Diablo + CAI = No 'real' gain?

[usafle]

Not to start a flame war here or anything. I am completely happy with my purchases because driving the car is a complete different 'experience' then driving a stock Magnum R/T.

But, I figured I would point this out. I've got the C&L CAI and just picked up the Diablo Tuner and running the CAI + 91 Tune on the car. I drove the car to my buddies dealership and let him take it out for a drive because I thought the car 'felt faster' then it did before. We then decided to take out a used 'bone stock' 06 Magnum R/T AWD (exact duplicate of my car) and run them against each other from a stop light.

I figured with those two mods I would at least be able to pull away from the stock Magnum a few inches.

Nope. A dead heat all the way up to 100MPH. We had to slow down because there were corners and curves coming up.

We then decided to do a 'rolling launch' from around 10MPH. I waited for him to WOT his Stock Magnum and then I WOT my Magnum. By the time I pressed the gas, the front of my car was at his rear quarter panel. I never left the spot... BUT... I also never gained any ground on his car either.

So are those two mods "hype"?

Sure the car feels and 'acts' all together different then the stock one. But I don't think we are actually getting any 'HP/Torque' Gains out of the cars with those mods!

Opinions?

[PaCharger]

do you have raised shift points? Firmer?

[jackiert]

I think the only "real" way to tell if your car is faster with a Predator and a CAI would've been to take it to the track and compare the before and after timeslips. A dyno would also be an option, but I think the track would be what you're looking for.

Take it to a track, return the car to stock (you could probably leave the CAI on and just return the Predator to stock) and see what happens.

Each car is different, no matter that they're both "identical."

[MikeEast]

Much like the 'canned tunes' of the superchips, from what I've seen/heard/felt from the canned tunes of the predator there is a different 'experience' in how the car drives/acts/feels, but there really doesn't seem to be -that- much difference power wise.

In fact (this out to stir folks up) I think the sc canned tunes were indeed a bit better.

But factor in more mods and a CMR tune and whoa baby - there IS a major difference..

Mike

edit: and it could very be that the 'other' Magnum was a 'factory freak' or was 'broken in' correctly as well... apples and oranges..

[madeulooq]

I wouldn't call the difference major but u were supposed to atleast be ahead. i know from 35 to about 77 i put a full car on a stock RT maggie RWD with the Maggie getting the jump.
Unless the SRT exhaust makes that much of a difference which i doubt but my mods are AFE II, diablo and SRT exhaust.

[street hooligan]

the awd charger will drive different than a rwd maggie.

the awd will be more agressive below say 60mph.

[gooeytek]

you should be getting better gas mileage over stock too.

[sublime1365]

Under similar conditions at the track, (104 degrees, similar D/A) the predator gave me consistently .3 better than no tune. I think a 'stock' vehicle might not notice the gains as much. But when you start modding with exhaust/headers/cai and THEN add the tune... you have a winner. IMO

[BigBird]

I am in the same boat. I got the predator and ran a "canned" tune. I went to the track and no real difference on the time slips. It did solidify me need for some better gripping tires but that was about it. I think the more mods you do the more the tuner can be effective. More mods and a custom tune would probably be the ticket.

[schexy1]

That car may have been faster than yours and now your even. No way to tell unless you compare before and after.

[JimIsland-SRT8]

^^^ what he said.

[usafle]

That car may have been faster than yours and now your even. No way to tell unless you compare before and after.

So you think that there are 'factory stock' Magnums that 'sneak' out of the Factory with more HP/Torque then a Magnum with a Diablo + CAI?

I am not arguing, but I just find that hard to believe.

Both cars were 06 AWD R/T. He got them from the factory at the same time. I bought mine, the other one still lingers on the lot. The only difference is mine has the GPS, the other does not. So was it lighter or something w/o the GPS?

You would just think that with my ram-air hood + CAI + 91 CAI Perf tune I would at least be able to catch and/or pull away from a 'bone stock' identical twin. It just didn't happen.

Now I am not saying that the Diablo is a waste of money, nor am I saying the same for a CAI. It makes the car come 'alive' from the shift firmness to the 'noise', etc. I was just expecting an actual HP/Torque 0-60 improvement over a stock car.

[gooeytek]

could have been the way they were broken in.

[Carfinish]

So you think that there are 'factory stock' Magnums that 'sneak' out of the Factory with more HP/Torque then a Magnum with a Diablo + CAI?

I am not arguing, but I just find that hard to believe.

psssssssssssssssst....mike believe it...all cars not created equal...and yes some cars faster than other...

oh yeah next time don't wait for him to WOT...that fraction of a second before you hit it could be all the diff

[MattRobertson]

So you think that there are 'factory stock' Magnums that 'sneak' out of the Factory with more HP/Torque then a Magnum with a Diablo + CAI?

I am not arguing, but I just find that hard to believe.

Oh absolutely. As in 'big time'. I can remember being on Sacramento Raceway in 2005 - back in the day when we had no tuning, of ANY kind. As in full torque management between shifts. As in stock heads (none on the market yet), stock cams (ditto) and so on. Back when everyone was running mid-14's and 13's were the big not-yet-attainable goal on our minds. All we had were intakes.

CoolVanilla and I were standing together at the starting line and watching Meister running almost a full second faster than any other LX, and he was *chirping* the tires between gears. With stock torque management. This was the same guy that held the LX land speed record - faster than any SRT's, even - for some time. It took stroker motors to get past him.

Thats all ancient history now and mods are everywhere but clearly that car was a freak, in a good way. Everyone at the time was saying "don't mod it inside!" because we were afraid he'd break whatever magic voodoo spell was on that crazy car.

You would just think that with my ram-air hood + CAI + 91 CAI Perf tune I would at least be able to catch and/or pull away from a 'bone stock' identical twin. It just didn't happen.

Look back at the GIFO tests back in the day... just an intake on a stock LX typically does nothing despite manufacturers claims. You need to get the whole breathing cycle fixed up (intake, headers, cats, catback) to remove the choke points. While I would have expected you to get something with a tune, too, I'm not shocked. Your results are not out of line with a LOT of research that has gone on before.

I always wanted to re-do the GIFO intake tests with a tune and see if things would change, but the funding for that never materialized. You may have given us a glimpse into how that test series would have gone down. Like I said, I'm a little surprised, but not by too much.