so ive been looking around for a while on here but i cant seem to find a good answer.

ive got an 06 v6 with the bbk cai and pypes dual exhaust conversion kit with an x pipe.

im lookin at brenspeed for a tuner but is it really worth it?

i read somewhere that its only like 11 or 12 hp over stock with a tune. that cant be right, is it?

what about my mods, wont that add more power with a tune?

im just kinda confused so some clarification would help a lot.

 

btw, just looked at american muscle and low and behold, bama has teamed up with them!!!!!

i will definitly be buying from american muscle if bama will be doing my tune.

 

I think I paid 599 for my tuner/CAI. I think it is well worth it. I have Bama tunes, and love'em. Put some thought into which tunes you are going to order. I accidentally ordered one of the tunes wrong. But earlier today, I took advantage of Bama's free tunes for life, and ordered 3 more.

 

Yes, I can confirm that you are confused.
I hope that clears things up.

 

thanks crazyassracer but no, im still confused lol. the bbk intake i got requires no tune but if i do tune wont i see not only an improvement on stock but an addition gain on top of the gain from the cold air?

and the exhaust is the same way. if i didnt have to tune in the first place will i get a big gain from the tune.

i guess my biggest concern is, on top of the modifications done, will i get more then just 10-12 hp. im really looking to get more like 20 additional hp on top of the hp gain of the cai and the exhaust.

 

With your CAI and Exhaust upgrade, I dont think
20hp is too much to expect from a 93 octane tune.

I added my Borla first, and the muffler alone doesnt
give you much, if any, bump in HP. Then I bought a
CAI/Tuner combo ($499 out the door). Put the CAI
on first and noticed an immediate improvement, but
it was throwing out a trouble code. So I flashed the
87 octane tune. That took care of the trouble code
but didnt add anymore seat of the pants acceleration.
When I got the tank filled with 93 octane I reflashed
to the premium tune and got even more power.
Never had it dyno'd, but ran a little better than an older
V8 Lexus last fall. So I should be somewhere between
235 and 240 hp at the crank.
Of course without a dyno run to prove it, it's just guesswork.

 

Ok, like crazyracer said, the CAI will give you small gains without a tune. The exhaust will give you very small gains period. The tune is going to give you different gains depending upon which fuel octane you use. If you use 87 octane fuel and an 87 octane tune you will get less gains than higher octane. A 93 octane race tune with 93 octane fuel may give you close to 20 hp.

Actual numbers are speculation without a dyno.

Just remember, use the proper fuel with the tunes. You can seriously damage your engine if you are using a 93 tune with 87 fuel.

Does that help at all?

 

OP, I think what you are asking, 'do the gains just add up'? If the exhaust gives +1 hp, the CAI (no tune) gives +5 hp, and the tune gives +15 hp, do I have +21 hp? NO, the tunes helps you get to most out of those mods. Say exhaust & cai give you +6 without a tune. And a tune on a totally stock car gives you +15. Using the exhaust & cai & the same tune you may get +18. These are totally random numbers, just for an example.

I don't know if I'm explaining this well. The tune helps you get the most out of your car, modified or not.

 

I had my car Dyno'd and then tuned a little more. I have the C&L CAI w/91 OCT tune, Aluminum driveshaft and Single GT exhaust. WHP topped out at 198 & 210 torque.

Depending on what calculator you use(18%), this means approx. 234 at the crank. I think the V6 is rated at 210. crank / 172 wheels, from the factory. If that's correct than the combo netted me about 26 HP.
As others have stated everything works together. I don't know that dual exhaust would add much HP, I think the single GT muffler is somewhat less restrictive than the original V6 muffler and there are gains there.

Hopefully these are some real numbers you can try and base your mods on.

I've since added the 8.8 with 3.73, but I don't think that will make a difference on the dyno.

 

Tunes can properly map your fuel/air ratios.
To begin, a stock Mustang tune has a small allowance in its mapping and adjust-ability to add or take away fuel. This is where you see some intakes requiring a tune. They are basically taking in more air than the computer can account for. This causes engine lights and a code reading lean. Our cars performance and efficiency is driven mostly by this map. Your basic exothermic reaction requires a fuel source, in this case carbon based gasoline, and oxygen. every reaction will continue until all of its fuel is used, from chemistry you will find that efficient equations are always balanced. The more oxygen you have, the more fuel you need to use all of the reactants.

On an aside, air enters the cylinder via the intake plenum and fuel enters via the injectors. Inside your cylinders there is a piston, this piston compresses the mixture of air and fuel. The purpose for compression is reach the maximum yield point for energy release. As the piston hits its highest compression, the spark plug fires igniting the mixture. Gasoline is fairly condensed as it is a liquid, the product of most reactions and of our cars is gaseous, which is not as condensed.

The reaction produces several gases and the expansion pushes the piston, which is connected to a rod, which is connected to the crankshaft. Your crankshaft is connected to your transmission (many parts here but you only need a basic understanding right now) which is connected to your drive shaft, connected to your rear differential, which turns all of this rotating in to usable rotation in your rear axle that spins your tires!

So by having more air and more fuel, you can create more gas by volume and push the piston faster, resulting in more power (roughly).

So why does a tune matter? As stated it makes sure your engine gets the proper amount of fuel. As your exhaust leaves the engine and hits exhaust system it passes by O2 sensors. This tells the computer how much unburned oxygen there is in your exhaust. So if it’s just a matter of air and fuel how is it damaging? The computer and engine expect a certain ratio and if it doesn't get it you will know. When running lean, the engine will tend to heat up faster and the mixture will detonate (premature firing). This will cause the piston to move the rod and your crankshaft when it is not suppose to and extended periods of running lean can bend rods and ruin other parts.

Now on running higher octane’s. Higher octane can yield higher numbers BECAUSE the higher the octane the higher compression it can handle before detonating. Making the reaction even more effective.

I’ve completely lost track of where I wanted to end but if you have any questions the guys here know a lot and the search has all of your answers