Quick question: tune required?

[skitchin]

I plan on doing some mods to my car and was wondering - at what point is a tune required? I know these engines are computer controlled and pretty good at adapting to change, and a tune may only be necessary to fully take advantage of a mod. Just thought I'd ask around before I do something stupid that might hurt my motor like running too lean.

Going to start off with a Cold Air Inductions air box(they say no tune required) and then probably have some QTP cutouts installed shortly thereafter.

Later on I plan on doing headers + hi-flow cats, at which point I plan on having the car professionally tuned.

Thoughts?

[Frid]

Only a few CAIs require a tune (VRam for one). You'll want to do a tune after something like the headers. Simple bolt ons like CAI, Cat-Back exhaust wont need anything done tune wise. And yes, before you ask, it does void your warranty.

[SGOS252382]

You really don't need a tune until you get your headers, but a tune does wonders on even a stock L99 A6.

I knew I was going to mod my car (and occasionally race it), so I got my L99 A6 tuned right after purchasing it. My L99 picked up around 12 rwhp and 25 ft lbs with the tune. But under the curve (3500 - 4500 rpm range) my car picked up 30+ ft lbs with the tune.
Tune on L99 A6 can also deal with AFM noises, improve shift points, adjust shift speeds, change tap shift gear drop down speeds, and automatic drop to 1st gear using tap shift.

BTW - my tune only L99 A6 consistantly ran 12.9s @ 108/109 mph.

But if you want to save money, you could just wait until you have more mods. It all depends on how soon you want improved performance.

It will void serious powertrain warranty issues.
But my car has been tuned for close to 4 years and I've never been denied warranty work. I just had my harmonic balacer, pulleys, and belts replaced under warranty. But if I blew up my motor (which isn't going to happen), I wouldn't expect GM to pay for it.

[skitchin]

Originally Posted by Frid

Only a few CAIs require a tune (VRam for one). You'll want to do a tune after something like the headers. Simple bolt ons like CAI, Cat-Back exhaust wont need anything done tune wise. And yes, before you ask, it does void your warranty.

Originally Posted by SGOS252382

You really don't need a tune until you get your headers, but a tune does wonders on even a stock L99 A6.

I knew I was going to mod my car (and occasionally race it), so I got my L99 A6 tuned right after purchasing it. My L99 picked up around 12 rwhp and 25 ft lbs with the tune. But under the curve (3500 - 4500 rpm range) my car picked up 30+ ft lbs with the tune.
Tune on L99 A6 can also deal with AFM noises, improve shift points, adjust shift speeds, change tap shift gear drop down speeds, and automatic drop to 1st gear using tap shift.

BTW - my tune only L99 A6 consistantly ran 12.9s @ 108/109 mph.

But if you want to save money, you could just wait until you have more mods. It all depends on how soon you want improved performance.

Thanks, great info here! Would love to take her to the strip eventually but the stock times seem pretty well documented, so I'm just modding around my own personal tastes right now. Looking for a good balance between power, sound, and reliability.

Different question here but since you mentioned it... Anyone know what kind of warranty repairs a dealer can do without a GM rep's approval? Warranty gives nice peace of mind but I'm not going to let it keep me from doing what I want to my own car. I know my local GM dealer will not deny me repairs or void my warranty over simple mods, so kind of curious about that.

[skitchin]

Originally Posted by SGOS252382

It will void serious powertrain warranty issues.
But my car has been tuned for close to 4 years and I've never been denied warranty work. I just had my harmonic balacer, pulleys, and belts replaced under warranty. But if I blew up my motor (which isn't going to happen), I wouldn't expect GM to pay for it.

Just saw the edit to your post, that pretty much answers that then!

Really appreciate the thorough and quick responses guys.

[Mchlgrrsn]

Tune after headers.

[skitchin]

Awesome, I'll plan on going that route then - thanks again for the info guys and sorry for posting in the wrong sub-forum. Still learning my way around, there's a lot here :X.