Hey there well i just wanted to get the basic idea. Im new to American car market so please bare with me. After i get the SS i do want to put on CAI.Headers. Catback. Throttle body. Maybe ported Manifold. Cam and Heads. So question is which mods should i do before the tune that will not damage the car. And then which mods i can put on and get the car retuned. or do i have to tune everytime i get new mod installed? Also which is better Dyno tune or i can get a diablo and just download tunes? Thank you. Really appreciate.

In order of mod:

1. Cold air Intake
2. Headers
2a.Tune
3.Catback (if headers to stock mufflers isn't loud enough for you)
4. Cam & Heads
5. Ported intake/throttle body if you feel you need it.

Best bet for the tune is a dyno tune somewhere local to you. If not, buy HP Tuners and do the tuning yourself! It's actually pretty easy once you take 20 minutes to take a look at things for yourself.

 

Hm intersting thanks But do i have to retune the car every time i put a mod. Lets say after headers i tune the car then. i do cams/heads do i need to retune it?

 

You should be able to do a cat back and cold air without the tune.

 

For optimal results, yes, you would tune with each stage of mods.
The tune, if done correctly, would be for the car and it's state at that point in time.

 

Got ya. Hm well now i gotta find out what can be done with out a tune. to Do it first.

 

1. ECS Novi supercharger
2. 1 7/8" headers (American Racing or Kooks)
3. Custom Dyno tune
3. Meth injection for added insurance
4. Leave it alone and enjoy the car.

After 22 years of building cars, this is the best advice you're going to get.
Save you're money and do it all at one shot.
Nickel and dime mods will offer no genuine improvement and will bleed you dry.
The above will be a reliable combination that will last for many, many years.
And, if you want BIG power down in the future, or the 2nd owner of the car does, those mods will offer expandability.

 

Or this for a supercharger.

 

Magunson Heartbeat on VF LS3 - YouTube

Or this for a supercharger.

ECS has the most records, best performance, and best customer service of anyone in the hi-po business.
Maggie does nothing but put their name on an Eaton blower and their company, their products, and their reps all suck.

 

East Coast Supercharging, Home of the Fastest Performance Supercharged, Turbo C5, C6, Z06, Corvette, GTO, CTSV, GM Trucks, Installers, Dynotuners, Performance Parts Retailers

I think that is the same ECS

 

Basically the LS3 is a bullet proof motor and unless you want some serious HP just go with CAI, Headers (only familiar with Aussie brands so no advice there), a decent exhaust with high flow cats and a tune.
It should push well past the stock 415hp These are things my mates HSV has had done and it is a legit Rocket on wheels

 

Well, "mate", I think you should give better advice if you are going to be a "moderator".
High flow cats and cat-back exhaust are a waste of money.

Refer to my post above if you want to follow proven advice.

 

I think it's apparant that Alpha is our old friend TT/ 1k Rider. I like reading what he has to say as long as it doesn't get snippy but it seems to always get snippy. The new members on here who may not have dealt with him before might be better off just ignoring him instead of going back and forth. I know he pushes buttons though.

 

Well if it is tt he won't be on here to long. You can't keep insulting people for there opinion. And yes mufflers on late model cars don't add much horse power 5 maybe. The corvette forum has many dyno pulls proving this. Sound is what it's all about.Some like loud others not so much. I have NPP mufflers with a wireless controller when I want loud like the nut ball texting and drifting into my lane, but at 70mph the drone is to much. At red lights knocking around town yeah okay.
z51vett
Doug

 

Hedders alone will not give much even with a tune under 30hp you need a cam and cold air intake high flow cats but not mufflers will give you some power gains worth talking about. In the old days hedders made a big difference in performance big gains not so much anymore with todays technology. Don't forget tunes ruin your warranty so do what you want. Cold air intake may help my making a more dense charge. Again after market mufflers have been dyno tested not much gain under 8hp.
z51vett
Doug

 

I think any of the items you mentioned would void your warranty

 

I haven't been here very long, but from what I've been able to determine most folks here don't live life a 1/4 mile at a time. I believe after a certain age, car guys look more for a good balance in a car with useable power. For example my Z car is very capable of going straight as well as stopping and turning, because even though it has a cute amount of power to the wheels, it is all very useable.

I'm in belief if it puts a smile on your face, it's not a waste of money ...

Jim

 

523 rwhp is very respectable. If this cat thinks he can just throw a supercharger on an SS without other supporting mods and do better than 523 rwhp, he's smokin' something. He might achieve 523 flywheel hp, but that's not close to 523 rwhp.

 

Hey guys i didnt mean to start a war here. Well i do like a Alphas advice and others aswell. Yes im not rich. The thing i dont want a blower yet. Im just want a decent powerfull car and i want Cam Loap aswell. Thats y im asking how to spend my money the proper way before putting a blower on it, if i ever can decide to get to that point. Ye warrenty will go bye bye i understand that too. Im just trying to get a general knowledge of which mods to start with and whats will work better. I Do agree this car is not only a streightline monster it can turn and brake very nicely.

 

A cam lope sounds cool, but it sounds like you are new to performance mods and you are not aware of the negatives and trade offs.
I'm willing to guess you won't want a cam when you know all the facts.

Based on what I'm hearing from you, start with long tube headers from American Racing or Kooks and a dyno tune. You'll get the sound and power you're looking for.

If you want more power, you can't beat the bang for buck and torque from a blower. A good shop can install and tune for almost stock behavior and reliability. ECS is the best.

 

actually what is funny about all of this is how few people posting on this forum actually own the car...now on the warranty issue:

Aftermarket parts or modifications: This aspect of warranty coverage has a great deal of gray area. Although many dealers would have you think otherwise, simply having an aftermarket part or modifying your vehicle cannot void your warranty.

Some dealerships may say, for example, that just because you have a performance part such as a cold air intake on the car that the whole vehicle warranty is void, says Loren Wong, a car enthusiast and a former warranty administrator for BMW and Acura. "That's not true," he says.

The saving grace for consumers is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975. The act states that a dealer must prove that aftermarket equipment caused the need for repairs before it can deny warranty coverage.

However, if the reason for a parts failure is unclear, a dealer will usually charge you to diagnose the vehicle. If the aftermarket part was not properly installed or a modification led to a component failure, it is within the dealer's right to void the warranty for that part, and you will have to pay for the repairs out of pocket. If the aftermarket parts had nothing to do with the repairs in question, you will be refunded the fee for the diagnosis.

Any aftermarket performance parts on your vehicle can cause a dealer to suspect that you either drive the car hard or possibly race it. "Although they may not void warranties," Wong added, "modifications may raise a red flag when vehicles are in for service. If consumers who mod their cars do a little research, they may find certain dealerships that are a little more 'mod-friendly.'"

 

actually what is funny about all of this is how few people posting on this forum actually own the car.."

A LS3 and a 6L80 is what it is.
This is a well documented drivetrain that is almost 17 years old (or 6 years old depending on your perspective) and had been figured out by the best for a LONG time.
If I'm reading you correctly, it sounds like you are insinuating that the SS is a unique car and that one must be owned to be understood. And/or, even worse, that it's a halo car that's ownership is esteemed.

I was not criticizing people for posting, unless they are criticizing a car they don't own. .

Thanks for the laugh.
Get over yourself and your 2008 G8.


Every educated member who had experience modding cars is fully aware of that the Magnusson Moss act is the law regarding modifications and warranty.
The SS is nothing new. It's a LSx drivetrain in a 2008 G8.

 

True darkside but when an engine goes GM has a procedure where they use the tech 2 tool and take a reading that's forward to GM before they will authorize a repair under warranty. So a tune gets you busted if a GM rep has to come by your bolt on parts get you busted.
z51vett
Doug

 

Also add to that, GM has changed the wording in their warranty. They now use the key word " Alterations " thus anything modded or taken out of OEM specs, give them the right to decline repairs under warranty.

As far as the MMA, the original intent was to make sure that manufactures were held to the warranty they gave with their products. The wording in the Act itself was and is vague. This being said, the after market parts industry made a different interpretation when it was said the consumer was able to use aftermarket parts and not having to use only OEM parts for repairs. The problem is the courts interpretation left out the term OEM spec parts. This little bit of wording is why the aftermarket parts industry, was and is able to exploit the MMA and say it's ok to use performance parts. This is why most manufactures have changed the wording on the warranty of their products ...

Don't forget your warranty is up to GM and not the dealer.

Personally I get pissed at parts sales guys that start shouting how your covered under the MMA and not to worry about it. Then ask them if they are will to put their money where their mouth is and cover the repair cost if warranty is denied ... I think you know what their response will be.

 

How does that affect the Magnusson-Moss Act?

 

Sorry to be posting here and all since I don't own an SS, but thought folks might be able to use the 1st hand information in a beneficial way.

A friend of mine who also owns a G8 GT had cold air intake, headers, high flow cats, and a tune took his car to the dealer due a failed lifter. He set his tune back to near stock, but it still had some tweaks in it to keep the CEL off due to the high flow cats. The dealer scanned the ECM and sent it to GM, GM reluctantly covered the failed lifter under warranty. They made the repair and put a stock ECM calibration back on his car and said that if his car shows up again without the stock calibration, they will void his warranty. The funny part is that a about 5 months later, we swapped out his cam for an aftermarket performance cam and found that the lobe that the failed lifter was riding on had a large chunk of metal missing and it would have likely failed again fairly soon. Bottom line is that they only replaced the single failed lifter and didn't even inspect his cam because it should have been replaced too. So in summary, his headers, high flow cats, and cold air intake didn't cause the lifter to fail. It's also debatable as to whether or not the tune could have caused it, but at the end of the day, GM gets to call the shots. Had he shown up with his tune set all the way back to stock settings, the CAI, headers/cats might not have been an issue. They appeared to be more upset about the tune than anything else.

 

Just Curious

.... He set his tune back to near stock, but it still had some tweaks in it to keep the CEL off due to the high flow cats. The dealer scanned the ECM and sent it to GM, GM reluctantly covered the failed lifter under warranty. They made the repair and put a stock ECM calibration back on his car and said that if his car shows up again without the stock calibration, they will void his warranty.

Did putting back the stock calibration cause the CEL to come on for the high flow cats???

 

I can only relate my own experiences with vehicles with modifications. after 7 camaro/trans ams, all modded, one vette, modded, one trailblazer ss, modded, one mustang gt, modded, and now my SS, with no mods yet; i have never been denied warranty repairs on any of these vehicles. the dealers i have dealt with to date, have even called me to ask if the car had any ecm downloads so as to prevent overwriting the download, which could have made my tuner useless. in some cases i did my own modifications, in others the dealer did them, and still others i had an aftermarket shop do them. i believe it is the relationship you establish with your dealer that sets the stage for success or failure on this issue.
by the way I was not criticizing people for posting, unless they are criticizing a car they don't own. the SS is a great car and in my view accomplishes everything it sets out to do. is it perfect? well no, but it is pretty close.

 

I can only relate my own experiences with vehicles with modifications. after 7 camaro/trans ams, all modded, one vette, modded, one trailblazer ss, modded, one mustang gt, modded, and now my SS, with no mods yet; i have never been denied warranty repairs on any of these vehicles. the dealers i have dealt with to date, have even called me to ask if the car had any ecm downloads so as to prevent overwriting the download, which could have made my tuner useless. in some cases i did my own modifications, in others the dealer did them, and still others i had an aftermarket shop do them. i believe it is the relationship you establish with your dealer that sets the stage for success or failure on this issue.
by the way I was not criticizing people for posting, unless they are criticizing a car they don't own. the SS is a great car and in my view accomplishes everything it sets out to do. is it perfect? well no, but it is pretty close.

Thanks for the added info. I think a lot of it depends on your dealership. Some are mod-friendly while others are not. Sounds like you have a good one to use. Can you share info on them? Perhaps others near by could use them as well.

 

thedarkside yes I agree with your statement but have you ever blown an engine, trans or rearend. Most warranty work for electronics and such no problem. However GM is now saying no to mass air flow failure if you have after market air filter that is oiled and the oil is on the mass air flow.
z51vett
Doug

 

thedarkside yes I agree with your statement but have you ever blown an engine, trans or rearend. Most warranty work for electronics and such no problem. However GM is now saying no to mass air flow failure if you have after market air filter that is oiled and the oil is on the mass air flow.
z51vett
Doug

Yes we have been told that the warranty is void for modifications.
Just wanted this to be food for thought before changing anything.
If you go to your dealer and get it in writing (???) that your warranty will be covered with the description of any mods you make, then you are OK, but chances of that are of course slim to none.
Kathy

 

never had that problem...knew how much to oil the filter...most people without experience tend to over-oil them. had k&n's on most of my vehicles, including my harleys...even the ones without the performance credentials of the SS...one of my trans-ams required a valve job due to excessive guide clearance (they initially thought seals) causing blue exhaust smoke on start-up, had put the cold air intake, changed the cam, put headers and complete exhaust, but did not change the heads yet...warranty work performed no problems...did change the heads a couple months later, had a rear gear binding, but it turned out to be a fluid viscosity issue...bottom line, most dealers will treat you like you treat them. if you are respectful with them and understand the problem with your vehicle was not caused by them, they get paid for fixing it, although not as much as if you pay them, they understand it is in their best interest to keep the customer happy as you will come back and buy more cars from them, as my last dealer found out when i bought 26 cars in 23 years, all from the same dealer...now i am trying to build a relationship with my new dealer here in augusta, ga...we'll see what happens

 

From what I've been shown, the Tech 2 scanner can read the log of and when the ECM was updated.

 

I've heard that they can do that too. That's why I think finding a mod-friendly dealer is important if you plan to mod.

 

One of my closest friends used to do service write-ups at a Chevy dealer in Columbus, GA and he said they it will show that the computer was reprogrammed and a date but not what was changed. He said that unless the car came in with a different tune that they had to do the warranty work. Not sure if all dealerships are that way or if that was just their policy.

 

The info I posted is accurate, whether you get butt hurt about it or not.
Anyone who knows their stuff, or does their research, will have to agree with me.

If I'm not getting paid, I'm not putting my name on anything.

 

Wow!



Relax...If you're having a bad day don't take it out on other people.:growup:

 

But if you put your name to something people may come to you and throw there Hard Earned at you to build and design custom set ups or the like. If you are as knowledgeable as you come across to be, surely your work is out there being enjoyed.

Of all your 30+ posts to this site, you come across as arrogant, and only your word counts, you have made a couple of reasonable posts however the large majority offends in one way or the other.
I don't know if you intend for your posts to come across that way, but they do.
The only Butt Hurt I will be getting is from all the cycling I am doing, especially with the Tour Down Under Community Ride and other Charity rides that will take place over the course of the next 12 months.

 

But if you put your name to something people may come to you and throw there Hard Earned at you to build and design custom set ups or the like. If you are as knowledgeable as you come across to be, surely your work is out there being enjoyed.

Of all your 30+ posts to this site, you come across as arrogant, and only your word counts, you have made a couple of reasonable posts however the large majority offends in one way or the other.
I don't know if you intend for your posts to come across that way, but they do.
The only Butt Hurt I will be getting is from all the cycling I am doing, especially with the Tour Down Under Community Ride and other Charity rides that will take place over the course of the next 12 months.

Well said. . .

 

intake tune full exhaust (headers) and sticky tires for me like to do it all at once so I wont have to keep retuning, from my personal experience with the ls3 these mods should get me at or above 400whp and 400whp sedan that dead hooks with good tires will be a force to be reckoned with especially at the track when higher horse power cars are blowing their tires off