Here's my concern........if the stock ECM negates mods and brings the engine back to 287HP regardless of airflow improvements, won't a modified ECM do the same thing?

If I get a modified ECM that gives my car 297HP, and i change the exhaust or the intake, won't it always bring the engine back to it's new baseline HP, 297?

If this is a repeat post, i apologize.......i wasn't brave enough to read through the hundreds of posts on ECM's

 

the modified program will not if properly tuned.

 

But if the ECM is to function with the rest of the systems of the car, most of it has to remain intact right? The IPDM interface, the CAN systems, the ODBII, all of this remains right? Are there any other changes besides Air/Fuel maps, ignition maps, redline, and speed governor?