Bought Ktuner, loaded a basemap, considering custom tune...

[murphyjim]

I'm a little stuck. I bought the Ktuner device thinking I'd get a quicker response from a dead stop. In my reading I'm getting info. that almost conflicts. Seems like the older articles and graphs all indicate that the 1.5L turbo with CVT does not ever really perform until you hit about 2000 rpm. I assume that's because of turbo lag (not sure I understand the whole concept that well). Later posts seem to indicate that turbo lag can be eliminated from the lower end resulting in a faster start from the stop sign. If that's true, then I'm going for a custom tune. If all the custom tune will give me is more power once it gets to 3000 to 5000 rpm's then I'm not a customer. In that case, I'm probably a customer for a bigger engine / different car altogether. I sure like the ability to tune and it's shockingly fast once you get going, but I'm about the jackrabbit starts I'm afraid. Thanks for any and all comments.

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[VitViper]

Go to the 'quick adjustments' section and change the 'Boost Target Ramp Rate' to suit your needs. Be warned, too quick of a spool will bring power in too fast for your CVT and you risk damage. The stage maps are setup the way they are intentionally.

 

[murphyjim]

Thanks Vit. I'm not trying to burn rubber, just want to goose it up a little bit. I'll give it a try with the stage 2 starter.

 

[360glitch]

Thanks Vit. I'm not trying to burn rubber, just want to goose it up a little bit. I'll give it a try with the stage 2 starter.

I'm not sure if you can make that adjustment on the "stage 2" map but they are definitely available on the "starter" maps such as the "21 psi starter". The quick adjustments make significant differences.

 

[SilverGhost]

Have @VitViper custom tune your car.

 

[murphyjim]

I'm a little stuck. I bought the Ktuner device thinking I'd get a quicker response from a dead stop. In my reading I'm getting info. that almost conflicts. Seems like the older articles and graphs all indicate that the 1.5L turbo with CVT does not ever really perform until you hit about 2000 rpm. I assume that's because of turbo lag (not sure I understand the whole concept that well). Later posts seem to indicate that turbo lag can be eliminated from the lower end resulting in a faster start from the stop sign. If that's true, then I'm going for a custom tune. If all the custom tune will give me is more power once it gets to 3000 to 5000 rpm's then I'm not a customer. In that case, I'm probably a customer for a bigger engine / different car altogether. I sure like the ability to tune and it's shockingly fast once you get going, but I'm about the jackrabbit starts I'm afraid. Thanks for any and all comments.

UPDATE: I took Vit's advice and got rid of the ramp in quick settings. Tried 3: Agressive 1, Aggressive 2, and no ramp at all. Then I went back to factory in order to compare. Factory is really not that bad for what I really want which is quick starts from the line. To put it more accurately, factory is not great from 0-2000 RPMs but neither are the others. I'm probably satisfied with factory (not caring about the increased speed at higher RPMs). When I bought this Civic I was also comparing it with new Miata's at up to $35K. It compared favorably too. Great car for the money. I'm thinking that to get what I really want (aggressive starts off the line) I just need a car with a bigger block / displacement. If I'm wrong please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.

 

[Quicksipper]

The stage maps are setup the way they are intentionally

is this referring to stage 1 stage 2 maps as opposed to the 16.5-21psi?

 

[murphyjim]

is this referring to stage 1 stage 2 maps as opposed to the 16.5-21psi?

I used the Starter with 21 psi and altered the quick adjustment that you'd pointed me toward. I couldn't really notice much improvement until the car got rolling (3000 rpm?). Don't think I made any errors...pretty easy to find the right settings. I really don't want to overload the CVT though.

 

[cmwalton16]

I used the Starter with 21 psi and altered the quick adjustment that you'd pointed me toward. I couldn't really notice much improvement until the car got rolling (3000 rpm?). Don't think I made any errors...pretty easy to find the right settings. I really don't want to overload the CVT though.

Learning that sweet spot on the throttle will help you more than anything. The starter 21 with everything on Improved/Aggressive II definitely helps, but doesn't fix it. Try rolling into it, instead of mashing it off the line. If I really want to launch I brake hold to between 2-3k which builds about 7psi and then take off

 

[murphyjim]

Thanks cmwalton16. I hear you. If you start from a roll it's a lot quicker and there is definitely a sweet spot, but it's also there without the tune to a large extent (in the low rpm range). I have to realize that I didn't buy the Civic because I thought it was fast to begin with. Bought it because I was impressed with the overall package and value (my 23 year old daughter bought the 2016 EX-T a year before I bought my EX-L). I only got into the idea of tuning later and have to admit that it is absolutely amazing once the car gets rolling. This experience has helped me learn a lot, so no harm done. I also sort of like the smoothness of the factory tune and the idea I'm not overburdening the CVT...there's also still a great kick once you get into the higher rpm range. Just was hoping for a little more grunt off the line (but it's a 1.5 liter engine after all).

 

[UberCivic]

Have you disabled VSA? This makes a night and day difference in off the line response in my untuned car. With it on the car stutters and then kicks in full boost/throttle at about 25mph. With it off I can burn rubber off the line.

 

[murphyjim]

Have you disabled VSA? This makes a night and day difference in off the line response in my untuned car. With it on the car stutters and then kicks in full boost/throttle at about 25mph. With it off I can burn rubber off the line.

I haven't but this sounds good. So you use one of the starter base tunes and then turn off VSA? Sounds exactly like what I want. Any fears about your CVT?

 

[cmwalton16]

I haven't but this sounds good. So you use one of the starter base tunes and then turn off VSA? Sounds exactly like what I want. Any fears about your CVT?

No worries about the CVT with that, you still have boost ramp dampers in place on tested boost levels...

 

[murphyjim]

No worries about the CVT with that, you still have boost ramp dampers in place on tested boost levels...

I see VSA traction control at the bottom and U1022 VSA above in that section? Which one or both? Sorry, I'm in the car and will research later.

 

[UberCivic]

I haven't but this sounds good. So you use one of the starter base tunes and then turn off VSA? Sounds exactly like what I want. Any fears about your CVT?

The only problem is that it is like a 30 second 10 step Mortal Kombat finishing move style sequence of button clicks to fully disable the VSA. I think Ktuner and Hondata both have a way to make the disabling of the VSA a one button solution, not sure though.

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