Buying modded car questions

[Xede2025]

Hey everyone. Looking at 25 with 4k miles from an Acura dealer. From what I’m told, it has PRL intercooler with charge pipes, PRL turbo inlet, PRL CAI, PRL rear strut bar, unknown downpipe and front pipe., and no tune. It passed smog which is similar to CA, not sure we do a visual here. Question is that the DP must be catted in order to pass smog? Also, is a tune not needed on this platform for dp and intake?

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[SilverRocket]

My take, with that much changed on the car, it is probably not running right without a tune.

Also, and this is person opinion, I wouldn't touch the car with a 39 and a half foot pole. The type of person who mods a car this heavily and then sells it in under 5k miles is not the kind of person I would want to be the second owner to.

 

[ModJPB]

Intake doesn't need a tune unless it has a "race" maf housing, which i highly doubt the PRL cai has. almost all downpipes, even catted ones with defoulers, eventually throw a secondary O2 error code without a tune. The only downpipe that usually doesn't throw a code without a tune is the "high efficiency" made by RV6 (discontinued) or TSP (Two Step Performance). It has a distinctive appearance so it would be obvious which downpipe it has.

Even with all those mods the car should run perfectly normal but with more noise and depending on which downpipe it has. Also consider modded cars are usually driven hard. If worried about the car being abused and If the dealer would allow you, ask if they will take a money deposit for an oil sample and a week hold before choosing to buy the car until you get the oil analysis results.

Curious, will they still honor the remaining Honda drivetrain warranty and could they certify it to extend that warranty with a note that the car is modded and with what mods?

 

[MNTeggy]

The DP would be catted if there’s no tune. Otherwise would throw a CEL. There’s no tune needed for the PRL intake (HVI). So theoretically you don’t need a tune for the DP and intake. I ended up getting O2 codes from my TSP DP and have reverted back to stock with an aftermarket exhaust.

That said, the car you’re looking at has few miles on it for the amount of mods.

 

[SilverRocket]

Intake doesn't need a tune unless it has a "race" maf housing, which i highly doubt the PRL cai has. almost all downpipes, even catted ones with defoulers, eventually throw a secondary O2 error code without a tune. The only downpipe that reliably doesn't throw a code without a tune is the "high efficiency" made by RV6 (discontinued) or TSP (Two Step Performance). It has a distinctive appearance so it would be obvious which downpipe it has.

Even with all those mods the car should run perfectly normal but with more noise and depending on which downpipe it has. Also consider modded cars are usually driven hard. If worried about the car being abused and If the dealer would allow you, ask if they will take a money deposit for an oil sample and a week hold before choosing to buy the car until you get the oil analysis results.

Curious, will they still honor the remaining Honda drivetrain warranty and could they certify it to extend that warranty with a note that the car is modded and with what mods?

Quick question for my own learning, especially when you have "mod" in your name, yes you can get away with not tuning it but to what extent without premature wear or other creeping issues?

Maybe I'm misguided and this is why I'm asking the question, by changing the hardware, you're changing the dynamics enough that the stock programming is off and when it doesn't run as intended, doesn't that lead to significant issues long term?

 

[ModJPB]

Quick question for my own learning, especially when you have "mod" in your name, yes you can get away with not tuning it but to what extent without premature wear or other creeping issues?

Maybe I'm misguided and this is why I'm asking the question, by changing the hardware, you're changing the dynamics enough that the stock programming is off and when it doesn't run as intended, doesn't that lead to significant issues long term?

You "must" tune a car when it goes so far out of spec a sensor and/or programming can't compensate. Unlike some manufacturers (cough BMW), Honda engineers seem to expect us to mod these cars, to an extent, and design the sensors and programming with wiggle room. Even the sensitive maf sensor can still handle an extra 20% airflow.

The car you're looking at has mods that reduce restrictions and temp, so no tune needed. If the static boost, compression, or fuel was changed such as a turbo, injectors, hpfp, camshaft, or ported head then a tune is a must. Only reason the downpipe needs a tune is not related to fuel, timing, or air but to disable the secondary O2 sensor. 2nd O2 sensor is only to test if catalytic is working, not for performance.

The current mods on the car will not affect wear with or without a mild tune. If you drive aggressively or choose to do a mod that requires a tune, previously mentioned mods above, than yes it'll wear faster.

I would ask if the remaining OEM Honda/Acura drivetrain warranty is still valid, them knowing it was sold with mods in writing. If they so no, then I would walk away.

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