OEM's are still worried about emissions, aftermarket tunes are not.
For example, enabling power enrichment at less throttle opening will improve performance and allow you to run a little bit more timing, but also increase hydrocarbon emissions.
For example, enabling power enrichment at less throttle opening will improve performance and allow you to run a little bit more timing, but also increase hydrocarbon emissions.
Look at Holley aka Dinan aka APR. They are a publicly traded tuning company. The aftermarket tuning they offer meets emissions standards while still offering better performance than OEM. So yes they are not "legally" required, they still do it to meet state and national laws and to avoid toe stepping.
Yes the little guy tuners don't really care about NOX emissions guidelines mostly because they have no way of measuring the difference their tunes may produce. At the end of the day most OE emissions systems will catch these emissions, and pretty much all aftermarket tuners do not endorse removing emissions systems. to say a tune, or aftermarket parts result in worse emissions is not really the truth. to say the end user removing their cats or emissions systems results in worse emissions is true.
In the area of emissions management aftermarkets have found symbiosis. Not only has there become aftermarket manufactures of higher performing both in emissions and performance catalytic converters (G-Sport by GESi). But alot of tuners acknowledge that engine performance can be improved with a well catalyzed exhaust system.