When do I need a tune?

Ok. Its kinda a ratorical question I know after major mods I need a ecu tune.

 

My 05 just had the turbo replaced at the dealer and it got me wanting to do upgrades.

I was thinking full exhaust system and fmic. Keeping the stock turbo but upgrading the intake and fuel system. Not looking for big numbers just a fun dd.

intake or downpipe

 

even a tune on all stock parts is a noticeable change.

you really kinda missed the boat. should have had a bigger turbo on standby for when yours blew, or at least replaced with something other than a stocker when it did.

 

best bang for your buck would prolly be suspension (sway bars, struts) then an up and down pipes + an accessport or protune (and exhaust at the same time if that's what yer after). at stage 2 you'll have zero need for a huge fmic. bulletproof your stock and enjoy.

 

you drive an automatic or manual?

Find a local tuner do a up/down pipe and go from there. Or just get a accessport and flash stage 1 like NRW said all stock with a good tune opens it up a lot.

Tune Early, Tune Often

tuning is like a health program you need a good diet and a good workout plan. maximize both and your gonna be the most efficient.

no need for fueling upgrades or intakes with a stock turbo but would could still benefit a lot from a catless up pipe and high flow down pipe. Tuned of course.

you really kinda missed the boat. should have had a bigger turbo on standby for when yours blew, or at least replaced with something other than a stocker when it did.

 

best bang for your buck would prolly be suspension (sway bars, struts) then an up and down pipes + an accessport or protune (and exhaust at the same time if that's what yer after). at stage 2 you'll have zero need for a huge fmic. bulletproof your stock and enjoy.

 

you drive an automatic or manual?

 

I was actually excited when it went. I was going to upgrade to at least a vf52.

But my car had full warranty so new turbo and both cats cost me all of $500.00 installed labor included.

So for now im gona run it.

The fmic is mostly because I love the look so I was going to do a small core setup, maybe.

Oh its a 5 spd manual

Get a VF52 on here around $600-700 and sell that brand new vf40 for a couple hundred bucks ;-)

Get a VF52 on here around $600-700 and sell that brand new vf40 for a couple hundred bucks ;-)

 

A buddy of mine has a 20g with 30k on it and a 35g that needs a rebuild.

Part of me wants to go big, but its my dd so I have to keep my 45 min commute in mind.

This is my first time building a FI car so I don't want to get in over my head.

I know if I go fmic it opens up options for more turbo's since the 40 and 52 bolt directly to the tmic. And the big tmic's are crazy expensive.

I wanted to go big as well, but same issue 45 min DD that's why I'm looking for a VF52 or 16g also a decent upgrade, and won't have to drop a boat load of money on supporting mods until I am ready... I can get injectors and fuel pump then retune whenever I can afford to.

Lol . I keep reading "you will blow your car up if your not tuned" im running a catless down pipe. Borla cbe , cai , and my afr at wot is 10.8 ! Acording to my aem wideband.. Just putting that out there .

Lol . I keep reading "you will blow your car up if your not tuned" im running a catless down pipe. Borla cbe , cai , and my afr at wot is 10.8 ! Acording to my aem wideband.. Just putting that out there .

 

I think we will have the last "lol"

I guess my friend is another lucky one . She doesnt have a wideband to check the afr but intake and turboback exhaust been that way for 20 thousand miles .. Why do you say that ?

Were at . I didnt find anything .

What happens when you start taking parts off of a car that has a tune? I have an Infamous road-tuned Stage 2 07 GT w/ intake, catted dp, and a catback. I want to remove the catback. Do I need a tune since it would essentially still be a stage 2?

It will prob blow up according to the the know it all fourm gods with 10,000 post.. My honest guess it will run a tad richer , but still safe. But dont take my word . Talk to someone with tuning experience !!

What happens when you start taking parts off of a car that has a tune? I have an Infamous road-tuned Stage 2 07 GT w/ intake, catted dp, and a catback. I want to remove the catback. Do I need a tune since it would essentially still be a stage 2?

 

I think you will be okay with removing the catback. With cobbs tune you can interchange the catbacks. If you got the tune from infamous I would talk to them to double check don't take my dummy word for it.

Your asking for trouble without a tune and your car is actually running like turd without it even though you think everything is fine. Throw a set of bigger injectors and pump in there as well. See what happens. I killed my front o2 sensor and fouled out my plugs just by letting it idle and forgot about it at work while I was doing something else for a 1/2 hr.

 

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Lol . I keep reading "you will blow your car up if your not tuned" im running a catless down pipe. Borla cbe , cai , and my afr at wot is 10.8 ! Acording to my aem wideband.. Just putting that out there .

 

I guess my friend is another lucky one . She doesnt have a wideband to check the afr but intake and turboback exhaust been that way for 20 thousand miles .. Why do you say that ?

 

There are a lot of safeties built into the stock tune to stop you from destroying your car. Throwing a catless downpipe onto a car with the stock tune won't blow it up instantly, but don't think for a second that you're not hurting things to some degree. Not to mention you're losing out on potential performance increases.

 

A stock 05's target boost is only 13.5. A stage 2 tune targets to about 16.5 (cobb) to 19 (more aggressive). To get those boost targets, WGDC and timing have to be adjusted.

 

Throwing on the catless DP without a tune will result in unstable boost control because of TD intervention and fluctuations, as well as knock because timing is higher at a given load on the stock map vs a stage 2 tune. When you're boosted, timing has to be reduced to prevent knock.

 

Those are just a few of the big ones off the top of my head.

 

Have you ever even bothered to log things to see what your car(s) are actually doing?

 

As far as the AFR, you know our cars have AFR fuel trims to compensate, right? That you're reading 10.8 at WOT doesn't really mean anything to me without some context, like a screenshot of LV or some logs.

Thanks you invar for the detailed explanation . I cant get the romradier or learning view working . My ecu flash works perfect . Idk what the heck is going on .