2008 base coupe, M6, NPP - no changes to the air system (intake to exhaust) to this point, until now.

I installed the Ram Air SS CAI this last weekend and when I took it out for a quick test drive, all was good. When I drove the car around 50 miles yesterday, at some point the CEL came on. I swung by O'Reily's today and learned the codes were P0171 and P0174, or system too lean, bank 1 and 2.

The car drives fine - no hesitance in any gear, nor any rpm that I was in, though I didn't get much above 5500 rpm, or so - 85mph in 3rd. Not sure, since I wasn't really paying attention to the gauges. And, car seems to run fine whether engine is cold or hot.

I did a search here, so as to not repeat a thread - but would like to confirm my current thinking.

I had pulled the negative cable during the install, so the temporary and long term FT tables would get reset.

I've checked and double checked for a vacuum leak and see none - all clamps are tight. The MAF sensor was clean when I pulled it and installed it in the supplied air bridge, and the fit was tight.

It seems like this is just the car saying - you're giving me all this fresh cold air - I need more gas!

At this point, my sense is that I need to make a trip to my tuner, to get this dialed in - and do some pulls on the dyno to see where we are.

Comments, thoughts, suggestions?

 

I would think the car could adjust fuel for the small increase in airflow that you may have gained.when I installed my Vararam I checked the A/F on dyno and no changes needed in tune but car picked up 4/10's in 1/4 mile.does this CAI change the location of the MAF?others on here have stated LS3 cars may have issues with different styles of CAI's.friend tried a K&N Z06 cai on his LS3 car and his car wouldn't run properly until changed to LS3 K&N cai.

 

Vararam here also , no problems at all ....

 

No, the position of the MAF doesn't change. Some have had issues from freshly oiled filters compromising the MAF sensor, which worked fine after cleaning. Many just weren't careful in the re-assembly process, creating vacuum leaks, which trigger these error codes.

Believe when I say I've ready through dozens of threads at this point. This is not an uncommon result with many after-market CAI installs. Not trying to open the brand can of worms, so either stick with the topic, i.e. the codes and their resolution, or pass on leaving a comment on your experience with a different brand. Far too many threads full of that stuff - don't need to repeat it in this one.

 

In the many threads I read through, I came across a couple of different posts that outlined a series of driving steps to help the car learn the new setup quickly. One of those was from a regular vendor, and one was from a car owner, like me.

I think the issue comes down to engineering - the car expects X amount of air - within a range based on the stock setup AND the car is set up to use Y amount of fuel, within a range based on the stock setup. The car certainly has some flexibility designed into it - that is what the temporary fuel trim tables and long term fuel trim tables are about - but within the designed range for the car to choose from.

It is not uncommon, for example, for people that install LT headers to also get these similar codes, and most that install them know a trip to the tuner is a part of the install.

In essence when we make big changes to parts in the air system (intake to exhaust tip, this messes with the formula designed into the car - so some tinkering to restore balance is not uncommon.

 

Well, after swapping some email with the Ram Air SS people and the local tuner I have worked with, we are in agreement - I just need to get the car in and get this dialed in.

The Ram Air SS people forwarded an email they just got from another customer, one with a 2006 C6 (LS2), that was showing 35whp gain after install, and 45whp gain after tuning.

I have a set of ignition coils on order, so will wait for them to arrive and install them, and then head to the tuner for dyno/road test dialing in of the new added bits.