HP Increases

[DonD]

I'm not a newcomer to the performance world and I am not interested in anything that compromises reliability, life span or emissions issues on my 2023 CTV-4 Blackwing.

I suspect that the answer is that there's very little out there that is beneficial that isn't freakishly expensive such as a "blueprinted" engine. I'm not interested in oiled K&N air filters, PITA to clean and oil and limited HP gains. Thoughts? Don

 

[1Evil55]

have you searched @tapouttuning yet?
They have plenty of options on this forum.

 

[DonD]

have you searched @tapouttuning yet?
They have plenty of options on this forum.

I'll check them. I called them about catch cans, they said that the -4 Blackwings emissions systems were excellent to the extent that they didn't recommend catch cans. That sounds like they're and ethical company. Thanks, Don

 

[DonD]

have you searched @tapouttuning yet?
They have plenty of options on this forum.

Yep, I did check them, again, nothing that really helps that is legal on an emissions car. Don

 

[1Evil55]

Gotta pay to play. Tapout has options to make power.

 

[DonD]

Gotta pay to play. Tapout has options to make power.

Yep and they readily admit that their tunes violate emissions regulations.

Sure, lots of ways to up the power.....kill the lifespan of the engine and if you're in an emissions state, can't get your car registered.

If you have a 5BW, easy change the pulleys and get more boost but all these things come with a price. Don

 

[WONT TAP]

I'm not a newcomer to the performance world and I am not interested in anything that compromises reliability, life span or emissions issues on my 2023 CTV-4 Blackwing.

I suspect that the answer is that there's very little out there that is beneficial that isn't freakishly expensive such as a "blueprinted" engine.

Thoughts? Don

In case you're interested in some real world feedback from Cadillac V-car customers, check out the link below:

Testimonials - what our customers say about us - Tapout Tuning

Testimonials - what our customers are saying about us. Learn what we can do for you by listeneing to others. - Tapout Tuning

www.tapouttuning.com

 

[DonD]

In case you're interested in some real world feedback from Cadillac V-car customers, check out the link below:

Testimonials - what our customers say about us - Tapout Tuning

Testimonials - what our customers are saying about us. Learn what we can do for you by listeneing to others. - Tapout Tuning

www.tapouttuning.com

Do you really believe those "tunes" are good for the long life of the engine? If it were GM would be putting those tunes on production cars. Don

 

[WONT TAP]

Do you really believe those "tunes" are good for the long life of the engine? If it were GM would be putting those tunes on production cars. Don

We've tuned more than 500 LF4-powered cars in 24 countries. Several of our early tunes are past 100,000 miles now. GM builds tremendous safety margins into their production vehicles. When top quality parts and world class tuning are combined, it's no problem at all to add 50 to 100 whp to these cars with no known side effects.

On a related note, my personal daily driver is a 2018 G.M.C. truck. It came from the factory with ~ 331 whp. Since I'm a big turbo guy, we added twin turbos, increasing the power output by 76% to 583 whp! That was 60,000 miles ago and the truck is still running flawlessly with almost 95,000 miles on the clock.

https://www.facebook.com/tapout.tuning.9/posts/pfbid02VsRuaSmct6jPHY159Ky3X3hoorjgrL2MCxeuMALtU6Q3k653CJBEwShfisT5b1M1l

 

[Matt27]

I'm not a newcomer to the performance world and I am not interested in anything that compromises reliability, life span or emissions issues on my 2023 CTV-4 Blackwing.

I suspect that the answer is that there's very little out there that is beneficial that isn't freakishly expensive such as a "blueprinted" engine. I'm not interested in oiled K&N air filters, PITA to clean and oil and limited HP gains. Thoughts? Don

Basically any power additions to any car will eat into factory reliability and lifespan to some extent.

There's no magic bullet to add power. Given what some of the ATS-V guys are pushing to the wheels with supporting mods, the LF4 seems pretty stout, but yes, it's certainly pay-to-play.

 

[RDATLTE]

I'm not a newcomer to the performance world and I am not interested in anything that compromises reliability, life span or emissions issues on my 2023 CTV-4 Blackwing.

I suspect that the answer is that there's very little out there that is beneficial that isn't freakishly expensive such as a "blueprinted" engine. I'm not interested in oiled K&N air filters, PITA to clean and oil and limited HP gains. Thoughts? Don

If you’re not a newcomer, I’m wondering what kind of responses you seriously expected to hear?

 

[The_Ghost]

Do you really believe those "tunes" are good for the long life of the engine? If it were GM would be putting those tunes on production cars. Don

Just to let you know, my "fun car" is a Pontiac Solstice. It was professionally dyno tuned and I'm pushing close to 375hp out of a 2.0L LNF motor. I run the max of 24psi of boost (anything more and the KO4 becomes a heat pump) and the the car has 95k on it and has been tuned for the last 60k miles with a "ragged edge" tune by ZZP with just intercooler piping, exhaust and CAI. I could push well over 400hp if I would put an intercooler and downpipe on it....but it's too much fun now and gives 5.0L a run. As long as the tuner was careful and considered factors such as excessive heat, correct timing and a good AFR, you should have no issues with longevity. GM has a weird way of tuning to about 70% capacity with their sensors and parts. Many aftermarket push these to 90% or more, and still stay under 100%.

 

[Tall Steve]

Because I'm stupid I have to ask, but does the EPA or some other government organization have anything to do with how/why GM tunes it's car?

 

[seattlecubes]

@Tall Steve The factory tune is a compromise of reliability, economy, drivability etc. GM does all kinds of validation testing in all kinds of weather, walks the tune up to a certain point and then turns it wayyyyy down to keep all sorts of things in line…even marketing and crowding other cars in the lineup. There are a gauntlet of tests for the EPA too. Everything from a cold start to coasting in hot weather…

So in short…yes. The factory tune (on anything) is a compromise.

 

[1Evil55]

@DonD I think you'd be surprised by how many cars are "tuned" and running 10's of thousands of miles flawlessly. Every car from the factory is going to have a conservative tune for many reasons. My SS was stock with a tune. Drove it for over 60,000 miles with it and never once was an issue. I even passed emissions in Illinois WITH an axle back exhaust. I'm not sure what your concern with EPA is especially seeing you are in Texas. Cali might be another story.. Regardless a tune and a couple bolt on's isn't going to deplete the ozone.

 

[Tall Steve]

Regardless a tune and a couple bolt on's isn't going to deplete the ozone.

 

[1Evil55]

Like I've always said, "smoke 'em if you got 'em."

 

[Super Saloon]

Yep, I did check them, again, nothing that really helps that is legal on an emissions car. Don

I’m newer to this platform and am making an assumption here but you seem to be concerned about failing emissions. I think just a tune will yield big increases and I can’t imagine that would cause you to fail emissions. In Illinois all they do is hook a sensor up to your tailpipe at idle and it’s pass/fail. I can’t imagine an aftermarket tune changing the level of emissions at idle to the point the car would fail. If you removed the cats from the exhaust that would be a different story, but I would think just a tune would be okay.

 

[DonD]

@DonD I think you'd be surprised by how many cars are "tuned" and running 10's of thousands of miles flawlessly. Every car from the factory is going to have a conservative tune for many reasons. My SS was stock with a tune. Drove it for over 60,000 miles with it and never once was an issue. I even passed emissions in Illinois WITH an axle back exhaust. I'm not sure what your concern with EPA is especially seeing you are in Texas. Cali might be another story.. Regardless a tune and a couple bolt on's isn't going to deplete the ozone.

And if it breaks and GM can in any way blame it on the tune, you're stuck with a big bill and a broken car. Don

 

[1Evil55]

And if it breaks and GM can in any way blame it on the tune, you're stuck with a big bill and a broken car. Don

See post #5

Some choose to play the odds. If I were in a BW4, I'd be more concerned with it just shutting off in the middle of driving versus an issue due to an aftermarket tune. Tunes are nothing new. They can still be utilized while maintaining a conservative base line that isn't going to throw rods just because. Most tuners I know of are not pushing the tune to the cars limits anyhow unless thats what the owner is asking for.