Christmas gift brought me axle back Borla Type S II exhaust, and K&N intake kit.......I just want to be sure that I do NOT need any kind of "tune" with this upgrade. Please answer YES or NO.

Car is 2006 Base Model, Z51 package. six speed manual transmission. Low mileage at 13,600 when I bought it three months ago. Otherwise stock with no mods.

I really lack motivation to get into all this "tuning" stuff.....it seems like a huge rabbit hole of varying opinions and products offered. I am not racing the car, and I just want maybe to correct some of what the factory cannot do as a result of emissions regulations, etc. I have no interest in getting all involved and obsessed with "tuning" computers. I don't even drive agressively on the street by most peoples standards.

I don't like that the throttle is not telling the throttle body to work at a linear rate......and am considering one of the pedal commander products,....probably Soler. And the only reason for this is NOT to jump into the tuning world.....but just fix a feature that Chevrolet screwed up...IMO. Why do I want a throttle that only provides me 15% when I am at 50%? Makes no sense to me. Its not how the Holley carb works on my C3. In this manual car.....the ratio of gas pedal movement to shift points needs to be at a place that works in daily driving it. I feel like there is something not right about the stock setup. I think these pedal commander products would fix this and I know it does NOT increase HP.....but the ratios of pedal movement to shifting DOES matter. Its a "feel" thing.

Before the tuner lovers jump in......remember....I am not really motivated to jump into full blown tuning. I don't think I need it. But.......go ahead...tell me what you think. If there was a very simple tune process, that woudl fix the pedal ratio problem....I would consider that.....but I am not looking for any complicated process or tune. My driving style is just fine with the power output of this car. I bought the Borla for the sound....not an expectation of power. I bought the K&N because I just always do on all my cars and motorcycles.

What I have read about so far

Chuck Cow - lots of drama - so much so that I am hesitant to jump in the mix
HP Tuners - Looks too complicated for my Boomer 64 year old attitude - I would probably only use 5% of what the stuff can do
Pedal Commander / Soler - as simple as it gets.....puts the pedal back to what it was in the old days...direct link

Once I get past all this, I don't see me wanting any more "mods" to the car. I like it alot already....just tweaking a few things and that will be all I need. Messing with this C6 takes time away from my other Corvette projects that I like way better.

 

You shouldn't need a tune for your K&N or your exhaust.

As far as the whole pedal commander goes, a tune will be much more beneficial regardless. The pedal commander may make your car "feel" faster by tricking the electronic pedal to think it is in a different position but it isn't any different than just putting more foot into the throttle. I just checked and a pedal commander is $300 new (possibly $260 with their $40 Christmas discount option), a street tune in my area cost $250 and a dyno tune cost $500. If you want your car more responsive then your best bet would be to take the car to a reputable tuner in your area and get a street tune done on the car, let them mess with the tuning for you. Your car will probably make another 20+ horsepower and have a lot more torque with a tune anyways.

 

I understand you do not want to get involved with tuning so will not suggest otherwise.

No tune needed for the mods you mentioned. The K&N should help the restrictive LS2 intake, the Axle back exhaust will sound good, and the Soler will make a difference you can feel.
You should be good to go. Enjoy!

 

To be safe you do. It wont explode but it wont run optimal

 

Not tune required for the mods, but keep in mind that you will not be picking up any power from the mods as well.

Hence best mods on the car, are not any mods in the scenes of changing parts to being with.

Out the gate, you can lightly prop open the radiator shroud to allow more outside air to get to the air cleaner, so the motor is not pulling in hot air from inside the motor area to cause timing retard.

Next is tuning the motor, and although will pick up around 16HP on a stock motor tune, it's the fact that you are turning off TM that is crippling power to the drive line in real time instead. So its not just the 16hp that you pick up, but about another 30HP that the ECM is not holding back from reaching the drive line instantly as well.

The last one is to re-map the throttle response.
Not only did GM slow down vain response timing, but also induced stall timing to give the motor higher MPG. Also to point out, until you have the throttle pedal down about 80%, the stock tune only has the TB vain opened to about 20% max.


Bottom line, GM soccer mom the hell out of the tuning part of the ECM, and until you clean this mess up, really wasting your time bolting anything on to the motor to begin with. Fact is, can go into a cars ECM tune to de-soccer mom it, and take the car on stock motor with all it power unleashed, that is dam near un-driveable in most novices hands. So power is already there (its already ready a 200mph car), and just a mater of how far you have talent to unleash it the amount of power you can use.

 

OK, thanks for the responses thus far. As far as getting a "reputable tuner in my area"......THAT is a problem I have come to the point that I trust almost nobody unless I have several people I trust recommend a particular vendor. So in the Pittsburgh PA area......I don't know anybody....and I have no friends who have Corvettes, or any other tuner car. So......IF I did know somebody, I wouldn't even be asking here. And then.....you got the fact that this is a forum.....who do I trust here? Every posting is a another version of advice.

So..you see my problem. I will continue to take input, listen, and we shall see. I know that I want that throttle position to pedal position thing corrected.

And as I said in Post #1,.....I know the exhaust is ONLY about sound....but sound is part of owning this car....its too damn quiet. My 77 Corvette sounds way better with the headers, big pipes, and 408 SBC. I need the sound to remind myself I am NOT in a Cadillac.

And the inlet....well K&N is on all my stuff. I believe in their marketing.....more air. Period.

What about this Chuck Cow guy?

 

Stay VERY FAR AWAY from Chuck.There is a reason he is no longer a vendor on here.For your mods and goals I would look at someone like Diablew and a handheld programmer.Not real expensive and will make your car feel completely different.His service and response time is awesome.I have ran several of his tunes and have never been disappointed.

 

I make a living off tuning high performance GM vehicles, but with your modifications you don't "need" a tune and you shouldn't throw any check engine lights with those modifications.

Granted after a tune the car with be more fun, but with any additional airflow or optimizing its computer system will make it more fun.
Enjoy it and dont sweat it.

Phil

 

no tune needed. you'll get some nice sound out back and a little more whoosh up front. Should drive just fine.

 

A tune isn't needed, but if you've got the money for a dyno tune, you'll be happy you did it.

 

Ask the Corvette Club in your area. Several capable tuners in PA.

 

Thanks for the input. I think I will skip any of the pedal commanders. If a mild tune can get the pedal ratio right AND remove some torque management, seems like money better spent. I will wait till I get the new exhaust and intake on....then try to figure out the simplest way to get a tune. I like the Diablo Lew option.....or something similar, where I dont have to spend a couple days driving on the road to some remote tuner somewhere, hotel bills, etc. What is the simplest and best way to get a tune to remove the torque management and get pedal ratio set right.....I don't really think I need much more. Just unleash the power thats there is good enough for me permanently. I really don't see any other mods in the future....the car is almost fine the way it is.

 

Strangely, of the 9 replies so far, there is only one with more posts and one who has been on the forum longer than you. Maybe it's just a lot of them are readers and that you might mostly hang out on the C3 forum is why the answers are different.. However, you just bought a low mile car and other than saying you don't intend to race it, you also don't say how much or how hard you intend to drive it either, but the simple answer to your original question regarding a tune being "required" is NO. Tune problem solved.

I got a tune and then bought HP Tuners and learned how to tweak a tune for performance. Just because you aren't serious about maximum power, doesn't mean you can't learn something new.. Age 64 for me was 17 years ago and I'm still learning new stuff daily.

Personally, I'd cut off the OEM mufflers as close to the can as possible and retain the pipe. Then do nearly the same with any year ZR1 or Z06 or '08-'13 car that had the NPP option and weld them to your pipes. That'd allow you to have sound control vs no control, for far less cost and while maintaining an OEM appearance. You might just be able to use some years of cars that had the NPP option mufflers without cutting/welding with the M6 trans, but get someone else to confirm that. I know certain years have a fitment concern with the A6 cars. Sound problem solved.

I'm not fond of the K&N stuff, due to the dirt getting in the valve body and every other place. It's not like a carb that'll still work when it's so dirty that you can't identify it anymore. Even a crappy paper filter is a better choice than an oiled mesh one. Simply doing the $2 shroud prop to get cooler air in the stock filter will work better. Airflow problem solved.

You might look at some of the recent posts, about throttle modifiers throwing codes, before purchasing. As a drag racer, I always wanted one that worked in reverse. i.e. opened the throttle slower to get a softer (non-shock) launch that would stick the tires. I simply learned how to move my right foot to compensate. Throttle position solved.

I've had 65 cars with all types of engines, induction systems, transmissions, and power output. No matter how close to identical or radical they were, none of them drove or felt the same. You just need to learn the intricacies of your C6, because it'll never be like your C3. The "feel" problem solved.

 

Thanks for the input. I will consider it.

 

Returned the $550 K&N intake.....realized its nonsense for the level or performance I will use on the street. Thanks to HOXXOH for reminding me not everything sold is worth it. And I had forgotten about the K&N oil problem getting on MAF sensors. Not interested in any of that nonsense either. I will try to find some decent air filters and it will be good enough. I am NOT pushing this car anywhere near its high level of performance....its just not how I drive on the street. Its SO easy to go down a rabbithole.

 

Interesting thread, I own a 06 C6 Vert, 6spd & Z51. I'm also 66 years, owned many of late 69's early 70's muscle car toilets. The best toilet of the time is a vette that I sold to my brother & he still owns. That is a factory 71 LS6 coupe, 4sp & is documented.

When I realized many years back after purchasing my 01 C5 convertible fuel injection was not going away......and I started heading down the modification road.....and experiencing less than satisfactory tuning experience by the big names.......I purchased HP Tuners & began that never ending on going seemingly second career Ha!

I just quickly checked the TB mapping in my C6 & I do not see anything that suggests the pedal is not linear to the blade. The nannies or torque management will step in & control the TB as well as other item's if the ECU believes you are not capable of controlling the car.

As mentioned by another member I am going to explore slowing the TB down to try & control the launch a little better. I have modified the exhaust to a full 3" over axle with good size mufflers, cats & 2" headers. That was not done for sound although it is a very healthy when it idles. I'm not suggesting this exhaust, I did it to match the other supporting changes. The sound is a result of something that actually improved performance.....my goal.

Throttle blade manipulators & your K&N air intake won't make your motor happier. A good intake manifold or better still 4:10's would have better bang for buck results.

 

Its becomes evident that a person has to figure out each and everything for himself given the fact that on any given subject, you will get 180 degree opposite opinions of the same exact thing. It almost makes it useless to even ask a question.

 

Some of those 180 degree answers come from 180 degree owners. I don't fit the mold of most owners, since I drive my cars all over the USA, drag race at lots of tracks, hangout with old guys and young ones too, and have never waxed my Vette. I certainly don't claim to know everything about a C6 or a lot of other subjects, but I can see when questions get asked, the experience level of those who answer is all over the map.

As a first time Corvette owner in late '07, I was like you initially. Experienced in autos, but lost in a sea of new information and technology. It just takes a while to sort it out to see what works for others and pick out the stuff that works for you. Enjoy your Vette as it is, while you learn what changes you want to make to suit yourself.