Hello, I'm new to the forum, but have read a few threads previous to becoming a member, seems very helpful. I currently have a 2003 Monte Carlo SS, N/A of course. It is currently bone stock, and the first mods I was thinking of adding were a K&N Air Induction for $293 and the Hypertech Power Programmer for $379.99. The only problem is I hear the K&N Air Box rests right ontop of the PCM! So if I put this on there will I no longer have access to my PCM to do custom tuning? Also, I read that K&N records a 13.37 HP increase, but is that only on the S/C vehicles? Or would it benefit a N/A engine the same?

 

Hi, not sure if anyone has gave you a welcome to the site, but you have already made a huge impact and let me be one to say "WELCOME" your input wiil be considered by all of us and thanks for being part of our extended family! thanks for your contributions thus far and into the future, see ya

chris

ps: btw, JJ needs coffee in the morning and we all need pics and a daily post from you on the mcf daily post by space dude and/or whoever decides to start it!!

 

The K&N will actually give you BETTER access to your PCM because it won't be stuck INSIDE of a box, there will just be a filter over it.

 

You don't actually have to do anything to your PCM itself (not physically anyways) to do any tuning.

AFIK, all of the available tuners access the PCM from inside the car using the OBDII port.

Oh, and for the price of a hypertech, you have much better options available.

-Riggs.

 

So you're saying Hypertech is well worth the $380 cost? It records 16WHP and 30lbs of torque, I think that's a mod you could actually feel when you're driving, plus you don't need any mechanical knowhow to install it. I think I will go with it now.

 

Those numbers if someone already did all the bolt-on modifications to their engine, and then they did the tune to FINALLY unleash numbers.

 

You don't need to touch the pcm for custom tuning- a real custom tune is done by plugging into the OBD port. Any aftermarket intake that eliminates the stock airbox, also eliminates the mount for the PCM (which normally is housed under the intake)- so you just buy a pcm tray to mount the pcm. If you opt to order a pretuned pcm, its no harder to swap.

Secondly, you really need to forget about quoting thier posted horsepower gains- 13 horsepower peak crank even on a L67 is highly unlikely. You'll be lucky to get a couple wheel horsepower gain period. If you keep doing that- 13 horsepower intake + 25 horsepower custom tune + 30 horsepower cat back exhaust system + 40 horsepower headers + 15 horsepower spark plugs +10 horsepower aftermarket wires; then you're going to end up with a "500 horsepower" car that dynos 180 at the wheels. Manufacturer gains are total BS, they're done to get people to buy the product period- if you want to know how truthful it is, ask if they offer a money back garauntee if you don't see the same or better gains on the dyno- I bet 99% will say NO.

No, he's saying the hypertech is a pile of junk. Look at your other options:
-pre tuned pcm (all the gains of a hypertech without any adjustability) $100
-custom dyno tuned pcm by a pro $300-400 (more gains than a hypertech with no adjustability)
-pcm tuning software like HPTuners or DHP Powrtuner $350 used - $500 (gains from nothing to far greater than a hypertech-depending on how much you tune and use it; adjustability is far far greater than a hypertech)

 

Y'know, I don't really believe all those gains, I'm not a fool. But I know all those things you listed CAN improve performance. 10HP on an intake would be doable, 15HP on a custom tune, 5-7 HP on a CATback exhaust, but you lose low end torque, so I won't do that one, headers add up to 25 with all the supporting mods, alone they probably only add 5-10, and NGK Iridium Spark Plugs have recorded 2.76 WHP and 5 lbs of torque on a DYNO before, and ignition wires don't improve HP, they just allow your spark plugs to work at maximum efficiency, so you might gain back some lost HP, but nothing significant. I don't think Hypertech would outright LIE on a dyno sheet, at best they might have rounded the numbers up, like 15.5 to 16HP. But on their dyno sheet it is a stock engine that records the gains. And I checked out DHP, their site sorta sucks. You can't view dyno sheets, I couldn't find the custom programmer, (wonder if they even have one), and you can only buy them through 3 other online retailers, PFYC, 3800performance, and another site, seems kinda iffy to me. Hypertech you can buy from any automotive shop around, might be more expensive but it's a custom programmer where you can return it to stock settings or your custom settings whenever you want, and with a custom chip or custom tune you can't do that.

 

I've heard bad things about K&N now. Someone says it's not a fully enclosed air box so in warm weather it serves more or less as a Hot Air Intake which can hurt performance and fuel efficiency. That guy said to go with Wizair because they're cheaper, and fully enclosed. I've just heard that K&N sounds the best, gives your car that better tone. But if K&N works as a hot air intake, and I'm going to be in Florida soon, maybe it's not such a good idea.

 

I never said they didn't; what I said is if you add up all the numbers that each mod is "supposed" to give you, you will never actually see those same results. Even the best 3800 vendors embellish their numbers a bit and skew the wording to sell parts- thats the fine line of marketing.

You couldn't find the DHP Powrtuner on their site because they no longer make it; you have to buy a used one (they come up for sale all the time on clubgp and 3800pro).

dhp sounds like an iffy company to you? lol, you need to do some researching into 3800 modding history then; they were the first ones to actually give pcm tuning to the 3800 market and have been selling pretuned pcms for years.

If you want to buy a hypertech because you can buy one at walmart, autozone, and your local grocery store, then go ahead. Just because a lot are sold doesn't mean its the best thing in the world. There is a reason if you go to a local shop for a dyno tune that they don't whip out a hypertech. If you must have a big name company- see how many local tuning shops use HP Tuners then; it'll cost more the the DHP for the same money; but many LS1 shops use them (the DHP is not common because it only does GM FWD, primarily the 3800).

I'm just trying to help you out here- if you want a real tuning program buy a DHP Powrtuner or HPTuners- for the same price or a little more than a hypertech you get 1000x the functionality and adjustability.

Only reason I brought up buying a pre-tuned pcm is because I question how bad you really need a custom one-off tune at this point (via whatever tuning software you go with). It seems like you're only at the basic bolt on stage, in which case a pretuned pcm from DHP or ZZP would give you say 80% of the power gain with zero time invested on your part- just a plug in and go. I've seen used ones go for $60-75 no core; new they're like $100+core; and if you ever get to the point where you really need to do your own tuning (ie adding boost)- you can sell it for more than half of what you bought it for; or if you go to sell the car, just plug your stock pcm back in.