# The CAI myth and tuning info you should know



## JFLS6 (Oct 20, 2005)

Hello all. The most common questrion I get from GTO owners is "what about the CAI, will it help?" The answer is YES when tuned. I would like to clear this up. The GTO's spark timing curve is based upon load from the MAF. The Stk timing curve is weak as is and it gets lower as load is increased @ WOT. 
Eg: Stk intake 23 deg @ .6 gms/cyl 4400RPM and aftermarket intake 21 deg @ .7gms/cyl 4400rpm. This 2 deg loss would negate or lose power over the stk curve. 
The fact of the matter is that the CAI will undoubtedly increase efficiency and POTENTIAL POWER. The problem is that the timing curve is setup to decrease timing as the load from the MAF increases @ WOT. This is a typical approach to how a timing curve should be setup but it is VERY conservative. When Tuned we setup up the timing curve to not decay nearly as much as stk and run much more timing without detonation. IF you are going to get tuned then get the CAI. Even if you are stk there is much power left on the table in the stk configuration. Tuning should always benefit the car, the more its modded however the more potential gain. 

Typically, when tuning, the more the exh is opened and less backpressure the more spk timing one can run and make more power. If the intake side is increased significantly the less timing is needed. 

The Intake air temp vs Timing retard is one thing that you guys with stk programming feel every time you start the car and drive away. When it's cold the car will make much more power and as it heats up it will lose a significant amount of power, upwards of 30RWHP. The design of the shroud venting heat upon the IAT sensor or MAF is not helping keep intake air temps down. I like to put a lot of timing back into this table and make the car much more consistently powerful. It will average more power all the time well after it is hot.

I hope this helps and God Bless.
Jeremy Formato


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## MIC1008 (Oct 25, 2004)

can this tuning be done with a hand held programmer or should it be done professionally? pros? cons? what can you gain by a shop that you don't get with the hand held?


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## Xcommuter (Jun 30, 2005)

Hello and Welcome Jeremy. I've read your name before - from Extreme P ?

Thank's for the techical details - From this forum I also saw the CAI to Tune relationship , add exhaust mods/upgrades and those two beg for better Tuning.

What kinda costs are we looking at for 1-5 Tunes over 12 months period or is it a onetime cost transaction ??


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## rippinbyu (Jun 11, 2005)

Jeremy, when are you comming to Sacramento for the tunning session? I tried to email you over at LS1GTO, but never heard back.

Thanks,
Chad


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## 04m6_ca (Feb 27, 2005)

*Sacramento, tune???*

Don't tease me. If somthing is gonna happen in Sac. post an invite, I would be there! arty:


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## JFLS6 (Oct 20, 2005)

Sorry guys been away for a little while and too busy to get to my home PC.

Mic-It would be very unlikely a handheld programmer would be as aggressive as what I have just stated. Nothing can beat a custome tune for your car. Gains depend on how skilled the programmer is at analyzing data. BTW the WOT power is one of teh easrier parts to dial in, it's all the other stuff that makes a bigger difference.

X- Typically I would charge $375 for a tune and upgrades are case to case but no more than 50%. if you were to upgrade injectors that would be like $75 and a cam or heads $150. I do mail orders and I have near perfect setups for GTOs with a variety of different mods. The shop is www.Revxtreme.com 

Rippin- I beleive my inbox was full and I was out of town. I had a couple of notifications so one of them might have been you. Yes I will be trying to set some stuff up for sacremento in teh next few days. 

Thank you all and God Bless.
Jeremy Formato


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## LIVEVIL (Sep 9, 2005)

Sorry I missed you when you were close to my location. I really wanted to get a tune on my 05


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