RR Racing tune worth it without headers?
11-27-18, 04:19 PM
#1
RR Racing tune worth it without headers?
Hello all, I have talked myself into getting the RR tune this week and while I’m sure they can answer most questions when I call, just wanted to get some input from people with milder mods like me as well as long term owners. Most of the dyno sheets/reviews seem to be from people with headers, decatted stock manifolds, or with the RR intake pipe as well.
Engine mods are 08 F with Borla catback, with mufflers straight piped and Joez intake pipe with Tom’s dry filter. Mainly want to get a nice bump and make the most of my current mods.
Rambling ahead, but TLDR, is it worth it just with a catback? Not planning on going with headers or decatted cats. I’m well aware of the performance benefits but don’t want the headache because of state emissions, don’t want the smell, cost, and sound. I think headers sound beastly, but I’m at the point where I love my current setups sound and know with headers I’ll have to put my mufflers back on or get a different setup altogether. If the manifolds end up cracking, it is what it is, but even then it would probably be headers with cats for me. Car is mainly a DD, 25k miles+ a year, so that’s the ultimate priority.
Again, I’ll be calling RR with questions but maybe some of you can already answer them:
Engine mods are 08 F with Borla catback, with mufflers straight piped and Joez intake pipe with Tom’s dry filter. Mainly want to get a nice bump and make the most of my current mods.
Rambling ahead, but TLDR, is it worth it just with a catback? Not planning on going with headers or decatted cats. I’m well aware of the performance benefits but don’t want the headache because of state emissions, don’t want the smell, cost, and sound. I think headers sound beastly, but I’m at the point where I love my current setups sound and know with headers I’ll have to put my mufflers back on or get a different setup altogether. If the manifolds end up cracking, it is what it is, but even then it would probably be headers with cats for me. Car is mainly a DD, 25k miles+ a year, so that’s the ultimate priority.
Again, I’ll be calling RR with questions but maybe some of you can already answer them:
- What WHP can I expect with just a catback, air filter, and tune? I believe on dynojet Borla itself has been shown to go from ~350whp to 375whp or so, can I expect to get at least 10whp or so with the tune on top? More importantly, I am assuming from some research the increase is moreso in the lower and mid range? That would be fantastic since 2-5k is where I do 80% of my driving. Also, I ran a 12.7@112 with my setup, any experience how much if at all may decrease?
- Is it just one tune, or are all the snow/normal/sport modes affected in some way?
- I’ve read some people say the sound changes, can anyone elaborate? With my current exhaust I get a nice mix of burbles and pops especially on coasting shifts with backpressure, and a nice rumble all the way to redline. Don’t want to lose that.
- How, if at all, is MPG affected? I know, moot point for most, but I drive 50+ miles a day and avg 20-22 with some traffic. Makes for a great daily and would hate to see it go down much.
- Regarding selling it or the tuner after, I saw on their site that there’s a reinitialization cost. Am I correct that basically the tuner itself isn’t worth much and needs to be paid to unlocked and resell?
- Any other experiences long term?
11-27-18, 04:38 PM
#2
Hey, I am in fairfax so hope to see you around. The biggest difference I noticed was in sport mode. The throttle response is much better and it feels like it has more power down low. I dabbled with mixing e85 and that seemed to help performance but my MPG dropped. I noticed no change in sound and still love to coast and tap the throttle and hear that small pop on my Joe Z. I do not have headers but have Joe Z exhaust, Joe Z intake and AFE dry filter. I have not been to a dyno to show confirmed numerical gains
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LexusfanVA (11-28-18)
11-27-18, 05:06 PM
#3
I have had the tune for 2.5 years now and about a year of that was with stock headers and Joe Z exhaust. No change in sound and not a big difference in performance. Seemed smoother in sport mode, slight increase in low end torque and tiny increase in MPG.
You can de-tune back to stock easily which is nice. But you are correct in that the device is mated to your car and you would have to reinitialize it in order to re-sell.
No complaints but not a huge difference overall. But I'm FBO and I wanted to squeeze out every ounce of HP I could.
Mine is also a DD at 15k year round in all types of weather and I even track it a few times a year. Biggest thing for me was when I installed headers which others will tell you is a noticeable increase in power. Having the tune eliminated the CEL from the headers and save me a little cash since I didn't need a O2 simulator.
I'm catless since I don't need to worry about emissions and am used to the smell (though it is noticeable). It's a beast and puts a smile on my face every time I get behind the wheel.
You can de-tune back to stock easily which is nice. But you are correct in that the device is mated to your car and you would have to reinitialize it in order to re-sell.
No complaints but not a huge difference overall. But I'm FBO and I wanted to squeeze out every ounce of HP I could.
Mine is also a DD at 15k year round in all types of weather and I even track it a few times a year. Biggest thing for me was when I installed headers which others will tell you is a noticeable increase in power. Having the tune eliminated the CEL from the headers and save me a little cash since I didn't need a O2 simulator.
I'm catless since I don't need to worry about emissions and am used to the smell (though it is noticeable). It's a beast and puts a smile on my face every time I get behind the wheel.
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GS3ooMania (11-28-18),
LexusfanVA (11-28-18)
11-27-18, 10:57 PM
#4
when i installed mine tuned intake and tune i saw a decrease of mpg about 30 miles per tank or so, i also had a few issues with some codes but no check engine light. as far as power i don't know if it was the sound of the intake or it actually created some power, i kinda feel extra power around 4k rpms or so. after all i went back to stock intake and stock tune, car works and feels better.
this is just my personal experience with this.
this is just my personal experience with this.
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LexusfanVA (11-28-18)
11-28-18, 04:26 AM
#5
when i installed mine tuned intake and tune i saw a decrease of mpg about 30 miles per tank or so, i also had a few issues with some codes but no check engine light. as far as power i don't know if it was the sound of the intake or it actually created some power, i kinda feel extra power around 4k rpms or so. after all i went back to stock intake and stock tune, car works and feels better.
this is just my personal experience with this.
this is just my personal experience with this.
11-28-18, 07:09 AM
#6
I just tuned mine yesterday. I do have headers and cat back. I notice mostly the throttle response is what sport mode used to me. Sport mode is now very agressive. the power up high is great, pulls hard and even through the range though. it definitely drives like a whole new car... but some of this is taking advantage of the headers I'm sure. I can tell you it's 28 degrees here, but it really breaks the tires loose easily now.
11-28-18, 07:50 AM
#7
Moderator
when i installed mine tuned intake and tune i saw a decrease of mpg about 30 miles per tank or so, i also had a few issues with some codes but no check engine light. as far as power i don't know if it was the sound of the intake or it actually created some power, i kinda feel extra power around 4k rpms or so. after all i went back to stock intake and stock tune, car works and feels better.
this is just my personal experience with this.
this is just my personal experience with this.
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11-28-18, 07:50 AM
#8
Pole Position
I see you’re in CO, are you at a higher altitude? I recall a thread were some people didn’t see huge or any gains at all as they were in CO also. Did RR work with you on that at all? Interesting that your MPG went down, but the bigger intake could also be a factor maybe?
If you look back at the E85 thread that was started back in 2016 there is plenty of feedback from me and others that started blending in the F and the positive results at least with the tune that were noticed with KCLV values at 5,000+ altitude for us up in the thin air
......it's been 2 1/2 years of blending with E85 to about E40 and definitely not going back to straight 91 octane fuel anytime soon
Also for the record in my experience with the tune and their tuned intake, I have never had any issues with the tune/tuned intake or any codes in 2 1/2 years with being FBO.....I would recommend the tune from my experience.
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LexusfanVA (11-28-18)
11-28-18, 08:04 AM
#9
I was one of the guys who worked with Rafi in trying to customize a high altitude tune back when the tune first came out back in 2016. Long story short after analyzing the datalogs that we were sending back and forth to him we settled on just the regular tune that works with headers and their tuned intake that provided the best results with a blend of E85.
If you look back at the E85 thread that was started back in 2016 there is plenty of feedback from me and others that started blending in the F and the positive results at least with the tune that were noticed with KCLV values at 5,000+ altitude for us up in the thin air......it's been 2 1/2 years of blending with E85 to about E40 and definitely not going back to straight 91 octane fuel anytime soon
Also for the record in my experience with the tune and their tuned intake, I have never had any issues with the tune/tuned intake or any codes in 2 1/2 years with being FBO.....I would recommend the tune from my experience.
If you look back at the E85 thread that was started back in 2016 there is plenty of feedback from me and others that started blending in the F and the positive results at least with the tune that were noticed with KCLV values at 5,000+ altitude for us up in the thin air
......it's been 2 1/2 years of blending with E85 to about E40 and definitely not going back to straight 91 octane fuel anytime soonAlso for the record in my experience with the tune and their tuned intake, I have never had any issues with the tune/tuned intake or any codes in 2 1/2 years with being FBO.....I would recommend the tune from my experience.
11-28-18, 08:41 AM
#10
I see you’re in CO, are you at a higher altitude? I recall a thread were some people didn’t see huge or any gains at all as they were in CO also. Did RR work with you on that at all? Interesting that your MPG went down, but the bigger intake could also be a factor maybe?
11-29-18, 06:09 PM
#14
Moderator
The intake nets an additional 10 hp or so over the tune alone on a full bolt on F. So it doesn’t surprise me that members have not felt a difference. It doesn’t mean that it isn’t there, it’s just not enough to notice on a 500 hp car. RR has squeezed every last drop out of the 5.0.
11-30-18, 07:42 AM
#15