase along with ordering your mods.

Thanks for all the advice and quick responses. The car is great so far. I'm not gonna say i don't miss the pull the 'stang had off the line, but the high-end pulls in the Z are to die for! So I don't need a tune but it would help milk the power. I have never done anything like this, who do I talk to after I get the parts installed? I can easily make it up to houston or stop by austin on my way to san antonio, so what are the best places to go between the 2? Obviously this is for the TX people haha.

Funny how he's probably a first to go from Mustang to a Z and not vice versa.

Just wanted to let you know, as I hadn't seen anyone else say it.

As stated the G3's and CBE will be fine without a tune. But if you add HFC's you will need a tune to be on the safe side. The car could possibly run too lean with the 3 breather mods combined.

I did the same, granted it was a 2001 mustang, but still. For some it's not all about straight speed.

Also, welcome to the SEC. :tup:

On topic, you should be fine without a tune. For these cars a tune should be the last thing you do after all boltons are installed. To save money.

Ok sounds like a plan. Thanks again for all the advice, I'm just tryin to feel it out before biting into it. The mustang, though I love the car dearly, was too much "brute force" and in my eyes lacked finesse. These days I'm enjoying the "lean and mean" mindset, and this car has the potential to fulfill that roll perfectly. That is why I switched to the Z. I will just have to see if I can make the best of that potential without screwing it up hahaha

Congrats on the Z. Bottom line is tune isn't necessarily needed, but if your about getting every bit of power out the engine and your mods, definitely way to go.

To tune or not to tune?
 

Is the stock ECU smart enough to recalibrate and optimize the car's performance when you have upgraded with certain mods....within reason of course?

I've read here some people have hit the "reset" button on the ECU by temporarily disconnecting the battery. Others have said the ECU will "learn" the new mods after a few hard pulls. Finally, others have went with an e-tune or dyno-tune.

I plan to put some drop-in K&N filters and just a new mid-pipe/muffler combo (with stock y-pipe). Will my ECU "learn" and optimize itself decently enough ????

Thanks,

If you've got the $$ tune it. It will run better guaranteed, you'll have better throttle response, more power, more efficiently running engine, and it will pull a lot smoother and harder.

:iagree:

The difference in how the car performs will be like day and night with a good tune, even if peak gains are minimal -- a lot of extra power can be picked up throughout the rev range, with better responsiveness.

Will I be hurting my car without a tune?

K&N w/HPS silicone intake
Stillen HFC
Stillen CBE
Motordyne XYZ in the mail
Motordyne M370 in the mail

I want uprev but the closest tuner for me is about 5 hrs away. I can make the trip in about a month, so should I consider waiting to install the XYZ and/or the m370?

Thx

I'm not an expert so I could be wrong, but with that many breathing mods I think you should definitely get a tune to adjust your AFR's. It my understanding that if you have more than two breather mods, like an intake/exhaust combo, then you should tune it. You're really opening up your car's lungs, so I would get the tune to maximize power and make sure that your AFR's are within a safe range. I have Stillen Gen3's, FI CBE, Stillen pulley, and the FI LTH's are coming today, so I will be getting a tune after that.


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I know I will need a tune. My question is, "Am I at risk of damaging my car if I add the m370 and/or XYZ for a month without a tune?" I see people use the word "safe" so Im apprehensive.

I would guess with all those breathing mods (pretty much full bolt ons) you are going to be running pretty lean... However I ran my G37 with gen 3's F.I TP's and full FI cbe for 12k and no issues.. stock manifold though