Sorry if this is the wrong section. Still new and figuring things out.

Anyways I was looking at CAI's for my car. I wanted to go with the Steeda but it says it requires a tune? What does it mean by this and where can I have it done?

http://www.americanmuscle.com/steeda...-cai-full.html

They also offer it with a tuner for like double the price. Would this be necessary or would it be cheaper to have it done somewhere else if I don't really feel like messing with the tuning all the time?

http://www.americanmuscle.com/2005gt...xcal2-kit.html

 

Stand-alone CAI's are worthless for performance gains on these engines w/o a tune. Expect about 3-5 RWHP gain w/o a tune (and that would require a no-tune-required CAI) and 20-25 RWHP with a good tune. The tune is about 80% of the power gainer. And some tunes are better than others.

The tune is plug and play. You buy the combo with most vendors supplying 3 different tunes (even a good 87 octane custom tune will run circles around the stock 87 tune) and simply upload the tunes. The handheld is mostly a storage device for the new and your stock tunes.

 

Nuke is right. A CAI without a tune is a paperweight. Get a CAI and tuner combo and it will be worth your while.

 

I agree with Nuke & Diabloical. A stand alone CAI is just an under the hood pretty thing. A CAI and a GOOD QUALITY CUSTOM TUNE will make ALL the difference in the world in how your car performs. If you have a Mustang and wnat to mod it, this should be the first on your list. Even before axle backs IMHO. I am a Steeda fan myself. That being said AM, Brenspeed are also top quality tunes. I run the Steeda Ultimate Induction combo 93 octane and could not be happier.

 

Islands,

I'm going to go ahead with the trend here and agree with everyone above as well! They've definitely pointed you in the right direction. A Tune required CAI with no Tune will make you car go crazy and wont know what to do with all that new found air. Your best bet is a CAI and Tune combo, this is always my first recommendations to anyone entering the modification game!

You'll be looking at a 20RWHP+ and 20RWTQ gain from this set up. I hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions! Our Bama Performance tuning specialists are here in the building Monday-Friday from 9AM-5:30PM EST and Saturday 9AM-5:30PM EST. You can hit them up directly at 888.226.9764 and they'll get you squared away!

-Dan

 

Yes, our Steeda CAI requires a re-tune of the factory PCM. This is typically done by using a programmer to upload an aftermarket tune that has the correct parameters for the CAI to run properly. The reason being is that our intake flows more air over the factory intake and uses a larger mass air meter housing and as such requires a re-tune for the engine to run properly.

Hope this helps, and I'm sure American Muscle would be glad to help you with that! There are actually a couple of American Muscle reps on this site, Dan Bailer and Shane Lesky.

*EDIT* Oops, I see American Muscle has already replied before I finished my reply. Like I said though, let them know if they can help you with that!

 

Ok guys thanks for all the help I see I came to the right forums. I will definitely go with the combo from AM and do it myself!

 

A majority of the members on this forum have a CAI/Custom tune.

Installing a CAI and uploading custom tunes is very simple!

Here's a quick video to show you how easy it is to upload the custom tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkTD...eature=related

 

I ran a poll about a year or so ago and approximately 75% of the forum members appear to be running non-OE tunes.

 

+1. It's a Mustang. Mod it.