Is it true that when adding bolt ons like headers, intakes, exhausts you could actually have no gains or even hamper stock performance because of the car's computer attempts to prevent engine damage of the higher air flowing to the engine?

is an tuned ecu required to fix this if it is true?

 

You'll get performance gains for sure, a piggy back unit or ECU reflash will just amplify the effects of other mods,

 

not that i've heard of.
so far anyone ive heard of that was running with an exhaust, intake, headers, ect....weren't having any problems. There was discussion on the check engine light forcing the ecu to go into a defensive mode that wouldnt allow it to be reflashed or piggybacked, but I believe that was found to be not true.

 

I have intake/headers/custom catback and there is no performance loss.

The car is nearly a second faster in the quarter (probably more when I put the correct size tires back on) and this is all on stock ECU.

WADAD

 

That is essentially untrue. Every mod I've tried/heard about has helped the car with no ECU tuning required.

 

has anyone heard of this? maybe it is higher grade cars with more advanced ecu's
i have heard this has happened on subaru wrx's.

 

Since I'm in a Subaru club (well, they allow anyone to join, but they refuse to change the name), I can say that I've never heard of that happening with WRXs either.

 

I haven't any system like this, except in pacific rims countries with the gen 3 MIVEC for the 4g92. This technology was made for super economy mode. No matter what mods on the car, the ecu will do whatever it would please with no HP gains. For cruising mode on the hwy, it would drop two cyls to gain more MPG.

Otherwise, the closest thing could be the SI and ITR. They are so super tuned from the factory that everyday run of the mill, "so-called" performance companies like Neuspeed (cash cow the H&A crowd for all its worth) make mods that have little HP gains.

Please don't tell me that Mitsu super tuned the lancer or the EVO, except for the FQ series or TME.

 

The ECU compensates any mod you put on by reading what the sensors say and adjusting what needs to be adjusted. example--fuel. Air just gets in and out of your engine faster with bolt-ons, making combustion faster, making you go faster.