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  1. #1
    Member 98ramairguy's Avatar
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    Will a tune help?

    I have mostly all bolt ons including headers, I kept the cats for NY inspection purposes. I have heard that after getting headers you should get your computer tuned. I don't plan on adding anything like a cam or heads for at least a couple years. Should I get it tuned? What advantages is there to it? and What should I expect to pay?
    1998 Trans am Ws6, T56 : SLP Lid, K&N Air Filter, Smooth Bellows, Granatelli air foil, LS6 Intake, SLP Harmonic Balancer pulley, QTP 1 3/4" headers and Y-pipe, LS7 Clutch & flywheel, Hurst Billet Pro shifter,Tick Master Cylinder, UMI LCA relocation kit, UMI LCA, UMI Panhard Bar, Tuned by Frost


  2. #2
    expensive tires az gt eater's Avatar
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    04 2500 4x4 crew cab

    Yes you should get it tuned. It will be running rich now. Your gas mileage is suffering. Along with gumming up your plugs,cats, and O2 sensors. You can get a mail order tune form Frost. he is a sponsor and member on here. I think it is in the 200 range with shipping. ANytime you change something on these cars you should get it retuned. I simply put a catback on mine, and the gas mileage went from 26-27 to 21.5. That was just changing the exhaust from the catted factory y back. Get it done soon.

  3. #3
    Veteran 0rion's Avatar
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    06 duramax

    yep....get it tuned. A tune is a good mod even for a bone stock car. I also recommend Frost.

  4. #4
    Member 98ramairguy's Avatar
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    1998 Trans am WS6

    Thanks is there anything specific I should ask for?

  5. #5
    expensive tires az gt eater's Avatar
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    Yes. You should ask to get your cats tuned out. That way, even if they start to fail, it won't throw a code and cause you to fail emissions. If you have the manual, you should also ask to get the skip shift eliminated. Even if you have the slp skip shift eliminator already installed, you should do this.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Too Fast's Avatar
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    A tune is good for any car. Just because you have headers doesn't make it mandatory for a tune. I went 4.5 years before I got my car tuned, after I put on my Hooker LTs/ORY. The only ''problem'' I had was the SES light, better gas MPG (went from 26.5 to 27.5-28 highway), better acceleration, quicker ETs and higher 1/4 mile trap speed. I recommend a tune by Frost for all of our cars.

    If anyone has a problem just from a header install, then something went wrong with the install. Like spark plug wire not fully connected, a common problem with the inexperienced. Our cars have a MAF, so it already adjusts to increased airflow. Sometimes the O2 sensor can get contaminated from coatings on new headers, causing poor fuel mileage, but that definitly was not my case. My car ran 2.5 MPH quicker (109+, 7 runs), and .4 faster(12.89 best that night, on street tires, no ET drags for my little 7.5 diff ha ha), 9 months after my header/ory installation. After I got a Frost tune (1.5 years ago), finally the SES light was out and she seems to pull better, but I've never run any 109 MPH trap speeds since the night 6 years ago. 108 being my best trap in the last 2 years.

    Keith, if your gas mileage went down that far with a simple bolt on like a cat back, something else happened to cause your MPG to suffer. Like a heavy right foot enjoying the new sound lol.

  7. #7
    Veteran pajeff02's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 98ramairguy View Post
    Thanks is there anything specific I should ask for?

    On Frost's website you will be asked to fill out a form that lists all your mods. He will then make the appropriate modifications based upon what you tell him. In addition to tuning out the rear O2 senders, lots of people ditch the secondary air system and tune that out as well. Not sure if you need to keep that for inspection purposes where you live.

  8. #8
    Former Mopar Man 2002ssslp's Avatar
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    Steve at Tuned by Frost is the Guru of LS1 engines. When you go to the website you will have to print out an info sheet with your mods listed. He charges 150.00 plus 15.00 for shipping and you will have you ECU back ina week. Easy. Your engine is just a big air pump when you change something that effects the "Air in - air out " ratio you need to tell the computer what you did. Steve will do that for you. Good luck.
    My ride is a 2002 Camaro SS SLP #3296 with 30k, LTH, 3" Y, CME, Frost tune, K&N, ported TB, Blackwing lid, Bellows, MSD, Denso Iridium, and 85mm MAF, Bilsteins, Eibach springs, SLP strut brace, Adj. Panhard, TA Girdle, UMI, Pro 5.0, Nitto NT555
    My wife has a 2004 GTO with the rare SAP, 18" wheels, K&N Cold Air System, MSD, Ported TB, Frost tune, Denso Iridium, Flowmaster cat-back, 3200 Yank, 75k

  9. #9
    expensive tires az gt eater's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Too Fast View Post
    Keith, if your gas mileage went down that far with a simple bolt on like a cat back, something else happened to cause your MPG to suffer. Like a heavy right foot enjoying the new sound lol.
    I literally only changed the catback. Before the catback, I got 26-27. After, I babied it a lot more on the highway, and only got 21.5. I say it down to the half mile cause I was checking it. I respect your opinion, and you may be right, I was, and will continue to only state my opinion based on my experience. I would completely agree with you on the sound, but I babied it as much as possible on the highway, and kept in in sixth as much as possible. Multiple trips to Vegas. All highway.

  10. #10
    Veteran 0rion's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by az gt eater View Post
    I literally only changed the catback. Before the catback, I got 26-27. After, I babied it a lot more on the highway, and only got 21.5. I say it down to the half mile cause I was checking it. I respect your opinion, and you may be right, I was, and will continue to only state my opinion based on my experience. I would completely agree with you on the sound, but I babied it as much as possible on the highway, and kept in in sixth as much as possible. Multiple trips to Vegas. All highway.
    I'm guessing you had something else going on there that was coincidental with the swap. A catback, if anything, should help your gas mileage. 5 mpg is a huge swing either direction no matter what the root cause is.

  11. #11
    expensive tires az gt eater's Avatar
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    Well, you guys got me thinking, that's for sure. Two of the guys I respect can't both be that far wrong.

  12. #12
    Veteran 0rion's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by az gt eater View Post
    Well, you guys got me thinking, that's for sure. Two of the guys I respect can't both be that far wrong.
    stranger things have happened but that's a pretty large difference and it's opposite of what should really happen. Was there anything else going on or swapped at the time? Also, how good are you at math? Sorry....couldn't let that go. Seriously though.....I'm not saying you're wrong because you're the one doing it and you know what was going on. I'm saying that's something I've never ran into and is opposite of what I've seen or what should happen.

  13. #13
    Senior Member Too Fast's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by az gt eater View Post
    Yes. You should ask to get your cats tuned out. That way, even if they start to fail, it won't throw a code and cause you to fail emissions. If you have the manual, you should also ask to get the skip shift eliminated. Even if you have the slp skip shift eliminator already installed, you should do this.
    You should do this.....about the skip shift elminator............I have the SLP eliminator and when I had my car tuned by Frost, I asked him to not eliminate it. He probably thought I was strange, but did as I asked. The reason for me wanting to keep it is a kind of internal joke for me, since everytime the light comes on I get a little laugh. But sometimes, when it does come on and conditions warrant, I do shift 1st to 4th. I like to control my car, and not be controlled by it. I like your suggestion about tuning the cats out. NY probably has some stiff emission laws, but IDK.

  14. #14
    expensive tires az gt eater's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 0rion View Post
    stranger things have happened but that's a pretty large difference and it's opposite of what should really happen. Was there anything else going on or swapped at the time? Also, how good are you at math? Sorry....couldn't let that go. Seriously though.....I'm not saying you're wrong because you're the one doing it and you know what was going on. I'm saying that's something I've never ran into and is opposite of what I've seen or what should happen.
    I am actually really good at math. I can't think of anything going on at the time, so maybe I screwed up. The math that is. I am starting to wonder if the previous owner didn't put in a little cam upgrade. I dynoed it when I first got it, and it put up 324 rwhp, and 338 ftlbs of torque. Jeff thinks it wasn't factory. Maybe that was causing something. Maybe I need to somehow find out what is in it, and get it retuned,again?

  15. #15
    Veteran 35th-ANV-SS's Avatar
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    I agree with Orion and Steve. Your gas mileage should have increased and if not, at least stayed the same with just a cat-back install.

    Before you start stressing too much that something is wrong, I would start with the simplest thing; re-running a tank or two and check mileage again.

    If that still shows to be lower than what you should have, then I would look at things like; air filter, plug wires, plugs, etc.

    And yes, your car is definitely not stock with those numbers. I believe I said the same thing in another thread as well.

  16. #16
    expensive tires az gt eater's Avatar
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    Yeah, it was you that said that, not Jeff.

  17. #17
    Veteran Firebirdjones's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by az gt eater View Post
    I am actually really good at math. I can't think of anything going on at the time, so maybe I screwed up. The math that is. I am starting to wonder if the previous owner didn't put in a little cam upgrade. I dynoed it when I first got it, and it put up 324 rwhp, and 338 ftlbs of torque. Jeff thinks it wasn't factory. Maybe that was causing something. Maybe I need to somehow find out what is in it, and get it retuned,again?
    I'm not so sure. 324 HP isn't all that far fetched when you consider differences in dyno's, and numbers can be skewed a bit depending on who's operating it. So I don't look at a dyno number as concrete evidence. It could be just a simple tune on an otherwise stock car would put down those numbers, or possibly it was just a happy dyno.

    I highly doubt a small cam was installed. I run an LS6 camshaft in my wifes car, about as small as you can get and it still put down 365 rwhp with over 100,000 miles.

  18. #18
    Veteran 35th-ANV-SS's Avatar
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    Is your wife's car an auto? I agree though, DYNO numbers are just that, numbers and can vary quite a bit. I DYNO'd 330rwhp and 342rwtq with a lid, headers, exhaust, and a 9" after a tune with my M6.
    Boost gets you laid, unless your name is Jon.

  19. #19
    Veteran Firebirdjones's Avatar
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    6 speed through a 12 bolt.

  20. #20
    Senior Member Too Fast's Avatar
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    Aaaah you guys with your 9'' and 12 bolts lol. My lil 7.6 is still living large! 122k, never had slicks, probably never will. Who wants to give me $3k for one? I just had a big birthday, maybe you two could spilt the cost and give me a late present.

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