liquid_helix136

First time modding a car, i have a k&N FIPK, comptech header and Remus exhaust, im smelling something when i push the car, no idea what it is, and a lil smoke comes out the exhaust when i shift at redline, oil is good and has been changed every 3k miles, using 10w30 synthetic, car is 03 with 71k miles on it, might i be running rich/lean? i wouldnt be able to tell the difference, from what i hear comptech header doesnt cause you to run lean but im just checking

So would it benefit at all from taking to a tuner to tune the ECU for the mods i have? or is the stock ECU even tuneable? or would i need a vfac or a aftermarket ECU, but from what i understand the vfac/EMS stuff is just to get the most power out of everything

RedY2KS2k

Tune what?

liquid_helix136

edited for clarification

THESPY

Buy an AEM EMS and take it to church.

R3DS2K

smell of unburnt gas? smoke from oil burning which can be normal if taken up into the high revs? did this start RIGHT after those mods or you had the mods for a while and now its started to act up?

learning03

Since you have your factory cat still you should be ok BUT going to a tuner to see what your air/fuel ratio is(or buy a wideband o2) wouldnt hurt and will give you peace of mind.

TelosHedge

you mentioned you have a header and a catback - do you still have a stock cat?

we unfortunately cannot tune our factory ecu's. however, most intake/header/exhaust setups don't need much tuning to really make a difference. you DO NOT need to get a full standalone management. a piggy back system, such as greddy emanage of the AEM FIC will plug inline with your ECU and get the job done as well.

realistically though, you do not need to have your car tuned. like the above poster said, if you're worried about your setup you can have the afr's checked on a dyno or wiht a wideband, just to be sure, and then take it from there.

happy driving!

liquid_helix136

i had already had the mods on for awhile and then it started acting up a little bit, when its cold out i get a little hesitation around 3k rpm as well

stock cat is still on

anyone got any ideas on that? since with just basic bolt ons air/fuel ratio probably isnt an issue

R3DS2K

if you had the mods for a while and it just started to act up. its not because you need a tune.

the smoke could just be water/steam which is normal and a good thing. it should go away one the car warms up.

could just need a tune up or let the ecu work itself out since the cold could play a part

Kirpich

OK, here's my take on this whole modding without tuning deal:

You buy a quality bolt-on from a reputable source, you know, Borla, HKS, etc, and it's not a knockoff, that bolt-on is supposed to be designed to give you HP (TQ) without killing your engine.

The reason they cost so much is because they've spent so much money on design/dyno/redesign/dyno cycle, in order to get where they want to.

Now, if you buy from EBay or from some shady shop, you really don't know what kind of quality you're getting. Even worse, you don't know which way the mod goes, worse or better. That's when you take it to a tuner and check. And if you need a tune, you get an FPR, for a mild tune, or something more advanced for a more heavy tune.