[G_lujan]

Hey y'all.. new here, just got my 16 1SS. Just wanted to ask, if I put a CAI and headers, how soon should I get her tuned? Does she really even need a tune?! Sorry for the rookie question lol 😎

[slick3]

CAI, depends on the model you chose. If you go with a Roto-Fab, its been shown the MAF curve is well within its range and you will be fine on a other wise stock car.

Headers, depends on if they will have cats, are the 02 sensors being moved etc. In short, yeah you will want to have it tuned. It will throw a CEL and probably run rich from the COT signal from the ECM. I wouldn't put headers on unless your ready to tune.

[G_lujan]

Thanks! Yeah, I am going roto fab CAI and Stainless works Headers.. guess I'll be doin the tune as well! Appreciate the info!

[1badrwd]

With the CAI intake you would be fine. I put Stainless Works long tube headers with no cats and full exhaust on my car in August 2016 and didn't have it tuned till about 3 weeks later when the guy could get me in. The car drove fine in that time period and i didn't have any issues. I didn't run it hard though. Basically saying, yes you still need a tune but you can get by without one for a while if you don't run the crap out of it.

[Whitemaro6]

Not a bad first question! I have also wondered this. Especially with a well made exhaust system like kooks. If you have green cats and the o2s don't really change down stream position wont the car just adjust by itself? If at all? Even if you have no cats at all wont after 30 seconds of cycling the computer throw a code then go to adjusting the the afr with the o2s on the headers anyway?? This is a good question for Tim, EFI, or Jannetty.. I guess the real question is how good are our up stream and down stream sensors at reading and getting the afr right regardless of flow characteristics. Welcome to CAMARO6.

[Hagels316]

Originally Posted by Whitemaro6

Not a bad first question! I have also wondered this. Especially with a well made exhaust system like kooks. If you have green cats and the o2s don't really change down stream position wont the car just adjust by itself? If at all? Even if you have no cats at all wont after 30 seconds of cycling the computer throw a code then go to adjusting the the afr with the o2s on the headers anyway?? This is a good question for Tim, EFI, or Jannetty.. I guess the real question is how good are our up stream and down stream sensors at reading and getting the afr right regardless of flow characteristics. Welcome to CAMARO6.

I have the kooks headers with green cats. I thought purchasing the green cats would eliminate a need for a tune. That was not the case, in fact the car ran worse after the headers were put on before the tune. I had codes within the first day and the car was running extremely rich. So rich in fact I had to have the spark plugs replaced. A tune fixed all of this of course, but my intent was not to have to go this route.

My advice is if you are going with kooks, save your money and just get the regular high flow cats. The result will be the same. The headers are great by the way. The sound is incredible even with the stock catback.

Keep in mind though that if you just buy the kooks headers and cats, you will get cats that have a 2.75 outlet which will connect to your factory exhaust. Now if you are planning on going 3 inch later on, you will have to either replace these cats or be fine with a small area that is bottlenecked to 2.75 (1-2 inches at most) - although the borla catback is 2.75. The only way you can get the 3 inch cats is by purchasing the whole exhaust system. Apparently the 3 inch cats are built into the headers and they won't sell this combination of just headers and 3 inch cats separately (I called several times asking about this).

[RynoSS]

If you install headers, you'll want to tune the car rather quickly, because the car will start to run rich and you'll be soaking your plugs in fuel and carbon, and eventually they'll foul out.

[Darth Martel]

I will be doing a very similar mod to my car this weekend.

Vmax Ported Throttle Body
Rotofab CAI (dry filter, sound tube delete)
Full Stainless Works System (Headers, high flow cats, exhaust) (non-NPP, AFM delete)

I purchased everything through Jannetty Racing (including an SCT tuner) and will be getting a free tune.

I went through Jannetty Racing to do the upgrades on my 2010 Camaro SS when I had that and was extremely satisfied with the parts I purchased, the tune from Ted, and the support I received during the whole process. I know there's several choices out there for who to work with but, I can't say enough about how great it's been working with Ted and the Jannetty Racing crew.

Also, definitely do the tune as most everybody else has suggested. The tune will give you maximum benefit out of your parts upgrades and your vehicle will finally feel "right" to you.

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents.

[Roto-fab 1]

Originally Posted by G_lujan

Thanks! Yeah, I am going roto fab CAI and Stainless works Headers.. guess I'll be doin the tune as well! Appreciate the info!

If you ever have any questions about your Roto-fab CAI, we're here to help!

Michael

[G_lujan]

Awesome!! Thank you ALL for the info.. I'm out here in San Antonio Texas and just want to make sure that I do it correctly! I have looked into kooks and other brands but i feel the sound is much better from stainless works to factory npp.. I really do appreciate all the responses!!

[Whitemaro6]

Originally Posted by Hagels316

I have the kooks headers with green cats. I thought purchasing the green cats would eliminate a need for a tune. That was not the case, in fact the car ran worse after the headers were put on before the tune. I had codes within the first day and the car was running extremely rich. So rich in fact I had to have the spark plugs replaced. A tune fixed all of this of course, but my intent was not to have to go this route.

My advice is if you are going with kooks, save your money and just get the regular high flow cats. The result will be the same. The headers are great by the way. The sound is incredible even with the stock catback.

Keep in mind though that if you just buy the kooks headers and cats, you will get cats that have a 2.75 outlet which will connect to your factory exhaust. Now if you are planning on going 3 inch later on, you will have to either replace these cats or be fine with a small area that is bottlenecked to 2.75 (1-2 inches at most) - although the borla catback is 2.75. The only way you can get the 3 inch cats is by purchasing the whole exhaust system. Apparently the 3 inch cats are built into the headers and they won't sell this combination of just headers and 3 inch cats separately (I called several times asking about this).

Well crud. I was hoping to do it all myself :( I have the Kooks LT green cats and 3 in X pipe waiting to go on. (keeping NPP) Just trying to get a reservation with a shop that tunes in my area. (like none unless I wanna drive to Jersey lol) I have had bad experience with "mail in" tunes on my GTO in the past but I keep hearing good things about the guys on here who do it.

[gdgraph]

The car will not run properly (because of engine timing) with both of those mods at the same time. It will still "work" but it's not ideal, I wouldn't do it for an extended period of time (a week or two). Also you won't get much performance out of those mods until you do get it tuned.

As a general rule of thumb, you can do simple bolt-ons like an axleback or catback and not tune it if you don't care about performance and are just doing it for the sound. I know there are intakes out there that claim 15+ hp and you don't need a tune, I've tried it and lets just say I don't believe it. To really get anything out of an intake you want a tune.