I bought my SS/TC in late december, but thanks to the wonderful WI winters I havent been able to drive it until more recently, and I absolutely love it. Like so many others, when I read recently about the GM Stage 1 kit, I thought great, I'm in.

I had been researching exhaust upgrades, specifically replacing the downpipe, but I kept hearing aboout this learn down feature which is pretty lame. Now I know the Stage 1 kit will remove this feature, so this is my question: Is it best to wait to purchase/install the downpipe until after the Stage 1 kit is installed? Or is it safe to pull the trigger and buy it now in the mean time? I am just concerned if I buy it now and the learndown removes any power gains, I will never get that power back even after the Stage 1 flash.

Also, now that some of you have put more miles and have had more use out of the downpipes from the various companies, any that I should say away from? It seems that Dejon, CIA, and Hahn are the three big ones, I admit im partial to Hahn as I've dealt with them in the past, but by in large I am unbiased.

Thanks in advance!
Z

 

It hasn't been stated that the learn down feature will be removed, it could just be increased to the new hp "target"

There is no point of any mod on this car without a tune, unless your doing it for sound

 

i drove mine all winter in manitoba, the stock tires arnt to bad in the snow, unless there is 2 inches or so and ur tires are cold its hard to get going. lol

 

@G Speed
I am interested in performance, not asthetics, so I would not be doing it for the sound. But I would hate to get a trifecta tune, and then three years later my turbo goes poof because of the additional wear and tear on it that no one can forsee since no long term tests can be done. I have read several reviews on the tune and am honestly impressed with trifecta's service, but it's just a huge risk ditching that warranty.

@tomj77
I did try once to take it out in winter. It was in Madison, and it got to about -15 F. I stopped at a T junction and needed to turn right. There was a thin sheet of snow on the road, which made getting traction impossible. My buddy had to get out and push till I finally got traction. Thats cool with me anyway, I will keep it tucked away in the winter and use my other car.

 

ya im gonna find me some diff rims and tires for next winter. sometimes i had to turn off tc and spin the tires till i heated them up, then it grabbed the snow. lol but i dont want to do that. but then i have no hills and stuff so its easier.

 

Buy all season radials, you'll be fine.

 

yeah there is no word on the stage kit learn down removal. I highly doubt they will though. They know these cars are modded and they dont want to promote that.

However. I have a CIA catless DP. I was spiking and holding 2-3 more PSI with no codes when I installed it. Then I got a tune and holding a lot more.

But if you are going to mod. Just keep the stock parts for warrantty. and if you want to do an aftermarket tune. buy an extra ECU.

works like a charm.

and as long as ur not constantly running your car into the ground. your car will be fine. plus warranty is always a good thing to have.