After installing the midpipe, s pipe and header wouldn't it be a smart idea to tune the a/f ratios? because i heard that all the free flowing pipes can damage the engine in the long run because the engine's running to lean.. decreasing backpressure is what keeps the engine from being too lean... juss wonderin if its worth it to get an a/f ratio progammer... cuz in super street they emphazie how AEM upragded the RSX-S with 54hp with the catback exhaust, intake, pulley, header and EMS...

 

not on the tc it will pick up on this and run pig rich atleast from they dynos i have seen but my data logger is getting put on this weekend so ill have more info then



and as far as the rsx-s i doubt that when skunk stroker kits dont put out that mutch not even with there cams on the k20

 

This ECU does a real good job of keeping things in the safe zone. Almost too much when you want to tune afr with a piggyback.

It's been my observation that the car runs naturally lean at idle/partial throttle. Even after intake, header, exhaust the afr at these positions hover around 15-17AFR, which seems quite safe for this vehicle, and about 1 AFR away from where it was stock. Highway cruising you'll see a 1-2 point AFR decrease which puts you at or near Stoich with I/H/E.

At WOT the ECU does a good job of changing AFR for power as it hovers around the critical power point for most cars, around 13-14 AFR which makes peak power (14.2 AFR). The WOT can be leaned out a bit, as well as richening up the AFR below 3k-rpm if you want a tad more power at partial throttle street driving.

You wont get enough functionality out of a piggy back short of ballparking AFR for your engine changes, so this ECU is good for those who haven't tuned before. Kinda of a huge PITA for those of us used to Motec's and Megasquirts.

So the short answer (short of a P+P which ZPI claims richens the mix quite a bit), you shouldnt blow your engine from boltons with this car. Unlike adding an intake and downpipe to an FD-body RX7 and blowing your apex seals after 1 ping, the ECU on the tC is pretty idiotproof. Add a piggyback like a camcon of SAFC-II for some degree of ballpark AFR tning to grab a few more ponies.

...just be expected to reset your ECU every once and a while. It likes to learn.

 

i knew the engine wouldnt blow from basic bolt ons, but long term effects can occur... but im getting the aw header, mid pipe and down pipe either way.... toyota engines are very reliable...

 

Haven't noticed any discernable heatsoak issues that should be a problem in the long term. I've even run a pretty lean curve (cruising and idle around 18 AFR) to test fuel efficiency for 400 miles with pyrometer temps rising about 50 degrees over the range. I don't have an oil temp setup on this car, as it's just an N/A grocery-getter, however EGT temps give a good impression.