Question about test pipes or HFC for a newbie
 

If I purchase and install either test pipes or high flow cats will I need a tune to avoid a CEL?

Nope at most extended 02 bungs

Don't get a tune till your at the end of your modding or think your gonna take a break from modding for a while

That is great news, thank you much!

Mark you should be perfectly fine if you just install the HFC/test pipe.

Pretty much mimicking what king said since he hit it right on the head, an O2 spacer should solve the trick and getting a tune after an HFC install while everything else is stock is just a waste of money IMO.

so is it safe to run a CBE and resonated test pipes without a tune?

It is safe. The ECU will correct itself. If you decide to add something else, then a tune is a must.

A tune isn't ever necessary unles you go forced induction. Some people (maybe most) will recommend it, but I don't

True and it's all discretionary upon ones taste. You will get more out of your mods if you get a tune. This is assuming your done with adding boltons to your car.

thank you for your replies, i want to eventually get tuned, but im just slowly adding one thing at a time, and i just wanna make sure i can run these mods for awhile safely.

wouldn't cbe/tp/and cai combined make me run lean/rich? and not safe for the car? just wondering

I have EVERY, SINGLE bolt on, no tune, car runs fine
If your car is running rich or lean outside factory specs, you'll get a CEL.
And you may run a bit lean, but not that much

and is only way to fix the issue tuning?

I don't recall stating an issue, lol.
Running a tad rich isn't bad, safer than running lean. And if it ever runs too rich or lean, you'll get a CEL.

Just install your mods and don't worry brother. You'll be ok

by issue i meant CEL. sorry lol

Lol, yeah, a tune will fix it, but I don't recall anyone getting a CEL from bolt ons. Usually they forget to install or tighten something
OR they get a CEL for catalyst threshold efficiency, caused by shitty test pipes or HFCs or broken HFCs, that can be fixed by extended bungs or the Z1 antifoulers, which work great

A tune is absolutely not necessary for bolt on's...that being said i noticed a big increase in smoothness at low rpm and increased responsiveness. Overall it made a difference and I was skeptical before doing it. I gained ~30 ft-lbs at around 2300 rpm... which is ~13.3% increase. no big deal as far as max is concerned but believe me it makes a huge difference in drive ability. Ppl alot of times only give heed to "max numbers" well i cant stress enough how how important it is to look across the entire rpm range. Bottom line, if you notice any choppyness and are not satisfied with driveability then yeah do it. If your ride is already smooth and your just looking to show off max numbers don't chances are youll probably wont be at any mind blowing numbers in the 1/4 mile or anything.

my car was running lean across the entire rpm with my bolt ons. He had to add fuel everywhere.

A tune is recommended after full bolt ons but it isn't necessary.

Also I have test pipes with j pipes built into it(o2 bung extender in the shape of a J) and I don't have a CEL.

How long/how many miles did you have all your mods on before you went in for a tune?

If you're not interested in doing a tune, you can always do a Soft ECU Reset.

Simple:

1. Locate Battery
2. Remove Negative (-) Battery Terminal for 3~5 minutes
3. Reattach Negative (-) Battery Terminal
4. Start Car

When you start the car, all your radio settings and driver computer settings will be gone so you'll need to reset those.

After starting it, let it just sit and idle for about 5-10 minutes. The ECU is "relearning" your specific air input/output meters and adjusting accordingly. After that you'll wanna spend another 5-10 minutes just gently giving it throttle to different RPM bands and let it work through that.

Then, road test.

Take it out for about 20 mins of just commuter driving. Don't really get on it. Make turns and stop and goes so it learns that. Then take it somewhere and ring its neck for another 20 mins or so, WOT is fun. :tup:

This will help the ECU accommodate the changes you made. Be it intakes, HFC/TPs, CBEs, Intake Manifolds, anything that has to do with the breathing of the motor.


Sounds more complicated than it is in practice. :tup: Saves you $600 too. :happydance:

this is just me & I'm ok with others doing their own thing
 

I don't do many mods but I may replace my cats with test pipes this spring. I will have it done in the same place that tunes my car. So after having them install the test pipes, I'll have them put the car on the dyno & tune it.

I BELIEVE? that mod will make my car run leaner. Running lean is not such a good thing for the engine. So the tune will make my car run safer, better & they at the same time will make sure the car has no lights or develops any inspection issues later on.

The dyno pull will show where & how the power curve looks & we can adjust/choose the shifting & redline points.

So while I'm there for the test pipes installation..............

With a custom tune like uprev how anal are inspection places about that? I've avoided getting a 3rd bolt on + tune mainly because of this.

Depends on the state. Some states pass you as long as there are no active CELs. You're in Mass, so you're ******.

http://www.the370z.com/tuning/55815-...prev-mass.html

:( yea i've read through that thread before. I wonder if I just had hfc's + my fi exhuast + K&N drop ins w/o a tune. I'm sure most inspection places don't care about or even notice hfc's.

I'd put about 4000 miles on it before i got the tune. maybe 3000.