Does a gen III with a Paxton need a tune if I add headers?

pharmer81

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I've got an 05 with 22k miles. It has a Paxton system that was installed by Woodhouse a long time ago by the original owner. The car runs great, but I'm considering having headers installed. Will the stock computer compensate for the headers, or will I need to have it re-tuned? I'm struggling to find a shop near me that will/can tune the car on a dyno. And the tune feels pretty solid anyway. The reason I'm considering the headers is that I hear a slight exhaust leak after a cold start. Not a big deal, but it bothers me. If I'm going to the trouble of digging into everything to correct it, I might as well put headers on it, because that's how I roll.
 

MoparMap

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Strictly speaking I'd say no, but it wouldn't hurt to have it retuned. I don't have a Paxton on my car, but I went from stock manifolds to headers and never changed the tune. I'm sure the car isn't as optimized as it could be, but it still runs fine. I believe the Viper runs a speed density style tuning system though, so it doesn't exactly auto adjust like a mass air style system will. I'd probably just swap the headers and see how it feels and acts from there. The O2 sensors should adjust it some for cruising at least. Full power pulls where the system goes open loop would be the main concern. If nothing else you might just do a dyno run after headers with a wideband sensor probe and see what it looks like.
 
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