Tennispro1986

Yes, I did do a search, but didn't find much helpful information on this. I just purchased a stock 06 Z06 and was wondering what the gains are with just a 93 octane tune only. Seems like the general consensus is about 25 whp or so, bringing the cars up to about 470-480 whp. That to me is a significant gain on a stock car and for a few hundred dollars definitely worth it to me. My question is however, how safe is it to tune these engines? I have read a couple threads where people are saying these engines are already maxed out from the factory, and pushing it any further wouldn't be a good idea. Other have said they run very rich from the factory and a good amount can be had form tuning while still being safe.

My biggest concern it reliability. So, with a good tune, would these cars be just as safe as the stock calibration? I would love to hear some feedback from people who have tune only or even intake and tune and let me know what their gains were and how the car drives after. Any information on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Again, I am looking for safety, and if I can get 20-25 extra HP and still be safe then it's a no brainer for me.

Josh B.

A quality tune from a reputable tuner is plenty safe for an LS7. Many owners here have tuned cars that see regular road course duty, cycling between part throttle and full throttle. I don't think you have an cause for alarm with a 93 octane tune.

Undy

I'v got over 105K miles on mine with a tune. Echoing Josh's remark, a safe tune by a competent tuner will not hurt your car or its longevity at all.

Unreal

Agreed, but if reliability is primary concern, there are plenty of other areas to spend money first. (heads, axles, etc).

Michael_D

This car has a pretty aggressive spark tables from the factory, but fueling is on the rich side. A good safe tune will modify both…. There are also many torque management tables that can be adjusted to make the car feel faster. Most tuners disable the bulk of them, but you can adjust them without disabling them and still get the car to feel quicker. So I wouldn’t look at tuning as a way to increase peak power, but overall performance.

Spend your money wisely, and do not go with just any tuner who happens to be a car forum favorite vendor with fanboys that don’t know squat about tuning. I’ve lost count of the number of hack tunes I’ve seen from so-called professional tuners with a rabid forum fan base.

I’d also suggest you look at headers and an intake manifold, along with a good tune. But even more importantly, make sure the heads are solid before doing anything else.

Tennispro1986

My power goals are to basically either leave it stock, or send a few bucks on tune or intake/tune if it's worth it and safe. I have an appt with raceproven motorsports to get my heads fixed in three weeks, so while it's there I was just wondering if it's worth it so have them tune it or not. If I can safely pick up 25 or so hp, and the key here being safely, then it would be well worth it to me.

Mordeth

Yes, have them tune it. No brainer.

Unreal

TXGS507

I highly doubt you will get 25 rwhp w a "tune only"...

MTPZ06

There's a realistic 15, maybe 20 in a tune. Tune with that MF103...maybe, and I say maybe, you get that 25. Worthwhile in doing them though.

Tech

Not worth the money unless you add headers or CAI.

Unreal

Tune is worth it on a bone stock car just to limit torque management, remove limiters, skip shift, etc. Even with no power gains I would do a tune.

LMB-Z

Not sure exactly what a "93 octane tune" is, beings your car already requires at least 93 octane. But if you are getting the heads done, then I would let them tune it while they have it.

BigVette427

I was talking with the shop I'm thinking of doing the labor on my head swap and maybe even a cam, and we talked about a tune. If I were to do a cam a tune would be mandatory, but even having AHP (additionally) port/polish my heads I was leaning towards a tune to make up for the additional CFM, and then my guy at the shop mentioned torque management and how it's worth doing a tune alone just to remove it. Haven't decided on whether to swap cams yet, but I'm leaning towards a custom tune to take full advantage of all the additional flow in my "fixed" heads.

Tennispro1986

No cars "require" 93 octane as there are many parts of the country that don't have access to it. A lot of cars require premium, which is 91 or higher. So I assume with a 93 octane tune, there is timing left on the table at WOT to be bad. I was just wondering how much is left on the table.

I am plannong on doing headers and intake down the road, but I thought on these ls7's that most of the power came from the tune and headers alone don't get you much. So the debate I'm essentially having is:

1. Have them tune is and be done with it

2. Wait and do CAI and headers and tune it then.

I will not be doing a cam or anything like that, so these two options for me are my only two options. My pre consensus is that headers don't add much and just doing a CAI+tune or just tune would be almost the same as doing headers and tune.

If anyone has any information regarding these questions, please let me know so I can make an educated decision. I'm basically looking for a little extra power and that's all. It's a daily driver and around here in philly, you can have 500 hp or 5000 hp, it won't make much a different as everywhere you go is congested. So just looking for a little extra and again as my original post stated, safety is my primary concern.

Tennispro1986

I'm not having my heads ported, they are just reworking the heads for new guides and then doing all the other standard stuff (springs, retainers, etc). If I was having the heads ported, then yes I think a tune would be necessary.